Stoic Six Pack 5 - The Cynics presents the key primary sources of this ancient philosophy, as well as secondary material to provide insight and understanding: An Introduction to Cynic Philosophy by John MacCunn, The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave by Publius Syrus, Life of Antisthenes by Diogenes Laërtius, Book IV of The Symposium by Xenophon, Life of Diogenes by Diogenes Laërtius and Life of Crates by Diogenes Laërtius.

For Cynics the secret to happiness was living a life of virtue in harmony with Nature with only the bare essentials necessary for survival. They rejected materialism and were free of belongings. Many were homeless and proud of it. The Cynics emphasized the value of self-sufficiency, or autarkeia. They ate one (vegetarian) meal a day and made a habit of walking vast distances to stay in shape. The school extolled the virtue of perseverance, or karteria. The founder of Cynicism was Antisthenes (c. 445 - c. 365 BC), a former student of Socrates. He was followed by Diogenes of Sinope, who famously lived in a tub on the streets of Athens. The third key figure was Crates of Thebes (360 - 280 BC), a rich man who gave away his money to live a life of pious poverty. Crates wed the like-minded Hipparchia of Maroneia and they became one of the few known philosopher couples in antiquity. Stoic Six Pack 5 - The Cynics presents the key primary sources for our understanding of this ancient philosophy, as well as secondary material to provide insight and understanding: An Introduction to Cynic Philosophy by John MacCunn. The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave by Publius Syrus. Life of Antisthenes by Diogenes Laërtius. Book IV of The Symposium by Xenophon. Life of Diogenes by Diogenes Laërtius. Life of Crates by Diogenes Laërtius. With the rise of Stoicism in the 3rd Century B.C., the Cynic movement stalled. But there was renewed interest in the 1st Century A.D. when bedraggled Cynics could be found on the streets of Rome in large numbers, preaching their creed of anti-materialism and a simple life. The philosophy struck a chord with certain elements of Roman society and Cynics flourished into the 4th Century A.D., unlike Stoicism, which had long since faded by that time. "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours." - Diogenes of Sinope.

A sextet of sceptic texts has been collected in Stoic Six Pack 4 - The Sceptics: Pyrrhonic Sketches by Sextus Empiricus, Life of Pyrrho by Diogenes Laertius, Sextus Empiricus and Greek Scepticism by Mary Mills Patrick, The Greek Sceptics: from Pyrrho to Sextus by Norman MacColl, Stoics and Sceptics by Edwyn Bevan and Life of Carneades by Diogenes Laertius. A key concept for the sceptics was ataraxia (""tranquility""), a Greek term used by Pyrrho to describe a lucid state of robust tranquility, characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry. By applying ideas of what he called ""practical skepticism"" to Ethics and to life in general, Pyrrho concluded that ataraxia could be achieved. Arriving at a state of ataraxia became the ultimate goal of the early Skeptikoi."

Each work has been newly revised, edited and curated for the digital age. There is a complete Musonius Rufus and the rarely published Stoic Hierocles. Consolations From A Stoic contains all three of Seneca's consolations - To Marcia, To Helvia and To Polybius. On The Shortness of Life also by Seneca is presented in a brand new translation by author Damian Stevenson. The Stoics by Diogenes La rtius is a fascinating 3rd century biography of the first Greek Stoics - Zeno of Citium, Dinoysius the Renegade, Chrysippus of Soli et al and there is also Meditations In Verse, an interesting Victorian poetic homage to Aurelius. Stoic Six Pack 2 is an amazing collection of masterworks and rarities, a must-read for fans of Meditations, Letters From A Stoic and Stoic philosophy in general.

STOIC SIX PACK 6 - THE CYRENAICS: Aristippus Biographies by William Smith and Diogenes Laërtius, On the Contempt of Death by Marcus Tullius Cicero, Dionysius the Renegade by Diogenes Laërtius, Phaedo by Plato, Philebus by Plato and Aristippus vs Socrates by Xenophon.

Stoic Six Pack 7 - The Sophists brings key primary and secondary sources together in one volume for a fully rounded understanding of this early, often misunderstood philosophical movement: The Sophists by Henry Sidgwick; Protagoras, Euthydemus and Gorgias by Plato; Memoirs of Socrates by Xenophon; Stoic Self-control by William De Witt Hyde and The Sophists - Biographical Sketches by William Smith.

'Stoic Six Pack 8 - The Peripatetics' includes Lyco of Troas by Diogenes Laërtius, The Aristotelian Sense of Proportion by William De Witt Hyde, Strato of Lampsacus by Diogenes Laërtius, Life of Aristotle by George Grote, Theophrastus by George Malcolm Stratton and Post-Aristotelian Philosophy: The Stoics by Alexander Grant.