Hum 110 | Reed Classics | Reed Library | Reed | Perseus

Walter Englert

February 27, 2004

Seneca and Roman Stoicism

I. Outline of the talk

A. Introduction

B. Philosophers as cultural heroes: the Hellenistic background

C. Origins and major tenets of Stoicism

1 Outline of the major doctrines of Stoicism

2. The Middle Stoa on making progress towards virtue

D. Roman Stoicism and the suicide of Cato the Younger, 46 BC

E. Seneca’s Stoicism

1 Features of Seneca’s writings

2. Seneca on Suicide
  1. Conclusion: The freedom of the Stoic sage

II. Passages

1. …and if kings had the ultimate political power, the philosophers liked to think that they had the arbitration of moral issues. The philosophers were the intellectual spokesmen of polis values, and their portraits were designed to express the power derived from intellectual and moral superiority. (R.R.R. Smith 34)

2. Once Alexander came and stood opposite him, saying, "I am Alexander the Great King." "And I," he responded, "am Diogenes the Cynic (the dog)." (Diogenes Laertius 6. 60).

3. When Diogenes was sunning himself in the Craneion (in Athens), Alexander came and stood over him and said, "Ask me for whatever you want." Diogenes replied, "Don’t block my light." (Diogenes Laertius 6. 38)

4. They [the Stoics] say that there are three good feelings: joy, watchfulness, wishing. Joy, they say, is the opposite of pleasure, consisting in well-reasoned elation; and watchfulness is the opposite of fear, consisting of well-reasoned avoidance. For the sage will not be afraid at all, he will be watchful. They say that wishing is the opposite of appetite, consisting in well-reasoned desire. Just as certain passions fall under the primary ones, so too with the primary good feelings. Under wishing: kindness, generosity, warmth, affection. Under watchfulness: respect, cleanliness. Under joy: delight, sociability, cheerfulness. (Diogenes Laertius 7. 115; Long and Sedley tr., modified)

5. Scorn poverty: no one is as poor as he was at birth. Scorn pain: either it will go away or you will. Scorn death: either it finishes you or it transforms you. Scorn Fortune: I have given her no weapon with which to strike your soul. Above all, I have taken pains that nothing should detain you against your will: the way out lies open. If you do not wish to fight, escape. Of all the things which I deemed necessary for you, therefore, I have made none easier than dying. The soul I have placed on a downgrade, where it is pulled by gravity: only observe and you will see what a short and direct road leads to freedom. I have imposed no such long delays at your egress as at your entry. Otherwise, if a man were as slow in dying as he is in being born, Fortune would have enormous power over you. Let every occasion and every situation teach you how easy it is to renounce Nature and throw her gift in her face. (On Providence , Hadas translation pp. 44-45)
  1. Living is not the good, but living well. The wise man therefore lives as long as he should, not as long as he can. (Letter 70, Hadas translation p. 202)

7. Should my motto be "Fortune is all-powerful over the living," when it can be "Fortune is powerless over one who knows how to die?" (Letter 70, Hadas translation p. 203)
  1. Five Stages to Virtue (from Cicero, De Finibus III. 16-22)
  1. instinct: primary impulse toward food, shelter, parental affection Fools
  2. selection of things according to nature (health, beauty, wealth, etc.)
  3. rational selection of things according to nature
  4. continuously rational stage
  5. complete agreement with nature (only attainable by the Stoic sage) Stoic Sage
  1. Key Stoic Terms
  1. kathêkonta: "appropriate acts"
  2. katorthômata: "virtuous acts"
  3. adiaphora: "indifferents"
    1. proegmena ("preferred"): health, wealth, life, high office, good looks, etc.
    2. apoproegmena ("not preferred"): disease, poverty, death, ugliness, etc.

V. Comparison of Epicurean and Stoic Doctrines

Topic Epicureans Stoics

Ultimate principles Atoms and the void Passive and active principles

of the universe

Space Infinite Finite

Worlds Infinite number of worlds One World

God(s) Exist, but separate from men Exists; runs the universe

Fate None; universe runs by chance Yes; controls universe

Problem of Evil Just happens Part of greater good of the whole

Goal in Life Seek pleasure, avoid pain Life in accordance with Nature

Highest Good Pleasure (= absence of pain) Virtue

Politics Wise man avoids politics Wise man takes part in politics

Afterlife None; soul perishes at death Yes, although soul is not eternal

Suicide Discouraged Allowed in certain circumstances

VI. Bibliography

Englert, Walter. "Stoics and Epicureans on the Nature of Suicide," Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy 10 (1994) 67-96.

Griffin, Miriam. Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics. Oxford, 1976.

Long, A.A. and Sedley, D. The Hellenistic Philosophers, Vol I. Cambridge, 1987.

Nussbaum Martha. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics. Princeton, 1994.

Shaw, B.D. "The Divine Economy: Stoicism as Ideology," Latomus 44 (1985) 16-54.

Smith, R.R.R. Hellenistic Sculpture. London, 1991.

 

Hum 110 | Reed Classics | Reed Library | Reed | Perseus