FOOTNOTES
[1] e.g. Zeller, Stoics etc. pp. 16, 17; Stein Psych. ii p. 141.
[2] See Alex. Aph. de fato, chs. 35 and 37 (Arnim ii 1003 and 1005).
[4] λόγος ὀρθὸς προστακτικὸς μὲν ὧν ποιητέον, ἀπαγορευτικὸς δὲ ὧν οὐ ποιητέον Alex. Aph. 35, p. 207, 8 B; cf. Diog. L. vii 88.
[5] ‘Chrysippus sic incipit: ὁ νόμος πάντων ἐστὶ βασιλεὺς θείων τε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων· δεῖ δὲ αὐτὸν ... κανόνα εἶναι δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων’ Marcianus i p. 11, 25 (Arnim iii 314); ‘lex est ratio summa, insita in natura, quae iubet ea quae facienda sunt prohibetque contraria’ Cic. Leg. i 6, 18.
[6] ‘Socrates cum rogaretur cuiatem se esse diceret, Mundanum, inquit. totius enim mundi se incolam et civem arbitrabatur’ Cic. Tusc. disp. v 37, 108; [Διογένης] ἐρωτηθεὶς πόθεν εἴη “κοσμοπολίτης” ἔφη Diog. L. vi 63; so Epict. Disc. i 9, 1.
[7] Arnim i 262; ‘patriam meam esse mundum sciam’ Sen. Dial. vii 20, 5.
[8] ‘membra sumus corporis magni; natura nos cognatos edidit’ Ep. 95, 52.
[9] ‘quaecunque est hominis definitio, una in omnes valet. quod argumenti satis est, nullam dissimilitudinem esse in genere’ Cic. Leg. i 10, 29 and 30.
[10] ἀρέσκει αὐτοῖς μηδὲν εἶναι ἡμῖν δίκαιον πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα ζῷα διὰ τὴν ἀνομοιότητα Diog. L. vii 129; ‘quomodo hominum inter homines iuris esse vincula putant, sic homini nihil iuris esse cum bestiis’ Cic. Fin. iii 20, 67. The honour of being the first to recognise the principle of consideration for our dumb partners belongs to the Hindus.
[11] ‘nec est quisquam gentis ullius, qui ducem naturam nactus ad virtutem pervenire non possit’ Cic. Leg. i 10, 31; ‘if the mind-element is common to us all, so likewise is that reason which makes us rational; and therefore too that reason which bids us do or leave undone; and therefore the world-law; therefore we are fellow-citizens and share a common citizenship’ M. Aurel. To himself iv 4.
[12] Plut. Sto. rep. 4, i.
[13] ‘duas respublicas animo conplectamur, alteram magnam et vere publicam, qua di atque homines continentur; ... alteram, cui nos adscripsit condicio nascendi’ Sen. Dial. viii 4, 1. So too Epictetus: ‘What is a man? a part of a state, of that first which consists of gods and men; then of that which is called next to it, which is a small image of the universal state’ Disc. ii 5, 26.
[14] ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ ἔφη [ὁ Ζήνων] τὸν Ἔρωτα θεὸν εἶναι, συνεργὸν ὑπάρχοντα πρὸς τὴν τῆς πόλεως σωτηρίαν Athen. xiii 12 (Arnim i 263); ‘salva autem esse societas nisi custodia et amore partium non potest’ Sen. Dial. iv 31, 7.
[15] ‘eius [societatis humanae] vinculum est ratio et oratio, quae conciliat inter se homines coniungitque naturali quadam societate’ Cic. Off. i 16, 50.
[16] φύσει τε τὸ δίκαιον εἶναι καὶ μὴ θέσει, ὡς καὶ τὸν νόμον καὶ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον, καθά φησι Χρύσιππος Diog. L. vii 128; ‘ius esse natura [Stoici censent]’ Cic. Fin. iii 21, 71.
[17] ‘non tum denique lex incipit esse, cum scripta est, sed tum cum orta est’ Cic. Leg. ii 5, 10.
[18] ἱερὰ θεῶν μὴ οἱκοδομεῖν Plut. Sto. rep. 6, 1; ἀπαγορεύει ἀγάλματα τεκταίνειν Theod. Aff. iii 74 (Arnim i 264).
[19] Plut. Sto. rep. 6, 1.
[20] Diog. L. vii 33.
[21] Plutarch, in quoting this argument, makes the telling rejoinder that upon the same principle Zeno need not have published an answer to Plato’s Republic; Sto. rep. 8, 1.
[22] Diog. L. vii 32. This particular condemnation was not uncongenial to the Stoics of the principate, and may partly account for the decay of literature in imperial Rome. But Chrysippus had meanwhile supplied the needed qualification that these studies are useful as a training preliminary to virtue; see Diog. L. vii 129, and cf. § [336].
[23] Diog. L. vii 33. Probably usury was also condemned by Zeno, as it was by Seneca: ‘quid computationes et venale tempus et sanguinolentae centesimae?’ Sen. Ben. vii 10, 4.
[24] Diog. L. vii 131.
[25] ‘More continent than Zeno’ became a proverb at Athens; ib. 27.
[26] ib. 121.
[27] ἐκκλίνουσι τὸ μοιχεύειν οἱ τὰ τοῦ Ζήνωνος φιλοσοφοῦντες Origen cont. Celsum, vii 63 (Arnim iii 729).
[28] This principle is stated by Chrysippus: πρὸς τὰ θηρία φησὶ δεῖν ἀποβλέπειν Plut. Sto. rep. 22, 1.
[29] The essential equality of the sexes in Stoic theory is illustrated in the development of Roman law: ‘led by their theory of natural law, the [Roman] jurisconsults had evidently ... assumed the equality of the sexes as a principle of their code of equity’ Maine, Ancient Law, p. 154. Cf. on the whole subject Gomperz, Greek Thinkers, bk v ch. 13: e.g. ‘to the common Greek sentiment exclusive personal appropriation [of women] and the resulting inequality in ownership was as yet very far from seeming so much of a law of nature, or meeting with such unconditional acceptance as ... in modern times’ (vol. iii p. 119).
[31] ‘What then, are not women common by nature? So I say also. Is not the theatre common to the citizens? When then they have taken their seats, come (if you think proper) and eject one of them!’ Epict. Disc. ii 4, 8.
[32] καὶ μητράσι [Χρύσιππος] λέγει συνέρχεσθαι καὶ θυγατράσι καὶ υἱοῖς Diog. L. vii 188. A Church Father has caught the point better; εἶπον ὅτι τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ θυγατράσι μίγνυσθαι ἀδιάφορόν ἐστι, εἰ καὶ μὴ χρὴ ἐν ταῖς καθεστώσαις πολιτείαις τὸ τοιοῦτον ποιεῖν Origen cont. Cels. iv 45 (Arnim iii 743). For the Persian view see Diog. L. Prol. 8.
[33] Arnim i 256.
[34] Origen, as above.
[37] Arnim i 253.
[38] ib. i 254.
[39] Diog. L. vii 121.
[40] Arnim iii 748.
[41] Arnim iii 752. For the same view in earlier times see Gomperz, Greek Thinkers, i p. 403.
[42] i 45, 108.
[43] ‘ille divinus animus egressurus hominem, quo receptaculum suum conferatur, ignis illud exurat an terra contegat, an ferae distrahant, non magis ad se iudicat pertinere quam secundas ad editum infantem’ Sen. Ep. 92, 34; ‘But you will be cast out unburied ... If the corpse is I, I shall be cast out; but if I am different from the corpse, speak more properly’ Epict. Disc. iv 7, 31.
[44] For a plain statement to this effect we have to look to Philo: ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ἐκ φύσεως δοῦλος οὐδείς Sept. et fest. di. p. 283 M (Arnim iii 352).
[45] ‘est genus iniustae servitutis, cum hi sunt alterius, qui sui possunt esse’ Cic. Rep. iii 25, 37.
[46] ‘servus, ut placet Chrysippo, perpetuus mercennarius est’ Sen. Ben. iii 22, 1; ‘non male praecipiunt, qui [servis] ita iubent uti, ut mercennariis: operam exigendam, iusta praebenda’ Cic. Off. i 13, 41.
[47] ‘potest [servus] dare beneficium domino, si a domino iniuriam accipere’ Sen. Ben. iii 22, 3.
[48] ‘quod si natura hominis sapientiae capax est, oportuit et opifices et rusticos et mulieres doceri, ut sapiant: populumque [sapientium] ex omni lingua et condicione et sexu et aetate conflari. senserunt hoc adeo Stoici, qui et servis et mulieribus philosophandum esse dixerunt’ Lact. Div. inst. iii 25 (Arnim iii 253).
[50] Schmekel, Phil. d. mittleren Stoa, pp. 63, 69.
[51] ‘eorum nullum ipsum per se separatum probo; anteponoque singulis illud, quod conflatum fuerit ex omnibus. sed si unum ac simplex probandum sit, regium probem atque inprimis laudem’ Cic. Rep. i 35, 54; ‘optimus civitatis status sub rege iusto est’ Sen. Ben. ii 20, 2.
