Asceticism vs. Stoicism

St. Zosimus communes St. Mary of Egypt

Asceticism is defined as "the practice of strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline" and "abstinence from sensual pleasures."  Ascetic practices, as found among early Church Fathers like St. Anthony of the Desert, St. Irenaeus, and St. Cyril of Alexandria, spawned monasticism, but also formed, to some degree, the life of every Christian.  The Christian ascetic realizes the things of this world, both physical and spiritual, created by God, are good, but chooses to deny himself.  He detaches himself from the pleasures of this world, so that he can better attach himself to God and His eternal world.  In doing so, he is consoled with a spiritual joy that does not fade, regardless of the ebb and flow of temporal joys and sorrows.  Beware of those who confuse asceticism with stoicism, eastern mysticism, or eccentricity, and try to shame or discourage any strictness in penance and other self-denial.  Here are just a few of many scriptural verses that encourage ascetic practices:

Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him.  1 John 2:15

I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps when I have preached to others I myself should be castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:27

And God indeed having winked at the times of this ignorance, now declareth unto men, that all should everywhere do penance.  Acts 17:30

No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.  Luke 13:5 

If any man come to Me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:26

So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be My disciple.  Luke 14:33

And He said to all: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  Luke 9:23

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Luke 12:34

 

"Catholic" Encyclopedia, "Asceticism":  ...The establishment of religious orders was not the result of any sudden or mandatory legislation by the Church. On the contrary, the germs of religious life were implanted in it by Christ Himself from the very beginning. For in the Gospel we have repeated invitations to follow the evangelical counsels. Hence in the first days of the Church, we find that particular kind of asceticism widely practised which later developed into the form adopted by the Religious Orders. In the "History of the Roman Breviary" by Batiffol (tr. Bayley), 15, we read: "In proportion as the Church in extending itself had grown colder, there had taken place within its bosom a drawing together of those souls which were possessed of the greatest zeal and fervour. These consisted of men and women, alike, living in the world without severing themselves from the ties and obligations of ordinary life, yet binding themselves by private vow or public profession to live in chastity all their life, to fast all the week, to spend their days in prayer. They were called in Syria Monazonites and Parthenae, ascetics and virgins. They formed, as it were, a third order, a confraternity. In the first half of the fourth century, we find these associations of ascetics and virgins established in all the great Churches of the East, at Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Edessa." Men like St. Athanasius...wrote and legislated for them. They had a special place in the church services and it is noteworthy also that at Antioch "the ascetics there formed the main body of the Nicene or orthodox party". But "dating from the reign of Theodosius and the time when Catholicism became the social religion of the world, comes the movement when a deep cleavage in religious society manifested itself. These ascetics and virgins, who, till now, have mingled with the common body of the faithful, abandon the world and go forth into the wilderness. The Church of the multitude is no longer a sufficiently holy city for these pure ones; they go forth to build in the desert the Jerusalem which they crave." (Cf. Duchesne, Christian Worship.)

...the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which are considered here only in as much as they differentiate a particular kind of asceticism from other forms...are called substantial vows because they are the basis of a permanent and fixed condition or state of life, and affect, modify, determine, and direct the whole attitude of one who is bound by them in his relations to the world and to God. They constitute a mode of existence which has no other purpose than that some of these penitents may have the attainment of the highest spiritual perfection. Being perpetual, they ensure permanence in practice of virtue and prevent it from being intermittent and sporadic; being an absolute, free, (irrevocable), and complete surrender of the most precious possessions of man, their fulfilment creates a spirituality, or a species of asceticism, of the most heroic character. Indeed it is inconceivable what more one can offer to God, or how these virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience can be exercised in a higher degree. That the observance of these vows is a reproduction of the manner of life of Christ and the Apostles, and has, as a consequence, given countless saints to the Church, is a sufficient answer to the accusation that the obligations they impose are degrading, inhuman, and cruel, a reproach often urged against them.

...the beginning of Christianity, when labour was considered a badge of slavery, the great, the learned, the noble, as well as the humble, the ignorant, and the poor, filled the deserts of Egypt and supported themselves by manual labour, their withdrawal from the world being also a protest against the corruption of paganism. After the destruction of the Roman Empire the Benedictines taught the barbarians agriculture, the arts, letters, architecture, etc., while inculcating the virtues of Christianity...the rules, covering every detail and every moment of their daily lives, called for the practice of all the other virtues.

