St. George Stock (modern guide) · 1850–1922
A Guide to Stoicism 4 ¶17 — St. George Stock (modern guide)
From “Ethic”
Original English text (1908)
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 4 ¶17
The true and only good then was identical with what the Greeks called 'the beautiful' and what we call 'the right'. To say that a thing was right was to say that it was good, and conversely to say that it was good was to say that it was right; this absolute identity between the good and the right and, on the other hand, between the bad and wrong, was the head and front of the Stoic ethics. The right contained in itself all that was necessary for the happy life, the wrong was the only evil, and made men miserable whether they knew it or not.
Cite this passage
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 4 ¶17 (1908)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/a-guide-to-stoicism/4.17
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 notesFor the Stoics the only good is the same thing as what is right, and the only evil is the same thing as what is wrong. Doing right contains everything needed for a happy life, and doing wrong makes people miserable whether they notice it or not.
Older wording
- “the beautiful”
- — what is morally fine or admirable
- “the head and front”
- — the chief feature
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Justice and fairness
- An ethical dilemma
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