The Stoic Creed - College of Stoic Philosophers

"
132 THE STOIC CREED
in external circumstances or the so-called good things
of life, which are variable and uncertain and which
perish in the using, leaving one unsatisfied. It is the
characteristic of the wise man that he is self-sufficient
independent of fortune s favour and of everything outside
himself: he is master of the world by being master of
his own desires. Hence, he can endure hardness without
repining and can even rejoice in it and
;
asceticism is his
natural element.
This is robust moral teaching. But there are dangers
attaching to The it. self-sufficiency of the wise man,
if not carefully watched and guarded, may degenerate
into pride and self-satisfaction and ostentation (as too
frequently it did among the Cynics), and, consequently,
into contempt for others. There is a story of Antisthenes,
recorded by Diogenes Laertius (ii. 5), which
illustrates this.
One day Antisthenes was seen turning
the torn part of his cloak towards the spectator, so as
to attract his attention and, doubtless, to draw forth his
regard. Whereupon Socrates, exactly gauging the
situation, remarked, I see your vanity through your
cloak." Another illustration refers to Diogenes the
Cynic. Once, on entering Plato s house, he ostenta
tiously trampled on his fine carpet, remarking, "Thus
I tread on Plato s pride." "Yes, Diogenes," was
Plato s answer, "with another pride of your own"
(Diog. Laert. ii. 53). Here, Cynicism has become
rudeness ;
which is further exemplified by a familiar
incident in the life of Diogenes. When Alexander the
Great visited him, as he lay basking in the sun, at
Corinth, Alexander saluted him, and desired to know if
there was anything that he wanted. To this Diogenes