Roman Stoicism

At the beginning of the first century ad, Stoicism became popular among the Roman intellectual elite. The Stoicism that developed during this era reflected the eclectic spirit of intellectual Roman Hellenism. Romans borrowed and integrated ideas from various schools of philosophy, apparently without noticing their own syncretistic approach (Engberg-Pedersen, “Setting the Scene,” 6–8). These new philosophers’ innovations were not simply adoptions of other philosophies, but were truly creative as they culled from each philosophy and integrated the ideas into a cohesive whole (Engberg-Pedersen, “Setting the Scene,” 10). Philosophers could thus consider themselves loyal to a particular school, holding to its basic tenets, while still incorporating elements from other schools into their personal philosophies (Engberg-Pedersen, “Setting the Scene,” 12).

Selecting the best and adopting eclectically, however, meant there was little theoretical innovation in this period. Innovation—especially within Stoicism—was almost entirely in the realm of applied ethics (Gill, “Roman Imperial Period,” 40–42; see also Brunschwig and Lloyd, Greek Thought, 979–80). Stoic ethicists were advisors to the emperor and other powerful figures, especially after Julius Caesar (Gill, “Roman Imperial Period,” 35). Philosophers such as Cato, Cicero, Areius Didymus, Musonius Rufus, and Seneca lived during this period.

The political popularity of Stoicism lasted only as long as politicians met the Stoics’ ethical standards. As Nero’s excesses grew, the elite opposition launched ethical protests couched in Stoic terms (Arnold, Roman Stoicism, 394–99). Domitian expelled all philosophers from Rome as political malcontents and activists because they opposed him (Arnold, Roman Stoicism, 120–21). Under Vespasian, the senatorial class—many of whom were self-proclaimed Stoic philosophers—began agitating for a “democracy” in which the senatorial class ruled Rome. Like Domitian, Vespasian responded by expelling all philosophers and persecuting some, with the exception of Musonius Rufus (Arnold, Roman Stoicism, 400–01).

By ad 96, Stoicism was “the recognised creed of the great majority of the educated classes at Rome, of all ages and ranks” (Arnold, Roman Stoicism, 402). However, it was not the unified theory of the cosmos envisioned by Zeno and his followers; it was a Stoicism of ethics, duty, and impassivity, developed from the early concept of indifference (Arnold, Roman Stoicism, 404). As a politically and socially appropriate philosophy, it taught its disciples to live ethical lives but did not demand the intellectual investment of early Stoicism.