Sextus, however, directs his writings entirely against the
Dogmatics, by whom he distinctly states that he means the
Stoics,[3] and the influence of the Stoics began to decline in
the beginning of the third century A.D. A fact often used as a
help in fixing the date of Sextus is his mention of Basilides
the Stoic,[4] [Greek: alla kai oi stoikoi, os oi peri ton
Basileiden]. This Basilides was supposed to be identical with
one of the teachers of Marcus Aurelius.[5] This is accepted by
Zeller in the second edition of his _History of Philosophy_, but
not in the third for the reason that Sextus, in all the work
from which this reference is taken, _i.e. Math_. VII.-XI.,
mentions no one besides Aenesidemus, who lived later than the
middle of the last century B.C.[6] The Basilides referred to by
Sextus may be one mentioned in a list of twenty Stoics, in a
fragment of Diogenes Laertius, recently published in Berlin by
Val Rose.[7] Too much importance has, however, been given to the
relation of the mention of Basilides the Stoic to the question
of the date of Sextus. Even if the Basilides referred to by
Sextus is granted to have been the teacher of Marcus Aurelius,
it only serves to show that Sextus lived either at the same time
with Marcus Aurelius or after him, which is a conclusion that we
must in any case reach for other reasons.
[1] Diog. IX. 12, 116.
[2] Ueberweg _Hist. of Phil._ p. 21.
[3] Hyp. I. 65.
[4] _Adv. Math_.
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