What Does it Mean To Be Great? Who Can be Considered Great?
To be considered great is an honor bestowed upon few. This article will look back at history’s best Stoic philosophers. This is subjective, of course, but in our humble opinion we believe the four great Stoics are Zeno, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus.
These four men lived between three of the great ancient civilizations: Phoenicia, Greece and Rome. These three civilizations influenced and contributed enormously to each other’s ideals, ideas and societies. This contribution resulted from the interaction between each civilization, as each tried to gain influence and power over the others.
Due to their respective powers and riches, Phoenicia, Greece and Rome ensured the Mediterranean was a Phoenician-Greco-Roman world for a large portion of history. As a result, these Mediterranean empires became the hearts of reason and power in the ancient world.
But our focus is not on how great these civilizations were. Of course, it is relevant to ask whether it was men such as Zeno, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus who influenced their respective civilizations, or was it their civilizations that influenced them? We believe it is both.
For today, we will look at what makes these men the greatest Stoic philosophers, and potentially the greatest thinkers, in history.
Zeno of Citium
Stoicism was founded in the early 3rd century BC by Zeno, who was of Phoenician descent, from the ancient city of Citium. Zeno founded the Stoic school of thought based on his belief in the moral sanctity of universal reason.
Moreover, he believed that reason should govern humanity. Although little remains of his work, Zeno’s story is nevertheless a prominent one. He is a man who rose from the ashes of tragedy to create a new way of thinking, which has endured to this day.
Zeno inspires us and urges us to gain experience in the fields that we feel strongly about. He encourages us to build on what we find meaningful. For Zeno, the combination of experience and passion is what provides people with the discipline needed to excel at their inherent gift.
He was the consummate philosopher and learner, ever the teacher and ever the student. He learned that independence is crucial to being human and he gave the world this notion of self-determination that we take for granted today. Zeno taught his pupils that a person should never compromise their principles if convinced of their convictions.
The greatest thing a person can possess is their principles. If a person only follows the crowd then he/she is a sheep, not an individual.
Marcus Aurelius
The philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius can be considered the most famous of all Stoics, if not the greatest. Marcus Aurelius believed in and aspired to be the ideal Roman statesman. He tried his best to be a just ruler who served his people first and foremost.
He used his philosophical studies to learn how he could improve the livelihoods of his imperial subjects. For example, he believed in ruling with both the mind and the heart, rather than ruling his people with just the sword. His vision of statesmanship led to a Roman golden age, both in terms of military success and intellectual growth.
Marcus Aurelius governed with words in peacetime and thus earned the title of statesman, and he led with the sword during wartime, where he was a formidable commander-in-chief. His understanding of when to pick up a weapon and when to put it down ensured his place in the hearts and minds of his subjects and in history.
But what was it that made him a great soldier-citizen and the perfect Roman? The answer lies close to his belief system. The teachings he learned from Stoicism provided him with strength and wisdom necessary to overcome challenges and disappointments.
Stoicism gave him a moral superiority and an intellectual curiosity, coupled with a strategic understanding of global affairs. Thus, when the sun set on his reign, Rome said goodbye to the last of the “Five Good Roman Emperors”.
Seneca
From an historical perspective, Seneca’s work has possibly had the greatest impact. His writings influenced some of the greatest thinkers of the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. Moreover, the values that Seneca provided humanity form the foundation of modern Stoic thought.
Seneca showed humanity the importance of utilizing philosophy as a guiding beacon to navigate the harsh terrains of life. In addition, like all Stoic philosophers, Seneca was an ardent believer in learning and education. The importance he placed on education and learning are demonstrated through the following quotes:
“Timendi causa est nescire” — Ignorance is the cause of fear.
Seneca
“As long as you live, keep learning how to live”.
Yet Seneca’s greatest achievement is how his works encouraged a revival of intellectual and educational growth starting in the Renaissance after the chaos of the Middle and Dark Ages. Senecan philosophy was the foundation that was built on in the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods.
Seneca wanted people to think critically about themselves and it was through his writings that he encouraged people to become self-aware. Self-awareness allows people to rationalize things more clearly and thus to better understand the world around them. In his understanding, only a self-aware human being has the awareness to fight for their rights.
Epictetus
Epictetus is the last of the great Stoics, as far as this article is concerned. Epictetus was noted for the consistency and power of his ethical thought and for his effective methods of teaching. He believed in things that many of us take for granted today, such as individual freedom, integrity and self-management.
Moreover, Epictetus devoted most of his intellectual energy to the pursuit of understanding ethics. He was also the one to classify different things and ideas into groups of what we can control, as opposed to what we cannot. This method of classification has helped us navigate the world more wisely and effectively.
Epictetus also believed the study of philosophy teaches us how to employ desire and aversion without hindrance. In his viewpoint, to be truly educated, a person must understand that the only thing he/she has control over is their own will and perception of things.
For Epictetus, the aim of a philosopher is to view the world as one, to expand on God’s mind and to establish the will of nature as his own. Become one with nature and you shall be free. In other words, become your own master and freedom will reign over you.
