‘And bright was the flame of their friendship’ (Empedocles B130): humans, animals, justice, and friendship, in Lucretius and Empedocles

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Campbell, Gordon (2008) ‘And bright was the flame of their friendship’ (Empedocles B130): humans, animals, justice, and friendship, in Lucretius and Empedocles. Leeds International Classical Studies, 7 (4).

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Abstract

This paper argues that Lucretius exploits a significant doctrinal overlap between his two most important influences, Empedocles and Epicurus, in his account of the domestication of animals. Like Empedocles (although for different reasons), the Epicureans were vegetarians; like him, they regarded friendship as the basis for society. Empedocles argued that in the golden age there existed a naturally occurring state of friendship between humans and animals. Although Epicurus and his followers disagreed with this theory, there are Epicurean sources that strongly suggest that they themselves thought of the first societies as being founded on friendship pacts made between both humans and animals.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Empedocles; humans; animals; justice; friendship; Lucretius; Empedocles;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Arts,Celtic Studies and Philosophy > Ancient Classics
Item ID:	1105
Depositing User:	Gordon Campbell
Date Deposited:	10 Dec 2008 14:19
Journal or Publication Title:	Leeds International Classical Studies
Refereed:	Yes
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/1105
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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‘And bright was the flame of their friendship’ (Empedocles B130): humans, animals, justice, and friendship, in Lucretius and Empedocles

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