tise, namely, what is the end, the object, the
standard to which all the ideas of living well and acting rightly are to
be referred? What it is that nature follows as the chief of all desirable
things? what she avoids as the principal of all evils?

And as on this subject there is great difference of opinion among the most
learned men, who can think it inconsistent with that dignity which every
one allows to belong to me, to examine what is in every situation in life
the best and truest good? Shall the chief men of the city, Publius Scaevola
and Marcus Manilius argue whether the offspring of a female slave ought to
be considered the gain of the master of the slave; and shall Marcus Brutus
express his dissent from their opinion, (and this is a kind of discussion
giving great room for the display of acuteness, and one too that is of
importance as regards the citizens,) and do we read, and shall we continue
to read, with pleasure their writings on this subject, and the others of
the same sort, and at the same time neglect these subjects, which embrace
the whole of human life? There may, perhaps, be more money affected by
discussions on that legal point, but beyond all question, this of ours is
the more important subject: that, however, is a point which the readers
may be left to decide upon. But we now think that this whole question
about the ends of good and evil is, I may almost say, thoroughly explained
in this treatise, in which we have endeavoured to set forth as far as we
could, not only what our own opinion was, but also everything which has
been advanced by each separate school of philosophy.

V. To begin, however, with that which is easiest, we will first of all
take the doctrine of Epicurus, which is well known to most people; and you
shall see that it is laid down by us in such a way that it cannot be
explained more accurately even by the adherents of that sect themselves.
For we are desirous of ascertaining the truth; not of convicting some
adversary.

But the opinion of Epicurus about pleasure was formerly defended with
great precision by Lucius Torquatus, a man accomplished in every kind of
learning; and I myself replied to him, while Caius Triarius, a most
learned and worthy young man, was present at the discussion. For as it
happened that both of them had come to my villa near Cumae to pay me a
visit, first of all we conversed a little about literature, to which they
were both of them greatly devoted; and