Cleanthes - Wikipedia Cleanthes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Ancient Greek philosopher This article is about the Stoic philosopher. For the ancient painter, see Cleanthes (artist). Cleanthes Cleanthes, engraving from 1605 Born c. 330 BC Assos Died c. 230 BC Athens Era Hellenistic philosophy Region Western philosophy School Stoicism Main interests Physics, ethics Influences Zeno of Citium Influenced Chrysippus, Sphaerus Cleanthes (/kliˈænθiːz/; Greek: Κλεάνθης Kleanthēs; c. 330 BC – c. 230 BC), of Assos, was a Greek Stoic philosopher and successor to Zeno of Citium as the second head (scholarch) of the Stoic school in Athens. Originally a boxer, he came to Athens where he took up philosophy, listening to Zeno's lectures. He supported himself by working as a water-carrier at night. After the death of Zeno, c. 262 BC, he became the head of the school, a post he held for the next 32 years. Cleanthes successfully preserved and developed Zeno's doctrines. He originated new ideas in Stoic physics, and developed Stoicism in accordance with the principles of materialism and pantheism. Among the fragments of Cleanthes' writings which have come down to us, the largest is a Hymn to Zeus. His pupil was Chrysippus who became one of the most important Stoic thinkers. Contents 1 Life 2 Philosophy 2.1 Physics 2.2 Ethics 3 Modern influence 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Life[edit] Cleanthes was born in Assos in the Troad, about 330 BC.[a] According to Diogenes Laërtius,[2] he was the son of Phanias, and early in life he was a boxer. With but four drachmae in his possession he came to Athens, where he took up philosophy, listening first to the lectures of Crates the Cynic,[3] and then to those of Zeno, the Stoic. In order to support himself, he worked all night as water-carrier to a gardener (hence his nickname the Well-Water-Collector, Greek: Φρεάντλης). As he spent the whole day in studying philosophy with no visible means of support, he was summoned before the Areopagus to account for his way of living. The judges were so delighted by the evidence of work which he produced, that they voted him ten minae, though Zeno would not permit him to accept them. His power of patient endurance, or perhaps his slowness, earned him the title of "the Ass" from his fellow students, a name which he was said to have rejoiced in, as it implied that his back was strong enough to bear whatever Zeno put upon it. Such was the esteem awakened by his high moral qualities that, on the death of Zeno in 262 BC, he became the leader of the school. He continued, however, to support himself by the labour of his own hands. Among his pupils were his successor, Chrysippus, and Antigonus II Gonatas, from whom he accepted 3000 minae. He died at the age of 99, c. 230 BC.[a] We are told that a dangerous ulcer had compelled him to fast for a time. Subsequently he continued his abstinence, saying that, as he was already half-way on the road to death, he would not trouble to retrace his steps.[2] Simplicius, writing in the 6th century AD, mentions that a statue of Cleanthes was still visible at Assos, which had been erected by the Roman Senate.[4] Philosophy[edit] Cleanthes was an important figure in the development of Stoicism, and stamped his personality on the physical speculations of the school, and by his materialism gave a unity to the Stoic system.[5] He wrote some fifty works, of which only fragments have survived preserved by writers such as Diogenes Laërtius, Stobaeus, Cicero, Seneca and Plutarch. Physics[edit] Cleanthes revolutionized Stoic physics by the theory of tension (tonos) which distinguished Stoic materialism from all conception of matter as dead and inert.[6] He developed Stoic pantheism, and applied his materialistic views to logic and ethics.[7] Thus he argued that the soul was a material substance, and that this was proved (a) by the circumstance that not only bodily qualities, but also mental capacity, are transmitted by ordinary generation from parent to child; and (b) by the sympathy of the soul with the body seen in the fact that, when the body is struck or cut, the soul is pained; and when the soul is torn by anxiety or depressed by care, the body is correspondingly affected.[8] Cleanthes also taught that souls live on after death, but that the intensity of its existence would vary according to the strength or weakness of the particular soul.[9] Cleanthes regarded the Sun as being divine;[10] because the Sun sustains all living things, it resembled the divine fire which (in Stoic physics) animated all living beings, hence it too must be part of the vivifying fire or aether of the universe. Some maintain that he accused Aristarchus of impiety for daring to put into motion "the hearth of the universe" (i.e. the Earth); this interpretation depends on an emendation of the received text,[11] since in the manuscripts it is Aristarchus that did the accusing.[12] The largest surviving fragment of Cleanthes is the portion of the Hymn to Zeus,[13] which has been preserved in Stobaeus, in which he declares praise and honour of Zeus to be the highest privilege of all rational beings.[14] Ethics[edit] Cleanthes maintained that pleasure is not only not a good, but is "contrary to nature" and "worthless."[15] It was his opinion that the passions (love, fear, grief) are weaknesses: they lack the strain or tension which he persistently emphasized, and on which the strength of the soul, no less than that of the body, depends, and which constitutes in human beings self-control, and moral strength, and also conditions every virtue.[15] He said in a striking passage: "People walk in wickedness all their lives or, at any rate, for the greater part of it. If they ever attain to virtue, it is late and at the very sunset of their days."[16] Zeno had said that the goal of life was "to live consistently," the implication being that no life but the passionless life of reason could ultimately be consistent with itself. Cleanthes is credited with having added the words "with nature," thus completing the well-known Stoic formula that the goal is "to live consistently with nature."[17] For Cleanthes, this meant, in the first place, living conformably to the course of the universe; for the universe is under the governance of reason, and everyone has it as their privilege to know or become acquainted with the world-course, to recognize it as rational and cheerfully to conform to it.