A Reference Guide to Stoicism: A Compilation of the Principle Stoic Writings on Various Topics

By John L. Bowman

Stoicism is a 2,300 year-old Greek and Roman philosophy that addressed human happiness. This book is a compendium of principal Stoic philosophers Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius writings arranged by topic. On escape Seneca wrote whatever your destination you will be followed by your failings; on death Marcus Aurelius advised be content with your allocation of time; on happiness Cicero believed that a happy life depends on very little; and on suicide Epictetus suggested to quit the game when it no longer pleases you and depart. These are a few profound ideas from an ancient philosophy of life that explained things are what we make them; contentment does not come from externals; ambition, avarice and luxury impede happiness; use proper judgments; remain indifferent to matters outside choice; and pleasure and passion are the primary causes of human unhappiness. The writings of ancient Stoics reproduced in this book are as relevant today as they were millennia ago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496900166

John L. Bowman

The author received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from Whitman College, a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1993 from Portland State University, and a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies degree from Oregon State University in 2010. His areas of study for the master’s degree were philosophy (ethics and theories of the mind) and ancient history. He is the author of numerous books on philosophy, real estate, and politics. He lives in Portland, Oregon where he raised three daughters with his wife Kathy.

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© 2014 John L. Bowman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/31/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-0017-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-0016-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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CONTENTS

Cover Description

Introduction

A

ABILITY

THE ACADEMICS

ACCEPTANCE

ACCOUNTABILITY

ACHIEVEMENT

ACTION

ACTIVITY

ADAPTATION

ADMIRATION

ADULTERY

AGAINST THE EPICUREANS AND ACADEMICS

AGE

AGITATION

ALCOHOL

AMBITION

ANGER

ANIMALS

ANXIETY

APPEARANCE

ART

ARTISTS

ASSENT

ASTROLOGY

ATTENTION

ATTRIBUTES

AUTHORITY

AVARICE

B

BAD MEN

BEHAVIOR

BELIEF

BENEFIT

BENEFICENCE

THE BODY

BOOKS

BRAVERY

BROTHERHOOD

BURDEN

C

CALUMNY

CARING

CAUSE

CHANGE

CHARACTER

CHILDREN

CHOICE

CIRCUMSPECTION

CIRCUMSTANCES

CLEANLINESS

COMFORT

COMMON GOOD

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNISM

COMMUNITY

COMPASSION

COMPULSION

CONCEIT

CONCEPTIONS

CONCESSIONS

CONFIDENCE

CONFIDENTIALITY

CONFUSION

CONSCIENCE

CONTENTMENT

CONTRADICTION

CONTROL

CONTROL BY OTHERS

CONVENTION

COOPERATION

COURAGE

COVETOUSNESS

COWARDICE

CROWDS

CRUELTY

CUSTOM

CYNICISM

D

DEATH

DECEIT

DECENCY

DECEPTION

DEMOCRACY

DESIRE

DESOLATION

DETERMINISM

DIFFICULTIES

DILATORINESS

DIOGENES

DIRECTING MIND

DISASTER

DISCONTENT

DISGRACE

DISEASES

DISORDERS

DISPOSITION

DISTRESS

DIVINERS

DOCTORS OF THE MIND

DRINKING

DRUNKENNESS

DUTY

E

EATING

EDUCATED MAN

EDUCATION

EFFORT

EMOTIONS

ENDS

ENDURANCE

ENJOYMENT

ENNUI

ENVY

EPICTETUS

EPICUREANISM

EPICURUS

EQUALITY

EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW

EQUANIMITY

ERROR

ESCAPE

ETHICS

EVIL

EXCELLENCE

EXHORTATION

EXPECTATION

EXPEDIENCE

EXISTENCE

EXTERNALS

F

FAILURE

FAME

FAMILY

FANCY

FATE

FATHERS

FAULTS

FEAR

FEELING

FLATTERY

FOOLS

FORESIGHT

FORGIVENESS

FORTUNE

FOUNDERS OF STOICISM

FRANKNESS

FREE WILL

FREEDOM

FRIENDS

FRIENDSHIP

FRUGALITY

G

THE GAME

GENEROSITY

GENTLENESS

GEOMETRY

GOD

GOOD

GOOD AND EVIL

THE GOOD LIFE

THE GOOD MAN

GOSSIP

GOVERNMENT

GRATITUDE

GREED

GRIEF

H

HABIT

HAPPINESS

HARDSHIP

HARM

HARMONY

HEALTH

HELP

HOMOSEXUALITY

HONESTY

HUMAN NATURE

HUMANITY

HUMANS

HUMILITY

HUMOR

HURT

HYPOCRISY

I

IGNORANCE

ILLNESS

IMPERMANENCE

IMPRESSIONS

IMPULSE

INDEPENDENCE

INDIFFERENCE

INFLUENCE

INJURY

INJUSTICE

INNATE SENSES

INSIGNIFICANCE

INSTINCT

INTEGRITY

INTELLIGENCE

INTIMACY

J

JUDGMENT

JUSTICE

K

KEYS

KIND OBJECTS

KINGS

KNOWING

KNOWING THYSELF

KNOWLEDGE

L

LANGUAGE

LAW OF LIFE

LAYMEN

LEADERS

LEARNING

LEISURE

LIBERAL STUDIES

LIFE

LISTENING

LIVING

LOGIC

LOSS

LOVE

LOVE OF NEIGHBOR

LUST

LUXURY

M

MAJORITY

MAN

MATERIAL GOODS

MEMORY

MERIT

THE MIND

MODERATION

MONEY

MORAL WORTH

MORALITY

MUSIC

N

NATURALNESS

NATURE

NEEDS

NEWNESS

NEWS

NOBLENESS

NOISE

O

OCCUPATION

OLD AGE

OPINION

OPTIMISM

ORATORS

OTHERS

P

PAIN

PANIC

PASSION

PAST AND FUTURE

PEACE OF MIND

PEOPLE

PERMANENCE

PERSEVERANCE

PERSPECTIVE

PHILOSOPHERS

PHILOSOPHY

PHILOSOPHY (PURPOSE)

