Greek Texts & Translations

Of the many disciples of Zeno the following are the most famous : Persaeus, son of Demetrius, of Citium, whom some call a pupil and others one of the household, one of those sent him by Antigonus to act as secretary ; he had been tutor to Antigonus's son Halcyoneus. And Antigonus once, wishing to make trial of him, caused some false news to be brought to him that his estate had been ravaged by the enemy, and as his countenance fell, "Do you see," said he, "that wealth is not a matter of indifference ?"

The following works are by Persaeus :

Of Kingship.

The Spartan Constitution.

Of Marriage.

Of Impiety.

Thyestes.

Of Love.

Exhortations.

Interludes.

Four books of Anecdotes.

Memorabilia.

A Reply to Plato's Laws in seven books.

Ariston, the son of Miltiades and a native of Chios, who introduced the doctrine of things morally indifferent ; Herillus of Carthage, who affirmed knowledge to be the end; Dionysius, who became a renegade to the doctrine of pleasure, for owing to the severity of his ophthalmia he had no longer the nerve to call pain a thing indifferent : his native place was Heraclea ; Sphaerus of Bosporus; Cleanthes, son of Phanias, of Assos, his successor in the school : him Zeno used to compare to hard waxen tablets which are difficult to write upon, but retain the characters written upon them. Sphaerus also became the pupil of Cleanthes after Zeno's death, and we shall have occasion to mention him in the Life of Cleanthes. 7.1.38 And furthermore the following according to Hippobotus were pupils of Zeno : Philonides of Thebes ; Callippus of Corinth ; Posidonius of Alexandria ; Athenodorus of Soli ; and Zeno of Sidon. ^note

I have decided to give a general account of all the Stoic doctrines in the life of Zeno because he was the founder of the School. I have already given a list of his numerous writings, in which he has spoken as has no other of the Stoics. And his tenets in general are as follows. In accordance with my usual practice a summary statement must suffice. ^note

Philosophic doctrine, say the Stoics, falls into three parts : one physical, another ethical, and the third logical. Zeno of Citium was the first to make this division in his Exposition of Doctrine, and Chrysippus too did so in the first book of his Exposition of Doctrine and the first book of his Physics; and so too Apollodorus and Syllus in the first part of their Introductions to Stoic Doctrine, as also Eudromus in his Elementary Treatise on Ethics, Diogenes the Babylonian, and Posidonius.

These parts are called by Apollodorus "Heads of Commonplace"; by Chrysippus and Eudromus specific divisions ; by others generic divisions. 7.1.40 Philosophy, they say, is like an animal, Logic corresponding to the bones and sinews, Ethics to the fleshy parts, Physics to the soul. Another simile they use is that of an egg : the shell is Logic, next comes the white, Ethics, and the yolk in the centre is Physics. Or, again, they liken Philosophy to a fertile field : Logic being the encircling fence, Ethics the crop, Physics the soil or the trees. Or, again, to a city strongly walled and governed by reason.

No single part, some Stoics declare, is independent of any other part, but all blend together. Nor was it usual to teach them separately. Others, however, start their course with Logic, go on to Physics, and finish with Ethics ; and among those who so do are Zeno in his treatise On Exposition, Chrysippus, Archedemus and Eudromus.

Diogenes of Ptolemaïs, it is true, begins with Ethics ; but Apollodorus puts Ethics second, while Panaetius and Posidonius begin with Physics, as stated by Phanias, the pupil of Posidonius, in the first book of his Lectures of Posidonius. Cleanthes makes not three, but six parts, Dialectic, Rhetoric, Ethics, Politics, Physics, Theology. But others say that these are divisions not of philosophic exposition, but of philosophy itself : so, for instance, Zeno of Tarsus. Some divide the logical part of the system into the two sciences of rhetoric and dialectic ; while some would add that which deals with definitions and another part concerning canons or criteria : some, however, dispense with the part about definitions.

Now the part which deals with canons or criteria they admit as a means for the discovery of truth, since in the course of it they explain the different kinds of perceptions that we have. And similarly the part about definitions is accepted as a means of recognizing truth, inasmuch as things are apprehended by means of general notions. Further, by rhetoric they understand the science of speaking well on matters set forth by plain narrative, and by dialectic that of correctly discussing subjects by question and answer ; hence their alternative definition of it as the science of statements true, false, and neither true nor false.

Rhetoric itself, they say, has three divisions : deliberative, forensic, and panegyric.

Rhetoric according to them may be divided into invention of arguments, their expression in words, their arrangement, and delivery ; and a rhetorical speech into introduction, narrative, replies to opponents, and peroration.