[52] ‘memineram persaepe te cum Panaetio disserere solitum coram Polybio ... optimum longe statum civitatis esse eum, quem maiores nostri nobis reliquissent’ Cic. Rep. i 21, 34.
[53] See below, ch. xvi.
[54] Arnim iii 354.
[55] Diog. L. vii 121.
[56] τέλος ἐστὶν οὗ ἕνεκα πάντα πράττεται καθηκόντως, αὐτὸ δὲ πράττεται οὐδενὸς ἕνεκα Stob. ii 7, 3 b.
[57] ‘virtus nihil aliud est quam animus quodammodo se habens’ Sen. Ep. 113, 2; ‘virtus est adfectio animi constans conveniensque’ Cic. Tusc. disp. iv 15, 34.
[58] In numerous variations: for the present it is sufficient to quote Cicero’s phrase ‘convenienter naturae vivere’ Fin. iii 9, 31, etc., and from Seneca ‘virtus secundum naturam est; vitia inimica et infesta sunt’ Ep. 50, 8. Cf. also ‘we ought to go to be instructed, in order that we may maintain our minds in harmony with the things that happen’ Epict. Disc. i 12, 17.
[59] ‘[virtus] habebit illud in animo vetus praeceptum: deum sequere’ Sen. Dial. vii 15, 5.
[60] ‘ipsa virtus brevissime recta ratio dici potest’ Cic. Tusc. disp. iv 15, 34.
[61] ‘virtutis definitio est—habitus consentiens vitae’ Comm. in Lucan. ii 380 (Arnim iii 199).
[62] ‘perfecta virtus aequalitas [est] ac tenor vitae per omnia consonans sibi’ Sen. Ep. 31, 8.
[63] ‘ante omnia hoc cura, ut constes tibi’ ib. 35, 4.
[64] ‘virtus convenientia constat: omnia opera eius cum ipsa concordant et congruunt’ ib. 74, 30.
[65] ‘[stultitia] semper incipit vivere: quam foeda [est] hominum levitas cottidie nova vitae fundamenta ponentium, novas spes in exitu incohantium! quid est turpius quam senex vivere incipiens?’ ib. 13, 16 and 17.
[66] ‘Zeno is erat qui ... id appellaret honestum, quod esset simplex quoddam et solum et unum bonum’ Cic. Ac. i 10, 36. So Seneca: ‘quid est sapientia? semper idem velle atque idem nolle’ Sen. Ep. 20, 5.
[68] Whether by Zeno (Diog. L. vii 87), or by Cleanthes (Stob. ii 7, 6 a: Arnim i 552) is a matter of no importance.
[69] See above, § [108]. The emphasis on individual nature is sometimes still greater; ἡ ἀρετὴ τελειότης ἐστὶ τῆς ἑκάστου φύσεως Galen plac. Hipp. et Plat. v 5, p. 468 K (from Chrysippus).
[70] Diog. L. vii 87 and 88.
[71] Stob. ii 7, 6 a. See also above, § [258].
[72] Stob. ii 7, 6 a.
[74] Παναίτιος τὸ ζῆν κατὰ τὰς δεδομένας ἡμῖν ἐκ φύσεως ἀφορμὰς τέλος ἀπεφήνατο Clem. Al. Strom. ii 21, 129.
[75] ‘sic est faciendum, ut contra universam naturam nihil contendamus; ea tamen conservata, propriam naturam sequamur’ Off. i 31, 110.
[76] ‘vivere adhibentem scientiam earum rerum, quae natura evenirent’ Fin. iv 6, 14.
[77] ‘huc et illud accedit, ut perfecta virtus sit aequalitas ac tenor vitae per omnia consonans sibi, quod non potest esse nisi rerum scientia contingit et ars, per quam humana ac divina noscantur; hoc est summum bonum’ Sen. Ep. 31, 8.
[79] ‘non pareo deo, sed adsentior. ex animo illum, non quia necesse est, sequor’ Sen. Ep. 96, 2.
[80] ‘deo parere libertas est’ Dial. vii 15, 7.
[81] Epict. Disc. iv 1, 89 and 90.
[82] ib. ii 10, 5.
[83] ib. iii 7, 7.
[84] ‘Zenon ait: accedet ad rempublicam sapiens, nisi si quid impedierit’ Sen. Dial. viii 3, 2; πολιτεύσεσθαί φασι τὸν σοφόν, ὥς φησι Χρύσιππος Diog. L. vii 121.
[86] Cic. Off. i 4, 12.
[87] τὴν ἀρετὴν διάθεσιν εἶναί φασι ψυχῆς σύμφωνον αὑτῇ περὶ ὅλον τὸν βίον Stob. ii 7, 5 b 1.
[88] [ὁ Σωκράτης ἔφη] πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν σοφίαν εἶναι Xen. Mem. iii 9, 5; see also above, §§ [48], [52].
[89] διδακτήν τε εἶναι τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ Χρύσιππος καὶ Κλεάνθης καὶ Ποσειδώνιος Diog. L. vii 91.
[90] ‘They are thieves and robbers, you may say. What do you mean by thieves and robbers? They are mistaken about good and evil. Show them their errors, and you will see how they desist from their errors’ Epict. Disc. i 18, 3 and 4.
[91] See above, § [177], note 28.
[92] ‘If you would be a good reader, read; if a writer, write. Generally, if you would make anything a habit, do it; if you would not make it a habit, do not do it’ Epict. Disc. ii 18, 2 and 4; ‘nihil est quod non humana mens vincat, et in familiaritatem adducat adsidua meditatio’ Sen. Dial. iv 12, 3.
[93] ὧν κατορθοῦσιν [ἄνθρωποι], ἡ ὀρθὴ κρίσις ἐξηγεῖται μετὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν εὐτονίας Chrys. ap. Galen plac. H. et Plat. iv 6, p. 403 K (Arnim iii 473).
[94] ‘virtutem convenies ... pro muris stantem, pulverulentam, coloratam, callosas habentem manus’ Sen. Dial. vii 7, 3.
[95] ‘Saturnalia Athenis agitabamus hilare prorsum et modeste, non (ut dicitur) “remittentes animum,” nam “remittere” inquit Musonius “animum quasi amittere est”’ Gellius, N. A. xviii 2, 1.
[96] ‘iustum ac tenacem propositi virum | non civium ardor prava iubentium, | non vultus instantis tyranni | mente quatit solida’ Hor. C. iii 3, 1-4.
[97] ‘hanc stabilem animi sedem Graeci εὐθυμίαν vocant; ego tranquillitatem voco’ Sen. Dial. ix 2, 3.
[98] Cic. Tusc. disp. iv 10, 23.
[99] ‘ut enim corporis temperatio, cum ea congruunt inter se ex quibus constamus, sanitas, sic animi dicitur, cum eius iudicia opinionesque concordant, eaque animi est virtus’ ib. 13, 30.
[100] ‘roga bonam mentem, bonam valetudinem animi, deinde tunc corporis’ Sen. Ep. 10, 4; ‘orandum est, ut sit mens sana in corpore sano’ Juv. Sat. x 356.
[101] ‘beata est vita conveniens naturae suae, quae non aliter contingere potest, quam si primum sana mens est et in perpetua possessione sanitatis suae, deinde fortis et vehemens, tum pulcherrima ac patiens, apta temporibus, corporis sui pertinentiumque ad id curiosa non anxie’ Sen. Dial. vii 3, 3.
[102] ‘actio recta non erit, nisi fuerit recta voluntas’ Sen. Ep. 95, 57; ‘gratus potest esse homo voluntate’ Ben. ii 31, 1; ‘sic timere, sic maerere, sic in libidine esse peccatum est, etiam sine effectu’ Cic. Fin. iii 9, 32; ‘The being of the good is a certain kind of will (προαίρεσις); the being of the bad is a certain kind of will. What then are externals? Material for the will’ Epict. Disc. i 29, 1 and 2.
[104] Arnim i 250.
[105] Diog. L. vii 33.
[106] ‘placet Stoicis, suo quamque rem nomine appellare. sic enim disserunt, nihil esse obscenum, nihil turpe dictu’ Cic. Fam. ix 22, 1. See further below, § [344].
[107] ‘postea tuus ille Poenulus, causam non obtinens repugnante natura, verba versare coepit et primum rebus iis, quas non bonas dicimus, concessit ut haberentur † aestimabiles, et ad naturam accommodatae’ Fin. iv 20, 56; ‘the stricter Stoic theory of the good was modified by the admission of προηγμένα’ Zeller, Stoics, p. 290. The true note is struck by Rendall, Introd. p. xlv: ‘the course of Stoic ethics is, in fact, the progressive enlargement and clarification of the Cynic ideal of conduct, under the stress of that larger conception of “nature” which was inherent in Stoic monism. The full content and interpretation of the formula was only gradually realised. Its deeper implications unfolded themselves through life even more than through thought, and find their fullest exposition in the pages of the Roman Stoics.’
[108] Stob. ii 7, 5 a.
[109] ‘aestimatio, quae ἀξία dicitur’ Cic. Fin. iii 10, 34. Posidonius seems to have practically substituted ἀξίαν ἔχοντα for προηγμένα, but in strict usage the latter term is narrower, and includes only such things as have measurable worth.
