La retorica e l'epicureismo: una riflessione

The knowledge of Epicurus’ thought and criticism about rhetoric is founded on poor and uncertain evidences preserved by the literary tradition. Few are the fragments of Epicurus’ Rhetorica which Philodemus, our main source, cites. With care to the historical and cultural context in which Epicurus lived, the analysis of the evidences and the fragments shows that the Epicurus’ criticism to rhetoric is mainly developed in the view of philosophical research. For Epicurus the Aristotelic rhetoric and the rhetorical schools, which at his time represented an effectively alternative to the philosophical schools, don’t help to provide useful tools to happiness, only available by philosophical research.