I was quite stunned, and began looking around for books by and about Stoics. Stoicism was rather popular amongst educated Romans, and the philosophy eventually became something of the de facto guidelines of morality in the Ancient World. Residues of Stoic morality survive today in Christianity. In a nutshell, a Stoic is someone who reaches personal contentment by recognizing that adversity is inherient in life, and there is little point in carrying on endlessly about difficulties that one can do nothing about. Adversity must be accepted , and through doing so with a little dignity, one can be really happy.
Real happiness can only come from within.
It should be drawn from the sense of freedom from disturbance, or inner tranquility if you will, that comes out of having accepted that life is supposed to by difficult and annoying. It is also derived from intellectual independence. Physical pleasure has nothing to do with happiness. It is transitory, and has no value in and of itself. A virtuous life does.