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Cleanthes

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Ancient Greek

MORALIA. : 125 εἰς τὴν ἀχάματον xal ἀκοπίατον πρόνοιαν, τὴν πάντων αἰτίαν, καὶ ὁλούφρονα τὸν τοιοῦτον Ἄτλαντα νοοῦσιν, ὡς τὸν ὑπὲρ ὕλων φρο- νοῦντα ἤγουν τῶν ὅλων φροντιστικόν. διὸ καὶ ὁ Κλεάνθης, ὥς φασιν, ἐδάσυνε τὸ ὃ τῆς ἀρχούσης. --- Cornutus c. 26. ὁλούφρονα δ᾽ αὐτὸν (τλανταὶ εἰρῆσϑαι διὰ τὸ περὶ τῶν ὅλων φροντίξειν καὶ προνοεῖσθαι τῆς πάντων αὐτοῦ τῶν μερῶν σωτηρίας. 550 Cicero de divin. I 6. Sed cwm Stoici omnia fere illa defen- derent, quod et Zeno $n suis commentariis quasi semina quaedam spar- Sisset et ea Cleanthes paulo uberiora fecisset. etc. 551 Chaleidius in Tim. c. 144. ez quo fieri ut, quae secundum fatum sunt, etiam ex. providentia sint, eodemque modo quae secundum providentiam, ex fato, ut. Chrysippus putat. alii vero quae quidem ex providentiae auctoritate, fataliter quoque provenire, nec lamen quae fata- liter, ex providentia, ut. Cleanthes. C. Fragmenta moralia De Fine Bonorum. (Vol. III p. 38q.) 952 Stobaeus Ecl. II 7,62, p. 76, 9. Κλεάνθης ... οὕτως ἀπέ- δωκε τέλος ἐστὶ τὺ ὁμολογουμένως τῇ φύσει fiv. - Cf. Diog. Laért. VIL 81. ὁ Ζήνων - τέλος εἶπε τὺ ὁμολογουμένως τῇ φύσει ξῆν" ὅπερ ἐστὶ κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν ξῆν᾽ ἄγει γὰρ πρὸς ταύτην ἡμᾶς ἡ φύσις" ὁμοίως 0b x«l Κλεάνϑης ἐν τῷ περὶ ἡδονῆς. - Clemens Alex. Strom. II 21,129 p. 497 P. Κλεάνϑης δὲ (scil τέλος ἡγεῖται) τὸ ÓuoAoyovuc- vo3 τῇ φύσει ξῆν * ἐν τῷ εὐλογιστεῖν, ὃ ἐν τῇ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ἐκλογῇ κεῖσθαι διελάμβανεν. 553 Cicero de fin. II 69. pudebit te illius tabulae, quam Cleanthes sane commode verbis depingere solebat. iubebat eos, qui audiebant, se- cum ipsos cogitare pictam in tabula Voluptatem, pulcherrimo vestitu. ct ornatu regali in solio sedentem; praesto esse Virtutes ut. ancillulas, quae nihil aliud agerent, nullum. suum officium | ducerent, nisi μὲ Voluptati : ministrarent et. eam. tantum ad aurem. admonerent, si modo id pictura intellegi posset, wt caveret, ne quid faceret. imprudens, quod offenderet ani- mos hominum, aut quicquam, e quo oreretur aliquis dolor. mos quidem Virtutes sic natae sumus, ut tibi serviremus; aliud negotii nihil habemus." Cf. Aug. de civit. dei V 20. solent philosophi, qui finem boni hu- mani im ipsa virtute constituunt, ad ingerendum pudorem quibusdam 7 illa] scil. divinationis genera. 24 verba ἐν τῷ ---διελάμβανεν nibil ad Cleanthem pertinent. Cf. Diog. Babyl. fr. 44 - 46 Vol. III p. 219. o 15 τ [2]

English AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-14

MORALS, 125. Therefore Cleanthes too, they say, gave the initial vowel of the ruling word a rough breathing. Cornutus, ch. 26: “Atlas is said to be whole-minded because he thinks about the wholes and providentially attends to the preservation of all his own parts.”

550 Cicero, On Divination I 6. But since the Stoics defended nearly all those forms of divination, because Zeno had scattered certain seeds of the doctrine in his commentaries and Cleanthes had developed them somewhat more fully, etc.

551 Calcidius, Commentary on the Timaeus, ch. 144. From this it follows that things occurring according to fate also occur from providence, and likewise that things occurring according to providence occur from fate, as Chrysippus thinks. Others, however, hold that things proceeding from the authority of providence also come about by fate, but that things coming about by fate do not necessarily proceed from providence, as Cleanthes holds.

C. Moral Fragments

On the End of Goods. Vol. III, p. 38.

