From the sage's garden to the Palatine : a study of the origin of Epicureanism and Stoicism, their development in Rome, their affinity with the traditional Roman character and their influence on Roman emperors of the Julio-Claudian line.

This thesis has a threefold purpose. It is intended, firstly, to trace the development of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophies from their origins in Greece to their subsequent acceptance, with some modifications, in Rome; secondly, to ascertain the ways in which certain tenets of each philosophy agreed with the traditional character of the Roman people; and, thirdly, to determine the extent to vvhich the Julio-Claudian emperors were affected in their work and outlook by the Stoic and Epicurean doctrines of their day. To be effective, a philosophy must influence not only those who preach, but also those who hear; and this study has been undertaken in order to discover whether a philosophy like Stoicism; known to the world mainly, though not entirely, from the writings of its supporters, was powerful enough to affect the policies of administrators who professed adherence to no philosophic school. Owing to difficulties of reproducirig Greek originals in typed form, and in order to avoid breaking the continuity of the type-vvritten page, quotations from Greek authors have been incorporated into the body of the text in translation, and the originals written in footnotes. Since the field of literature in this subject is almost inexhaustible, the books and periodicals which I have consulted and which are listed in the bibliography can at best be regarded as a representative selection of the material available. My thanks are due to the staff of the Library of the University of Tasmania for providing this material over a number of years, and to the Department of Classics for many valuable suggestions