The Greek philosopher Epicurus, from whose name the word epicure is derived, is remembered for two doctrines. First, he asserted that the gods did not give a hoot about what humans did; and, second, he insisted that pleasure was the highest good a person could pursue, so long as that pleasure was temperate and allied to virtue, not vice. Because this latter doctrine was subject to some interpretation, the word epicure swung between two meanings from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth. For some authors, the ancient philosopher’s emphasis was on the need for temperance when pursuing pleasure; these authors used epicure to mean someone who is selective and dainty about what he eats and drinks. For other authors, the ancient philosopher’s real emphasis was on mere pleasure; these authors used epicure to mean someone who is greedy, gluttonous, and without restraint when sitting at the supper table. By the end of the eighteenth century, these two meanings had battled it out, and the former—the one characterizing the epicure as selective and temperate—had emerged as its primary sense, the one still in use today. The name Epicurus, incidentally, derives from a Greek source meaning helper or ally.