The Stoic Creed - College of Stoic Philosophers

184 THE STOIC CREED
"all human laws are nurtured by the one divine law ;
for this prevails as much as it
and has something over."
will, and suffices for all,
Nor was this a mere senti
ment with the Stoic, but a living, operative principle,
turned to great use.
Aurelius in his State legislation.
the great jurists
It was embodied by the Emperor
Need we wonder that
of the second and third centuries of
the Christian era worked under the impulse
of Stoic
principle? Who but the Stoically-minded were thus
competent ? None were so able to enshrine the moral
law that legislated within in the form of the actual law
operating without ;
and none were so successful in
bringing State and conscience into unison and harmony.
VI
Particularly noticeable is the Stoic s appreciation of
the regenerative power of a virtuous life in the world.
He maintained that virtue could be taught ; but, though
not despising theory and theoretical teaching, he held
that the most potent schoolmaster is the life of indi
vidual men clearly displayed. We learn by copying,
more than from prelection. Hence, (a)
in the first
place, he had certain moral heroes, certain supreme
examples of strenuous moral living, whom he held up
for imitation
such as Socrates, Hercules, Antisthenes,
Diogenes. These he set forth as models. For this
purpose he had to idealize them. He was not unaware
of defects in the actual men :
Seneca, for instance,
admits that Socrates had flaws and shortcomings, and
these are not to be followed. 1
But though the models
1
That there never was a perfect concrete example of the Stoic
Wise Man, is strongly urged by Lucian in his Hermotimus.