Analyzing Epicurus's 'Letter To Menoeceus'

In “Letter to Menoeceus” by Epicurus, Epicurus sends out the message that the most pleasant sort of life is one in which there is happiness and pleasure. He argues that there is no time in which we are too young or too old to seek wisdom to change our lives for the better, and that “both old and young alike ought to seek wisdom” (Epicurus 11). A bit later in the letter, he tells Menoeceus to avoid fearing death because there is nothing that we as humans can do about it. He tells Menoeceus that “death is nothing to us,” and that those who fear death are foolish because it is essentially painless when it occurs, but only that the thought of death causes us pain. By saying this, Epicurus is letting Menoeceus know that he must not spend his time