ABSTRACT
This volume attests to the extraordinarily long and fruitful legacy of Stoicism. Of those who can be connected to the Stoics, few have a relationship more fascinating and complicated than Spinoza (1632-77). It is beyond the scope of this brief chapter to examine fully all aspects of their relationship.1 Instead, I will just try to justify my assertion that it is fascinating and complicated. I shall argue that what makes the relationship fascinating is just how Stoical the philosophical system crafted by Spinoza seems to be. The complications arise from the indifference Spinoza apparently had to the Stoic systems, which so greatly resembles his own. Let me now go through each of these claims.
