The Stoic Sage: The Early Stoics on Wisdom, Sagehood and Socrates (Cambridge Classical Studies)

"After Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, from the third century BCE onwards, developed the third great classical conception of wisdom. This book offers a reconstruction of this pivotal notion in Stoicism, starting out from the two extant Stoic definitions, 'knowledge of human and divine matters' and 'fitting expertise'. It focuses not only on the question of what they understood by wisdom, but also on how wisdom can be achieved, how difficult it is to become a sage, and how this difficulty can be explained. The answers to these questions are based on a fresh investigation of the evidence, with all central texts offered in the original Greek or Latin, as well as in translation. The Stoic Sage can thus also serve as a source book on Stoic wisdom, which should be invaluable to specialists and to anyone interested in one of the cornerstones of the Graeco-Roman classical tradition"--Publisher's website Cover 1 Half title 3 Series-page 4 Frontispiece 6 Title 7 Copyright 8 Contents 9 Preface 11 Introduction 13 Chapter 1 Two Definitions 19 1.1 Introduction 19 1.2 The first definition 20 1.2.1 The attribution 21 1.2.2 Its meaning 30 1.2.2a The parts of philosophy 31 1.2.2b Ethics and physics 36 1.2.2c Knowledge 41 1.3 The second definition 53 1.3.1 Two sources 53 1.3.2 Its meaning 55 1.4 Conclusion 61 Chapter 2 The Change 63 2.1 Introduction 63 2.2 The characteristics in the Synopsis 66 2.2.1 Instantaneous 68 2.2.2 The opposite states 69 2.2.2a Ethics 70 2.2.2b Logic 73 2.2.2c Physics 74 2.2.3 The radical change 80 2.2.3a The radical change in ethics 81 2.2.3b The radical change in logic 82 2.2.3c The radical change in physics 84 2.3 Unnoticed 91 2.4 Conclusion 101 Chapter 3 Sagehood 104 3.1 Introduction 104 3.2 The argument of Against the Professors 7.432-5 105 3.2.1 The distinction between the inferior person and the sage 108 3.2.2 'Up till now the sage has not been found' 109 3.2.2a Parallels in Sextus Empiricus 110 3.2.2b Other parallels 114 3.2.2c 'Rarer than the phoenix' 118 3.2.3 The inference in Sextus Empiricus 124 3.2.4 The Stoics 126 3.2.4a Sphaerus 129 3.2.4b Persaeus 131 3.2.4c Zeno 134 3.2.4d Cleanthes 139 3.2.4e Chrysippus 142 3.3 Conclusion 146 Chapter 4 Socrates 148 4.1 Introduction 148 4.2 Socratic inspiration 149 4.3 The portrait in the Apology 157 4.4 The portrait in the Phaedrus 161 4.5 A sage after all? 175 4.6 The portraits debated 178 4.7 A Socratic definition 184 4.8 Conclusion 188 Conclusion 189 Select Bibliography 192 Sigla 192 Primary literature 192 Secondary literature 201 General Index 220 Index Locorum 229 Offers a reconstruction of one of the cornerstones of Western thought, the Stoic notion of wisdom. It explains its pivotal role within Stoicism and its historical ties with Socrates. Essential reading for philosophers and classicists, and indeed for anyone interested in the Graeco-Roman classical tradition. Rene Brouwer. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 180-207) And Indexes. The first-ever book-length study of the influential Stoic concept of wisdom