The surviving fragments of one of the most prolific writers of antiquity. His basic teachings (Principal Doctrines) and the letters that summarize his theories on physics and ethics. The 10th book of Diogenes Laertius. Epicurus, from the Athenian deme of Gargettus, was born in 341 BC. As a child, he lived in Samos, where his schoolmaster father migrated as a settler. Early on, he showed an inclination towards philosophy and was particularly interested in Democritus' theory. He followed his parents in their relocations, first appearing as a philosophy teacher in Lampsacus. In 306-305 BC, he settled permanently in Athens; he bought a small garden and there founded his school, which was named "The Garden" after it, and it soon gained great fame. Students, Greeks and foreigners, men and women, flocked to "The Garden," surrounding the philosopher with almost religious devotion and respect. However, their coexistence and the philosopher's teaching on pleasure were misinterpreted, and his school was accused and slandered. Epicurus died in 270 BC, and in his will, he bequeathed the school to his students, who preserved his teachings unchanged. From his extensive work, only a few fragments survive, along with the texts of three of his letters and his will. [Excerpt from publisher or edition presentation text]