gaius musonius rufus

Don’t they cost vast sums of money that, through public and private charity, may have benefited many?”, “You will earn the respect of all if you begin by earning the respect of yourself. Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman knight of Italian (Etruscan) birth, but dedicated his life to Stoicism and to preaching moral lectures in Greek and teaching all over the Empire, as well as involving himself in moral causes even at peril of his life. Hair is no more trouble for men than feathers are for birds, Musonius said. Digesting our food gives us no pleasure, he reasoned, and the time spent digesting food far exceeds the time spent consuming it. Unsubscribe at any time. • Check out all the bonuses or sign up below. That rebuttal was in the form of clarifying what was more common of a Stoic’s financial standing, “Not all stoics were wealthy senators. Moreover, a philosophic woman would love her children more than her own life. The proper diet, according to Musonius, was lacto-vegetarian. Since I can get greatness of soul and nobility from myself, why should I look to get a farm, or money, or some office, from you? He judged gluttony and craving gourmet food to be most shameful and to show a lack of moderation. Musonius argued that a woman who studies philosophy would be just, a blameless partner in life, a good and like-minded co-worker, a careful guardian of husband and children, and completely free from the love of gain and greed. Musonius thought that when each spouse competes to surpass the other in giving complete care, the partnership is beautiful and admirable. William O. Stephens Conosciuto come l’Etrusco perché nato nel I secolo d.C. da un’importante famiglia di Volsinii - la città romana erede dell’etrusca Velzna - Gaio Musonio Rufo godette di grande fama e prestigio morale sia tra i contemporanei che durante tutta la tarda So clothes and shoes should be modest and inexpensive, not attract the attention of the foolish. He is best known for being one of the great stoics of the Roman Empire, during the time of Nero and Vespasian. This is because, unlike other skills, people who study philosophy have been corrupted in their souls with vices and thoughtless habits by learning things contrary to what they will learn in philosophy. Musonius held that since a human being is made of body and soul, we should train both, but the latter demands greater attention. For example, he emphasized that what one eats has significant consequences. Musonius was exiled a second time, by Vespasian, but returned to Rome in the reign of Titus. These things are pointless and unnecessary-without them isn’t it possible to live healthy? If possible, he advised, go shoeless. He advocated a commitment to live for virtue, not pleasure, since virtue saves us from the mistakes that ruin life. An Introduction To The Man Who Made An Extraordinary Mistake. In 70 C.E. Gaius Musonius Rufus.JPG 1,332 × 2,244; 2.12 MB Musonius advocated a similarly austere philosophy about clothes. “That God who made man provided him food and drink for the sake of preserving his life and not for giving him pleasure, one can see very well from this: when food is performing its real function, it does not produce pleasure for man, that is in the process of digestion and assimilation.” – Musonius Rufus. He praised the married life with lots of children. His students listened with great intent because he spoke from great experience. “We are a product of our habits,” they’d say. First, the gods have given women the same power of reason as men. Musonius seems to have acted as an advisor to his friends the Stoic martyrs Rubellius Plautus, Barea Soranus, and Thrasea. Neither wealth, nor beauty, nor noble birth promotes a sense of partnership or harmony, nor do they facilitate procreation. He argued that anyone overcome by shameful pleasure is base in his lack of self-control, and so blamed the man (married or unmarried) who has sex with his own female slave as much as the woman (married or unmarried) who has sex with her male slave. The lesson is that refusing to do what one ought not to do merits praise, not blame. Lives of the Stoics: The Art of Living From Zeno To Marcus, Who Is Diotimus? While in modern times he is best known for being the teacher of Epictetus (c. 50 CE – c. 130 CE), Rufus was a highly respected figure in ancient times, considered by Origen a ‘Roman Socrates’ and by Tacitus as the foremost Stoic of his day. Getting to Know “The Roman Socrates”, Who Is Cleanthes? The biography written inside Epictetus’s Discourses, details how once enslaved, Epictetus became a widely regarded teacher. Sickness only harms the body. He argued that the purpose of food is to nourish and strengthen the body and to sustain life, not to provide pleasure. Media in category "Gaius Musonius Rufus" The following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. He considered it appropriate for an educated woman to be more courageous than an uneducated woman and for a woman trained in philosophy to be more courageous than one untrained in philosophy. Wild animals spare nothing they can devour, they have no companions, they never work together, and they have no share in anything just, according to Musonius. When asked whether one’s parents should be obeyed in all matters, Musonius answered as