The Stoics and the Roman Empire

Stoicism was surprisingly egalitarian in its message, though not in the same way Christianity was. The Stoics exhorted men and women of every station to accept the world and their place within it. Just as a Marcus Aurelius must resign himself each morning to meeting the joyless burdens of his office, so too must the slave resign himself to the joyless burden of his life. No one could argue with the Stoics for cardinal virtues which they derive from Plato: wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.