The majority of people suffer from a common disease, as in a plague, with their false notions about things, and their number is increasing … I wished to use this stoa [covered walkway] to advertise publicly the [medicines] that bring salvation.
– Diogenes of Oinoanda
Found this in Archaeology (July/August 2015, print edition only). Applicable then, applicable now. The idea that the great mass of humanity isn’t as smart as ourselves appears to be a long standing attitude.
The medicines Diogenes advocated was the philosophy of Epicureanism. The author of the article, Eric. A. Powell, explains further:
It was grounded in physics, held that the pursuit of pleasure is the highest good, and eschewed belief in divine intervention.
The Wikipedia link clarifies the pursuit of pleasure:
Epicurus believed that what he called “pleasure” is the greatest good, but the way to attain such pleasure is to live modestly and to gain knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of one’s desires. This led one to attain a state of tranquility (ataraxia) and freedom from fear, as well as absence of bodily pain (aponia). The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form.
