Epicurus, Democritus, Lucrecius (in the letter 56 to Hugo Boxel) and Machiavelli (in the Political Treaty) are the two streams of thought that Spinoza cites in a quite eulogistic way. We propose to study here the affiliations and the differences between the philosophies of Spinoza, Epicurus and Machiavelli in a comparative analysis, departing from the ethical and social issue of desire.
desire; pleasure; prudence