Not all asceticism is godly, however, as this article explains:

Prof. Igor Jankovic, "Stoicism vs. Asceticism", 2020:  Stoicism is often misinterpreted for the lifestyle of asceticism. In this article, we will pay close attention to the differences between Stoicism and asceticism to disprove this comparison...The word asceticism follows from the Greek word áskesis, meaning “exercise” or “training”. While Stoicism is a [heretical] philosophy in the full meaning of that word, asceticism is more of a lifestyle that is influenced by a certain (mostly religious) worldview. Of course, Stoic philosophy can also provide foundations for a lifestyle, but it is more than that.

Asceticism is a practice that includes abstinence or avoidance of sensual material, i.e. worldly pleasures. The typical ascetic would look down at the body and its needs, while his attention focuses on the purification and perfection of the soul. It is an ascetic opinion that worldly pleasures and needs must be avoided if one wants to remain pure in the eyes of God and consequently reach higher goals, such as transcendence of the soul to the spiritual realm. 

There are many other reasons why one would embrace an ascetic lifestyle in the framework of religious practice. Some believe that the soul can redeem itself when meeting God only if it is pure; others think that sensual material is “evil” by nature, so they refuse to participate in it. Others believe the body is a prison and that we should focus only on the divine part within ourselves.

The Ascetic Lifestyle

With that in mind, we will talk about asceticism in relation to Stoicism. It is important to note that asceticism was practiced by some philosophers; however, this is not enough to say that Stoic philosophy, for example, is ascetic. In other words, asceticism was not a practical principle in Stoic philosophy, nor its guide.  

That being said, there were those among the Stoics who preferred a more rigid lifestyle. The Stoic philosopher Cleanthes (successor to Zeno of Citium) preferred an ascetic lifestyle. However, he was considerably more radical than other Stoics, as he claimed that enjoyment isn’t in accordance with nature (reason) and it should be avoided. In Cleanthes’ opinion, pleasures can lead the mind astray, distancing it from its purpose and leading to further suffering. 

Emotions and Indifference

It is worth noting that Stoics were mostly indifferent, meaning they didn’t embrace negative or positive attitudes towards emotions themselves. Our enjoyment should be the consequence of the activity (for example, feeling content after working out), but it can never be the purpose of our actions (e.g. working out to satisfy our vanity).  

I would like to emphasize that there is a difference between affects and emotions on this matter. Stoics disapproved of affects, which are sudden and turbulent emotions, such as fear, grief, lust, etc. Affects cloud our judgement and mind, and they should be suppressed with training because they are unnatural (not reasonable) and harmful. 

On the other hand, emotions such as cosmopolitan love, love towards life, excitement to be alive, innocent joy, etc. are not disapproved of. For example, we can look at what Marcus Aurelius had to say about life and positive emotions:

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

Marcus Aurelius 

As we can see, Marcus Aurelius didn’t neglect his life; he was grateful for it (despite being the most pessimistic Stoic philosopher). Pleasures are neither good nor bad, and the same goes for matter and the body. It is the mind that decides, and a well-trained mind would not bother running away from the reality of life. 

To conclude, Stoics love this life we have now, as they regularly emphasize the value of the present moment. They didn’t forsake their current life in order to “deserve” a second one, as ascetics did. Stoics wanted to use this life to the fullest, but in accordance with human nature and reason. If we forsake reason while chasing after pleasures or, coincidentally, by actively avoiding pleasures, then suffering inevitably emerges, and all Stoics wanted is a life free from sorrow and suffering. From this Stoic reasoning on life and our sensual experience of it, it is clear why Stoicism and asceticism are vastly different practices.

In summary, the godless Stoic avoids pleasure and extreme emotion in order to avoid suffering in this life; the gnostic heretic believes the physical world is evil, and therefore shuns physical pleasure; and the eastern pagan mystic tries to elevate himself, through self-denial, beyond the physical, and even beyond the spiritual.  The Christian, however, leads an ascetic life for the love of God, and as penance for his sins.  He believes in the resurrection of his physical body, made clean in the waters of Baptism.  He chooses to give up the good things of this world, in order to attach himself to the greatest Good.

And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.  Romans 12:2