[110] ‘inter illa, quae nihil valerent ad beate misereve vivendum, aliquid tamen quo differrent esse voluerunt, ut essent eorum alia aestimabilia, alia contra, alia neutrum’ ib. 15, 50; τῶν δὲ ἀξίαν ἐχόντων τὰ μὲν ἔχειν πολλὴν ἀξίαν, τὰ δὲ βραχεῖαν. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀπαξίαν ἐχόντων ἃ μὲν ἔχειν πολλὴν ἀπαξίαν, ἃ δὲ βραχεῖαν Stob. ii 7, 7 g; ‘quae essent sumenda ex iis alia pluris esse aestimanda, alia minoris’ Cic. Ac. i 10, 37.
[111] Stob. ii 7, 7.
[112] Arnim iii 122.
[113] Plut. Sto. rep. 23, 6.
[114] ‘cetera autem, etsi nec bona nec mala essent, tamen alia secundum naturam dicebat [Zeno], alia naturae esse contraria. his ipsis alia interiecta et media numerabat’ Cic. Ac. i 10, 36.
[115] τὸ προηγμένον συνεγγίζειν πως τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν φύσει Stob. ii 7, 7 g.
[116] ‘[hoc] Zeno προηγμένον nominavit, cum uteretur in lingua copiosa factis tamen nominibus ac novis. “ut enim,” inquit, “nemo dicit in regia regem ipsum quasi productum esse ad dignitatem (id enim est προηγμένον), sed eos qui in aliquo honore sint, quorum ordo proxime accedit, ut secundus sit, ad regium principatum”’ Cic. Fin. iii 15, 51.
[117] ‘quae pluris, ea praeposita appellabat; reiecta autem, quae minoris’ Ac. i 10, 37; ‘quae appellemus vel promota et remota, vel, ut dudum diximus, praeposita vel praecipua, et illa reiecta’ Fin. iii 16, 52.
[118] ‘quis porro sapientum, nostrorum dico, quibus unum est bonum virtus, negat etiam haec, quae indifferentia vocamus, habere in se aliquid pretii et alia aliis esse potiora? quibusdam ex iis tribuitur aliquid honoris, quibusdam multum’ Sen. Dial. vii 22, 4.
[119] ‘itaque commoda vocentur, et ut nostra lingua loquar, producta’ Ep. 74, 17.
[121] ‘bonum appello quidquid secundum naturam est; quod contra, malum; nec ego solus, sed tu etiam, Chrysippe, in foro, domi; in schola desinis’ Cic. Fin. v 29, 89; cf. Arnim iii 137.
[122] ‘sunt animi bona, sunt corporis, sunt fortunae; illa animi bona a stulto ac malo submoventur’ Sen. Ben. v 13, 1.
[123] ‘deinceps explicatur differentia rerum; quam si non ullam esse diceremus, et confunderetur omnis vita, ut ab Aristone; neque ullum sapientiae munus aut opus inveniretur; cum inter res eas quae ad vitam degendam pertinerent, nihil omnino interesset, neque ullum delectum haberi oporteret’ Cic. Fin. iii 15, 50.
[124] ‘virtutis hoc proprium [est], earum rerum quae secundum naturam sint, habere delectum’ ib. 4, 12.
[125] ‘relinquitur ut summum bonum sit vivere scientiam adhibentem earum rerum quae natura eveniant, selegentem quae secundum naturam, et si quae contra naturam sunt, reicientem; id est, convenienter congruenterque naturae vivere’ ib. 9, 31 (after Posidonius).
[126] ‘ut si hoc fingamus esse quasi finem et ultimum, ita iacere talum, ut rectus assistat; qui ita talis erit iactus, ut cadat rectus, praepositum quiddam habebit ad finem; qui aliter, contra. neque tamen illa praepositio ad eum quem dixi finem pertinebit: sic ea, quae sunt praeposita, referuntur illa quidem ad finem, sed ad eius vim naturamque nihil pertinent’ ib. 16, 54; compare also 6, 22; ‘non est turpe non consequi, dummodo sequaris’ Sen. Ben. v 5, 3.
[127] αὐτάρκη τε εἶναι αὐτὴν [τὴν ἀρετὴν] πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν Diog. L. vii 127; ‘a Zenone hoc magnifice tanquam ex oraculo editur: virtus ad bene vivendum se ipsa contenta est’ Cic. Fin. v 27, 79; cf. Pearson, Fragments, p. 19.
[128] ‘testatur saepe Chrysippus tres solas esse sententias, quae defendi possint, de finibus bonorum; aut enim honestatem esse finem aut voluptatem aut utrumque’ Cic. Ac. ii 45, 138.
[129] ‘crescere bonorum finem non putamus’ Cic. Fin. iii 14, 48; ‘honestum nullam accessionem recipit’ Sen. Ep. 66, 9; ‘summum bonum nec infringitur nec augetur; in suo modo permanet, utcunque se fortuna gessit. utrum maiorem an minorem circulum scribas, ad spatium eius pertinet, non ad formam’ ib. 74, 26 and 27.
[132] ‘cum [Panaetius] sit is, qui id solum bonum iudicet, quod honestum sit’ Cic. Off. iii 3, 12; ‘solebat narrare Pompeius se, cum Rhodum venisset decedens ex Syria, audire voluisse Posidonium; sed cum audivisset eum graviter esse aegrum, quod vehementer eius artus laborarent, voluisse tamen nobilissimum philosophum visere ... itaque eum graviter et copiose de hoc ipso, nihil esse bonum, nisi quod honestum esset, cubantem disputavisse: cumque quasi faces ei doloris admoverentur, saepe dixisse: “nihil agis, dolor: quamvis sis molestus, nunquam te esse confitebor malum”’ Tusc. disp. ii 25, 61; cf. Sen. Ep. 87, 35.
[134] Diog. L. vii 128.
[135] ‘sapientem nulla re egere, et tamen multis ei rebus opus esse’ Sen. Ep. 9, 14.
[136] ‘[virtus] ipsa pretium sui’ Dial. vii 9, 4; ‘recte factorum verus fructus [est] fecisse’ Clem. i 1, 1; ‘virtutum omnium pretium in ipsis est’ Ep. 81, 20.
[137] ‘sapienti non nocetur a paupertate, non a dolore, non ab aliis tempestatibus vitae; ipse semper in actu est; in effectu tunc maximus, cum illi fortuna se obposuit’ ib. 85, 37.
[138] ‘virtutem nemo unquam deo acceptam rettulit ... iudicium hoc omnium mortalium est, fortunam a deo petendam, a se ipso sumendam esse sapientiam’ Cic. N. D. iii 36, 86 and 88; ‘aequum mi animum ipse parabo’ Hor. Ep. i 18, 112; ‘monstro, quod ipse tibi possis dare’ Juv. Sat. x 363.
[139] See note 129.
[140] ‘Do you seek a reward for a good man greater than doing what is good and just? Does it seem to you so small and worthless a thing to be good and happy?’ Epict. Disc. iii 24, 51 and 52.
[141] ‘What does not make the man himself worse, does not make his life worse either, nor injure him, without or within’ To himself iv 8.
[142] ‘nec summum bonum habebit sinceritatem suam, si aliquid in se viderit dissimile meliori’ Sen. Dial. vii 15, 1; ‘No man is able to make progress when he is wavering between opposite things; but if you have preferred this (one thing) to all things, if you choose to attend to this only, to work out this only, give up everything else’ Epict. Disc. iv 2, 4.
[143] Chrysippus wrote a book περὶ τοῦ ποιὰς εἶναι τὰς ἀρετάς; see Arnim iii 256.
[144] See below, §§ [335-350].
[145] Diog. L. vii 92.
[146] τὰς ἀρετὰς λέγουσιν ἀντακολουθεῖν ἀλλήλαις, καὶ τὸν μίαν ἔχοντα πάσας ἔχειν Diog. L. vii 125; ‘quicquid honeste fit, una virtus facit, sed ex consilii sententia’ Sen. Ep. 67, 10; ‘virtutibus inter se concordia [est]’ Clem. i 5, 3.
[147] ‘videmus esse quiddam, quod recte factum appellemus; id autem est perfectum officium’ Cic. Fin. iii 18, 59; ‘rectum, quod κατόρθωμα dicebas’ ib. iv 6, 15.
[148] ‘quamquam negant nec virtutes nec vitia crescere; attamen utrumque eorum fundi quodammodo et quasi dilatari putant’ ib. iii 15, 48.
[149] See above, § [153], note 66.
[150] ‘scit [sapiens] neminem nasci sapientem sed fieri’ Sen. Dial. iv 10, 6.
[151] ‘non dat natura virtutem; ars est bonum fieri’ Ep. 90, 44.
[152] Zeno probably took over the term προκοπή from the Peripatetics, see Diog. L. vii 127; its implications he adapted to Stoic principles. See Plut. prof. virt. 12.
[153] ‘hoc autem ipsum bonum non accessione neque crescendo aut cum ceteris comparando, sed propria vi sua et sentimus et appellamus bonum’ Cic. Fin. iii 10, 34.
