Editing Democritus (section)

=== Ethics ===
[[File:Charles-Antoine Coypel - The Cheerful Democritus.jpg|thumb|Charles-Antoine Coypel, ''Cheerful Democritus'', 1746.]]
In his ethical philosophy Democritus considered the acquisition of peace of mind (εὐθυμία) as the end and ultimate object of our actions.<ref>D. L. 9.45; [[Cicero]], [[de Finibus]] 5.29.</ref> This peace, this tranquillity of the mind, and freedom front fear (φόβος and δεισδαιμονία) and passion, is the last and fairest fruit of philosophical inquiry. Many of his ethical writings had reference to this idea and its establishment, and the fragments relating to this question are full of the most genuine practical wisdom. Abstinence from too many occupations, a steady consideration of one's own powers, which prevents our attempting that which we cannot accomplish, moderation in prosperity and misfortune, were to him the principal means of acquiring the εὐθυμία. The noblest and purest ethical tendency, lastly, is manifest in his views on virtue and on good. Truly pious and beloved by the gods, he says, are only those who hate that which is wrong (ὅσοις ἐχθρὸν τὸ αδικεῖν). The purest joy and the truest happiness are only the fruit of the higher mental activity exerted in the endeavour to understand the nature of things, of the peace of mind arising from good actions, and of a clear conscience.<ref>Brandis, l.c. p. 337.</ref><ref>{{cite DGRBM|title=Democritus|url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Ddemocritus-bio-2}}</ref>

Democritus was eloquent on ethical topics. Some sixty pages of his fragments, as recorded in [[Diels–Kranz numbering|Diels–Kranz]], are devoted to moral counsel. The ethics and politics of Democritus come to us mostly in the form of maxims. In placing the quest for happiness at the center of moral philosophy, he was followed by almost every moralist of antiquity. The most common maxims associated with him are "Accept favours only if you plan to do greater favours in return", and he is also believed to impart some controversial advice such as "It is better not to have any children, for to bring them up well takes great trouble and care, and seeing them grow up badly is the cruellest of all pains".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kenny |first=Anthony |title=Ancient Philosophy |publisher=Oxford |isbn=9780198752738 |volume=1 |pages=258–259 |language=en }}</ref> He also wrote a treatise on the purpose of life and the nature of happiness. He held that "happiness was not to be found in riches but in the goods of the soul and one should not take pleasure in mortal things". Another saying that is often attributed to him is "The hopes of the educated were better than the riches of the ignorant". He also stated that "the cause of sin is ignorance of what is better", which become a central notion later in the Socratic moral thought. Another idea he propounded which was later echoed in the Socratic moral thought was the maxim that "you are better off being wronged than doing wrong".<ref name=":0" /> His other moral notions went contrary to the then prevalent views such as his idea that "A good person not only refrains from wrongdoing but does not even want to do wrong", for the generally held notion back then was that virtue reaches it apex when it triumphs over conflicting human passions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kenny |first=Anthony |title=Ancient Philosophy |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198752721 |pages=259}}</ref>