Stoicism - College of Stoic Philosophers

STOICISM ON THE THRONE. 213man worse, how can it make a man's life worse ?But neither through ignorance, nor having the knowledge,but not the power to guard against or correctthese things, is itpossible that the nature of theuniverse has overlooked them ;nor is itpossiblethat it has made so great a mistake, either throughwant of power or want of skill, that good and evilshould happen indiscriminately to the good and thebad. But death, certainly, and life,honour and dishonour,pain and pleasure, all these things equallyhappen to good men and bad, being things whichmake us neither better nor worse, therefore, theyare neither good nor evil."^ The optimism mayseem indeed unnaturally strained, and to be fatallyin conflict with the experience of our common manhood,but at least we have here no arrogance of paradox,no lofty airs of scorn for the weakness and thesuffering which cannot freely breathe in those serenerheights.He urges emphatically enough that " the kingdomof heaven is within us."" Look within," he says;"within is the fountain of good, and it will everbubble up, if thou wilt dig."- Yet it cometh notwith observation.There should be something almostunconscious and instinctive in true virtue. "Oneman, when he has done a service to another, isreadyto set it down to his account as a favour conferred.Another is not ready to do this, but still in his ownmind he thinks of the man as his debtor, and heknows what he has done. A third, in a manner, does'"Thoughts," ii. 11. ^ " Thoughts," vii. 59.