Stockdale on Stoicism 33

The Stoic demand for disciplined thought naturally won only a small minority to its standard, but those few were the strongest characters of that time. 

In theory a doctrine of pitiless perfectionism, Stoicism actually created men of courage, saintliness, and goodwill. Rhinelander singled out three examples: Cato the Younger, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. 

Cato was the great Roman Republican who pitted himself against Julius Caesar. He was the unmistakable hero of our own George Washington; scholars find quotations of Cato in Washington's Farewell Address—without quotation marks. 

Emperor Marcus Aurelius took the Roman Empire to the pinnacle of its power and influence. 

And Epictetus, the great teacher, played his part in changing the leadership of Rome from the swill he had known under Nero to the power and decency it knew under Marcus Aurelius. 

—from James B. Stockdale, Master of My Fate: A Stoic Philosopher in a Hanoi Prison 

IMAGES: Cato the Younger, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus