Cleanthes of Assos · Philosophy
Cleanthes made one small addition to Zeno’s definition of the goal of life - the words ‘with nature’ - and in doing so fixed the compass of Stoic ethics for centuries: to live well is to live in agreement not merely with oneself, but with the rational order of the whole.
You learned that Zeno defined the goal ( telos ) as ‘living in agreement,’ that Cleanthes added ‘with nature’ to give that agreement an object, and that the resulting formula - living in agreement with nature - means living by reason and virtue, in tune with the logos that governs the whole. Ex…
Leads to Zeno of Citium.
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