[18] This, according to him, is true freedom of will not acting without motive, or apart from set purpose, or capriciously, but humbly acquiescing in the universal order, and, therefore, in everything that befalls one.[18] The direction to follow Universal Nature can be traced in his famous prayer: Lead me, Zeus, and you too, Destiny, To wherever your decrees have assigned me. I follow readily, but if I choose not, Wretched though I am, I must follow still. Fate guides the willing, but drags the unwilling.[19] Modern influence[edit] Most notably, a fictionalized version of Cleanthes appears as one of the three main interlocutors in David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, where he defends the view that a posteriori knowledge of the existence and nature of God is possible for us.[20] Cleanthes also appears in José Enrique Rodó's essay Ariel, in which he is depicted as meditating on the teachings of Zeno as he carried water all through the night. See also[edit] Acts 17:28 Notes[edit] ^ a b According to Apollodorus as quoted by Philodemus, Cleanthes was born in Aristophanes' archonship (331/0 BC) and died in Jason's Archonship (230/29 BC). Pseudo-Lucian, Valerius Maximus, and Censorinus say that Cleanthes lived to the age of 99 (although Diogenes Laërtius says he died at the age of 80.[1]) Dorandi prefers an age of 101. For more information see Dorandi 1999, p. 38. ^ "until his death at the same age as Zeno according to some authorities" (Laërtius 1925, § 168–176). ^ a b Laërtius 1925, § 168–176 ^ Suda, Cleanthes ^ Simplicius, Commentary on the Enchiridion of Epictetus. ^ Davidson 1907, p. 27 ^ Hicks 1910, p. 7 ^ Davidson 1907, p. 28 ^ Davidson 1907, p. 95 ^ Plutarch, Plac. Phil. iv. 7. ^ Cicero, De Natura Deorum, ii. 15. ^ Plutarch, On the face of the orb of the Moon, 922F–923A ^ Russo & Medaglia 1996, pp. 113-121. ^ Ellery 1976; Rolleston 1890, pp. 1–2, 129 ^ Hicks 1910, pp. 96–97 ^ a b Davidson 1907, p. 148 ^ Hicks 1910, p. 89 ^ Stock 1908, p. 7 ^ a b Davidson 1907, p. 143 ^ Epictetus, Enchiridion, 53; Seneca, Epistles, cvii, 11. The fifth line is not found in Epictetus. ^ Hume, David (1779). Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. London: Penguin Books. References[edit] Dorandi, Tiziano (1999), "Chapter 2: Chronology", in Algra, Keimpe; et al. (eds.), The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 38, ISBN 9780521250283 Davidson, William Leslie (1907), The Stoic Creed, Clark Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus, translated by Ellery, M., 1976, archived from the original on 2007-12-24 Hicks, Robert Drew (1910), Stoic and Epicurean, C. Scribner   Laërtius, Diogenes (1925), "The Stoics: Cleanthes" , Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, 2:7, translated by Hicks, Robert Drew (Two volume ed.), Loeb Classical Library, § 168–176 "'Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus", The Teaching of Epictetus: Being the 'Encheiridion of Epictetus', with Selections from the 'Dissertations' and 'Fragments', translated by Rolleston, Thomas William (2nd ed.), London: Walter Scott, Ltd., 1890, pp. 1-1, note 1 on p. 129 Russo, Lucio; Medaglia, Silvio M. (1996), "Sulla presunta accusa di empietà ad Aristarco di Samo", Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica, New Series, Fabrizio Serra Editore, 53 (2): 113, doi:10.2307/20547344, JSTOR 20547344 Stock, St. George William Joseph (1908), Stoicism, Constable Further reading[edit] Hume, David, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, in which "Cleanthes" is a character Meijer P. A., (2008), Stoic theology. Proofs for the existence of the cosmic god and of the traditional gods. Including a commentary on Cleanthes' Hymn on Zeus. Delft, Eburon. Pearson, A., (1891), Fragments of Zeno and Cleanthes. Greek/Latin fragments with English commentary. Thom, J., (2005), Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 3-16-148660-9. External links[edit] Wikisource has original works written by or about: Cleanthes Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cleanthes. "Cleanthes" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. Works by or about Cleanthes at Internet Archive Works by Cleanthes at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) "Bibliography for Cleanthes" at "A Hellenistic Bibliography", compiled by Martine Cuypers, Trinity College Dublin. Preceded by Zeno of Citium Leader of the Stoic school 262–230 BC Succeeded by Chrysippus 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 General Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 WorldCat National libraries Norway Spain France (data) United States Czech Republic Greece Netherlands Poland Sweden Vatican Scientific databases CiNii (Japan) Other Faceted Application of Subject Terminology RERO (Switzerland) 1 SUDOC (France) 1 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cleanthes&oldid=1018199016" Categories: 230s BC deaths 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC philosophers Ancient Greeks who committed suicide Stoic philosophers Ancient Greek boxers Hellenistic-era philosophers from Anatolia 330s BC births Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles with hCards Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text Articles containing Greek-language text Wikipedia articles incorporating the template Lives of the Eminent Philosophers Commons category link is on Wikidata Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Articles with Internet Archive links Articles with LibriVox links Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLG identifiers Wikipedia articles with NTA identifiers Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with VcBA identifiers Wikipedia articles with CINII identifiers Wikipedia articles with FAST identifiers Wikipedia articles with RERO identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Wikipedia articles with multiple 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 In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikisource Languages العربية Azərbaycanca Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Latina Magyar Nederlands Norsk bokmål Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 16 April 2021, at 19:00 (UTC). 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