The paradox Epicurus probably never said

The famous trilemma — if a god can prevent evil but doesn't, he isn't good; if he can't, he isn't all-powerful; so why does evil exist? — is traditionally credited to Epicurus. But classicists have shown it appears nowhere in his surviving writings; it was likely put in his mouth three centuries later by the Christian writer Lactantius, attacking a philosophy he opposed.

— Traditionally attributed to Epicurus; earliest surviving source is Lactantius, Epicurean paradox — Preserved in Lactantius, De Ira Dei, c. 313 CE

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