"We are terrified of true catastrophes and are thrown into a continuous state of misery and anxiety, and for fear of becoming miserable, we never cease to be so, always panting for riches and never giving our souls or our bodies a moment's peace. But those who are content with little live day by day and treat any day like a feast day."
on Epicureanism from Steven Greenblatt's The Swerve, page 176
an account of the Humanist Revival, the Renaissance
