Book 1: Chapter 28, Stoicism Summary and Analysis

Stoicism was part of Epicureanism and dated longer, but was less constant. It was taught by Zeno in the third century BC, differing from the stoicism taught by Marcus Aurelius at the end of the second century. Zeno was a materialist, who combined Cynism and Heraclitus in his theory while through Platonism it abandoned materialism. It influenced Seneca, Epitectus, and Marcus Aurelius. The ethical doctrine changed little as a consequence.

The early Stoics were first Syrian and only later Roman with some Chaldean influences. Emotionally narrow, it was fanatical in some parts. Stoics adhered to Socrates, but rejected his immortality views, adopting the views of Heraclitus, only later incorporating the immortality of the soul. It appealed to rulers that followed Alexander and professed themselves Stoics. Zeno was a Phoenician born at Citium, in Cyprus, during the latter...