PIETY

PITY

PLEASURE

POETRY

POLITICS

POMP

POPULISM

POSSESSIONS

POVERTY

POWER

PRACTICE

PRAYER

PRECONCEPTIONS

PREPARATION

THE PRESENT

PRETENSE

PRIDE

PROFESSORS

PROPERTY

PROPRIETY

PROSPERITY

PROVIDENCE

PRUDENCE

PUNISHMENT

Q

QUARRELING

R

RATIONALITY

READING

REASON

REASONING

REGRET

RELATIONSHIPS

RELIGION

REPETITION

REPUTATION

RESENTMENT

RESPECT

RESTLESSNESS

RETIREMENT

REVENGE

THE RICH

RULES

RULING POWER

RUMOR

S

SAFETY

SATISFACTION

SCHOLARS

SECRETS

SELF-CONTROL

SELF-EXAMINATION

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

SELF-INTEREST

SELF-LOVE

SELF-MASTERY

SELF-RELIANCE

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

SELF-VIEW

SENECA

SENSES

SERENITY

SEX

SHAME

SHARING

SILENCE

SIMPLICITY

SINNERS

SLAVERY (PERSONAL)

SLAVES

SLEEP

SOCIETY

SOCRATES

SOFT LIVING

SOUL

SPEECH

SPINELESSNESS

SPIRIT

STANDARDS

STEADFASTNESS

STOICISM

STUBBORNNESS

STUDIES

STUPIDITY

SUCCESS

SUFFERING

SUICIDE

SUSPICION

T

TEACHERS

TEMPER

TEMPERANCE

THERAPY

THINGS

THINKING

THOUGHTS

TIME

TOLERANCE

TRADES

TRADITION

TRAGEDY

TRANQUILITY

TRAVEL

TRUST

TRUTH

TRUTHFULNESS

TURMOIL

TYRANNY

TYRANTS

U

UNDERSTANDING

THE UNEXAMINED LIFE

UNITY

URGENCY

UTOPIA

V

VANITY

VICE

VIRTUE

VIRTUES

VOICE

W

WANT

WEAKNESS

WEALTH

WELFARE STATE

THE WHOLE

WILL

WILLPOWER

WISDOM

WISDOM (LACK OF)

THE WISE MAN

WIVES

WOMEN

WORDS

WORTH

WRITING

WRONGDOING

WRONGING

Y

YOUTH

Works Cited

About The Author

COVER DESCRIPTION

The cover is a photograph of the restored Stoa of Attalos (also spelled Attalus) in modern-day Athens, Greece, estimated to be originally constructed between 159 and 138 BC. A stoa is a colonnaded covered walkway or portico thought to be used as a marketplace. This stoa was destroyed in 267 AD and restored in the early 1950s. It was in the stoa that Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, preached his philosophy.

Cover image source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stoa_

in_Athens.jpg

INTRODUCTION

This book is a guide intended to provide a general reference for those interested in the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. It contains Stoic writings on numerous topics with an emphasis on ethics, and they are arranged by topic. I have been a lifelong student of philosophy, which propelled me to spend two years at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, where I earned a master’s degree in ancient history and philosophy. Inclination segued me into the extended study of Stoic philosophy; my thesis was on stoic philosophy, and this reference guide is the result. It is mostly a compilation of my notes from reading the major Stoic philosophers.

Stoicism was a popular philosophy of living from about 300 BC to 200 AD in Ancient Greece and Rome. This was because it addressed many of the troubles of those times, such as the atomization of the Greek polis due to Alexander the Great’s conquests and the moral and military regimen of Roman life. Similar to the competing philosophies of Epicureanism and Skepticism, Stoicism intended to offer human happiness. It offered many competing solutions on how to live and think. Due to the exigencies of time, Stoic philosophy holistically is not as relevant today as it was in ancient times; however, in particulars, especially when dealing with human happiness, many of its tenets remain timeless and most relevant to our contemporary world. Following are a few of Stoicism’s essential, abridged tenets:

• The goal of philosophy is human happiness, or tranquility of the mind. Epictetus stressed this when he said, [For] what end do you pursue your studies…is it not so that you may be happy?

• Things are what we make them. How we view the world, what attitudes and beliefs we adopt about events, how we feel about circumstances and what makes us happy or unhappy depends on how we judge perceptions.

• Peace and contentment do not come when high values are placed on externals, which can be taken away. For the Stoics, fortune is fickle. The desire for wealth, power, prestige, honor and things is misguided because these things can be lost.

• Ambition, avarice and luxury impede happiness. Ambition causes us to seek advantages over others, avarice makes us want more than others and luxury attenuates our will. For the Stoics, each of these causes us to live outside the bounds of nature and to give into desire and fortune, and each spoils us because we succumb to our passions.

• Humans must use the proper judgments of impressions. This is the Stoics’ way of saying that we must develop the right beliefs and attitudes about events. We are bombarded daily with multiple impressions like others’ opinions, societal norms and values, the inevitability of death and the pull of passion. These impressions in themselves are just impressions; what matters is how we judge them.

• Happiness and freedom lie within choice, and we ought to remain indifferent to that which is outside choice. Some matters are within our control, such as how hard we study for an exam, and some outside our control, such as