Diogenes Laërtius · fl. 3rd century CE
Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.84 — Diogenes Laërtius on the Stoics
Translation by R. D. Hicks (1925)
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.84
Reported speech · Diogenes Laërtius on the Stoics
The ethical branch of philosophy they divide as follows: (1) the topic of impulse; (2) the topic of things good and evil; (3) that of the passions; (4) that of virtue; (5) that of the end; (6) that of primary value and of actions; (7) that of duties or the befitting; and (8) of inducements to act or refrain from acting. The foregoing is the subdivision adopted by Chrysippus, Archedemus, Zeno of Tarsus, Apollodorus, Diogenes, Antipater, and Posidonius, and their disciples. Zeno of Citium and Cleanthes treated the subject somewhat less elaborately, as might be expected in an older generation. They, however, did subdivide Logic and Physics as well as Ethics.
Cite this passage
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 7.84 (on the Stoics), tr. R. D. Hicks (1925)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/lives-of-the-stoics/7.84
Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book VII, tr. R. D. Hicks (Loeb, 1925). Text: Perseus Digital Library (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesLists the eight topics of Stoic ethics: impulse, good and evil, the passions, virtue, the goal of life, primary values and actions, duties and what is fitting, and motives for acting or holding back. Notes that Zeno and Cleanthes organised it less elaborately than later Stoics. A table of contents, not guidance.
Older wording
- “passions”
- — strong, disturbing emotions
- “the end”
- — life's ultimate goal
- “the befitting”
- — what is appropriate or fitting, one's duties
Themes and situations
- Virtue and character
- Emotions and the passions
- Duty and roles
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