Panaetius of Rhodes · Philosophy
Panaetius’s most original idea, preserved in Cicero’s De Officiis: each of us wears four ‘masks’ or roles - our common rational nature, our individual temperament, the circumstances fortune deals us, and the calling we freely choose - so that living well means playing your <em>own</em> part with consistency, not copying someone else’s.
You learned that Panaetius (in Cicero, De Officiis I.107-121) described four personae we each bear: universal rational nature, our individual temperament and talents, our circumstances, and our chosen career - and that acting well means suiting our conduct to our own combination of roles rather than aping someone else…
Leads to William Shakespeare.
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