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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North ZMb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 40100 74-10,905 ABBOTT, Caimeta Clark, 1935- CURRENTS OF STOIC MORAL THEORY IN REPRESENTATIVE WORKS OF CORNEILLE, PASCAL, MOLIERE, AND LA BRUYERE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1973 Language and Literature, modem }i ! University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan © 1974 CARMETA CLARK ABBOTT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. CURRENTS OP STOIC MORAL THEORY IN REPRESENTATIVE WORKS OF CORNEILLE, PASCAL, MOLIERE, AND LA BRUYERE DISSERTATION > Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Carmeta Clark Abbott, B.A., K.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 1973 Reading Committee: Approved By Pierre Aatier Eleanor Bulatkin Hugh M. Davidson Adviser Department of Romance Languages This volume is lovingly dedicated to William Kenneth Elizabeth and Nike in the fond hope that literature, philosophy, and languages w ill be sources of enjoyment and enlightenment throughout their lives. i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish bo thank Professor Hugh M. Davidson for his good counsel and provocative questions during the preparation of this dissertation, and for the inspiring examples of careful scholarship and teaching during my residence at the Ohio State University, My husband has encouraged me bo complete th is study by word and by deed, and my children have been patient and cheerful through­ out the long process. i i i VITA *v August 7, 1935 .................................Born - Clinton, Iowa 1959 .................................................. B.A., The Ohio State University 1959-1963.......................................... Graduate A ssistant, Department of Romance Languages, The Ohio State University 1962 .................................................. M.A., The Ohio State University 1963-1965.......................................... Instructor, Division of Comparative Literature, The Ohio State University 1966-1972.......................................... Lecturer, Department of Classics and Romance Languages, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario FIEIDS OF STUD! Major Field: French Literature Seventeenth Century French Literature. Professor Hugh M. Davidson. Twentieth Century French Literature. Professor Charles Carlut. iv TABLE OP CONTENTS Pago ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................ i l l VITA ...................................... iv FOREWORD........................... * .............................. 1 Chapter I. CLASSICAL STOIC MORAL THEORY AS AVAILABLE TO SEVENTEENTH CENTURY FRENCH WRITERS............... 7 Sources of knowledge about Stoicism The cardinal virtues Training In moral excellence The irrational impulses Moderation and virtue Living in harmony with Nature Apathy and anxiety Conclusion I I . THE TRANSMISSION OF STOIC MORAL THEORY TO SEVENTEENTH CENTURY FRANCE.............................. 3g Stoicism incorporated into Christian ethics Editions of classical Stoic authors Moral idealism and Sagesse Virtue expanded to include faith and honor Nature replaced by a personal diety Human reason subordinated to divine wisdom Will as independent of reason Passions as the antithesis of reason Misunderstanding of the Stoic term 'apathy 1 Justus Lipsius and Guillaume Du Vair I I I . CQRNEIUE.................................................................. 63 Stoic themes and vocabulary Stoicism in Corneille and the critical tradition The various meanings of vertu Reason as impotent in controlling the passions Passions dominating reason Heroic energy and the w ill The senso of duty The tension between Roman virtue and in sen sitiv ity Conclusion v vi IV. PASCAL 105 The Sntretlen avec M. de Sacl in P ascal'3 work Stoicism as seen in the Entratien Stoic virtue and moral idealism Pyrrhonism, the imagination, and the role of reason Pascal and the Stoic concept of duty The role of passions: concupiscence The role of the will: volontd Morale provisoire Conclusion V. MCLIERE 133 The debate about moral content Elements of K oliere's morale Moral idealism and morale mondaine The raiaonneurs Nature as complementary to reason Duty and the exercise of will Passions which dominate The Stoic concept of moderation Conclusion VI. LA BRUYERE 172 Moral improvement and Lea Caracteres L'homme de bien Unexplcited potential; the reason The key to humanitarianism: the passions Undeveloped power: the w ill Moderation and adaptability Conclusion VII. CONCLUSIONS 197 BIBLIOGRAPHY 216 FOREWORD Stoicism is one of the "morales du grand siecle11;! consider­ able work has been done on the revival of this ethical theory in France in the 16th century ,2 on its influence on Christian apolo­ gists during the 17th century,3 and on the French moralists from Du V&ir to Descartes,** but re la tiv e ly l i t t l e work has been done on Stoicism and major literary figures. This study of Stoic themes and variations found in the works of four writers who represent a variety of literary genres is intended to shed light on the extent to which Stoicism affected their attitudes, and furnished points of departure for them. Stoic moral theory is set forth in Arrian's Discourses of Epictetus and in Diogenes Laertius' Lives of Eminent Philosophers! 1 Paul BAnichou, Morales du grand sieole (Paris: Galli- mard, 1948 ) distinguishes three major categories: la morale hArol- que, la morale chritienne rigoureuse, et la morale mondaine. To these may be added many sub-categories such as Platonism, prAcio- sitA, Jansenism, scepticism, etc. 2 Leontine Zanta, La Renaissance du Stoicisme au XVIIa me siecle (Paris: Champion P re s s ,'1914). 3 Julien-Eymard d'Angers, Pascal et ses prAcurseurs. 1'ApologAtioue en France de 1560-3670 (Paris: Nouvelles Editions L atinas, 195/*). 4 Anthony Levi, French M oralists: The Theory of the Passions: 1565-1649 (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1964). 1 2 for the literary transmission of this theory, we must turn to Cicero and Seneca who, along with Epictetus, give us that version of the philosophy most readily available to 17th century French writers. It was popularly thought to be an austere philosophy which taught that suffering was to be endured without complaint, that desires were to be suppressed, and that pleasures and pos­ sessions were vain and unprofitable. Since society might corrupt his simple and virtuous way of lif e , the Stoic Wise Han shunned human company. The question arises as to how much of what the 17th century accepted or rejected as Stoic is classical Stoicism, as available in Renaissance and later printings of original texts. In an attempt to answer this question, I shall begin my study with a dispassionate summary of Stoic moral theory as contained in Epictetus and Diogenes Laertius. On the one hand, there is this objectively recoverable Stoicism, and on the other, there is the exploitation made during the 17th century of themes taken from Stoicism. Some themes were adapted and developed, and others were criticized. It is my aim to see how much of the common data from ancient Stoicism was selected and elaborated on, and what characteristic ensembles were made by each of four authors from a different age, I shall trace the adaptation of Stoicism by Christianity, and its transmission to 17th century France. It is generally agreed that Stoic influence on the early Christian Church was significant.5 5 Hichel Spanneut, Le Stolcisme des Peres de l«Eglise (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1957). The Church Fathers looked to Stoicism In much the same way that later Christian apologists