The Religion of Nature Delineated · Character
Epicurus
The pleasure-loving Greek whose doctrines Wollaston summons to the dock, forced to answer whether appetite can ever be reconciled with reason's supreme rule.
supporting
Also known as Epicurus
First appearance: ii of happiness
As a supporting figure in The Religion of Nature Delineated, Epicurus is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
Epicurus enters Wollaston's argument less as a historical figure than as a test case: the philosopher who made pleasure the measure of the good, and who therefore must be weighed against the claim that reason is man's uppermost faculty. The tension is sharp — Wollaston grants that desire, hope, and joy are natural, yet insists that a being who pursues only sensual objects 'cancels his reason' and sinks toward the brute. For the early arc, Epicurus matters as the foil whose challenge forces the reader to ask whether happiness and virtue can truly be separated.
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Character Web
23 connectionsA slice of how Epicurus sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
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- Other
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- Diverse Philosophical and Historical Exemplars
- Classical and Biblical Authorities
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Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
This passage constitutes the narrative climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the…
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