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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2009
Social or political proposals of the “ideal polity,” some of which amounted to outright Utopias, came to be fairly common during the fourth and third centuries B.C. In addition to Plato's famed Republic (which is said to have been influenced in part by Hippodamus as well as by certain Pythagorean ideas) and Antisthenes' somewhat “unorthodox” social views, Diogenes of Sinope, Iambulus and Zeno the Stoic, for instance, wrote on the “ideal city.” Also, a great many treatises On Kingship, which frequently were nothing more than part of that “mirror of princes literature” which can be traced back at least to Antisthenes, were authored during the same period. But it will be noticed that these relatively early Polities, including that of Zeno, uniformly advocated a small and highly articulated city-state with extremely narrow limits and relatively limited objectives rather than a pan-humanitarian or cosmopolitan ideal. The well-known Stoic cosmopolitanism, which some scholars have called the philosophic corollary of Alexander's conquest, is definitely of later date, later even than Zeno's widely known Republic, which still adheres to the confining notions of the traditional (and fateful) Greek particularism. This, in turn, compels us to distinguish between the early Zeno who in his original dependence on early Cynic teachings apparently shared in this limited outlook, and the late Zeno, who was able to conceive the whole universe as one single great city of gods and men without distinction of race or nationality. It is safe to assume, therefore, that Zeno's Republic is one of his earliest works and perhaps his earliest.
1 Zeno's Republic is referred to by Diogenes Laertius VII. 4, and ibid. at VIII. 32–34; VII. 13; VII. 129; VII. 131 (see Arnim, H. von, Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta (SVF), I (1905)Google Scholar, nos. 2, 222, 226, 248, 257, 259, and 267–270); Athenaeus, , Deipnosophistae XIIIGoogle Scholar. 561C (SVF no. 263); Philodemus, Concerning the Stoics, Hercul. Papyr. nos. 155 and 339, reprinted in W. Crönert, Kolotes und Menedemos (1906), pp. 53–67; Plutarch, , Quaestiones Conviviales III. 6. 1 (SVF no. 262)Google Scholar; Plutarch, , Lycurgus 31 (SVF nos. 261 and 263)Google Scholar; Plutarch, , De Alexandri Fortuna aut Virtute I. 6 (SVF no. 262)Google Scholar; Chrysostom, John, 1 Homily to Matthew 4Google Scholar (SVF no. 262); Clement of Alexandria, , Stromateis V. 12. 76 (SVF no. 264)Google Scholar.
2 See, for instance, Plutarch, , De Repugnantiis Stoicis 1034EGoogle Scholar (SVF no. 260).
3 If this were really the case, Zeno would probably have followed the general outline of Plato's Republic, refuting it point by point. But there exists no evidence that he did this.
4 See infra, passim.
5 Philodemus, , op. cit., col. 18, lines 1 ffGoogle Scholar.
6 Diogenes Laertius VII. 32.
7 Diogenes Laertius, it goes without saying, produces here an “excerpt” from Zeno's Republic which in all likelihood is badly if not fatally mutilated. But it is not impossible that the passage, “legal tender needs not to be introduced either for the purpose of exchange or for travel abroad,” is a direct quotation from Zeno. Also the fact that he quoted the exact passage (page 200) where Zeno discusses the community of all wives might indicate that he has seen the original or, at least, a reliable report. This would greatly enhance the value of Diogenes Laertius as a source. — Ibid. at VII. 34, Diogenes Laertius writes that because “certain passages [found in Zeno's Republic] were disapproved by the [Stoic] School, they were expunged from his works by Athenodorus the Stoic… but when Athenodorus was caught doing this … they were restored (or, replaced).” — It will be noted that already Antisthenes had maintained that we should “esteem an honest man above a kinsman.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 13. The influence of Antisthenian and Cynic ideas on Zeno's Republic cannot be denied. See note 29, infra.
8 This might be inferred from Philodemus, , op. cit. supra note 1, col. 15Google Scholar, and ibid. at col. 19. But col. 15 actually seems to refer to “the thinkers of old” and not, perhaps, to “early mankind.” Col. 15 complains that in his Republic Zeno intends to carry us back to the “good old times” and, hence, wishes to “turn back the clock.”
