The last reflection of the Stoic philosophy that I have observed is in
Simplicius' Commentary on the Enchiridion of Epictetus. Simplicius was
not a Christian, and such a man was not likely to be converted at a time
when Christianity was grossly corrupted. But he was a really religious
man, and he concludes his commentary with a prayer to the Deity which no
Christian could improve. From the time of Zeno to Simplicius, a period of
about nine hundred years, the Stoic philosophy formed the characters of
some of the best and greatest men. A man's greatness lies not in wealth
and station, as the vulgar believe, nor yet in his intellectual capacity,
which is often associated with the meanest moral character, the most
abject servility to those in high places, and arrogance to the poor and
lowly; but a man's true greatness lies in the consciousness of an honest
purpose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and everything
else, on frequent self-examination, and a steady obedience to the rule
which he knows to be right, without troubling himself, as the emperor
says he should not, about what others may think or say, or whether they
do or do not do that which he thinks and says and does.




THE THOUGHTS OF MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS.




BOOK 1.