Fragment 43

Thrasea was in the habit of saying, "I should rather be put to death today than be banished tomorrow."

What then did Rufus say to him? "If you choose that as the heavier misfortune, what a foolish choice to make! But if as the lighter, who has given you the choice? Are you not willing to train yourself to be satisfied with what has been given you?"

Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments, Fragment 43, translated by Cora E. Lutz