Cleanthes of Assos · Philosophy
Cleanthes drew water by night and studied by day, was mocked as slow and called ‘the ass’ - and became head of the Stoic school and ‘a second Heracles.’ His laborious life was itself an argument: that virtue is sufficient for happiness, that it is earned by endurance and open to the poor, and that pleasure is no part of the goal.
You learned that Cleanthes worked as a water-carrier to fund his study, was nicknamed ‘the ass’ and hailed as ‘a second Heracles’ for his endurance, held that virtue is sufficient for happiness while pleasure is ‘not according to nature,’ and embodied the Stoic self-sufficiency of v…
Leads to Epictetus.
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