Note 1 — VI. THE STOICS — A FRAGMENT.

Aristotle and the Peripatetics held that there were tria genera bonorum: (1) Those of the mind (mens sana); (2) Those of the body; and (3) External advantages. The Stoics altered this theory by saying that only the first of the three was bonum; the others were merely præposita or sumenda. The opponents of the Stoics contended that this was an alteration in words rather than in substance.

The earlier Stoics laid it down that there were no graduating marks below the level of wisdom: all shortcomings were on a par. Good was a point, Evil was a point; there were gradations in the præposita or sumenda (none of which were good), and in the rejecta or rejicienda (none of which were evil), but there was no more or less good.