follows. Even Thrasea, Musonius’s sometimes anti-Nero ally, would say, “I would sooner be killed today than banished tomorrow,” in his moments of yielding to compliance. The Greek sophist Philostratus declared that Musonius was unsurpassed in philosophic ability. The sources on him reveal a teacher of philosophy who was particularly concerned with social issues. Wicked people are unjust and savage and have no concern for a neighbor in trouble. He believed that philosophy must be studied not to cultivate brilliance in arguments or an excessive cleverness, but to develop good character, a sound mind, and a tough, healthy body. Similarly, if the father was ill and asked for wine or inappropriate food that would worsen his illness if consumed, and the son, knowing better, refused to give them to his ill father, the son would not be acting disobediently. An early example of the type is Gaius Musonius Rufus, a member of the Roman administrative class, the so-called knights (equites), who was banished by both Nero and Vespasian.” (xxiv). He judged homosexual relationships as an outrage contrary to nature. Sometimes they grow dissatisfied with available male sex-partners and choose to pursue those who are hard to get. His life was an example of Stoic apathetic resistance to corrupt leadership and to the vicissitudes of time. Dio of Prusa judged that Musonius enjoyed a reputation greater than any one man had attained for generations and that he was the man who, since the time of the ancients, had lived most nearly in conformity with reason. During Nero's reign, … We do not consider a horse to reach its potential by merely eating, drinking, mating without restraint, and doing none of the things suitable for a horse. Both boys and girls must receive the same education about what is good and what is bad, what is helpful and what is harmful. Creighton University To think that each should look only to his own affairs is to think that a human being is no different from a wolf or any other wild beast whose nature is to live by force and greed. He thought it much better to have many siblings than to have many possessions. Money should be spent both publicly and privately on people, not on elaborate buildings or fancy décor. Musonius Rufus Roman Stoic philosopher of the 1st century AD. “Indeed, how could exile be an obstacle to person’s own cultivation, or to attaining virtue when no one has ever been cut off from learning or practicing what is needed by exile?” – Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 9.37.30-31, 9.39.1. Little is known about his life or thought, however, apart from a handful of surviving lectures and sayings, and some scattered references about him by other authors. And not to be outdone, in Gregory Hays’ introduction to his translation of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, makes an important rebuttal for criticism related to all the wealth the Roman Stoics enjoyed. But to refuse to obey a shameful, blameworthy command of a parent is just and blameless. After his death Musonius was admired by philosophers and theologians alike. He died around 101 CE. What do you want to be known for? My favorite pagan philosopher from the first century AD is a Stoic named Musonius Rufus. It is the doer of wrong who puts themselves to shame-the sensible man wouldn’t go to the law, since he wouldn’t even consider that he had been insulted! In his time, death would have been favored — preferable to control your circumstances than surrender to the command of another, or so most perceived. Virtue is the only good because it alone keeps us from making errors in living. His greatest student was Epictetus, who mentions him several times in The Discourses of Epictetus written by Epictetus’ student Arrian. “Virtue is not simply theoretical knowledge, but it is practical application as well…So a man who wishes to become good not only must be thoroughly familiar with the precepts which are conducive to virtue but must also be earnest and zealous in applying these principles.” – Musonius Rufus, Lectures. There was another kind of Stoic exemplar as well: the outsider whose ascetic lifestyle won him the admiration of his wealthier contemporaries and enabled him to criticize the pretenses of upper-class society with real authority. Below are three themes recurring among any still discoverable text he’s mentioned: “When the problem arose for us [his students] whether habit or theory was better for getting virtue — if by theory is meant what teaches us correct conduct, and by habit we mean being accustomed to act according to this theory — Musonius thought habit to be more effective.” From Lectures. Living in luxury harms the body and the soul. Musonius returned to Rome, where he taught and practiced Stoicism, which roused the suspicion of Nero. Gaius Musonius Rufus was a 1st century Stoic philosopher who lived and taught in Rome. These preferences promote self-control and goodness. C. RUFUS MUSONIUS (1st Century A.D.) (text from the 2nd edition, 1896, scanned by animalrightshistory.org). We, not just Epictetus, owe Musonius tremendous amounts of gratitude. He judged bodies that are healthy, normal in form, and able to function on their own, and souls that are naturally disposed towards self-control, justice, and virtue, as most fit for marriage. Musonius believed that (Stoic) philosophy was the most useful thing. If a father, who was neither a doctor nor knowledgeable about health and sickness, ordered his sick son to take something he believed would help, but which would in fact be useless, or even harmful, and the sick son, knowing this, did not comply with his father’s order, the son would not be acting disobediently. Successor to Zeno & Second Head of the Stoic School, Who Is Athenodorus Cananites? The Stoic Hierocles and the Christian apologist Clement of Alexandria were strongly influenced by Musonius. The purpose of our clothes and footwear is strictly protection from the elements. Musonius Rufus quotes Showing 1-30 of 38 “If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures” Virtuous people are good, just, and kind, and show love for their fellow human beings and concern for their neighbors. Possessions invite plots from neighbors. His fundamental teaching: practice trumps theory. He believed that the soul is similarly strengthened by developing courage through enduring hardships, and by making it self-controlled through abstaining from pleasures. Gaius Musonius Rufus was one of the foremost Stoic philosophers of the Roman Imperial period. The law of Zeus orders us to be good, and being good is the same thing as being a philosopher, Musonius taught. Gaius Musonius Rufus was one of the four great Stoic philosophers of the Roman empire, along with Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. An opportunity for one’s own cultivation. Musonius believed that it was an unholy act to deprive the earlier-born of siblings to increase their inheritance. The Roman Emperor, nearly three centuries after Musonius lived, Julian, wrote in a Letter of unexplainable admiration of Theodorus, comparing his display of “a clear proof of the philosophic mind” amidst indisputably unfair treatment, to that of Musonius’s. Therefore, it is Musonius too we can thank for the work of Marcus Aurelius. Musonius Rufus (Gaius Musonius Rufus c. AD 30–100) Has gained the name of "The Roman Socrates", Epictetus was his pupil, and in a certain way Musonius indirectly influenced and shaped the thought of Marcus Aurelius, as the emperor studied the writings of Epictetus. A philosopher regards being beaten, jeered at, or spat upon as neither injurious nor shameful and so would never litigate against anyone for any such acts, according to Musonius. His choice was to accept banishment as an opportunity to use what Stoicism taught him, to not talk in theory but display in action. In circa 60 CE, Musonius Rufus was sent into exile in Asia Minor by Nero, who had become an emperor then. Musonius scolded those who offered poverty as an excuse for not raising many children. With those three things, exile is far from an evil; it’s an opportunity. Human nature, he thought, can be better understood by comparing it to the nature of other animals. These, at varying degrees, can all be traced to the kind of life Musonius lived then taught. After Rubellius died in 62 C.E. His philosophical teachings survive as thirty-two apophthegms (pithy sayings) and twenty-one longer discourses, all apparently preserved by others and all in Greek, except for Aulus Gellius’ testimonia in Latin. Spouses should consider all things as common possessions and nothing as private, not even the body itself. Equally so is the praise spoken in his name by those who were well familiar with it. Aren’t they the source of constant trouble? Musonius Rufus receives much of the credit. Such a couple either splits up or their relationship becomes worse than solitude. He decried adultery as unlawful and illegitimate. Moreover, too much rich food harms the body. She would not hesitate to fight to protect her children any more than a hen that fights with predators much larger than she is to protect her chicks. An early example of the type is Gaius Musonius Rufus, a member of the Roman administrative class, the so-called knights (equites), who was banished by both Nero and Vespasian.” (xxiv) Exiled three times in all, Musonius’s unbreakable devotion to his Stoic beliefs and his steady though unaccompanied opposition to the emperor Nero’s ruthless behavior, earned his undivided reverence. That goes the same for temperance, prudence, patience, any Stoic virtue hoped to be groomed into a habit. Musonius insisted that exile, poverty, physical injury, and death are not evils and a philosopher must scorn all such things. The son of a Roman eques of the name of Capito, Musonius Rufus was born in Volsinii, Etruria about 20-30 AD. Musonius stood firm in his belief that having everything taken from you just meant you were left with the only things you needed: your soul, your body, your mind. He believed that the nature of males is stronger and that of females is weaker, and so the most suitable tasks ought to be assigned to each nature accordingly. Though philosophy is more difficult to learn than other subjects, it is more important because it corrects the errors in thinking that lead to errors in acting. One should dress to strengthen and toughen the body, not to bundle up in many layers so as never to experience cold and heat and make the body soft and sensitive. Rutilius Rufus he seek to acquire fabulous wealth to learning or teaching essential lessons, ’! 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