Epictetus on How the Stoic Sage Loves.

[Cato]

This is a rather long essay on the Stoic conception of love and how the Stoic should approach matters of the heart. In a nutshell, Stoics see love as a matter of the head rather than of the heart, as non-Stoics do.

http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/Stephens/OSAP%20Epictetus%20on%20Stoic%20Love.htm

[Magister Eckhart]

Excellent reading. Thanks for the post.

I appreciate the quest of the stoics to overcome the superficial and bodily and reach deep within to the intellect, though I think that they do tend to neglect the spiritual consequences of this act, preferring a more material conceptualisation of the human person, because it restricts the intellect's ability to perceive and interact with The Ultimate.

[Cato]

Excellent reading. Thanks for the post.

I appreciate the quest of the stoics to overcome the superficial and bodily and reach deep within to the intellect, though I think that they do tend to neglect the spiritual consequences of this act, preferring a more material conceptualisation of the human person, because it restricts the intellect's ability to perceive and interact with The Ultimate.

Stoicism has a triad of ethics, logic, and metaphysics. It appeals to me in terms of ethics first, metaphysics next (Stoic metaphysics are actually varied and complex), and logic after this. It appealed, and continues to appeal, to people for a variety of reasons. To me, it was the finest belief system to emerge from classical civilization (perhaps in Occidental history) and has stood the test of time as people here and now begin to rediscover it.

Seneca had a comment, "It is [Stoic] philosophy that has the duty of protecting us; without it no one can lead a life free of fear or worry."

[Magister Eckhart]

Stoicism has a triad of ethics, logic, and metaphysics. It appeals to me in terms of ethics first, metaphysics next (Stoic metaphysics are actually varied and complex), and logic after this. It appealed, and continues to appeal, to people for a variety of reasons. To me, it was the finest belief system to emerge from classical civilization (perhaps in Occidental history) and has stood the test of time as people here and now begin to rediscover it.

Seneca had a comment, "It is [Stoic] philosophy that has the duty of protecting us; without it no one can lead a life free of fear or worry."

Much that comes from earlier times has withstood the test of time and is worth rediscovering - Plotinus is among these, and I feel it benefits a man more to come to a deeper understanding of his nothingness than to strip away only the penultimate layers of superficial perception. Stoicism's principal fault is that it stops before it gets to the real essence of things, which is why even to those who recognise the necessity of an ineffable One, the stoics remain an admirable and fascinating school.

[Cato]

Much that comes from earlier times has withstood the test of time and is worth rediscovering - Plotinus is among these, and I feel it benefits a man more to come to a deeper understanding of his nothingness than to strip away only the penultimate layers of superficial perception. Stoicism's principal fault is that it stops before it gets to the real essence of things, which is why even to those who recognise the necessity of an ineffable One, the stoics remain an admirable and fascinating school.

Not everyone has the temperament or mentality for such schools as Neoplatonism. Stoicism is a purely practical and utilitarian school that offers ethical teachings that can be taught to anyone. I've examined Stoic metaphysics a bit, but there's a great deal to take in and it can't be studied all at once. So I prefer to focus instead on the ethical character of Stoicism and dabble in Stoic cosmology and theology only from time-to-time.