The stoic sage : the early stoics on wisdom, sagehood, and Socrates

242 Pages·2014·3.21 MB·English

THE STOIC SAGE
After Plato and Aristotle, the Stoics, from the third century bce onwards,
developedthethirdgreatclassicalconceptionofwisdom.Thisbookoffersa
reconstruction ofthispivotalnotion inStoicism,starting outfrom thetwo
extantStoicdefinitions,‘knowledgeofhumananddivinematters’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
centraltextsofferedintheoriginalGreekorLatin,aswellasintranslation.
TheStoicSagecanthusalsoserveasasourcebookonStoicwisdom,which
should be invaluable to specialists and to anyone interested in one of the
cornerstonesoftheGraeco-Romanclassicaltradition.
rene´ brouwer isalecturerattheUniversityofUtrecht,whereheteaches
on law and philosophy in the Faculty of Law. He works on theory of law
andtopicsinancientphilosophy,withaspecialfocusonStoicism,itsorigins
andreception,andthetraditionofnaturallaw.
cambridge classical studies
Generaleditors
r. l. hunter, r. g. osborne, m. millett, d. n. sedley,
g. c. horrocks, s. p. oakley, w. m. beard

AelbertCuyp,HerdsmenwithCows
Source:DulwichPictureGallery,bypermissionoftheTrusteesofDulwich
PictureGallery
THE STOIC SAGE
The Early Stoics onWisdom, Sagehood and Socrates
RENÉ BROUWER
UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107024212
©FacultyofClassics,UniversityofCambridge2014
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
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Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Brouwer,René.
TheStoicSage:TheEarlyStoicsonWisdom,SagehoodandSocrates/RenéBrouwer.
pagescm– (CambridgeClassicalStudies)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindexes.
isbn978-1-107-02421-2(Hardback:alk.paper) 1. Stoics. 2. Wisdom.
3. Socrates. I. Title.
B528.B7352013
188–dc23
2013028613
isbn978-1-107-02421-2Hardback
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CONTENTS
Frontispiece: Aelbert Cuyp, Herdsmen with Cows page iv
Preface ix
Introduction 1
1 Two definitions 7
1.1 Introduction 7
1.2 Thefirstdefinition 8
1.2.1 Theattribution 9
1.2.2 Itsmeaning 18
1.3 Theseconddefinition 41
1.3.1 Twosources 41
1.3.2 Itsmeaning 43
1.4 Conclusion 49
2 The change 51
2.1 Introduction 51
2.2 ThecharacteristicsintheSynopsis 54
2.2.1 Instantaneous 56
2.2.2 Theoppositestates 57
2.2.3 Theradicalchange 68
2.3 Unnoticed 79
2.4 Conclusion 89
3 Sagehood 92
3.1 Introduction 92
3.2 TheargumentofAgainsttheProfessors7.432–5 93
3.2.1 Thedistinctionbetweentheinferiorperson
andthesage 96
3.2.2 ‘Uptillnowthesagehasnotbeenfound’ 97
3.2.3 TheinferenceinSextusEmpiricus 112
3.2.4 TheStoics 114
3.3 Conclusion 134
4 Socrates 136
4.1 Introduction 136
4.2 Socraticinspiration 137
vii
Contents
4.3 TheportraitintheApology 145
4.4 TheportraitinthePhaedrus 149
4.5 Asageafterall? 163
4.6 Theportraitsdebated 166
4.7 ASocraticdefinition 172
4.8 Conclusion 176
Conclusion 177
Select bibliography 180
Sigla 180
Primary literature 180
Secondary literature 189
General index 208
Index locorum 217
viii