Treat as befits a man endowed with reason, that is magnanimously and nobly, the animals which are not so endowed, and indeed all creatures whatever that can feel but have no reason. But other men, since they are endowed with reason, treat with friendly affection. Thou has existed till now as a fragment of the universe, and wilt some day be absorbed in thy producer, or rather, thou wilt suffer a transformation and reappear as a new germ of life. Many grains of incense are destined for the same altar. Some fall soon into the flame, others later, but that makes no difference. The Optimistic-Ethical World-View of the later Stoicism In their optimistic-ethical world-view the later Stoics find those impulses to effort which were not available for the ancient ethics of the classical age. Marcus Aurelius is an enthusiastic utilitarian like the Rationalists of the eighteenth century, because, like them, he is convinced that nature itself has bound up together what is ethical and what is advantageous to the individual and to the community. That being so, the classical question of ancient ethics whether the thinking man is to busy himself with public affairs or not must again be discussed. Epicurus taught that “the wise man has nothing to do with State affairs unless exceptional circumstances arise.” Zeno’s decision was that “he will take part in the business of the State unless obstacles prevent it.” Both schools leave the retirement into oneself to the decision of the Wise man, only one lets the grounds for the decision be given somewhat earlier, the other somewhat later. The thought of a devotion to the general good which is to be kept active for its own sake and under all circumstances is outside the circle of vision of their ethic. With the later Stoics it emerges, because the conception of “mankind” has come in sight. Man, as Seneca works out in his treatise on Leisure (_De Otio_), belongs to two republics. One is a large and universal one, extends as far as the sun shines, and embraces both gods and men; the other is that into which through the fate assigned us by our [pg 058] birth, we have been adopted as citizens. Circumstances may bring it about that the wise man cannot dedicate himself to the service of the State, but, to escape the storm, must “take refuge in the harbour.” It may happen—and Seneca has in mind his own time—that not one of existing States is of such a character as to put up with the activity of the wise man. Nevertheless, the latter does not wholly withdraw into himself, but he serves the great republic by working to improve the general outlook of mankind, and to hasten the coming of a new age.