Again, the Stoics say that the wise man will take part in politics, if nothing hinders him—so, for instance, Chrysippus in the first book of his work On Various Types of Life—since thus he will restrain vice and promote virtue.
Also, they maintain, he will marry, as Zeno says in his Republic, and beget children.
Moreover, they say that the wise man will never form mere opinions, that is to say, he will never give assent to anything that is false; that he will also play the Cynic, Cynicism being a short cut to virtue, as Apollodorus calls it in his Ethics; that he will even turn cannibal under stress of circumstances.
They declare that he alone is free and bad men are slaves, freedom being power of independent action, whereas slavery is privation of the same; though indeed there is also a second form of slavery consisting in subordination, and a third which implies possession of the slave as well as his subordination; the correlative of such servitude being lordship; and this too is evil.
Moreover, according to them not only are the wise free, they are also kings; kingship being irresponsible rule, which none but the wise can maintain: so Chrysippus in his treatise vindicating Zeno’s use of terminology.
For he holds that knowledge of good and evil is a necessary attribute of the ruler, and that no bad man is acquainted with this science.
Similarly the wise and good alone are fit to be magistrates, judges, or orators, whereas among the bad there is not one so qualified.
Furthermore, the wise are infallible, not being liable to error. They are also without offense; for they do no hurt to others or to themselves.
At the same time they are not pitiful and make no allowance for anyone; they never relax the penalties fixed by the laws, since indulgence and pity and even equitable consideration are marks of a weak mind, which affects kindness in place of chastizing. Nor do they deem punishments too severe.
—Diogenes Laërtius, 7.121-123
IMAGE: Raphael, The Judgment of Solomon (c. 1519)
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