Marius the Epicurean — Volume 2

Name: Marius the Epicurean — Volume 2
Author: Walter Pater

By Walter Pater

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Novels Philosophy & Ethics

About This Book

The narrative follows a young man's intellectual and spiritual quest through classical social life, as he weighs Epicurean emphasis on aesthetic sensation against Stoic calls to duty and order. Portraits of salons, lectures, ceremonial rites, and the imperial court frame debates about taste, conscience, and moral assent. Encounters with rhetoricians, philosophers, religious communities, and public spectacles provoke second thoughts about personal liberty, inward adjustment to communal ethics, and the possibility of a Christian sensibility. The work moves between detailed social scenes and reflective chapters on will, devotion, martyrdom, and belief, ending in meditations on an innate orientation toward faith and the tensions between beauty, duty, and spiritual commitment.

About the Author

Walter Pater

Walter Pater was an English essayist, critic, and novelist, known for his influential works on aesthetics and art criticism. His writing often explored the relationship between art and life, emphasizing the importance of beauty and sensory experience. Pater's notable works include "Marius the Epicurean," a philosophical novel that delves into themes of pleasure and the pursuit of a meaningful existence. He also contributed significantly to literary criticism with essays such as those found in "Appreciations, with an Essay on Style," where he examined the styles of various authors. Pater's ideas played a crucial role in the development of the Aesthetic Movement in the late 19th century.