Teacher in Rome · 1st century CE
Musonius Rufus
The teacher of Epictetus, twice exiled, who held that philosophy is worthless unless you live it, and that women should study it as well as men. He wrote nothing; his students wrote him down.
- Work
- 1
- Passages
- 53
- Words
- 23,692
- To read it all
- 2 hours
In his own words
Ten lines to start with
Time
It is not possible to live well today unless one thinks of it as his last.
Practice
For only in this way will philosophy be of profit to anyone, if to sound doctrine he adds conduct in harmony with it.
Women and philosophy
Women as well as men, he said, have received from the gods the gift of reason…
Virtue
Virtue, he said, is not simply theoretical knowledge, but it is practical application as well, just like the arts of medicine and music.
Self-respect
You will earn the respect of all men if you begin by earning the respect of yourself.
Exile
Tell me, is not the universe the common fatherland of all men, as Socrates held?
Control
Of the things that exist, God has put some in our control, others not in our control.
Wealth
One man and one alone shall we consider rich, the man who has acquired the ability to want for nothing always and everywhere.
Death
Choose to die well while it is possible, lest shortly it may become necessary for you to die, but it will no longer be possible to die well.
Generosity
Musonius, they say, answered with a smile, 'Well then he deserves money.'
Quote 1 of 10
Life
Who was Musonius Rufus?
Gaius Musonius Rufus was born before 30 CE in Volsinii, an Etruscan city of Italy, into the Roman class of knights. He taught philosophy in Rome.
Nero banished him to Gyaros, a barren island in the Aegean. He returned under Galba in 68, was exiled a second time by Vespasian, and came back again in the reign of Titus.
Either he wrote nothing, or what he wrote is lost. His teaching survives as twenty-one longer discourses and thirty-two short sayings, all on this site. His greatest student was Epictetus, who mentions him several times in the Discourses.
- Before 30Born in Volsinii, Italy, a Roman knight.
- RomeTeaches philosophy. Among his students: Epictetus.
- Under NeroBanished to the island of Gyaros.
- 68Returns to Rome under Galba.
- Under VespasianExiled a second time.
- Under TitusReturns again.
Four lives
Works
What survives
- Lectures and FragmentsMusonius Rufus
Lectures and Fragments
53 parts · 2 hours
In numbers
The words he leans on
Words Musonius uses far more often than the other three Stoics, counted across everything of theirs on this site. Pick one to compare.
Musonius uses ‘marriage’ 45 times as often as the other three.
- Marcus0
- Seneca0.1
- Epictetus0.5
- Musonius9.7
Uses per 10,000 words
Musonius on marriageBut the first step toward making his home such a rampart is marriage.
In numbers
Who he talks about
The people Musonius names most often. Pick one to read the lines where they come up.
ZeusKing of the gods
Musonius names him 8 times.
How can we help committing a sin against the gods of our fathers and against Zeus, guardian of the race, if we do this?
Connections
Teachers and students
- Senecac. 4 BCE–65 CEBoth in Nero’s Rome
- Musonius Rufus1st century CETaught himNamed 7 times in the Discourses
- Epictetusc. 50–135 CERead his discoursesLent by Rusticus; named 6 times in the Meditations
- Marcus Aurelius121–180 CE
Go further
Guides and other Stoics
- The four Stoic virtues: wisdom, justice, courage and moderationWisdom, justice, courage and moderation, and why the Stoics called them the only true goods.
- Stoic exercises: 9 daily practices from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and EpictetusNine daily practices from the Stoics themselves, from the morning preparation to the evening review.
- Stoicism in modern life: work, attention and relationshipsStoic advice for work, distraction, other people’s opinions and difficult relatives.
Sources
- Rachana Kamtekar, “Marcus Aurelius”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Katja Vogt, “Seneca”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Margaret Graver, “Epictetus”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- William O. Stephens, “Musonius Rufus”, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Word and name counts are from the English translations on this site, so they reflect the translators’ choices as well as the authors’.