Q: What is a Stoic? 

A. It depends on whether you spell it with a capital S or a small s. If you spell it with a small s, you mean a fellow who can stand a lot of pain. If you spell it with a capital S, you refer to a group of ancient philosophers (Plato, Cicero, Seneca) who debated the question of what constitutes a good person. On this web site we use a capital S because the books here presented are devoted to the same question. 

The word Stoic derives from the Greek word for "porch," because the early Stoics discussed this subject on the Stoa, or "porch," of the central square of Athens. 

Q: Will you help me with my Shakespeare paper?

A. I cannot offer you personal help with your paper. Your teacher is better qualified to do that. However, the essays and books on this site may be of some help.

Q: Why do some words, apparently Greek, appear as nonsense garbage in these texts? 

A: My scanner tried to read them as English characters, and this is the result. Since I cannot read Greek any better than my scanner can, I have left them as is. If you want to find the original Greek words, go to the printed source, given at the top of the electronic text.