ABSTRACT
In this study of the Stoic philosophy the chapter turns aside from the supreme problems of the universe, such as gather round the questions of the divine purpose, the existence of evil, and unfettered choice. The region which have now reached is that of ' daily duties', by which phrase it proposes to translate here the Greek and the Latin official. The subject of' daily duties' was treated both by Zeno and by Cleanthes, and is implied in the theory of Stoic ethics. The advantages of the soul, good natural disposition, 'art', and 'progress' are discussed in this chapter; as advantages of the body are reckoned life, health, strength, good proportions, and beauty; whilst external advantages are wealth, reputation, noble birth. Thus from the lowlier conception of 'daily duties' the chapter again climbs upward to the supreme ethical end, to absolute goodness, which is Virtue in her full royalty and the Universal Law as it appeals to the individual man.
