Machiavellian Philosophy

Who would have guessed? It has been suggested to me that my life philosophy has degenerated (sic) into a form of Epicureanism.

I had to dig right back into my learnings from my undergraduate years (it would have been very uncool to whip out the phone mid-conversation) in order to remind myself that Epicureanism holds that through the exercise of wisdom, contentment can be found. The wise person, realising that the unbridled pursuit of sensual pleasure can be self-destructive, instead seeks contentment through a limiting of desires and through the joys and solaces of friendship.

To a first order approximation my antagonist was correct but, as usual, the devil is in the second order details. Just ask Machiavelli.