The Agora: Dedicated to Ancient Ideals

Stoic Hearth of the Rational Good

No man is free who is not master of himself.--Epictetus

Stoicism, a school of philosophy organized at Athens in the third century B.C.E. by Zeno of Citium and Chrysippus. The stoics provided a unified account of the world that comprised formal logic, materialistic physics, and naturalistic ethics. Later Roman stoics emphasized more exclusively the development of recommendations for living in harmony with a natural world over which one has no direct control.

Virtue is nothing else than right reason.--Seneca

Founded in Athens about 310 BC, the Stoic philosophy developed from that of the Cynics whose founder, Antisthenes, had been a disciple of Socrates.  The Stoics emphasized ethics as the main field of knowledge, but they also developed theories of logic and natural science to support their ethical doctrines.

Holding a somewhat materialistic conception of nature they followed Heraclitus in believing the primary substance to be fire. They also embraced his concept of Logos which they identified with the energy, law, reason, and providence found throughout nature.

They held Logos to be the animating or 'active principle' of all reality. The Logos was conceived as a rational divine power that orders and directs the universe; it was identified with God, nature, and fate.  Human reason and the human soul were both considered part of the divine Logos, and therefore immortal.

The foundation of Stoic ethics is the principle, proclaimed earlier by the Cynics, that good lies in the state of the soul itself, in wisdom, and restraint.  Stoic ethics stressed the rule "Follow where Reason leads"; one must therefore resist the influence of the passions—love, hate, fear, pain, and pleasure.

Living according to nature or reason, they held, is living in conformity with the divine order of the universe.  The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance, a classification derived from the teachings of Plato.

A distinctive feature of Stoicism is its cosmopolitanism. All people are manifestations of the one universal spirit and should, according to the Stoics, live in brotherly love and readily help one another.  They held that external differences such as rank and wealth are of no importance in social relationships. Thus, before the rise of Christianity, Stoics recognized and advocated the brotherhood of humanity and the natural equality of all human beings.  Stoicism became the most influential school of the Greco-Roman world and produced a number of remarkable writers and personalities.  Don't take my word for it, read more on the primary sources page below, or read the Catholic Encyclopedia 1914 Edition entry.

The mind in itself wants nothing, unless it creates a want for itself; therefore it is both free from perturbation and unimpeded, if it does not perturb and impede itself.--Marcus Aurelius

Primary Sources:

The Stoics

Zeno of Citium (336-224 BC): Born in Citium, Cypress (a then Greek colony).  A student of Crates the Cynic.  He was the son of a merchant and a merchant himself until the age of 42, when he started a philosophical school.  Named for his teaching platform the stoa (gk for porch), his teachings were the beginning of Stoicism.  None of Zeno's works have survived.

Cleanthes of Assos (331-232 BC): A disciple of Zeno who later went on to head the Stoic school.  An under educated ex-wrestler, he worked labor jobs at night to free his days to attend Zeno's philosophical discussions.  While initially slow to grasp the concepts, his determination eventually made him Zeno's successor.

Chrysippus of Soli (279-207 BC): Cleanthes pupil and eventual successor to the head of the stoic philosophy.  A prolific writer and debater, Chrysippus would often take both sides of an argument.  Of his over 700 written works, none survive, save a few fragments embedded in the works of later authors.

Diogenes of Babylon (also known as Diogenes of Seleucia-- 200-152 BC): Student of Chrysippus, head of the stoic school who carried stoicism to Athens.

Antipater of Tarsus: Stoic philosopher of the 2nd century BC. Successor of Diogenes and teacher of Panaetius.

Panaetius of Rhodes:  Introduced stoicism to Rome, mixed Plato's psychological views into stoicism.  Teacher of Posidonius.

Posidonius of Apamea (153-51 BC): Born in Syria, Posidonius wrote copiously--although none of his writings survive.  He gave new life to the stoic philosophy, he made contributions to stoic ethics and physics.

Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca, 4 BC - CE 65): Philosopher, statesman, orator, he was arguably Rome's leading intellectual figure in the mid-first century.  From banishment under Claudius to tutoring Nero until his death under Rome's orders, Seneca's life spanned the gamut of political intrigue and illicit liaisons.  Seneca's best known works are the Epistulae Morales, 124 moral essays, advancing and defining Stoic ethics.

Gaius Musonius Rufus (30 - 100 CE): Of Etruscan origins, Rufus went on to become a Roman knight, before dedicating his life to Stoicism.  Anti-war advocate and avid moral reformer he is most famous as a teacher of Epictetus.

Epictetus (55 - 135 CE): Schooled in Rome in his early years, Epictetus went on to start his own school in Nicopolis Greece.  While basing his works on the early Stoics and their focus on logic, physics, and morals; Epictetus focused on morals and ethics.

Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 CE): Adopted by emperor Antoninus Pius, he was educated by the best tutors in Rome.  Becoming emporor in 161, Aurelius was constantly engaged in defensive battles.  While propounding Stoicism, he was more religious than most Stoics.  A man of contradictions, he sold his personal possessions to feed the poor while simultaneously persecuting Christians as a threat to the throne.

Justus Lipsius (1547 - 1606 CE): Born in the Netherlands and educated at Louvain, Lipsius is often referred to as a phililogian in his uniting of Christianity and Stoicism.  A Roman history expert, his studies of ancient Stoicism are still among the best.

Guillaume Du Vair (1556- 1621): French orator who held many offices under Henry of Navarre.  Significant in that he applied Stoicism to the Christian religion.  Wrote extensively on the Stoics and translated many of their texts.

Most of the texts contained on this site are public domain. Site layout, all original content, created by John Trapp ©2001