(45) Joel II, 13.

(46) Do not do what your conscience tells you is wrong, even
though it does not appear to others as such; or, do not sin in
secret, thinking that you will escape punishment because
others do not see you.

(47) _Apikuros_ is a term originally used to designate a
follower of the philosopher Epicurus, whose axiom was that
"happiness or enjoyment is the _summum bonum_ of life."
Later, this word was used by the Rabbis to designate a
free-thinker, a heretic, an unbeliever, or a despiser of the
Law, Jewish or non-Jewish. Josephus (_Antiquities_, X, 11, 7,
ed. Whiston-Margoliouth, p. 300) describes the Epicureans as
those "who cast providence out of human life, and do not
believe that God takes care of the affairs of the world, nor
that the universe is governed and continued in being by that
blessed and immortal nature, but say that the world is carried
along of its own accord without a ruler and a curator."
Maimonides, in his commentary on _Sanhedrin_, X, 1, derives
the word from the Hebrew, [hefkeir (hey-fey-kuf-resh)],
"freedom," and defines it as one who refuses obedience to the
Law. Schechter (_Studies in Judaism_, I, p. 158) says, "It
implies rather a frivolous treatment of the words of Scripture
and tradition." See the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ art.
_Apikuros_, and Barton, _Ecclesiastes_, p. 41. This verse may
also be rendered, "Study _Torah_, and also know ([v'da
(vov-daled-ayin)]) how to answer an unbeliever," meaning that
first one should study _Torah_ and _Talmud_, and then give his