Roman educated men, just like some Greek educated men, wereattracted to stoicism because it was a powerful philosophy. Itadvocated the pursuit of happiness, freedom form suffe
…ring and arighteous life; maintained that ethics was the main focus of humanknowledge; and aimed at improving the individual's ethical andmoral well-being. In this respect it made up for the lack ofethical values in both Greek and Roman religion. Moreover, theRomans were a practical people not adept at abstract theories.Thus, the theories of Geek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotledid not appeal to them. Stoicism was more of a philosophy of life,rather than just abstract theory and had practical implications forone's life. This appealed to Roman elite men. Stoicism was an influential philosophical school not only among theRomans. It was also the foremost philosophical school among theGreek-educated elite in the Hellenistic world, which stretched frommainland Greece to Syria and Egypt. The Romans conquered the wholeof this world. The Roman-educated elite were deeply influenced byHellenistic culture and looked up to it. Their education was inGreek as well as Latin and they were fluent in Greek. The pinnacleof their education was a stay in Greece to study Greek philosophy.Therefore, it is not surprising that stoicism was taken up by manymembers of the Roman elite. Epicureanism was another school Greekphilosophy which was around in the Hellenistic world. It gainedpopularity among the Roman elite as well, though not as much asstoicism. As Bertrand Russell put it, in stoicism, "virtue consists in a willthat is in agreement with Nature ⦠[and] "to be free from anger,envy, and jealousy" in interpersonal relationships. Stoicism alsoaimed being free from passion. However, the word passion had adifferent meaning back then. It meant anguish or suffering whichcame from passively reacting to external events. Wisdom wasrequired to be free from suffering, to attain eupatheia; that is,feelings that result from correct judgment in the same way aspassions (suffering) result from incorrect judgment. Freedom forsuffering came through apatheia or peace of mind (literally,'without passion'). To the ancient Greeks apatheia meant beingobjective or having "clear judgment" and the maintenance ofequanimity in the face of life's highs and lows. Therefore,apatheia required the use of reason and reason was to be developedthrough the exercise of logic. However, reason went beyond logic.It was not just the exercise of the intellect as it is understoodtoday. Reason also meant understanding the processes of nature. Tothe stoics living according to reason meant living in harmony withthe divine order of the universe and in oneness with nature, whichwere the source of reason in human beings and apatheia (peace ofmind and freedom for suffering) and happiness. Unhappiness and evilare the results of human ignorance of the reason in nature. Beingunkind or acting unethically were reflections of this ignorance. The stoics also believed in four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage,justice, and temperance. More generally, virtue meant amend one'swill to be in agreement, harmony and oneness with nature. In thisway one exercises one's will in autonomy ether than reactingpassively to external events. As Epictetus put it, a virtuous manis "sick and yet happy, in peril and yet happy, dying and yethappy, in exile and happy, in disgrace and happy." A man of virtuemakes honourable moral choices. Stoicism was a philosophy of lifewhich was to be actively pursued through of constant practice. Itsspiritual practices comprised logic, Socratic dialog andself-dialog, contemplation of death, training attention to remainin the present moment (that is, meditation), and daily reflectionon everyday problems and possible solutions. Stoicism was cosmopolitanism and egalitarian. All human beings weremanifestations of the universal spirit. There should be brotherlylove and mutual help. Wealth and social ranks did not matter andall human beings were equal. (MORE)