[154] Stob. ii 7, 11 g; Diog. L. vii 127.
[155] τὴν ἀρετὴν Χρύσιππος ἀποβλητήν ... διὰ μέθην καὶ μελαγχολίαν ib.
[157] ‘semel traditi nobis boni perpetua possessio est; non dediscitur virtus. contraria enim mala in alieno haerent, ideo depelli et exturbari possunt’ Sen. Ep. 50, 8. Just in the same spirit we say that a new language or (say) the art of swimming, if once learnt, is learnt ‘for good.’
[158] ‘aliquis vir bonus nobis eligendus est, ac semper ante oculos habendus, ut sic tanquam illo spectante vivamus, et omnia tanquam illo vidente faciamus’ Sen. Ep. 11, 8, quoting however from Epicurus.
[159] ‘Heracles was the model whom [Antisthenes] and the other Cynics held up for imitation, the patron saint, so to speak, of the school. Antisthenes wrote a dialogue entitled “Heracles” and, with this for guidance, his followers delighted to tell again the story of the hero’s laborious and militant life, identifying, by ingenious allegories, the foul monsters which he vanquished with the vices and lusts that beset the souls of men’ Gomperz, Greek Thinkers, ii p. 151; ‘the more generous Cynics aver that the great Heracles also, as he became the author of other blessings, so also left to mankind the chief pattern of this (Cynic) life’ Julian, Or. vi p. 187, 3 (Mayor on Juv. Sat. x 361). So also in Buddhism: ‘besides the ideal King, the personification of Power and Justice, another ideal has played an important part in the formation of early Buddhist ideas regarding their master. It was the ideal of a perfectly Wise Man, the personification of Wisdom, the Buddha’ Rhys Davids, Hibbert Lectures, p. 141.
[160] ‘Herculem illum, quem hominum fama, beneficiorum memor, in concilio caelestium collocavit’ Cic. Off. iii 5, 25.
[161] ‘Hercules nihil sibi vicit: orbem terrarum transiit non concupiscendo sed vindicando, quid vinceret; malorum hostis, bonorum vindex, terrarum marisque pacator’ Sen. Ben. i 13, 3. See also the brilliant descriptions in Epict. Disc. iii 24.
[162] ‘Ulixen et Herculem ... Stoici nostri sapientes pronuntiaverunt, invictos laboribus, contemptores voluptatis et victores omnium terrarum’ Sen. Dial. ii 2, 1. Yet there is something to be said on the other side: ‘Ulysses felt a desire for his wife, and wept as he sat on a rock.... If Ulysses did weep and lament, he was not a good man’ Epict. Disc. iii 24, 18.
[163] So Horace, quite in the Stoic spirit: ‘rursus quid virtus et quid patientia possit, | utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulixen’ Hor. Ep. i 2, 17 and 18.
[164] Diog. L. vi 1, 2.
[165] ‘By acting thus Heraclitus and those like him were deservedly divine, and were so called’ Epict. Manual 15.
[166] ‘praeclara est aequabilitas in omni vita, et idem semper vultus eademque frons, ut de Socrate accepimus’ Cic. Off. i 26, 90; ‘Socrates ... violated nothing which was becoming to a good man, neither in making his defence nor by fixing a penalty on himself; nor even in the former part of his life when he was a senator or when he was a soldier’ Epict. Disc. iii 24, 61.
[168] ‘si quis de felicitate Diogenis dubitat, potest idem dubitare et de deorum immortalium statu’ Sen. Dial. ix 8, 5; ‘By acting thus Diogenes ... was deservedly divine, and was so called’ Epict. Manual 15.
[169] See above, § [306], note 25.
[170] δεύτερος Ἡρακλῆς ὁ Κλεάνθης ἐκαλεῖτο Diog. L. vii 170; ‘Learn how those live who are genuine philosophers: how Socrates lived, who had a wife and children; how Diogenes lived, and how Cleanthes, who attended to the school and drew water’ Epict. Disc. iii 26, 23.
[171] ‘aut Cato ille sit aut Scipio aut Laelius’ Sen. Ep. 25, 6; ‘elige remissioris animi virum Laelium’ ib. 11, 10.
[172] ‘nam cum esset ille vir [P. Rutilius Rufus] exemplum, ut scitis, innocentiae, cumque illo nemo neque integrior esset in civitate neque sanctior, non modo supplex iudicibus esse noluit, sed ne ornatius quidem aut liberius causam dici suam, quam simplex ratio veritatis ferebat’ Cic. de Or. i 53, 229; cf. Sen. Dial. i 3, 4 and 7; and see further, § [430].
[173] ‘Catonem certius exemplar sapientis viri nobis deos immortales dedisse quam Ulixen et Herculem prioribus saeculis’ Sen. Dial. ii 2, 1.
[174] ‘ego te [Cato] verissime dixerim peccare nihil’ Cic. Mur. 29, 60.
[175] ‘Catonis nobile letum’ Hor. C. i 12, 35 and 36; and see below, § [430].
[176] ‘nobis quoque militandum est’ Sen. Ep. 51, 6; ‘This is the true athlete. Great is the combat, divine is the work’ Epict. Disc. ii 18, 28. See also below, § [402].
[177] Euseb. pr. ev. vi 8, 13; Alex. Aph. de fato 28, p. 199, 16 B.
[178] Plut. Sto. rep. 31, 5.
[179] ‘qui sapiens sit aut fuerit, ne ipsi quidem solent dicere’ Cic. Ac. ii 47, 145. Thus Panaetius made no reference to the wise man; whilst Posidonius only defended his possible existence in the future (Schmekel, pp. 213, 278).
[180] Sext. math. ix 133.
[182] Even if Cicero is not the creator of the conception of an ‘ideal character,’ nowhere else can we find its meaning so clearly expressed. So of the wise man; ‘iste vir altus et excellens, magno animo, vere fortis, infra se omnia humana ducens, is, inquam, quem efficere volumus, quem quaerimus certe, et confidere sibi debet, et suae vitae et actae et consequenti, et bene de se iudicare’ Fin. iii 8, 29.
[183] ‘non est quod dicas hunc sapientem nostrum nusquam inveniri’ Sen. Dial. ii 7, 1.
[184] ‘ille alter [sapiens primae notae] fortasse tanquam phoenix semel anno quingentesimo nascitur’ Ep. 42, 1, cf. Alex. Aphr. p. 34, n. 2; ‘scit [sapiens] paucissimos omni aevo sapientes evadere’ Sen. Dial. iv 10, 6.
[186] ‘Socrates in this way became perfect, in all things improving himself, attending to nothing except to reason. But you, though you are not yet a Socrates, ought to live as one who wishes to be a Socrates’ Epict. Manual 50. Epictetus did not however ignore failures: ‘we [Stoics] say one thing, but we do another; we talk of the things which are beautiful, but we do what is base’ Disc. iii 7, 18.
[189] This is again a Socratic paradox: βασιλεῖς δὲ καὶ ἄρχοντας οὐ τοὺς τὰ σκῆπτρα ἔχοντας ἔφη εἶναι ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐπισταμένους ἄρχειν Xen. Mem. iii 9, 10.
[190] Cic. Fin. iii 22, 75 and 76.
[191] ‘eorum, qui dolorem in malis non habent, ratio certe cogit, uti in omnibus tormentis conservetur beata vita sapienti’ ib. iii 13, 42; Arnim iii 585, 586; ‘shew me a man who is sick and happy, in danger and happy, in exile and happy, in disgrace and happy. Shew him; I desire, by the gods, to see a Stoic’ Epict. Disc. ii 19, 24.
[192] See below, §§ [431], [439].
[193] ‘bonus tempore tantum a deo differt’ Sen. Dial. i 1, 5; ‘sapiens excepta mortalitate similis deo’ ib. ii 8, 2; and see above, § [274].
CHAPTER XIII.
DAILY DUTIES.
From principles to practice.
330. As in our study of the Stoic philosophy we turn aside from the supreme problems of the universe, such as gather round the questions of the divine purpose, the existence of evil, and unfettered choice, our way becomes easier. Our new problems, dealing with the constitution of the human soul, and the ideals of human life in the state and in the individual, are perhaps not simpler in themselves, but they are of narrower range, and in finding our way over the first rough ground we learn to tread with some assurance, so that we now feel ourselves, as it were, on a downward path. For all that, the problems of the universal law and the perfect man must still be compared to mountain tops, if not to the highest peaks of all. But from this point on we steadily descend towards the plains, to that common and practical life by which the worth of philosophy is tested. We no longer gaze on the same bright sunlight or breathe the same invigorating air; philosophy enters a region of mists and shadows, and even learns to adapt her language to new neighbours. But her meaning is the same as before, and the pathway to the heights is not closed behind her.
The daily round.
