That's exactly what Bertrand Russell had to say about stoicism and one part of why he was critical: "It is remarkable that Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius are com

That's exactly what Bertrand Russell had to say about stoicism and one part of why he was critical: "It is remarkable that Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius are completely at one on all philosophical questions. Although social circumstances affect the philosophy of an age, individual circumstances have less influence than is sometimes thought upon the philosophy of an individual...in bad times they invent consolations; in good items their interests are more purely intellectual." And so he goes on: "When we compare the tone of Marcus Aurelius with that of Bacon, or Locke, or Condorcet, we see the difference between a tired and a hopeful age. In a hopeful age, great present evils can be endured, because it is thought that they will pass; but in a tired age even real goods lose their savour. The Stoic ethic suited the times of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, because its gospel was one of endurance rather than hope."