Epicurean morals: the Vicar and the Naked Body

"Parsons always seem to be especially horrified by sunbathing and naked bodies, but don’t mind poverty and misery nearly as much".    (Susan Ertz, quoted from Jonathon Green, The Cassell Dictionary of Cynical Quotations)

In ancient Greece athletes competed completely naked.  But then they were not expecting to answer for themselves at the pearly gates.

Epicurus would be genuinely puzzled at the prudery that has been a hallmark of the major religions.  "What on earth are you worrying about", you can hear him say. 

One Comment

  1. What is wrong with an unclothed body, except the unclothed body of a man who has reached my time of life? (Not a pretty sight, but my Mum would still love me.)

    When you reflect that all over the world invasions, civil wars and insurrections are killing thousands and making millions homeless; when you think of the poverty and starvation; when you read of the human rights abuses perpetrated by vicious regimes that our government supports, isn’t it ridiculous to concern ourselves about a bit of nudity? Come to that, what does it matter that two people of the same sex have a loving relationship. Religion off the rails!

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