331. The region we have now reached is that of ‘daily duties,’ by which phrase we propose to translate here the Greek καθήκοντα and the Latin officia[1]. This word is defined by Zeno as meaning ‘that which it comes in one’s way to do[2],’ and its quiet sound at once brings it into contrast with the proud claims of Virtue. The contrast is in fact great. Virtue, displaying itself in Right Action, is only possible for reasoning beings, that is, for gods and men; and within our view it is only attained, if at all, by the wise man. But daily duty is common to the wise and the unwise[3]; it not only extends to children, but also to the unreasoning animals[4] and to plants[5]. Virtue always contemplates the Universal law; for daily duty it is sufficient to follow the individual nature[6]. Virtue cannot even be understood except by the trained philosopher, whilst the principles of daily duty may be explained to the simple. To use a comparison from mathematics, daily duty is the projection of virtue upon the plane of ordinary life. Between the two there always remains an assured correspondence. Each Right Action which Virtue achieves is at the same time the performance of a daily duty, and that in the most complete manner[7]; each daily duty performed by the unwise is a step by which he may in the end climb to Wisdom[8].
First laws of nature.
332. The subject of ‘daily duties’ was treated both by Zeno[9] and by Cleanthes[10], and is implied in the theory of Stoic ethics as a whole; it has also a special relation to the doctrine of advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless the Stoics do not directly say that daily duty consists in the seeking of advantages, but that it is based upon primary ends which nature sets up (πρῶτα κατὰ φύσιν, principia naturae)[11]. This phrase indicates the source of this part of the Stoic philosophy; it marks teaching common to the Peripatetic school and the Academy, and accepted by Zeno from his teacher Polemo[12]. We are not informed how Zeno and Cleanthes elaborated this subject; and when we find it taken up in earnest, the spirit of the Academy is firmly established. Thus the Stoic demand for certain knowledge is here set aside; and we are told that the standard of daily duty is ‘that which when done can reasonably be defended[13]’; which definition closely corresponds with the definition of the supreme good by Diogenes of Babylon ‘to take a reasonable course in the choice of things according to nature[14].’ Thus strong will and assured conviction are no longer required; the door is thrown open for convention, opportunism, and respectability. The daring moral theories and bold paradoxes of the founders of Stoicism tend to disappear from sight, and are replaced by shrewd good sense and worldly wisdom: in short, by the doctrine of ‘making the best of both worlds.’ The subject was therefore congenial to Panaetius, who was both a practical statesman and an admirer of Plato and Aristotle; and it was from this standpoint that Stoicism so rapidly won its way with the Roman nobility of the last century of the republic. Panaetius’ book περὶ καθηκόντων was the basis of Cicero’s work de Officiis, which is the only systematic treatise which we possess on Stoic ethics, and therefore generally the most convenient source of information. As however this work leans very strongly towards Peripatetic views, it will frequently be necessary to refer to other authorities, amongst which Cicero’s de Finibus best represents the older Stoics, and Seneca and Epictetus the Stoics of the Roman principate.
From the animals to man.
333. It is no departure from the fundamental principles of Stoicism when we learn that the ‘first lessons of nature’ are those which are imprinted upon every animal at its birth[15]; Zeno himself had sought for the natural law of marriage by a like method[16]. The first natural lesson is that each animal seeks, not indeed pleasure as the Epicureans hold, but its own preservation and the maintenance of its life in its completeness[17]. At a later stage is imparted the desire of sexual union for procreation’s sake, and with it some kind of affection for each one’s offspring[18]. But nature’s best lessons are reserved for man; as to look into the future, and regard life as a whole[19]; to interest himself in his fellows, to attend public festivities, and to procure the amenities of a civilized life for himself and those dependent upon him[20]; in spare hours, to acquire information on points of historical or philosophical interest[21]; in riper life to claim freedom, and to refuse to submit to any arbitrary commands[22]; and finally, to perceive in all things harmony and beauty, and to avoid any disturbance of it by wilful action[23]. ‘Such,’ says Cicero, ‘is the picture of a beautiful life; and could we see it with our eyes (as Plato says), great would be our desire to possess Wisdom for a bride[24].’
Wavering as to the standard.
334. In this general sketch we miss a clear ethical standard. The first lessons of nature may easily be perverted, so far as they are common to men and animals, for they point towards the acts of eating, drinking, and sexual union, all of which are associated by the ordinary man with pleasure in a vicious sense. Hence arises a danger (from which many Stoics do not keep clear), that we may fall into the terrible error of the Epicureans, and hold that pleasure itself is a first law of nature[25]. It is therefore necessary to lay it down that man should aim specially at those results which are characteristic of human nature, that is at the development of powers which he does not share with the lower animals. So far the Academy and the Porch might travel together. But the only, higher capacities recognised by the Stoics are reason and the political sense, which is an aspect of the universal reason; such matters as antiquarian interests and the appreciation of beauty could only be introduced under Academic influence. The last, however, as we shall see, is to become with Panaetius the predominant consideration[26].
The four virtues.
335. From the enunciation of general principles we pass on to the separate virtues. Virtue in the strict sense can only be possessed by the wise man; he therefore alone can practise the virtues; nevertheless we may use this and like terms in a secondary sense to describe those adumbrations or reflections of virtue which fall within the reach of the ordinary man[27]. The classification of the virtues varies. Panaetius divided virtue into two parts, theoretical and practical, and Seneca follows him on this point[28]. It was perhaps Chrysippus who distinguished between virtues that are ‘arts’ (τέχναι) and which are based on theoretical principles, and those which are ‘acquirements’ (δυνάμεις), being attained by practice[29]. But generally speaking the division of Virtue into the four cardinal virtues of Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Soberness is accepted as sufficient; by subdivision the number of virtues may be increased to any extent; and in scholastic classifications of virtue we find lists which have multiplicity for their direct aim[30].
Wisdom.
336. Wisdom (φρόνησις, prudentia) is considered by Zeno not only as the first of the virtues, but as the foundation of all; so that Courage is wisdom in suffering, Justice is wisdom in distribution, and Soberness is wisdom in enjoyment[31]. His successors treated Science (ἐπιστήμη, scientia) as the parent virtue[32], thus placing Wisdom side by side with the other cardinal virtues, yet losing the point of Zeno’s genealogy. The writers of the later periods desired to recognise separately contemplative wisdom, and therefore introduced as a subdivision of the first cardinal virtue ‘Speculation’ (σοφία, sapientia)[33]. But the Stoics generally held that all wisdom must justify itself by practical results. The study of the so-called ‘liberal arts’ has a value for children, for it prepares the way for virtuous training[34]. Logic is needed to protect us against fallacious reasoning[35], and physics that we may rightly understand the universe and its providential government, upon which the conception of duty depends[36]; in this sense we may speak of logic and physics as virtues, that is, as subdivisions of the virtue of wisdom[37]. The study of physics is also admirable because it elevates the soul[38]. Geometry, law, and astrology are useful in the several professions[39]. But study when carried to excess, as by antiquarians, bookworms, and other learned time-wasters, is nothing but folly[40].
Justice.
337. The second cardinal virtue is Justice (δικαιοσύνη, iustitia), of which Chrysippus drew a striking allegorical picture. ‘She is of virgin form, to show that she is incorruptible and does not give way to bad men; ... of firm and fierce aspect, ... inspiring fear in the wicked, confidence in the good; her eyes are keen-sighted, her bearing is at once sad and awe-inspiring[41].’ Cicero distinguishes Justice in the narrower sense from ‘Beneficence.’ Justice proper is a political virtue, and consists in respect for the rights and property of individuals. By nature indeed all things are common; but since they have become private property by occupation, conquest, law, contract, and so forth, individuals may keep their own, provided they do not forget that they have always the duty of contributing to the common good[42], and that even slaves have reasonable claims upon them[43]. Beneficence needs the guidance of principle, and must be determined by considerations of person and occasion. The claims of persons upon us depend on propinquity; country, parents, wife and children must be first considered, then other relatives, then fellow-citizens, lastly men in general[44]. The consideration of the degrees of propinquity (σχέσεις) was a favourite subject with Epictetus, and a useful defence against those who maintained that the Stoic sage was lacking in natural affection[45]. The virtue of Justice appealed specially to the statesman in both its applications, and is dealt with fully by Panaetius, and by Cicero after him.
Courage.
338. The third cardinal virtue is Courage (ἀνδρεία, fortitudo), which retains the tradition of the ‘strength and force’ of Socrates. This again, according to Cicero, has two parts, one passive, which consists in despising fortune and its buffets, and is in harmony with the picture of the wise man as usually drawn; the other part, which we may call Greatness of Soul (μεγαλοψυχία, magnitudo animi) is shown in the undertaking of great enterprises. The virtue of Courage is characteristically Stoic, and may be considered, like its counterpart Wisdom, as the foundation and source of all the virtues; the knowledge of good and evil can only be attained by the soul that is duly strung to vigorous resolution[46]. The Stoics of the principate perhaps insist most of all on this virtue, which alone makes men independent of all that it lies with Fortune to give and to take away. The man of courage will therefore detach himself from fortune’s gifts; he will treat them as household furniture lent to him which may be at any moment recalled[47].
Death not to be feared.
