The Stoic ideal is expressed in the words "life according to nature," which means a life directed by the rational element that is present in both nature and humanity. This ideal can be achieved by bringing one's feelings and desires under the control of Reason, which the Stoics believed was a real possibility for any normal human being. Epictetus, a well-known Stoic writer, describes this way of life in his essay "Things within our Power and Things not within our Power." The individual has power over his own inner attitudes. He can govern his own spirit, control his temper, and follow the path of duty rather than yield to his feelings or be led by his emotions. On the other hand, circumstances arise over which there is no control. Some things that happen are inevitable, and the wise person will accept them without fear or complaint. The apostle Paul reflects this ideal when he writes in one of his letters, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there to be content."
Closely related to the concept of the Logos, or Reason, is the notion of conflict between flesh and spirit, an idea that pervades the whole structure of Greek philosophy and is illustrated in the teachings of Plato, who held that the world of ideas, or the realm of the spirit, constitutes reality. This realm is eternal and unchanging. In contrast, the world that is experienced through the senses is a changing and unstable one. We could not have any knowledge concerning such a world except for the unchanging ideas that participate in it. The presence of these ideas, which are copied or imitated in particular things, gives to them the appearance of reality. But when ideas are embodied or imitated in material things, the result is always somewhat inferior to the original. In other words, matter is the source of corruption and deterioration.
Ideas conceived in this way are something more than a basis for the existence of particular things: They are also ideals or standards of perfection, thus making it possible for particular things to be evaluated in terms of their approximation to the ideal. To call an object good means that it is a close approximation to the ideal, one that is as nearly like the ideal as it is possible for a physical object to be. In a similar way of thinking, a person is morally good who conforms to the pattern of the ideal as much as it is possible for a human being to do. Centuries after Plato, Christians illustrated this point when they said of Jesus of Nazareth, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Jesus is regarded as an embodiment of the ideal. He is the ideal man, the standard according to which the goodness of any other human being is to be judged.
