Encyclopedia of Philosophy: THE ATOMISTS

« Democritus wrote on ethics as well as physics: the sayings which have been handed down to us suggest that as a moralist he was edifying rather than inspiring.

The following remark, sensible but unexciting, is typical of many:Be satisfied with what you have, and do not spend your time dreaming of acquisitions which excite envy and admiration; look at the lives of thosewho are poor and in distress, so that what you have and own may appear great and enviable. A man who is lucky in his son-in-law, he said, gains a son, while one who is unlucky loses a daughter – a remark that has been quoted unwittingly, and often in garbled form, by many a speaker at a wedding breakfast.

Many a political reformer, too, has echoed his sentiment that it is better to be poor in a demo cracy than prosperous in a dictatorship. The sayings which have been preserved do not add up to a systematic morality, and they do not seem to have any connection with the atomic theory which underlies his philosophy.

However, some of his dicta, brief and banal as they may appear, are sufficient, if true, to overturn whole systems of moral philosophy.

For instance,The good person not only refrains from wrongdoing but does not even desire it.conflicts with the often held view that virtue is at its highest when it triumphs over conflicting passion.

Again, It is better to suffer wrong than to inflict it. cannot be reconciled with the utilitarian view, widespread in the modern world, that morality should take account only of the consequences of an action, not the identity of the agent. In late antiquity, and in the Renaissance, Democritus was known as the laugh ing philosopher, while Heraclitus was known as the weeping philosopher. Neither description seems very solidly based.

However, there are remarks attributed to Democritus which support his claim to cheerfulness, notably A life without feasting is like a highway without inns.. »