ABSTRACT
The Stoic influence on Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury is vast, but identifying specifics is difficult. There are many reasons for this: foremost is the diversity of views that fall under the banner of Stoicism. Vaguely Stoic themes are ubiquitous throughout the twelfth century. Second, it is unclear what sources Abelard and Salisbury had access to. The frequency of florilegia and excerpts means it is at least possible that Abelard and Salisbury were not aware of all views expressed even in works they cite. Much of the influence is second hand. Many Stoic views were quite easily adopted by patristic thinkers who passed the views on now as part of the Christian heritage. Lastly, especially in the case of logic, there is always the possibility of reinvention. Current and past scholarly opinion about Stoic influence is mixed. Scholars taking a broad
view of twelfth-century intellectual culture have written that Abelard “lived in imagination in the world of classical Stoic philosophy intensely felt and brilliantly expressed” (Brooke 1969: 50). More philosophically minded scholars are confident that there is Stoic influence. However, direct influence of Hellenistic Stoic thought has not been demonstrated. The extensive Stoic influence on Abelard’s ethics is undeniable. In logic the influence is unclear and probably indirect, but the similarity to Stoic logic is striking. For Salisbury the story is different. He claims to be an Academic Skeptic. Stoicism and Epicureanism are set up as foils for his own moderate Academic theories. Salisbury does not develop Stoic themes in any new or interesting way. Instead he presents a picture twelfth-century philosophers believed to be Stoicism.
