Salyavin drives by and sez: > > "The veneration of the wise man is a blessing for those > that venerate him" - Epicurus
Ah, but who defines what constitutes a "wise man?" If it's the person seeking veneration, I think one is justified in asking, "What's in it for me? What *kind* of 'blessing' am *I* likely to get by venerating you as 'wise?'" More often than not, the "blessing" in question in such situations turns out to be becoming a toady or slave to the supposedly-wise man. In Epicurus' case, he preached a philosophy of peace and freedom from fear, the absence of pain, and living a self- sufficient life surrounded by friends. But he *also* demanded, while preaching self-sufficiency, that his followers/students swear an oath of fealty to him, and only allowed them access to the extremely hierarchical "levels" of his teaching on the basis of such oaths. So where's the "blessing" in this? Seems to me that the person getting the "blessing" is the person being venerated (and obeyed) as if they were the "wise man." Those doing the venerating get...uh...to venerate. Big whoop. So color me not convinced of the "wisdom" of Epicurus' saying about wise men. But he did create a great Web site and iPhone app, however. I use it often to find new recipes: http://www.epicurious.com/ <http://www.epicurious.com/> :-)
