Note 1 — Chapter VI · THE STUDY OF NATURE. FUNDAMENTAL POSITIONS.

Whatever attention the Stoics paid to the study of nature and to logic, the real kernel of their system lies, as has been already observed, in their Ethics; even natural science, that ‘most divine part of philosophy,’ was only pursued as an intellectual preparation for Ethics. In the field of Ethics the true spirit of the Stoic system may therefore be expected to appear, and it may be anticipated that this subject will be treated by them with special care. Nor is this expectation a vain one; for here the springs of information flowing freely give ample data respecting the Stoic doctrine of morality. Nevertheless, respecting the formal grouping of these data only vague and contradictory statements are forthcoming. Moreover, the Stoics appear to have followed such different courses and to have been so little afraid of repetition, that it is hardly possible to obtain a complete survey of their whole system by following any one of the traditional divisions.1