THE

GREEK PHILOSOPHERS

VOL. II.

THE

GREEK PHILOSOPHERS

BY

ALFRED WILLIAM BENN

Εὑρηκέναι μὲν οὖν τινὰς τῶν ἀρχαίων καὶ μακαρίων φιλοσόφων
τὸ ἀληθὲς δεῖ νομίζειν· τίνες δὲ οἱ τυχόντες μάλιστα καὶ πῶς ἂν
καὶ ἡμῖν σύνεσις περὶ τούτων γένοιτο ἐπισκέψασθαι προσήκει

PLOTINUS

Quamquam ab his philosophiam et omnes ingenuas disciplinas
habemus sed tamen est aliquid quod nobis non liceat, liceat illis
CICERO

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOL. II.

LONDON

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO., 1 PATERNOSTER SQUARE

(The rights of translation and of reproduction

are

reserved)

I. Why the systems of Plato and Aristotle failed to secure a hold on contem-

porary thought, I-Fate of the schools which they founded, 3-Revival of earlier

philosophies and especially of naturalism, 3-Antisthenes and the Cynics, 4-

Restoration of naturalism to its former dignity, 6.

II. Zeno and Crates, 7-Establishment of the Stoic school, 8-Cleanthes and

Chrysippus, 9-Encyclopaedic character of the Stoic teaching, 9-The great

place which it gave to physical science, 10-Heracleitean reaction against the

dualism of Aristotle, II-Determinism and materialism of the Stoics, 12-Their

concessions to the popular religion, 14.

III. The Stoic theory of cognition purely empirical, 15-Development of

formal logic, 16-New importance attributed to judgment as distinguished from

conception, 16-The idea of law, 17-Consistency as the principle of the Stoic

ethics, 18-Meaning of the precept, Follow Nature, 19-Distinction between

pleasure and self-interest as moral standards, 20-Absolute sufficiency of virtue

for happiness, 21--The Stoics wrong from an individual, right from a social point

of view, 22—Theory of the passions, 23-Necessity of volition and freedom of

judgment, 24-Difficulties involved in an appeal to purpose in creation, 24.

IV. The Stoic paradoxes follow logically from the absolute distinction between

right and wrong, 25--Attempt at a compromise with the ordinary morality by the

doctrines (i.) of preference and objection, 26—(ii.) of permissible feeling, 27—(iii.)

of progress from folly to wisdom, 27—and (iv.) of imperfect duties, 27-Cicero's

De Officiis, 28-Examples of Stoic casuistry, 29-Justification of suicide, 30.

V. Three great contributions made by the Stoics to ethical speculation, (i.)

The inwardness of virtue, including the notion of conscience, 31-Prevalent mis-

conception with regard to the Erinyes, 32-(ii.) The individualisation of duty,

33-Process by which this idea was evolved, 35-Its influence on the Romans of

the empire, 36—(iii.) The idea of humanity, 36-Its connexion with the idea of

Nature, 37-Utilitarianism of the Stoics, 38.

VI. The philanthropic tendencies of Stoicism partly neutralised by its extreme

individualism, 40-Conservatism of Marcus Aurelius, 41-The Stoics at once un-