339. Courage appears in its highest development in the face of tyranny and death. It is the tyrant’s boast that he has men in his power: but the brave man is an exception. His rank and his property may be taken away; he may be subjected to the torture; his life may be forfeited; but the soul, that is the man himself, is beyond the tyrant’s reach[48]. To pain he answers ‘if I can bear it, it will be light; if I cannot bear it, it cannot be long[49].’ Amidst all the extremities of fire and rack men have been found who never groaned, never begged for mercy, never answered a question, and indeed laughed heartily[50]. Of death the Stoic has no fear; not only is it no evil, but it is to be welcomed as part of the course of nature[51]; it is the best of friends, for it offers a release from all troubles, and in particular from the oppression of the tyrant[52]. We do not indeed deny that normally life is an advantage, that nature’s first lesson is self-preservation, and that death in itself is a thing terrible to contemplate[53]; but life is not the more desirable for its length[54]; and when old age begins to shatter the powers of the mind, and to degrade the man to the life of a vegetable, nature is calling him to quit his mortal body[55]. At no period is life worth purchasing at the cost of the loss of honour, without which it loses its savour[56]. The philosopher therefore will not merely see with calm confidence the approach of death; he will go forward to meet it of his own free will, if only he is assured that reasonable choice points that way.
Reasonable departure.
340. The doctrine of ‘reasonable departure’ (εὔλογος ἐξαγωγή, rationalis e vita excessus) plays a prominent part in the Stoic ethics. It cannot rightly be described as the recommendation of suicide; for the Stoics do not permit a man to pass sentence of death upon himself, but only to cooperate in carrying out the decree of a higher power. The doctrine is intended in the first instance to justify death gloriously met in fighting for one’s country or one’s friends; next when intolerable pain or incurable disease plainly indicates the will of the deity[57]; in the development of Roman history a third reason was found in the loss of political freedom[58]. These reasons are not added to, but only systematized, when we are told that it is an ‘ordinary duty’ to quit life when a man’s natural advantages (τὰ κατὰ φύσιν) are outweighed by the corresponding disadvantages[59]; for amongst ‘natural advantages’ are included in this connexion all those considerations of which an honourable man will rightly take account; and the calculation may equally lead him to the conclusion that, in spite of old age and suffering, and though he has never attained to true wisdom, his simple duty is to wait quietly in life[60].
Its dangers.
341. The practice of ‘reasonable departure’ was largely recommended to the Stoics by the examples of Socrates (whose death they regarded as voluntary[61]) and of Cato[62]; and it was at first no small matter of pride to them to find that these examples found imitators, and that their system thus showed its power over the greatest of the terrors that beset humanity. But under the Roman principate ‘free departure’ soon became so common that it was a reproach rather than a glory to its advocates, a social disease pointing to morbidity of soul rather than to healthy resolution[63]. Hence the philosophers turned from recommendation to reproof. ‘A brave and wise man must not flee from life, but quit it,’ says Seneca[64]; ‘nothing is more disgraceful than to long for death’[65]. ‘Friends,’ says Epictetus, ‘wait for God; when he shall give you the signal, then go to him[66].’
Courage is active.
342. The ‘free departure’ is the most striking illustration of passive courage, but even before it was abused Cicero at least had perceived the attraction which this attitude of soul possesses, and its opposition to the spirit of active enterprise which he calls Greatness of Soul, and which he advocates perhaps more on Academic than on Stoic lines. Still the Stoics had already defined Courage as ‘virtue fighting in the front rank in defence of justice[67].’ A good man must indeed regard power and wealth as things indifferent; but he is to be blamed if he makes this an excuse for avoiding public life, and leaving to others magistracies at home or commands in the wars[68]. In the old world the love of glory and praise on the one hand, angry feeling against enemies on the other, has led men to seek these positions; but now they should seek them at home that they may have a wide field for the exercise of their virtues[69], and in the wars in order that all war may be brought to an end[70]. By the older Stoics this Greatheartedness was advocated by precept and example: Zeno had said that the wise man should take part in public life[71], and his hearers Persaeus and Philonides had taken service under Antigonus Gonatas[72], and Sphaerus with Cleomenes III, king of Sparta[73]. We shall see later how large was the part played in Roman political life by men who were Stoics or inclined to Stoicism, in an age in which there was a strong current of fashion in favour of a quiet life. We must therefore recognise in Courage, fully as much as in Wisdom or Justice, a political as well as a private virtue.
Soberness.
343. The fourth cardinal virtue is Soberness (σωφροσύνη, temperantia). Of this there are various definitions, and amongst them that it is the principle which regulates our natural appetites so that they are neither in excess nor in defect[74]. From Cicero’s point of view Soberness embraces all the virtues, for it is in the due regulation of the impulses that virtue consists. The standard to be attained is a healthy state of the soul; and this is to be judged, upon the analogy of the body, by the canon of that which is beautiful, symmetrical, and becoming (πρέπον, decorum)[75]. ‘Just as bodily beauty is symmetry established between the limbs mutually, and also between each and the whole body, so beauty of the soul is symmetry between the reasoning power and its parts, and mutually between each of those parts[76].’ Although this is in principle a doctrine accepted by the whole Stoic school, yet in its application we may easily find an entirely new departure, that is, if the appeal is made to an artistic standard which depends upon the taste of the individual. The door is then thrown open to an abandonment of the Cynico-Stoic theory of life according to reason, and to the acceptance of the standard of good feeling, which may easily be so stretched as to include existing prejudices and conventions. This danger is realized in Cicero’s treatment of the virtue of ‘decorum,’ which in its distinctive sense is defined as having the element of ‘gentlemanliness’ in itself[77]. It begins with respect for the feelings and opinions of others[78]; it avoids all rough games and obscene jests[79]; it makes choice of a profession adapted to the natural character of the individual[80]; it observes, as the actor does, the proprieties of youth and age, rich and poor, citizen and foreigner[81]; it prescribes dignity as fitting for men, gracefulness for women[82]. In particular decorum is displayed in modesty (verecundia). This is shown by keeping out of sight those parts of the body which nature, though she could not dispense with them, has concealed and covered; in attending to their functions with the utmost secrecy; and in referring both to these parts of the body and to their uses by words that do not properly describe them[83].
Cynism or ‘decorum’?
344. Cicero’s treatment of ‘decorum’ is so full of good sense that his de Officiis was the most widely-known textbook of Greco-Roman ethics in medieval schools, and has retained its importance in the classical public schools of the present day. But its logical justification on Stoic principles is far from easy. We are therefore not surprised to find that, just as Zeno and the main body of his followers had proclaimed in advance that such doctrine was false in principle and ridiculous in detail, so conversely the followers of Panaetius found it necessary expressly to repudiate the teaching of a large number of Stoics[84]. We have in fact here a sharp conflict between the cultured and Platonizing Stoics on the one side, and the general feeling of the school on the other. Cicero elsewhere treats it as an accepted Stoic doctrine that ‘the wise man will blurt things straight out[85]’; and the theory of ‘gentlemanly professions’ can never have appealed to any large social circle. In the period of the principate we find the theory of ‘decorum,’ as a whole, abandoned. Seneca, personally as sensitive as Cicero himself, recognises the absurdity of wasting time in hinting at a plain meaning[86], nor does he limit his choice of illustration even when addressing a lady of high social position[87]. We must look then in some other direction than the de Officiis for a duly proportioned exposition of the Stoic virtue of Soberness.
The appetites.
345. Reverting to the definitions of this virtue, we find, amongst those that are generally accepted, first, that it is ‘the science of things that are to be sought or avoided or neither[88]’; secondly, that it is ‘concerned with the human appetites[89].’ Now the term ‘appetite’ or ‘impulse’ (ὁρμή, appetitus) includes in the Stoic philosophy all those first movements of the soul which draw us on towards some object, and which are adumbrations of right conduct requiring revision and control by reason. But it seems clear that Soberness has little to do with those higher impulses that are characteristic of man, such as the love of knowledge or of society, since other virtues are concerned with these. It remains that Soberness is the virtue which is concerned with the appetites common to men and the lower animals, which we may shortly call the ‘lower appetites’; they are, as we have already stated, the desires of eating, drinking, and sexual union. It is just in this sphere that Pleasure arises, in the sense in which it is condemned by the Cynics and popular moralists[90]. We may therefore shortly define Soberness as a right disposition of soul in relation to Pleasure. Its peculiar characteristic is that it is in the main a negative virtue, displaying itself in abstinence from indulgence[91].
Two views of Pleasure.
346. In order then rightly to understand the virtue of Soberness, we need a clear idea of the attitude of the Stoics towards Pleasure. Zeno, as we have seen, whilst definitely placing Pleasure in the category of things indifferent, had nevertheless allowed it to be understood that it might be an advantage (προηγμένον), and the seeking after it natural (κατὰ φύσιν)[92]; and this is stated to have been the express teaching of Hecato, Apollodorus, and Chrysippus[93]. To other Stoics this appeared to be a disastrous concession to Epicurean views. Cleanthes, who had scornfully described the ideal of Epicurus by the picture of Pleasure enthroned as queen, with the Virtues submissively attending as her handmaidens[94], interpreted the word ‘indifferent’ more strictly; he refused to admit that pleasure was ‘natural’ or possessed any worth[95]. In this view he was supported by a great many Stoics, and practically by Archedemus, when he said that pleasure was natural but valueless, like the hairs under the armpit[96]. Hence followed the acceptable conclusion that no sensible man would pay much attention to so trivial a matter[97]. Thus the one word ‘indifferent’ came to include two views which were substantially opposed, the one inclining to the Academic standpoint, and the other to Cynism.
