Margaret Thompson, age 15, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for her question:

WHAT IS EPICUREANISM?

Epicureanism is a system of philosophy that is based on the teachings of a famous ancient Greek teacher and philosopher named Epicurus. The main part of his theory was that pleasure is the supreme good and should be one of the main goals of life.

Epicurus thought that intellectual pleasures are preferred to sensual ones, which tend to disturb the peace of mind. He said that true happiness is the serenity that comes from the victory over fear.

Epicureanism's greatest aim is rid people of fears and allow them to live a good life.

Epicurus was born on the island of Samos in 341 B.C. He went to Athens as a young man, studied hard and became a teacher. He traveled for a time but returned to Athens in 306 B.C. to open his own special school.

The pleasant school Epicurus started had, among many fine features, a very beautiful garden. Although most of his students were young men, the school was the first to allow young women to enter as students.

Many stories have been told about how wonderful Epicurus' school really was. One of the boosters was the famous Roman poet Lucretius, who died in about 55 B.C. He wrote a poem called "on the Nature of Things" ("De Rerum Natural'). In it Lucretius tells about the wonders of Epicureanism.

Epicurean philosophy also had disciples in the Greek grammarian Apollodorus, in the Roman poet Horace and in the Roman statesman Pliny the Younger.

Epicurus himself was said to have written hundreds of rolls of writing, or books. But, unfortunately, only three of his letters and very few of his many wise sayings are known today.

Epicurus was especially interested in the ways of life that would make men happy. He was a strong believer in the theory that a truly good life would also be a very happy one. Pain, on the other hand, would be caused by doing the wrong thing. Epicurus taught his students to always try to avoid pain at all costs.

Epicurus' students were taught how to look for pleasures that would last all of their lives. Such a pleasure could be found in friendships.

Through his philosophy of life, Epicures' students also found out that many quick pleasures, such as eating too many sweets, for example, would eventually bring more pain than enjoyment.

Another thing that Epicures taught his students was that they should have as few needs and desires as possible since wanting a great many things would eventually only bring about pain. His students learned that a virtuous life was one that led to peace of mind.

The cardinal virtues in the Epicurean scene of ethics are justice, honesty and prudence, or the balancing of pleasure and pain. Epicures taught that only through self restraint, moderation and detachment can one achieve the kind of tranquility that spells true happiness.

Epicureanism is still widely regarded as one of the leading schools of moral philosophy of all time.