Old Stoic Books: COSP’s Rare Book Collection COSP
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ISSUE 32
March 2022
A publication of the College of Stoic Philosophers
THE STOIC PHILOSOPHER
OLD STOIC BOOKS
COSP: RARE BOOK
COLLECTION
BY MARK STARY, FCSP
Indiana Jones: “If You Want To Be A
Good Archeologist, You Gotta Get Out
Of The Library!”
Indiana Jones (the classic 1980’s motion
picture action hero portrayed by
Harrison Ford) in the quote above, seems
to be giving some solid Stoic advice,
echoing the teaching of our beloved
Epictetus. Simply stated in the title of
the 2009 John Sellars influential book
“The Art of Living”, Stoicism is intended
to be practiced and crafted out in the
turbulent world we all live in.
This last winter I was snowed in at an old
lodge in northern Minnesota (USA) on
the shores of Lake Superior (one of the
world’s largest freshwater lakes). I am a
musician and was performing at a
friend’s wedding when a heavy winter
storm hit and made travel back to my
home in St. Paul, Minnesota, dangerous.
Yet, I was grateful the universe granted
me this time away from the turbulent
world of life in the city, because it gave
me time for the library… the online
library of the College of Stoic
Philosophers.
Weeks earlier, one of the faculty
introduced me to “The Stacks” – a
collection of dozens of scanned public
domain books (Stoic in nature) published
from the 1600’s to the early 1900’s. These
books, while a resource, had not been
recently catalogued or inspected.
Mark Stary: Musician
(Guitar, Harmonica,
Singer-Songwriter),
Therapy Dog Teacher
(Canine Inspired Change),
Podcaster (Mark Stary
I was asked (and happily accepted) to
organize this book collection (title, date,
publisher, description, etc.) so that it
could be made more searchable and
accessible on the College website
Resource page. While examining these
books, I came across some
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noteworthy
items that seem especially unique and
interesting.
Music Podcast), Portrait
Artist, Interests: same as
above plus family and
friends, Academic
Interests: Stoicism and
Panpsychism/Consciousness. Stoic since 2018. SES
So, while snowed in on Lake Superior,
listening to the waves crash from the
winter storm outside (and the ringing in
my ears from the wedding performance
the night before), I decided to put on my
proverbial Indiana Jones hat and kick off
my adventure looking for fame and
fortune in the dusty catacombs of “The
Stacks.”
grad (2020) MA grad
I am confident that anyone who has an
interest in old and rare books on
Stoicism will find something new to
discover with every visit to the College
“Rare Books” collection. Here, I will
highlight two texts that I discovered and
which I consider to be “hidden gems.”
music and teaching.
(2021). I live in St Paul, MN,
with my fiancée, two
golden retriever dogs and
a cat. I travel back and
forth between Wisconsin
and Minnesota performing
ISSUE 32 //March 2022
page 2
ISSUE 32
THE HYMN OF CLEANTHES translated
and with commentary by E.H.
Blakeney (1921)
Cleanthes was the second scholarch,
having taken over the School following
Zeno’s death. This translation of
Cleanthes’ Hymn to Zeus is bookended
by an introduction and commentary by
E.H. Blakeney.
Here, I am sharing some insights drawn
directly from this work:
“In Stoicism, though in some respects
Cleanthes revolutionized the study of
physics, which he regarded as giving the
surest rule for human conduct generally,
the main interest of the creed lies in its
moral postulates. Physics is to be
regarded as the scaffolding of ethics.”
(p. 3)
“What the position of Cleanthes really
was, in the sphere of religion, we can
never fully ascertain; we possess his
teachings only in fragments, and we
cannot properly judge a thinker by the
disjecta membra of his philosophy. But
we seem to discover in Cleanthes, when
we read his hymn (was it written in early,
middle, or later life?), a genuinely
religious man, “bent on giving a
theological interpretation of the world,
and breathing a pious submission to the
world-order which it is refreshing to feel
and come in contact with” (p.6, quoting
Davidson, The Stoic Creed).
“Cleanthes feels himself akin to the
divine, and therefore worthy to hold
communion with it; he expresses his
admiration for, and submission to, the
divine order of the world; he recognizes
that the moral evil in the world is the
result not of fate but of man’s freewill;
he prays God to free human souls from
ignorance; and closes with an
apostrophe in praise of God’s law.” (p. 9)
“The hymn is throughout inspired by the
consciousness that its one spiritual
power which penetrates and controls
the Universe, and is the source of every
work done under the sun.” (p. 14)
March 2022
As a
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traditional Stoic, I found this
analytic look at Cleanthes and his “Hymn
to Zeus” interesting because of its
emphasis on and the importance of Stoic
physics. I find Cleanthes’ views of
submission to the wisdom of universal
consciousness and world-order fully
applicable, comforting, refreshing and
fundamental in my personal practice of
Stoicism here in the 21st century. I
subscribe to the Stoic similes used to
explain the relationship between the
three parts of logic, physics, and ethics.
Without trees (physics), why bother with
a fence (logic), and forget about fruit
(ethics).
verse: “Respecting Man, things are
divided thus:
Some do not, and so do belong to us.
Some within compass of our power fall,
And these are they, which we our own
may call.” (p. 23)
EPICTETI ENCHIRIDION MADE ENGLISH
IN A POETICAL PARAPHRASE by Ellis
Walker (1692)
I encourage you to visit the Rare Book
stacks at:
https://collegeofstoicphilosophers.org/
library-the-stacks/
As primarily a full-time musician and
songwriter for the last 20 years, I found
this artistic Stoic text particularly
interesting. The author, visiting his uncle
who shares a love of Epictetus, decides
to render him in verse. That is an
amazing undertaking, in my view. Not
sure if I personally could put music
behind this material, but I did find it
thought provoking if there is a place for
Stoic poetry or Stoic music in our current
world or not.
The author’s dedication speaks for itself:
“To my Honoured Uncle Mr. Samuel
Walker of York. When I fled to you for
shelter, at the breaking out of the
present Troubles in Ireland, I took
Epictetus for my Companion; and found
that both I, and my Friend were welcome
… You may remember, I then told you,
that as they seem’d Such to me, so I
thought they would very well take a
Poetical
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dress: You said the attempt was
bold, but withal wish’s it well done. I
hurry’d on with zeal for an Author
belov’d by you, and admired by all, have
made the Essay a grateful diversion to
me, though perhaps I may have pleas’d
you better in Admiring the Author, than
in Translating him.” (p. 5)
And so, young Ellis Walker tackled
putting the Enchiridion into English
“Therefore be sure, that your aversions
fall
Only on things which you your own may
call,
But for the present all desires suspend,
For if to things not in your power they
tend,
Folly and Grief you’ll find, but lose your
end.” (p. 29)
If you have any public domain books on
Stoicism which you think should be
part of the collection, please let us
know at
editor@collegeofstoicphilosophers.org.
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and New Stoa, Inc.
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ISSUE 32 //March 2022