But the pleasure of which Epicurus speaks is not that which is immediate, but reasoned, selected, balanced pleasure. One must not be possessed by pleasure, but must possess the pleasures. It is in this balance of the wise man that the autarchy of the Epicurean sage consists. More specifically, pleasure can be considered in the immediate emotion, the gentle emotion of which Aristipus spoke, and also in the certain absence of pain. Vigilance over oneself shows us that the root of every pain is the desire for pleasure.
Desire is in itself an evil, and it is necessary to watch over it and discipline it.
The sage who has a crust of bread, said Epicurus, has no reason to envy Zeus. One should put far from himself the desires of the second type and especially those of the third class, for these produce anxiety and disturbances which are contrary to the life and spirit of the sage. If you wish to preserve the tranquillity of your soul, live the hidden life, live far from the family and from politics. But at the cost of contradicting his mechanical physics, Epicurus, who had renounced family and politics, did not know how to renounce certain goods of the spirit. He admits above all the pleasures which come from admiring artistic works.