neostoicism

This was a late branch of European humanism. The representatives of neostoicism committed themselves to the resurrection of ancient stoic ideas. They studied the great Greek stiocists, the teachings of Zenon, Cleantes, Krusippos, they translated and interpreted the writings of Epictetos, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. They contrasted the insecurity and capriciousness of the world with the freedom and balance of the human soul. In János Rimay's words: "the one who is happy in himself, should not turn to others". The central idea of neostoicism was constantia, that is constancy, persistence. By this they meant a kind of vital energy coming from a moral conviction, which helped to preserve the integrity of the individual against the harmful effects of the environment. Neostoicism did not include isolation and retirement from courts and political life. Stoic intellectuals wanted to renew politics morally. There were several representatives of Neostoicism in Hungary besides János Rimay, for example, Péter Révai, who wrote about state philosophy, Kristóf Lackner (1571-1631), who wrote emblematic works and compiled an emblem dictionary (Florilegius Aegyptiacus, Keresztúr, 1617), Demeter Náprágyi, the patron prelate, János Peteki, a Transylvanian poet (1572-1612) or János Thordai (1579-1636), who translated Epictetos.

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