The Biblical Stoic

  Philo’s Midrash on the Four Virtues By James Scott Trimm    My last article  introduced the concept of the Four “Labors of Wisdom” also known as the four “virtues” as introduced in the Wisdom of Solomon : 5  If riches are a desirable possession in life, what is richer than wisdom who effects all things? 6  And if understanding is effective, who more than she is fashioner of what exists? 7  And if any one loves righteousness, her labors are virtues; for she teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for men than these. (Wisdom of Solomon 8:5-7 RSV) The first century Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria also composed a beautiful midrash on Genesis 2:8-14 about these four virtues.  These verses of Genesis read: 8 And YHWH Elohim, planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the earth, made YHWH Elohim to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and

Storing up Treasure in Heaven: The Four Labors of Wisdom By James Scott Trimm Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) said: 19 Lay not up for yourselves stores upon earth, <where caterpillar> and moth devour, and where thieves break through and steal, 20 But lay up for yourselves stores in heaven, where caterpillar and moth waste not, and where thieves do not steal, 21 For just where your store is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 HRV) A similar teaching  appears in the Talmud with very similar wording: Our Rabbis taught: It is related of King Monobaz that he dissipated all his own hoards and the hoards of his fathers in years of scarcity. His brothers and his father's  household came in a deputation to him and said to him, ‘Your father saved money and added to the treasures of his fathers, and you are squandering them.’  He replied: ‘My fathers stored up below and I am storing above, as it says, Truth springeth out of the earth and righteousn

The Jewish Roots of Stoicism By James Scott Trimm At the dawn of the 4 th Century BCE a revolution began in among the Philosophers of ancient Greece.   In the year 399 BCE, Socrates was tried and subsequently found guilty of corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of impiety in "not believing in the gods of the state".   As a punishment he was sentenced to death and he ultimately took his own life on the eve of his scheduled execution, by the drinking of a mixture containing poison hemlock. Socrates did not actually write anything, but his student Plato recorded much of his teachings and, along with Plato’s student Aristotle, laid the foundations of Western philosophy and science.   Teachings which ultimately led to variety of philosophies, including Stoicism. Stoicism is a school of philosophy founded in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE by Zeno of Citium. Stoicism is heavily influenced by certain teachings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.