So death, the most terrifying of ills, is nothing to us, since so long as we exist, death is not with us; but when death comes, then we do not exist. It does not then concern either the living or the dead, since for the former it is not, and the latter are no more.

Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later followers and commentators. Only a few fragments and letters of Epicurus's 300 written works remain. Epicurus (Greek: Ἐπίκουρος Epikouros "ally comrade"; 341 BCE – 270 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the school of philosophy called Epicureanism.