9 This might be inferred from Diogenes Laertius VII. 121, where Zeno is quoted as having said that “the wise man … will marry … and beget children,” presumably to bring about one day the “millennium” of his perfect society. See also ibid. at VIII. 129, where we are told that in his Republic Zeno stated that “the wise man will feel affection for the youth who by their countenance show a natural endowment for virtue” and, hence, might one day bring about this millennium.
10 Philodemus, , op. cit. col. 7, lines 4–10Google Scholar.
11 See note 1, supra.
12 Some scholars hold that Plato included the demiourgoi or “workers” in his ideal city and in a way he did so, indeed. But then, again, it has been pointed out, and this with good reason, that these “workers” are in the city only by sufferance as a “necessary evil” to be borne, and that they are not really part of the city which, according to Plato's political and social “elitism,” consists of the guardians assisted by the watchmen. One might say that the “workers” in Plato's city are at best “passive citizens” or “passive residents.”
13 Antisthenes already had pointed out that “nobility belongs to none other than the virtuous.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 10.
14 Antisthenes had already insisted that “only men of worth are friends.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 12.
15 Diogenes Laertius VII. 32. — Antisthenes already had stated that “when brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life.” Ibid. at VI. 6.
16 See, for instance, Athenaeus, , Deipnosophistae XIIIGoogle Scholar. 561C (SVF no. 263), where we are told that “mutual affection” is the most effective “guarantor of the preservation and security of the city.”
17 See, for instance, Diogenes Laertius VII. 33, where Zeno is said to have prohibited the “building of temples, law courts and gymnasia in the cities.”
18 Diogenes Laertius VIII. 33.
19 This might be gathered from Philodemus, , Concerning the Stoics, col. 14Google Scholar, where we are told that Chrysippus composed an On the Uselessness of Weapons. Perhaps Zeno already had advocated the scrapping of weapons as useless tools in a society composed of wise and virtuous men.
20 Clement of Alexandria, , Stromateis VGoogle Scholar. 12. 76 (SVF no. 264).
21 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1155 a 26, already had pointed out that “when men are friends they have no need of [legal] justice.” — The author might inject here some interesting facts gleaned from American Colonial history. The early Quakers in Pennsylvania, who considered themselves to be “men of peace” and “friends,” would not tolerate lawyers in their midst, for the Quakers regarded them as “men of strife.” They also refused to institute regular law courts, replacing courts with “peace makers.” These “peace makers” mediated between litigants. After having listened to both parties and their complaints, they would hand down a final decree settling the dispute and order the parties “to forget their squabbles, kiss and make up.”
22 It will be noted that Plato, who in this is much more the “traditionalist,” had advocated the erection of temples, law courts, and gymnasia. See, for instance, Plato, Laws 758A, and ibid. at 771A; 778C (temples); 766C; 778D (law courts); 778D (gymnasia). Perhaps Zeno's prohibitions could be interpreted as a refutation of Plato's political theories. This, then, might lend some support to the allegation that Zeno's Republic in part was also an attack upon Plato's social and political philosophy.
23 This is the view advanced by Tarn, W. W., Alexander the Great, II (1948), 418Google Scholar.
24 Plato, for instance, recommended that in his perfect or ideal city no one under the age of forty should be permitted to travel to foreign lands. Plato, Laws 950E. A person past the age of forty may go abroad with the express permission of the officials. Ibid. at 951A. But upon his return he must tell the younger men that the institutions and peoples in other lands are vastly inferior to their own. Ibid. Should he return from abroad “corrupted” by what he has seen or learned there — and according to Plato anything “foreign” of necessity is always inferior to its domestic counterpart in the perfect city — and if he should attempt to “import” some of these “foreign” notions, he must be put to death. Ibid.
