Great read. Two observations:
What qualifies “greatest”? If it’s contribution to the history of philosophical thought then Chyssipus is a “greater” Stoic philosopher who had a profound influence on western thought, Epictetus and Seneca also surpass Marcus in style and originality. If you mean “most famous” or “most powerful” then I’d use those non-superlative words.
Another observation: the historical Marcus was probably puny, nothing like the muscled statues (they were essentially propaganda). He was known to be sickly all his life, and extremely reluctant to take on power. I wonder if these factors played a part in Marcus’s thoughts about manliness?
Having said that — it’s wonderful that you’ve busted the notion that Stoicism is a philosophy for “tough guys”, when it’s nothing of the sort!
