Sphaerus - Wikipedia Sphaerus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Sphaerus Engraving by Girolamo Olgiati, 1580 Born c. 285 BC Died c. 210 BC Era Ancient philosophy Region Western philosophy School Stoicism Influences Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes Sphaerus (Greek: Σφαῖρος; c. 285 BC – c. 210 BC) of Borysthenes[1] or the Bosphorus,[2] was a Stoic philosopher. Contents 1 Life 2 Ideas 3 Writings 4 Notes 5 References Life[edit] Sphaerus studied first under Zeno of Citium, and afterwards under Cleanthes. He taught in Sparta, where he acted as advisor to Cleomenes III.[1] He moved to Alexandria at some point, (possibly when Cleomenes himself was exiled there in 222 BC) where he lived in the court of Ptolemy IV Philopator. Ideas[edit] Little survives of his works, but Sphaerus had a considerable reputation among the Stoics for the accuracy of his definitions.[3] Examine the definitions of courage: you will find it does not require the assistance of passion. Courage is, then, an affection of mind that endures all things, being itself in proper subjection to the highest of all laws; or it may be called a firm maintenance of judgment in supporting or repelling everything that has a formidable appearance, or a knowledge of what is formidable or otherwise, and maintaining invariably a stable judgment of all such things, so as to bear them or despise them ... for the above definitions are Sphaerus’s, a man of the first ability as a layer-down of definitions, as the Stoics think. — Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, iv. 24 [53][3] Diogenes Laërtius[4] and Athenaeus[5] tell a story of how he once saved himself from admitting that he had been deceived by a trick played upon him by King Ptolemy: And once, when there was a discussion concerning the question whether a wise man would allow himself to be guided by opinion, and when Sphaerus affirmed that he would not, the king, wishing to refute him, ordered some pomegranates of wax to be set before him; and when Sphaerus was deceived by them, the king shouted that he had given his assent to a false perception. But Sphaerus answered very neatly, that he had not given his assent to the fact that they were pomegranates, but to the fact that it was probable that they might be pomegranates. And that a perception which could be comprehended differed from one that was only probable.[4] Writings[edit] According to Diogenes Laërtius, Sphaerus wrote the following works:[6] Περὶ κόσμου δύο – On the Universe (two books) Περὶ στοιχείων – On the Elements [Περὶ] σπέρματος – [On] Seed Περὶ τύχης – On Fortune Περὶ ἐλαχίστων – On the Smallest Things Πρὸς τὰς ἀτόμους καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα – Against Atoms and Images Περὶ αἰσθητηρίων – On the Senses Περὶ Ἡρακλείτου πέντε διατριβῶν – On Heraclitus (five lectures) Περὶ τῆς ἠθικῆς διατάξεως – On the Arrangement of Ethics Περὶ καθήκοντος – On Duty Περὶ ὁρμῆς – On Impulse Περὶ παθῶν δύο – On Passions (two books) Περὶ βασιλείας – On Kingship Περὶ Λακωνικῆς πολιτείας – On the Lacedaemonian Constitution Περὶ Λυκούργου καὶ Σωκράτους τρία – On Lycurgus and Socrates (three books) Περὶ νόμου – On Law Περὶ μαντικῆς – On Divination Διαλόγους ἐρωτικούς – Dialogues on Love Περὶ τῶν Ἐρετριακῶν φιλοσόφων – On the Eretrian Philosophers Περὶ ὁμοίων – On Things Similar Περὶ ὅρων – On Terms Περὶ ἕξεως – On Habits Περὶ τῶν ἀντιλεγομένων τρία – On Contradictions (three books) Περὶ λόγου – On Discourse Περὶ πλούτου – On Wealth Περὶ δόξης – On Glory Περὶ θανάτου – On Death Τέχνης διαλεκτικῆς δύο – Art of Dialectics (two books) Περὶ κατηγορημάτων – On Predicates Περὶ ἀμφιβολιῶν – On Ambiguity Ἐπιστολάς – Letters Notes[edit] ^ a b Plutarch, Cleomenes, 2.2. ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 37, 177 ^ a b Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, iv. 24. ^ a b Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 177 ^ Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, viii. 354 ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 178 References[edit]  Laërtius, Diogenes (1925). "The Stoics: Sphaerus" . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. 2:7. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. v t e Stoicism Philosophers Early Zeno of Citium Persaeus Aristo Sphaerus Herillus Cleanthes Chrysippus Zeno of Tarsus Crates of Mallus Diogenes of Babylon Dioscorides Zenodotus Dionysius of Cyrene Apollodorus Antipater of Tarsus Middle Panaetius Dardanus Mnesarchus Hecato Posidonius Diodotus Diotimus Geminus Antipater of Tyre Athenodorus Cananites Late Seneca Cornutus Musonius Rufus Euphrates Cleomedes Epictetus Hierocles Junius Rusticus Marcus Aurelius Chaeremon Mara bar Serapion Philosophy Stoicism categories logic passions physics Neostoicism Modern Stoicism Concepts Adiaphora Apatheia Ataraxia Ekpyrosis Eudaimonia Katalepsis Kathekon Logos Oikeiôsis Pneuma Prohairesis Sophos Works Epictetus Discourses Enchiridion Marcus Aurelius Meditations Seneca Letters to Lucilius Essays: Anger Benefits Clemency Constancy Happiness Leisure Providence Shortness of Life Tranquillity Consolations Other Lectures (Musonius Rufus) On Passions (Chrysippus) Republic (Zeno) Related articles Paradoxa Stoicorum Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta Stoic Opposition Moral intellectualism Authority control Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat (via VIAF) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sphaerus&oldid=975490011" Categories: Stoic philosophers 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers Ancient Pontic Greeks Ptolemaic court 280s BC births 210s BC deaths Hidden categories: Articles with hCards Articles containing Greek-language text Wikipedia articles incorporating the template Lives of the Eminent Philosophers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages Български Català Ελληνικά Español Estremeñu Français Italiano مصرى Português Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 28 August 2020, at 20:18 (UTC). 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