It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.

Epicurus (341–270 BCE) taught in Athens in his school known as “the Garden,” advocating an ethics of tranquility (ataraxia) grounded in naturalistic explanations of the world. A central aim of Epicurean philosophy was to free people from anxiety—especially fear of the gods and of death—by arguing that the gods, if they exist, are blessed and unconcerned with human affairs. In that framework, prayer for outcomes within one’s own agency is treated as misguided: it reflects dependence on divine intervention rather than rational self-sufficiency and practical action. The sentiment fits Epicurus’s broader program of replacing superstition with clear thinking about nature and human needs.

The saying criticizes a kind of religious petition that substitutes wishful dependence for personal responsibility. If a goal lies within human power—through effort, prudence, or planning—then asking the gods for it is “folly” because it misunderstands both human agency and (in Epicurean terms) the gods’ noninvolvement. The line also implies an ethical ideal of autonomy: happiness is secured not by divine favor but by cultivating wise desires, limiting unnecessary wants, and acting effectively in the sphere we control. More broadly, it is a rebuke to superstition and a call to ground one’s hopes in realistic means rather than external miracles.