Streszczenie
In this paper the author introduces and develops the philosophical concept of “Socratic strength” and briefly discusses the hierarchy of goods to emphasize the difference between Socratic, Cynic and Stoic notions of virtue. A theoretical gap involving the Cynics in Plato’s Euthydem is crucial to the understanding of the origin and development of ancient Cynicism. Socrates did not fully justify why one should pursue any external things. This made the Cynics consider virtue to be the only good. To overcome a counter-cultural dimension of Cynicism the Stoics developed a theory of external things worth being chosen.