Stoics

stoiks, a school of Greek philosophers. Zeno, a native of Cyprus, was the founder of the school. He died about 264 B. C. The word Stoic is from the Greek signifying a porch, having reference to the painted porch or portico in the Agora at Athens which Zeno and his followers frequented. He taught that the supreme end of life is virtue, and that virtue should seek expression in action. The Stoics were the Puritans of Greece. They held that the performance of duty is the result of wisdom; that joy and grief should be without outward manifestation; that action should be governed by a sense of duty, not by inclination. The wise man, according to his belief, is not without feeling, but he is without passion. In the performance of duty he spares neither himself nor others. In matters of opinion each man is his own judge and is inferior to no one. Socrates was a Stoic. So were the Roman Cato, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. See Epicure