Roman Stoicism / being lectures on the history of the Stoic philosophy with special reference to its development within the Roman Empire

by Edward Vernon Arnold

‘In the beginning the earth and the sky, and the spaces of night,

Also the shining moon, and the sun Titanic and bright

Feed on an inward life, and, with all things mingled, a mind

Moves universal matter, with Nature’s frame is combined.

Thence man’s race, and the beast, and the feathered creature that flies, 5

All wild shapes that are hidden the gleaming waters beneath.

Each elemental seed has a fiery force from the skies,

Each its heavenly being, that no dull clay can disguise,

Bodies of earth ne’er deaden, nor limbs long destined to death.

Hence their fears and desires, their sorrows and joys; for their sight, 10