St. Paul and Epicurus

212 Pages·1954·10.48 MB·English

by  Norman Wentworth DeWitt

St. Paul and Epicurus
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BY NORMAN WENTWORTH DeWITT
ST. PAUL
and
EPICURUS
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS • MINNEAPOLIS
Copyright 1954 by the
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without
the written permission of the publisher.
Permission is hereby granted to reviewers
to quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine or newspaper.
PRINTED AT LUND PRESS, INC., MINNEAPOLIS
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 54-12314
PUBLISHED IN GREAT BRITAIN, INDIA, AND PAKISTAN BY
GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, LONDON, BOMBAY, AND KARACHI
PREFACE
T
HE present study is a sequel to the author's Epicurus and His Philoso-
phy and it aims at making good the thesis there enunciated that Epi-
cureanism functioned as a bridge of transition from Greek philosophy
to the Christian religion. It is hoped by this means to have opened up
a new window on the New Testament, a window walled up by prej-
udice long centuries ago.
This prejudice had its root in exasperation over the theology of Epi-
curus, which repudiated belief in miracles, prophecy, divine provi-
dence, and immortality. Epicurus was consequently denounced as an
atheist, which he was not.
Joined with this exasperating theology was an alluring body of ethi-
cal doctrine, neatly organized and attractively presented. Unluckily,
however, part of the lure of the ethic consisted in analyzing happiness
to consist of the memory of pleasures past, the enjoyment of pleasures
present, and the hope of pleasures to come. This espousal of pleasure
as the chief good of life gave excuse for denouncing Epicurus as a
sensualist, which he was not. His pleasures were not the pleasures of
the flesh.
Nevertheless the merit of this ethic was so superior and so widely
acknowledged that Paul had no alternative but to adopt it and bless it
with the new sanction of religion, though to admit his indebtedness to
the alleged atheist and sensualist was inconceivable. Epicurus was con-
sequently consigned to anonymity.
When once this screen of anonymity has been penetrated, we shall
find that the most beloved devotional readings in the Epistles of Paul
exhibit the greatest influence of the friendly Epicurus. An example is
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ST. PAUL AND EPICURUS
the illustrious hymn to love in First Corinthians 13. The philosophy of
love or friendship had created a climate of feeling favorable to the
acceptance of the religion of love. Epicurus had also established a cult
of peace, whether peace of mind or peace among men, long before
Paul preached "the gospel of peace" and "the God of peace."
Epicurus had set the fashion for expounding doctrine in the form of
an epistle. One of these writings bore the title To the Friends in Asia
and was in circulation for three centuries before Paul composed his
Epistle with the inscription To the Saints Which Are in Ephesus.
Long before the congregations organized by Paul began to assemble
in private houses to perpetuate the memory of Jesus the Christ, in-
numerable colonies of the disciples of Epicurus had been accustomed
to meet in private houses to perpetuate the memory of their founder,
whom they revered as the discoverer of truth and a savior. Epicurus,
according to the records, had so ordered it, just as we are informed
that Jesus did.
The ability to follow the trail of these hidden parallelisms and to
spot the unacknowledged adaptations of Epicurean teachings in the
writings of Paul is the sole advantage to be claimed by the author of
this study over other scholars. The process of detection, when once
the clues have been identified, will not be difficult; one discovery will
ease the way to another and in the end the total number of appropri-
ated teachings may prove to be astonishing.
Among the immediate rewards will be more precise translations and
occasionally for the first time correct translations.
It was the first intention of the author to entitle this study Epicurus
and the New Testament but it speedily became apparent that the Paul-
ine writings called for treatment apart from the Gospels.
The division into chapters under the names of the Epistles has re-
sulted in a moderate amount of repetition, for which no apology seems
necessary. The objective has been discovery and instruction, not en-
tertainment.
As a last word the author disavows all claim to have made a defini-
tive investigation. He will be content with the hope of having made
a definite breach in the ancient wall of prejudice and anonymity. To
the work yet to be done in this line of research there is no near limit.
This limit is the farther removed for several reasons. The treatment
VI
Preface
accorded to Epicurus in histories of philosophy is perfunctory and
marred at its best by the inveterate omissions, errors, and prejudices.
As for the source materials, even good university libraries may be ill
supplied with them; certain items have been long out of print; others
have never been translated; many are fragmentary and yield their data
only to a diligent and practiced scholar. Even a willing and competent
researcher would do well after a year's study to feel capable of han-
dling his sources with facility.
The human factor must also be reckoned with; the philosophy of
Epicurus was animated by a characteristic spirit, genial and reasonable
and yet resolute, and to capture this spirit will demand a change of
attitude, which is not to be accomplished overnight.
In the present study all questions of scholarship concerning the au-
thenticity of certain Epistles have been ignored as unessential to the
problem of Epicurean influence. In general the endeavor has been made
to hold the exposition at the level of the educated layman, for whom
the source material would neither be available nor usable. Those read-
ers who will find profit in footnotes are referred to the preceding vol-
ume, Epicurus and His Philosophy.
Thanks are due to a former pupil, Miss E. Marguerite Baker, who
generously volunteered to help in the preparation of the manuscript;
to a capable colleague, Dr. W. E. Staples, who gave advice on Hebrew
thought and literature; and to Professor Arthur Stanley Pease of Har-
vard University, whose candid criticisms on matters of Epicureanism
have always merited respect.
N. W. D.
143 Eleventh Street
Lincoln, Illinois
August 1954
vn
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CONTENTS
EPICURUS Life and Teachings 3
PHILIPPIANS Their God Is the Belly 21
THESSALONIANS Peace and Safety 38
GALATIANS The Weak and Beggarly Elements 58
COLOSSIANS Beguiling Speech 73
EPHESIANS The Prince of the Power of the Air 88
FIRST CORINTHIANS The Logic of the Cross 106
FIRST CORINTHIANS 13 Faith, Hope, and Love 124
FIRST CORINTHIANS 13 Interim and Recognition 144
PAUL'S KNOWLEDGE OF EPICUREANISM 16
APPENDIX Letter to Menoeceus 187
INDEX Verses Newly Explained or Translated 194
INDEX Words and Topics 196
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