25 Perhaps Zeno takes issue here with Plato who had permitted in his perfect city the use of money, at least by the lowly demiourgoi (Republic 371B), although he had banned it for the lofty guardians. Ibid. at 417A. But then, again, since in Zeno's ideal city all true citizens in a way are guardians, he might be merely following the rule laid down by Plato: no money for the guardians. — Diogenes of Sinope already had insisted that “the love of money … is the mother-city of all evils.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 50.
26 Antisthenes already had maintained that “virtue is sufficient in itself to secure happiness … [and] that the wise man is self-sufficient.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 11.
27 See, for instance, Diogenes Laertius VII. 124: “And by friendship they [scil., Zeno or the Early Stoics] mean a common use of all that is necessary to sustain life.”
28 Zeno's advocacy of a “community of wives” is also mentioned in Diogenes Laertius VII. 131, where we are told that in his On Government Chrysippus held the self-same views, See Plutarch, , Quaestiones Conviviales IIIGoogle Scholar. 6. 1 (SVF no. 152). — Aside from Plato (Republic, passim), Diogenes of Sinope also advocated a “community of wives” (Diogenes Laertius VI. 72); and Antisthenes as well as Diogenes of Sinope believed in a sort of “eugenic promiscuity.” Ibid. at VI. 11, and VI. 72.
29 Tradition has it that Zeno the Stoic had written his Republic “on a dog's tail” (Diogenes Laertius VII. 4), a rather picturesque way of stating that Zeno had derived from the Cynics some of the “social views” he expressed in his Republic. See also Diogenes Laertius VI. 14: “It would seem that the most manly section of the Stoic doctrine owed its origin to him [scil., Antisthenes].” See also ibid. at VI. 104 where we are told that “there exists a certain close relationship between the two schools [scil., the Cynics and the Early Stoics].”
30 Diogenes Laertius VII. 131: “… among the wise there should be a community of wives with a free choice of partners, as Zeno says in his Republic. …” — It will be noted that Plato likewise advocated a “community of wives” for essentially the same reasons. Plato held that the harmony in his perfect city is best preserved if among the guardians (but not among the lowly demiourgoi, who might live a monogamous life) “all wives and children are to be in common, so that no one should ever know his own child, but everyone should look upon all as belonging to a single family.” Plato, Timaeus 18C (which is actually part of the “summary” from the Republic). See, in general, Plato, Republic 416D, and ibid. at 449E ff.; 450C; 457D ff.; 464C ff.; 543A; et passim; Laws 739C, and ibid. at 8O7B. Diogenes of Sinope likewise “thought that sons should be held in common.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 72. But Zeno apparently goes beyond Plato who despite his advocacy of promiscuity prohibited incest. Plato, Republic 461B. Zeno, on the other hand, seems to have permitted incest. Also, while Plato's “sex policy” primarily was motivated by a “policy of eugenics,” Zeno apparently did not entertain any notions about a particular “policy of eugenics.” In a society composed exclusively of virtuous and wise men, such as Zeno's, there is no need for a “policy of selective eugenics.”
31 Diogenes of Sinope, it will be observed, admonished people not to marry. Diogenes Laertius VI. 54.
32 Diogenes Laertius VII. 121. Naturally, the term “to marry” (gamesein) could mean here merely “to join a woman.”
33 Diogenes Laertius VII. 33. Antisthenes (and Diogenes of Sinope) is said to have been content with but one garment. Ibid. at VI. 13; VI. 31; VI. 44.
34 Diogenes Laertius VI. 97, and ibid. at VI. 93. It is not impossible that Zeno derived the idea of identical dresses from the Cynics. See here also Philodemus, Concerning the Stoics, col. 9.
35 Diogenes Laertius VII. 33.
36 About the Cynic “shamelessness,” see, for instance, Diogenes Laertius VI. 46, and ibid. at VI. 58; VI. 69; VI. 73; VI. 88; VI. 97–98.
37 Diogenes of Sinope is said to have “opposed nature to convention.” Diogenes Laertius VI. 39.
38 Perhaps Zeno also advocated homosexuality. This could be the meaning of Diogenes Laertius VI. 129, where Zeno insists that “the wise man will feel affection for the youths who by their countenance show a natural endowment for virtue.”
