Meditations

Although steeped in the teachings of philosophy, he did not attempt to remodel the world on any preconceived plan.

The Stoics aspired to the repression of all emotion, and the Epicureans to freedom from all disturbance; yet in the upshot the one has become a synonym of stubborn endurance, the other for unbridled licence.

The Stoics regarded speculation as a means to an end and that end was, as Zeno put it, to live consistently (δμολογουμενως ζπν), or as it was later explained, to live in conformity with nature. This conforming of the life to nature (δμολογουμενως τπ ϕυσει ζπν) was the Stoic idea of Virtue.

In order to live in accord with nature, it is necessary to know what nature is; and to this end a threefold division of philosophy is made—into Physics, dealing with the universe and its laws, the problems of divine government and teleology; Logic, which trains the mind to discern true from false; and Ethics, which applies the knowledge thus gained and tested to practical life.

The universe, then, is God, of whom the popular gods are manifestations;

The soul of man is thus an emanation from the godhead, into whom it will eventually be re-absorbed.

The highest good of man is consciously to work with God for the common good, and this is the sense in which the Stoic tried to live in accord with nature. In the individual it is virtue alone which enables him to do this; as Providence rules the universe, so virtue in the soul must rule man.

Two points in the Stoic system deserve special mention. One is a careful distinction between things which are in our power and things which are not. Desire and dislike, opinion and affection, are within the power of the will; whereas health, wealth, honour, and other such are generally not so. The Stoic was called upon to control his desires and affections, and to guide his opinion; to bring his whole being under the sway of the will or leading principle, just as the universe is guided and governed by divine Providence.