Graham Tomlin

Prince Philip and the myth of stoicism

Danny Lawson-WPA Pool/Getty Images

In all the coverage of Prince Philip’s death, one word in the tributes keeps grabbing my attention: stoicism. The Spectator wrote that ‘Prince Philip epitomised a very British stoicism; the Times said ‘the royal marriage was built on stoicism, the odd clash and a deep sense of understanding’. The New Yorker meanwhile claimed that ‘with Prince Philip’s death has passed the Last Embers of British Stoicism.’ 

Prince Philip was of course Greek in origin, but it is a bit of a stretch to call him and her Majesty devotees of Stoicism, the philosophy of Zeno of Athens, Epictetus and Seneca. On the evidence of Christmas broadcasts for the last few decades, there is much more to suggest they drew inspiration from one of Seneca’s exact contemporaries – Jesus of Nazareth. 

Conflating Stoicism and Christianity is easily done. The Prime Minister recently praised the Church in the UK for sacrifices made over the past twelve months, foregoing meeting in person and serving their communities: ‘I know that has been a huge burden for many Christians, but it is a burden you have borne with selfless stoicism without complaint.’  It was meant (and taken) as a genuine compliment, yet in the most crucial respects Christianity could not be more unlike Stoicism: the latter accepts the world as it is. The former wants to see it changed.

With its roots in 3rd century BC Athens, the core idea of Stoicism is that flourishing or eudaimonia, is found by remaining self-possessed, retaining dignity whatever happens to you. Unlike Epicureans, who found happiness in the simple pleasures of life, the key to Stoic wellbeing is becoming free of the desire for pleasure or the fear of pain. The goal of the Stoic sage is apatheia – not so much apathy, but an inner ability not to be swayed by things that happen to you and the emotions they might evoke, emotions that disturb mental and spiritual equilibrium. 

A good life is the principled, virtuous life, being internally unscathed by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, being able to accept the way the world is, being able patiently to endure one’s place in the world.

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