The Stoic Creed - College of Stoic Philosophers

"
130 THE STOIC CREED
an individual was to be a philosopher."
1
He even
conceived the Deity solely from this standpoint of con
templation, not defining Him as an ethical 1
being but
,
as self-reflective, as thinking upon thought." 2 The
Stoics, on the other hand, viewed man first and chiefly
from the side of his activities ; perceiving rightly
enough that these are what have for him the greatest
interest and mould his destiny. Volition comes first ;
practical interests come first. So that, what we find
is this, the battle of intellectualism versus voluntarism
going on then, as it
goes on now ;
and pragmatism,
for the time being, had gotten the victory.
3
II
But if Plato and Aristotle had only a modified and
indirect influence on Stoical ethics, a very direct and
effectual influence came from the Cynics.
4
This may have been accidental, as the story about
Zeno s first introduction to philosophy through Crates
seems to suggest. It is recorded by Diogenes Laertius
(vii. 3) that Zeno, on his arrival at Athens, after ship
wreck, in pursuit of business, happened to take up the
Memorabilia of Xenophon, at a bookseller s stall, and,
on reading part of it with interest and appreciation,
desired to know where such men as there depicted
were to be found. Crates, the Cynic, chanced to be
passing at
the moment, and the bookseller pointed to
1
Sir A. Grant, Aristotle, p. 101. 2
Metaphysics, xi. 9.
3 See Appendix.
4
The name Cynic
is likely derived from the gymnasium
Cynosarges, which the Cynics frequented ; although the personal
habits and temper of the Cynics went far to justify opponents in
applying the term as though it were derived from Ktuv, a dog.