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— The author investigates the foundations of philanthropy in late Stoicism, granted the Stoic sanction of total detachment from the objects of love. Stoic philanthropy is primilarly grounded in a love of nature which expresses itself in an exclusive concern for oneself and a natural sociality. It finds its second source in a theological perspective. Human beings are related because of the relationship that they have with God by the divine logos. Its third source is political in origin. The individual is respected as a part of the universal whole. Love of another for his own goodness never comes into play. As a result, Stoic philosophy appears ambivalent in the case of slaves and gladiators. Stoics are not opposed to slavery as such, but to interference with interior freedom. Likewise, late Stoicicism doesn’t advocate the abolition of the gladiatorial system. Victory over oneself and submission to Fortune and one’s lot are what counts.