Pleasure an aftergrowth, or an evil.
347. From this contradiction an escape was sought by making a distinction. In one sense pleasure is an affection of the body, namely a tickling (titillatio) of organs of sense, most readily illustrated in the eating of dainties. This kind of pleasure, even if it is not an advantage naturally sought, yet has some likeness to one; though it is not directly to be aimed at, yet it may be welcomed when nature grants it to us as an extra[98]. This new view practically coincides with that of Aristotle, who calls pleasure an ‘aftergrowth’ (ἐπιγέννημα, accessio), which of itself follows on virtuous action, and is attached to it as the scent to a flower[99]. But much more commonly, in ethical discussions, ‘pleasure’ denotes the excitement which is more strictly termed ‘hilarity’ (ἔπαρσις, sublatio animi), and is the unhealthy condition of the soul when it is unduly attracted to an object of choice[100]. For this mischief Cicero suggests the Latin term laetitia, which is perhaps not altogether adequate[101]. This ‘pleasure’ may be unreservedly condemned as not merely indifferent, but actually contrary to nature[102]; whilst the virtuous and natural disposition is that of the man who not only contemplates toil and pain with calm mind, but actually welcomes them as possible stepping-stones towards his own true advantage[103].
Active soberness.
348. Although the prevailing tendency in Stoic teaching is to consider Soberness as a negative virtue, and as opposed to the perturbation of Hilarity, there is not wanting some recognition of its positive side. For Soberness also demands that there shall be a healthy activity of the soul in matters such as eating, drinking, and the relations of sex; abstinence is not in itself an end, and if pursued out of season is both a folly and a fault. But this point of view is not adequately treated by any Stoic writer. Panaetius in discussing daily duties omitted to consider the proper care of the body, as was afterwards noticed by Antipater of Tyre; and Cicero gets little further than a general recommendation of common sense and self-restraint in all the circumstances of life[104]. The Romans of the principate were disposed to leave the matter to the physician, suggesting only that food should suffice to allay hunger, drink to put an end to thirst, and clothing to keep away cold[105]; but it is probable that popular moral discourses stopped short of this, and favoured some amount of endurance as a discipline for the soul[106].
Sober love.
349. With regard to the relations of sex, the Socratic tradition was favourable to a more positive treatment. Accordingly the Stoics (not without some feeling that they are adopting a paradoxical position) assert that love (ἔρως, amor) is an essential, both for the maintenance of the State[107] and for the character of the good man. Zeno had laid it down that ‘the wise man will love[108].’ We must, however, make a sharp distinction between love as the desire of sexual union, and the higher Love (ἐρωτικὴ ἀρετή) which is defined anew as ‘an effort to make friends suggested by a beautiful object[109].’ Upon this impulse, which is natural in the widest sense, is based friendship in the young, and the more lasting tie between husband and wife. By imposing self-restraint on the man, and inviting the woman to share the lessons of philosophy, the Stoics introduced a new relation between husband and wife based upon equality and comradeship[110]. A notable precedent was furnished by the Cynic community, when the witty and learned Hipparchia joined Crates in the life of the beggar-preacher[111]; and Roman Stoicism supplies us with numerous instances of the same companionship[112]. Under such conditions marriage is no longer a matter of free choice; it is a civic duty incumbent on the young Stoic. The Stoics of the Roman principate well perceived the danger that threatened the society in which they lived through the growing practice of celibacy[113].
Of marriage.
350. The Stoic attitude towards marriage is well illustrated by the following extract from a discourse by Antipater of Tarsus:
‘A youth of good family and noble soul, who has a sense of social duty, will feel that no life and no household is complete without wife and child. He will also bear in mind his duty towards the State, for how can that be maintained unless, as the fathers decay and fall away like the leaves of a fine tree, the sons marry in the flower of their age, and leave behind them fresh shoots to adorn the city, thereby providing for its protection against its enemies? He will look upon marriage also as a duty towards the gods; for if the family dies out, who will perform the accustomed sacrifices?
Besides this he who knows nothing of wife and child has not tasted the truest joys of affection. For other friendships are like platefuls of beans or other like mixtures of juxtaposition, but the union of man and wife is like the mixing of wine and water, or any other case of penetration (κρᾶσις δι’ ὅλων); for they are united not only by the ties of substance and soul and the dearest bond of children, but also in body. Other alliances are for occasion, this is bound up with the whole purpose of life, so that the parents on each side gladly allow that the wife should be first in her husband’s affection, and the husband in his wife’s.
But in these days of dissolution and anarchy all things change for the worse and marriage is thought a hard thing; and men call the celibate life divine because it gives opportunity for licentiousness and varied pleasures, and they bar the door against a wife as against an enemy. Others have their fancy taken by beauty or dowry, and no longer look for a wife who is piously brought up and obedient and a good manager; nor do they trouble to instruct their wives in these matters. But if a man would attend to the warnings of philosophers, of all burdens a lawful wife would be the lightest and sweetest. Such a man would have four eyes instead of two, and four hands instead of two, to supply all his needs: and if he desired leisure to write books or take part in politics, he could hand over the whole business of housekeeping to his partner[114].’
Advantages sought.
351. The four cardinal virtues, however widely they are interpreted, do not exhaust the field of daily duties. All objects that are ‘advantages’ (προηγμένα) are prima facie such that the good man aims at securing them; although if sufficient reason appears, he will entirely forego them. The advantages of the soul, good natural disposition, ‘art,’ and ‘progress’ are discussed elsewhere in this chapter; as advantages of the body are reckoned life, health, strength, good digestion, good proportions, and beauty; whilst external advantages are wealth, reputation, noble birth, and the like[115]. In all the details there is a lack of exactitude and of agreement amongst the teachers. According to Seneca, men may reasonably wish for tallness[116], and there is a kind of beauty (not dependent on youth) of which women may be proud without blame[117]. Fine clothes make no one the better man, but a certain degree of neatness and cleanliness in dress is an advantage[118]. For nobility the Stoics have little regard; all men are derived through an equal number of degrees from the same divine origin; virtue is the true nobility[119]. Good name (δόξα, gloria) is commonly reckoned amongst ‘advantages’[120]; but Chrysippus and Diogenes are said to have taught that a good man need not move a finger for the sake of reputation, unless some advantage can be obtained by it. Later teachers, influenced (as we are told) by the criticisms of Carneades, made it absolutely plain that they reckoned good name (apart from anything attainable by it) as an advantage, and they even considered it natural that a man should think of posthumous reputation[121]. The general feeling of the school seems to be that the approval of others is too uncertain to be a fitting aim; its place is taken by the approval of ‘conscience.’ This term, which originally expressed the burden of a guilty secret, became in the Roman period modified in meaning, and could thus express the approval awarded to a man by his inner and personal consciousness, even when all the world disapproves his acts: this self-approval is closely akin to peace of mind[122].
Wealth.
352. On no subject would it be easier to find apparently contradictory views amongst Stoic writers than on that of wealth. To decry wealth and praise poverty is to some extent a commonplace with all the philosophical schools; and with Seneca in particular this was so frequent a practice[123] that his hearers found some inconsistency between his words and his deeds; for he was, as is well known, a rich man. But the position of the school is clear. ‘Riches are not a good’ is a Stoic paradox, emphasized in a hundred forms, and by every teacher[124]; but nevertheless they are an ‘advantage,’ and thus are rightly aimed at by the good man[125]. To the wealthy Stoics generally, and to the Romans of the republican period especially, the maintenance of the family property (res familiaris) was a duty of high importance; and the wasting of it in wholesale largess, a serious misdeed[126]. The Stoic view was sufficiently summed up in a proverb borrowed from Epicurus or one of his followers: ‘he who feels the need of wealth least, can make the best use of it[127].’ Although Panaetius did not write a special chapter on the acquisition and use of wealth[128], yet his views on the latter point are made sufficiently plain in his treatment of the virtue of Justice[129]. The justification of wealth lies in the intention to use it well, and this was a favourite subject with Hecato of Rhodes[130]. As to its acquisition and investment, Cicero is content to refer us to the high-principled men who conduct the financial affairs of the capital[131].
Liberty.
353. Amongst those popular terms which hold an ambiguous place in the Stoic philosophy we must reckon ‘liberty’ (ἐλευθερία, libertas). In one sense liberty is a condition of soul such as characterizes the free-born citizen in contrast to the slave; this liberty differs but little from the virtue of Greatness of Soul already described[132], and in its full meaning is a good, which the wise man alone can possess[133]. But in another sense liberty is an external advantage, sometimes defined as ‘the power of living as you wish[134],’ and as such eagerly desired by the slave; more often perhaps it is conceived as ‘the right of saying what you please[135].’ In this sense liberty is equivalent to the παῤῥησία which was the watchword of the democracy of Athens, and was the equally cherished privilege of the nobility of Rome[136]; in a slightly different sense it was the boast of the Cynic missionary. The Stoics take a middle position; whilst all recognise that some sort of liberty is a precious privilege[137], and are prepared on occasion to sacrifice life or position for its sake[138], there are not wanting voices to remind us that it is unreasonable to speak out one’s mind without regard to persons or circumstances[139], that the wrath of tyrants ought not lightly to be provoked[140], and that the most terrible of all oppressors is the soul that has lost its self-control[141].
