St. George Stock (modern guide) · 1850–1922
A Guide to Stoicism 2 ¶2 — St. George Stock (modern guide)
From “Division of Philosophy”
Original English text (1908)
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 2 ¶2
As to the order in which the different departments should be studied, we have had preserved to us the actual words of Chrysippus in his fourth book on Lives. 'First of all then it seems to me that, as has been rightly said by the ancients, there are three heads under which the speculations of the philosopher fall, logic, ethic, physic; next, that of these the logical should come first, the ethical second, and the physical third, and that of the physical the treatment of the gods should come last, whence also they have given the name of "completions" to the instruction delivered on this subject'. That this order however might yield to convenience is plain from another book on the use of reason, where he says that 'the student who takes up logic first need not entirely abstain from the other branches of philosophy, but should study them also as occasion offers.'
Cite this passage
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 2 ¶2 (1908)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/a-guide-to-stoicism/2.2
St. George Stock, Stoicism (1908), text of the Haldeman-Julius reprint “A Guide to Stoicism”. Text: Project Gutenberg #7514. Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesChrysippus recommended studying logic first, ethics second and physics last, with the theology of the gods at the very end. He also allowed that a student of logic could dip into the other subjects as the occasion arose.
Older wording
- “completions”
- — final stages of instruction, like the last rites of a mystery cult
Themes and situations
- Learning and progress
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.