Quintus Sextius
1st century BC Roman philosopher
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Philosophy
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(Suggest an Edit or Addition)According to Wikipedia, Quintus Sextius the Elder was a Roman philosopher, whose philosophy combined Pythagoreanism with Stoicism. Seneca frequently praised him. Life Sextius was born no later than 70 BC. He founded a school of philosophy combining some features of the Pythagoreans with others of the Stoics; and which was consequently classed sometimes with one, and sometimes with the other of those sects. Seneca describes Sextius as a Stoic but mentions that Sextius himself denied it. From the Epistles of Seneca we learn that Sextius, though born of an illustrious family, had declined the office of Senator when offered him by Julius Caesar. He also subjected himself to a scrupulous self-examination at the close of each day; and he abstained from animal food, though for different reasons than those ascribed to Pythagoras: Sextius believed that man had enough sustenance without resorting to blood, and that a habit of cruelty is formed whenever butchery is practised for pleasure.
