SERVILIA:  Cassius has embraced the teachings of the Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicurus thought that the gods exist but that they never interfere in people’s lives. So if that’s the case—if the gods don’t really care about our lives—then there’s no reason to worry about making the gods mad, or to make sacrifices to make them happy, or to try to read their minds by looking for omens in the flight of birds or in the entrails of sacrificed animals.

RALPH:  But as Cassius goes on to tell us, while leading his army to Philippi, he saw birds acting in really strange ways—so he’s starting to wonder if he’s wrong about the gods.

SERVILIA:  The word ‘epicure’ used these days also comes from the philosopher Epicurus. When we call someone an epicure, we mean they have refined tastes, particularly when it comes to food and wine. Sometimes the label epicure is used negatively for someone who devotes too much time and money in the pursuit of sensual pleasures, someone we might also call a glutton or a hedonist.

RALPH:  Ironically, this modern sense of epicure does not correspond to the actual teachings of Epicurus. He stressed intellectual pleasure over sensual pleasures, and he thought that one receives the most pleasure in life by taming our desires and living a life of moderation.