Disadvantages.
354. Just as virtue chooses advantages in accordance with natural laws, so it refuses disadvantages in accordance with a disinclination (ἔκκλισις, alienatio), which is equally natural and right so long as it is controlled by reason[142]. Since to every advantage there is opposed a corresponding disadvantage, to choose the one is necessarily to refuse the other; and the doctrine of ‘reasonable refusal’ is that of reasonable choice in its negative form. It will therefore be sufficient to give a formal statement of the theory. Disadvantages, or things that have negative value (ἀπαξία), may be subdivided according as they are disadvantages in themselves, as an ungainly figure; or as they bring about other disadvantages, as shortness of ready money; or for both reasons, as bad memory or ill-health[143]. They may also be subdivided into three classes, according as they affect the soul, the body, or things external. Disadvantages of the soul are such things as inborn vulgarity or dulness of wit; of the body, ill-health, and dulness of the organs of sensation; of external things, poverty, loss of children, and the contempt of our neighbours[144].
Healthy affections.
355. Since the virtues are permanent dispositions (διαθέσεις) of the soul, rooted in firm principles in which the wise man never wavers, but to which none else can attain, some other name is required to describe those more passing but yet wholesome moods which stand in contrast with the evil ‘affections’ or perturbations of the soul which will be discussed in our next chapter. A beginning is made in this direction with the three ‘good affections’ (εὐπάθειαι, constantiae, sapientis affectiones). Here a new use of terms is introduced. Strictly speaking an ‘affection’ is an evil state of soul; but as we have no corresponding word for a good and calm condition, the use of the word ‘affection’ is extended in this direction[145]. Each of these ‘good affections’ is introduced to us in contrast with a perturbation to which it bears a superficial resemblance. Thus contrasted with Fear is ‘Caution’ (εὐλάβεια, cautio), which is right avoidance, and is entirely consistent with Courage rightly understood. Subdivisions of Caution are (i) ‘Shame’ (αἰδώς, verecundia), the avoidance of deserved blame, and (ii) ‘Sanctity’ (ἁγνεία) the avoidance of offences against the gods[146]. Contrasted with Greed is ‘Readiness’ (βούλησις, voluntas), the reasonable stretching out after future advantages[147]; contrasted with Hilarity is Joy (χαρά, gaudium), the reasonable appreciation of present advantages[148]. Both Readiness and Joy are entirely consistent with Soberness rightly understood. To the perturbation of Grief no good affection is named as bearing any resemblance; but we need not for that reason question but that the wise man may entertain some quiet form of sympathy for the troubles of others, and of regret for the blows which fortune deals to him in political disappointment or personal bereavement[149].
The ‘good affections’ are possessed by the wise man only[150]; but not all wise men possess them, nor any at all times[151]. On the other hand it is a daily duty to approximate to them, so that on this ground the good citizen enters into competition with the wise man on not altogether uneven terms[152]. The whole doctrine of ‘good affections’ may be conceived as an answer to those who accuse the Stoic of lack of feeling[153]; for the much derided ‘apathy’ of the school is substituted the doctrine of ‘eupathy.’ Wisdom is not to be compared to the surface of a frozen sea, but to that of a rippling river. The lectures of Musonius and Epictetus bring out on every point the meaning of ‘eupathy’ in its various applications.
The ethical motive.
356. We have now sketched the Stoic system of daily duties in its main features, and this sketch will be made more complete in many particulars in the course of the next two chapters. To the modern reader the question here suggests itself—what compelling force has this system? what motive is supplied to the ordinary man for thus planning out his life? To this question the ancient philosophers did not directly address themselves; nevertheless their answers are implied in their teaching as a whole. Thus the Stoics would doubtless reply, first, that daily duties are prescribed to us by reason[154]; not perhaps always by reason in its highest sense, to which we must not appeal in every individual action, but at least by the spirit of reasonableness (εὐλογιστία). Secondly, that the common opinion of mankind, growing daily stronger, recommends them; they are, as we have seen from the beginning, things that it comes in our way to do, that every good citizen and good man will be sure to do. As to future rewards and punishments, though these are not excluded by Stoicism, they are certainly never pressed as motives for right living. But the strongest of all motives is undoubtedly the mental picture of the wise man, the vision of that which is ‘absolutely good.’ Critics may urge: ‘it is a picture that never has been or will be realized in men’s lives, a vision of that which is very far off and which you will never see or touch.’ This the Stoics hardly care to deny, but the difficulty does not disturb them. The vision attracts by its own beauty, the hope of attainment is cherished by all but the worst[155]. We have spoken of the ‘ordinary man,’ or, as the Stoics put it, of ‘us who are not wise men.’ But, strictly speaking, there is no room for the ordinary man in the system, but only for the ‘probationer’ (προκόπτων, proficiens). It remains for us to trace the upward path from daily duty to virtue, along which every good man is endeavouring to advance.
Progress.
357. The doctrine of progress (προκοπή, progressio) is not peculiar to Stoicism, but it is nevertheless an essential feature of it[156]. Critics may indeed dispute as to whether virtue has ever been in practice attained; but the Stoic must hold fast to the ethical principles that ‘virtue can be taught[157]’ and that ‘virtue is an art[158].’ Every man has from birth a capacity for acquiring virtue[159], which varies in degree according to his natural disposition of soul[160]; on this foundation every man builds by concurrent learning and practice[161]. The child is greatly helped if he possesses the trait of ‘modesty’ (αἰδώς, verecundia), which is essentially a readiness to defer to others and to learn from those who are older and wiser[162]; though later it may turn to ‘false shame,’ which is a hindrance[163]. He will then learn to understand and perform his daily duties; and as his character ripens, this performance will daily become easier and more pleasurable to him[164], more certain and more steady in itself. And now daily duties come near to Right Actions, which are indeed daily duties perfected (τέλειον καθῆκον, perfectum officium), and complete in every point[165]. In order to rise to this higher standard the good man must first perform his duty in all particulars[166]; he must do so with regularity and in harmony with the order of nature[167]; he will then need only a certain fixity, conviction, and stability to pass into the ranks of the wise[168].
Conversion.
358. The stages of progress are variously expounded by Stoic writers[169]; but on one principle all are agreed. Progress is not a half-way stage between vice and virtue, as the Peripatetics teach[170]; it is a long preparation, to be followed by a change sudden and complete (μεταβολή, conversio)[171]. The final step, by which a foolish man becomes in an instant wise, is different in kind to all that have gone before. This position is a necessary consequence of the doctrine that ‘the good is not constituted by addition[172],’ and is enforced by various illustrations. The probationer is like a man who has long been under water; little by little he rises to the surface, but all in a moment he finds himself able to breathe. He is like a puppy in whom the organ of sight has been for days past developing; all at once he gains the power of vision[173]. Just so when progress reaches the end there dawns upon the eyes of the soul the complete and dazzling vision of the good, of which till now only shadows and reflections have been perceived. For a moment he is wise, but does not even yet realize his own wisdom; then again in a moment he passes on to the complete fruition of happiness[174].
Duty.
359. Thus from the lowlier conception of ‘daily duties’ we have again climbed upwards to the supreme ethical end, to absolute goodness, which is Virtue in her full royalty and the Universal Law (κοινὸς νόμος) as it appeals to the individual man. In this connexion the ideal is familiar in modern times under the name of Duty. The ancient Stoics perhaps never quite reached to any such complete formulation of their ethical theory in a single word; but their general meaning is perfectly expressed by it. Just as the Socratic paradoxes mark the quarrel of philosophy with outworn ideas expressed in conventional language, so its reconciliation with the general opinion is marked by those newly-coined terms such as ‘conscience’ and ‘affection’ which are now familiar household words. We cannot indeed demonstrate that ‘Duty exists,’ any more than we can that deity or providence exists; but we may well say that without it ethical discussion would in our own day be hardly possible. The following stanzas from Wordsworth’s ‘Ode to Duty,’ based upon a Stoic text[175], may be a useful reminder, not only of the dominant position of this conception in modern thought, but also of the continued tendency of the human mind to express its supreme convictions in anthropomorphic language.
‘Stern daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove:
Thou who art victory and law
When empty terrors overawe:
From vain temptations dost set free;
And calm’st the weary strife of frail humanity!
Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear
The Godhead’s most benignant grace;
Nor know we anything so fair
As is the smile upon thy face:
Flowers laugh before thee on thy beds
And fragrance in thy footing treads:
Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong;
And the most ancient heavens, through thee, are fresh and strong.
To humbler functions, awful Power!
I call thee: I myself commend
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
O let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
The spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of Reason give;
And in the light of truth thy Bondman let me live!’[176]