The 4 core principles of Epicurean philosophy as laid out in the Tetrapharmakos:
1. A happy and eternal being has no trouble himself and brings
no trouble upon any other being; hence he is exempt from movements of
anger and partiality, for every such movement implies weakness
2. Death is nothing to us; for the body, when it has been resolved
into its elements, has no feeling, and that which has no feeling is
nothing to us.
3. The magnitude of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of all
pain. When pleasure is present, so long as it is uninterrupted, there
is no pain either of body or of mind or of both together.
4. Continuous pain does not last long in the body; on the contrary,
pain, if extreme, is present a short time, and even that degree of pain
which barely outweighs pleasure in the body does not last for many days
together. Illnesses of long duration even permit of an excess of
pleasure over pain in the body.
Background photo and following illustrations from the talented Marco Giovinazzo inspired by the Tetrapharmakos:
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