552 Stobaeus, Eclogae II 7.62, p. 76.9. Cleanthes ... gave the following account: “The end is to live in agreement with nature.” Compare Diogenes Laertius VII 87: “Zeno said that the end is to live in agreement with nature, which is to live according to virtue; for nature leads us toward virtue. Cleanthes says the same in his work On Pleasure.” Clement of Alexandria, Stromata II 21.129, p. 497 P.: “Cleanthes considers the end to be living in agreement with nature: in reasoning well, which he understood to consist in the selection of things according to nature.”

553 Cicero, On Ends II 69. You will be ashamed of that picture which Cleanthes used to paint quite aptly in words. He instructed his listeners to imagine Pleasure depicted in a painting, seated on a throne in the most beautiful clothing and with royal adornment. The Virtues stood before her like little maidservants, doing nothing else and regarding nothing as their duty except to minister to Pleasure and merely whisper in her ear, if this could be represented in a painting, that she should take care not to do anything imprudent that might offend people’s minds or anything from which some pain might arise. “We Virtues were indeed born to serve you; we have no other business.”

Compare Augustine, City of God V 20. Philosophers who locate the end of human good in virtue itself are accustomed, in order to instill shame in certain philosophers who approve of the virtues but measure them by the end of bodily pleasure, holding pleasure desirable for its own sake and the virtues only for its sake, to paint a certain picture in words. In it Pleasure sits upon a royal chair like a pampered queen, and the virtues are subjected to her as servants, watching for her nod so that they may do whatever she commands.

7 “Those,” namely the forms of divination. 24 The words “in reasoning well ... he understood” have nothing to do with Cleanthes. Compare Diogenes of Babylon, fragments 44–46, vol. III, p. 219.

French AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-14

MORALE, 125. C’est pourquoi Cléanthe aussi, dit-on, donna un esprit rude au ο initial du mot. Cornutus, ch. 26. Il est dit holophrôn, lui, Atlas, parce qu’il pense à l’ensemble des choses et pourvoit à la conservation de toutes leurs parties.

550 Cicéron, De la divination, I, 6. Mais comme les Stoïciens défendaient presque toutes ces formes de divination, parce que Zénon en avait répandu dans ses commentaires comme certaines semences et que Cléanthe les avait quelque peu enrichies, etc.

551 Calcidius, Commentaire sur le Timée, ch. 144. Il en résulte que ce qui arrive selon le destin arrive aussi par providence et, de la même manière, que ce qui arrive par providence arrive par destin, comme le pense Chrysippe. D’autres estiment que ce qui procède de l’autorité de la providence se produit aussi fatalement, mais que ce qui se produit fatalement ne procède pas pour autant de la providence, comme le pense Cléanthe.

C. Fragments moraux

Sur la fin des biens. (Vol. III, p. 38q.)

552 Stobée, Eclogues, II, 7, 6a, p. 76, 9. Cléanthe [...] définit ainsi la fin : « vivre en accord avec la nature ». Cf. Diogène Laërce, VII, 87. Zénon dit que la fin est « vivre en accord avec la nature », ce qui signifie vivre selon la vertu ; la nature nous conduit en effet vers celle-ci. De même Cléanthe dans son traité Sur le plaisir. Clément d’Alexandrie, Stromates, II, 21, 129, p. 497 P. Cléanthe tient pour fin « vivre conformément à la nature », dans le juste raisonnement, lequel, estimait-il, réside dans le choix des choses conformes à la nature.

553 Cicéron, Des fins des biens et des maux, II, 69. Tu rougiras de ce tableau que Cléanthe avait coutume de peindre avec des mots de manière fort appropriée. Il invitait ses auditeurs à se représenter le Plaisir peint sur un tableau, assis sur un trône dans un vêtement magnifique et une parure royale ; les Vertus se tenaient auprès de lui comme de petites servantes, n’ayant rien d’autre à faire et ne considérant aucun autre devoir comme le leur que de servir le Plaisir. Elles se bornaient à l’avertir à l’oreille, si du moins cela pouvait se faire comprendre dans une peinture, de prendre garde à ne rien faire imprudemment qui offensât l’esprit des hommes, ni rien dont pût naître quelque douleur. « Nous, les Vertus, sommes nées pour te servir ; nous n’avons aucune autre occupation. » Cf. Augustin, La Cité de Dieu, V, 20. Les philosophes qui placent la fin du bien humain dans la vertu elle-même ont coutume, pour faire honte à certains...

7 « illa », c’est-à-dire les genres de divination. 24 Les mots ἐν τῷ [...] διελάμβανεν ne se rapportent nullement à Cléanthe. Cf. Diogène de Babylone, fr. 44-46, vol. III, p. 219. o 15 τ [2]

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