Hercules asked her name, my friends call me you Daimenea or happiness. I came because I know your parents, Zeus and Alkmani,. What I saw filled me with hope that if only you would follow the path that leads to me, you might one day become a great hero and perform many noble deeds. However, rather than delude you with promises of future pleasures, I will tell you the truth exactly as it's ordained by the gods. Nothing that is truly good and admirable is granted by them to men without some effort and application. If you want the gods to bestow their grace in you for instance, you must worship them and live piously
This is the famous speech, which we’re told inspired Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, to embark on a life of philosophy. He came across it in Book Two of Xenophon’s Memorabilia Socratis, where Socrates is portrayed reciting a version of it, which he learned from the celebrated Sophist and orator, Prodicus. It’s an exhortation to philosophy, which uses the legend of Hercules as an allegory to illustrate the choice between a life of virtue and one of vice. This story was illustrated in our graphic novel, Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius.
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Highlights
* Introducing the speech
* Hercules confronted by the choice between two paths in life
* The temptations of Kakia or Vice, to a life of pleasure and idleness
* The exhortation of Arete or Virtue, to temperance and endurance
* The legacy of the speech and influence on Stoicism
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