Stoic Movement in Ancient Rome

The single most important philosophy in Rome was Stoicism, which had its start in Hellenistic Greece. The substance within the worldview was very applicable to Roman religion, particularly because its insistence on agreeing that all situations were acceptable. This created a mindset for the people of being able to achieve their own level of virtue. However, the core of Stoicism was the concept of logic, and achieving virtue and worth through naturalistic beliefs. To them, this is what gave meaning to the universe.



Stoicism was the philosophy of both the Greek and Roman philosophers. These people were known as "Stoics" because of the school's founders, who were Zeno and Cyprus. These leaders taught at the Stoa Poikile(the painted porch) which is how the name came about. Their primary focus was on having a thriving relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, which included having a virtuous relationship and living in harmony with nature. "An effect of this portrayed their beliefs as a way of living, and thought that the best sign of an individuals outlook was not by words, but actions. "(Strange, 23) In was in Rome’s Ancient history that people such as Seneca and Epictetus accentuated that "virtue is sufficient for happiness"; a main theme within this movement.


The basic tenets of this movement were that it provided a correct outlook on the world through naturalistic ethics and formal logic. Logic to the Stoics referred to the meaning of an individual through the extent of sentences. "They used this method and stated that a sentence has no meaning unless it is completed, which implied that everything that happened on a daily basis was part of a bigger meaning, in painting the picture of history."(Sellars, 45) It was a component to greater good or reason. A quote that explains the connection between logic and using words to express it states, "Make yourself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to you, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in the substance, in its complete entirety, and tell yourself its proper name, and the names of the things of which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved. For nothing is to productive of elevation of mind as to be able to examine methodically and truly object to what is presented to you in life." This statement is essentially saying that we as human beings can create our own reality to live by, according to our own logic, paving our on way, relying only on ourselves.



They also emphasized ethics in a way that based itself off of human knowledge, and in addition was an agent for teaching of self control and morals. By gaining understanding through this, it taught people how to be good thinkers, and to comprehend universal reasoning, making improvements on them as a person. Another saying that goes along with this is "Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with nature." In order to have virtue and live correctly, you must adjust your life according to natural law.


The idea of Stoicism is very contrary to our currant system in our world today. It is evident that Stoics concentrated on the values of simplicity and equality amongst their people. In our modern culture, we do not view all people the same and are very critical and quick to judge within society. We also do not use common logic often, which would be looked down upon from their culture.



Another component of the Stoic structure was their ethics, which are seen very rarely today. Contrary to ethics being the only way to both achieve and understand true good, we have almost completely discarded ethics, which has the effect of corrupt souls. There are no sufficient means for happiness anymore, as our culture is extremely secular. A corresponding idea recited by a Stoic says that "the person who has achieved perfect consistency in the operation of his rational faculties, the "wise man", is extremely rare yet serves as a prescriptive for all." This sufficiently explains our culture today in comparison with Stoicism- we have fallen from conducting our lives with logic and morals, making prudent individuals hard to come by.

As stated above, it is very clear that the Stoic movement had its primary values that composed their belief system. It was through logic and naturalistic concepts that Stoics formed their worldview and outlook on life. Contrary to the modern Society, we do not take the time to think through situations with the precise logic this movement presents, but rather settle for mediocrity, not caring if we understand the world around us fully. Despite these differences, and the poor outlook the Stoics might have on our society, both are their own views on the world that can easily be contrasted, which is a key factor in understanding both histories.

Sellars, John. Stoicism: University of California Press: 2006.

Strange, Steven K. Stoicism: Traditions and Transformations: Cambridge University Press: 2004.