Commentary

This sentence, a paraphrase of a central Stoic theme, presents self-knowledge as inseparable from knowledge of the cosmic order, since the rational self is a part of the rational whole. The idea that the individual must understand the universe in order to live well is characteristic of Stoic ethics and physics alike. A. A. Long and D. N. Sedley, in The Hellenistic Philosophers, explain how the Stoics treated the cosmos as an intelligent and providential organism, so that understanding it was part of understanding oneself. Malcolm Schofield argues that this integration of cosmic and personal knowledge underpins the Stoic idea of universal citizenship, in which all rational beings share a place in one order. Brad Inwood shows how the theme connects to the Stoic theory of natural law and to their account of human duty. Julia Annas notes that the emphasis on cosmic knowledge differs from the Socratic focus on self-examination, though the Stoics combined both. Because the sentence is a paraphrase of a general theme rather than a traced passage, it should be labelled as such, and the sources should be checked before any quotation.