Less Known Stoics — Musonius Rufus

9 min readNov 21, 2023

What We Can Learn from the “Roman Socrates”

Source: Freepik, AI-generated image by ojostudensujono96

I recently wrote about Cleanthes and Chrysippus, the second and third leaders of the Stoic school in Athens, and today, I want to continue on the topic of less-known Stoic philosophers. This time, our focus is on Gaius Musonius Rufus.

Let me start with the highest praise a philosopher can get — Musonius Rufus was referred to as the Roman Socrates. That is very impressive since the original (Greek) Socrates was believed to be as close to a sage as it gets. The reason for such high esteem was not just Musonius’ teachings, but his lifestyle. He was Stoicism personified, not only teaching Stoicism but living it.

Musonius Rufus lived in the 1st century AD (c.30–101 AD) in Rome, and, among other things, taught none other than Epictetus himself. Without Musonius’ influence and teaching, we would not have Epictetus, and without Epictetus, no doubt there would not be Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. Musonius influenced many thinkers of his era, including the early Christian theologians, such as Titus Flavius Clemens, and Origen of Alexandria.

Musonius Rufus is also the only other Stoic, except “The Big Three” of Stoicism— Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius, whose thoughts have reached us in written form. One of his students Lucius took notes from 21 of his lectures — Discourses, allowing us to get quite a nuanced view of his philosophy, to the extent that some commentators have even suggested turning The Big Three into The Big Four, to include Musonius Rufus.

Not much is known about Musonius’ early life. We know that by the time of the infamous emperor Nero, Musonius was in his late thirties/early forties and was already quite famous as a philosopher. Sent into exile by Nero, he returned to Rome a couple of years later, but a few years later was banished again, only to return as the swift change of emperors continued. At the time of emperor Vespasian, Musonius commanded so much respect (despite clearly not seeking fame and not considering it important) that the emperor allowed him to stay in Rome while other philosophers were sent into exile.

Like the rest of the Roman Stoics, Musonius Rufus almost exclusively concentrated on Stoic ethics in his teachings, and his philosophical approach was all about simplicity and the value of hard work.

I strongly recommend you read Musonius’ 21 lectures. They are available in a book called That One Should Disdain Hardships. The Teachings of a Roman Stoic (Yale University Press), with a preface by Gretchen Reydams-Schils (author of The Roman Stoics: Self, Responsibility, and Affection).

Musonius’ same 21 lectures can also be found in another publication with a preface by William B. Irvine (author of A Guide to a Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy and other books on Stoicism).

This book, in addition to Musonius’ lectures and aphorisms, includes a couple of brief interesting materials, including a letter by Musonius to a certain Pankratides on how the study of philosophy will benefit him and his sons.

As you read these, keep in mind that Musonius Rufus did not write it. So try to imagine yourself in a crowd in Ancient Rome, listening to Musonius Rufus deliver a lecture. It will change the whole experience.

Now, let’s look at the lessons we can pick from Musonius Rufus’ lectures:

On Hardships. Musonius Rufus’ lecture #7 has become the main line that the philosopher is known by. He starts by examining how people submit to all kinds of hardship voluntarily, often in the pursuit of making a profit, pursuing fame, or other desires — for unworthy ends. Then why, he asks, do we find it difficult to bear hardship in the pursuit of good or for the acquisition of virtue? For example, why instead of enduring hardship to earn more money do we not train ourselves to want less? Would it not be more fitting to stand firm and endure, when we know we are suffering for a good purpose? To help our friends or our community. To defend our wives and children. To become good and just and self-controlled. Every good is gained by toil, Musonius says. “If one accomplishes some good with toil, the toil passes, but the good remains; if one does something dishonorable with pleasure, the pleasure passes, but the dishonor remains”. Musonius believed that a disciple “educated in Spartan style” was in a better condition to receive philosophical instruction.” A body trained makes a mind easier to train. Musonius even mentions that “the occupations which strain and tire the whole body” are the best means of earning income for a philosopher. Farming, gardening, and living in simple conditions facilitate one’s philosophical journey.
Simplicity and Minimalism. According to Musonius, this is the best way to prepare for hardships. This attitude was of great help to Musonius every time he was exiled from Rome, including when he was sent to an isolated island — he was able to re-establish his life, even teach philosophy. “It is not true that exiles lack the very necessities of life. Men who are idle and unresourceful and unable to play the part of a man are generally in want and without resources even when they are in their own country, but energetic and hardworking and intelligent men, no matter where they go, fare well and live without want.” But Musonius does stop at being resilient. He goes further and similarly to a modern philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb suggests that we should seek anti-fragility — flourishing in difficult conditions, not only surviving them: “Let me add that men who are worth anything not only easily manage well, so far as the necessities of life are concerned, when they are in exile, but often acquire great fortunes”. Musonius said that when everything you have is taken from you, leaving you with your soul, your body, and your mind, it is an opportunity to practice virtue and indifference towards things. This is how you grow.
Necessity to Train. Musonius goes into detail in terms of how to practice the four Stoic virtues — temperance, justice, courage, and wisdom. Here is the full quote: “How, indeed, could a person immediately become temperate if he only knew that one must not be overcome by pleasures, but was quite unpracticed in withstanding pleasures? How could one become just when he had learned that one must love fairness but had never exercised himself in avoidance of selfishness and greed? How could we acquire courage if we had merely learned that the things which seem dreadful to the average person are not to be feared, but had no experience in showing courage in the face of such things? How could we become prudent if we had come to recognize what things are truly good and what evil, but had never had practice in despising things which only seem good?” Musonius maintains that there are two kinds of training — first for the soul and second for both soul and body. The one common to both soul and body includes disciplining ourselves to cold, heat, thirst, hunger, meager rations, hard beds, avoidance of pleasures, and patience under suffering. That peculiar to the soul involves analyzing the world around us, trying to understand what is good and what is not, and learning to distinguish which is which.
Indifference to Wealth. Musonius’ minimalist and truly Stoic, even Spartan approach to life is further elaborated in his lectures on Food, on Clothing and Shelter, and on Furnishing. It is all about self-control, “preferring inexpensive to expensive”, “abundant to scarce” and in general, avoiding luxury. You need to be alert for anything tempting. Musonius asks: Isn’t it interesting that slaves are usually stronger than their masters, country men than city men, the poor than the rich, able to handle hard work, enduring cold and heat better, and so on? Similarly to his advice on food, clothing should be for the protection of the body and not for display. It is very interesting to trace Musonius’ thinking on luxury items. In the lecture on Furnishings, he notes that it is not only that desires corrupt, or that expensive items can be stolen, or are hard to maintain. The key point is that inexpensive items are unlikely to be stolen, whereas to acquire expensive items one will need to make efforts to gain more money, usually by unjust means. This is the path to corruption, both literally, to acquire the resources to be able to afford luxury items, as well as corruption of the soul, for who knows what kind of evil actions one will need to do towards other persons to get there.
Practice without theory is better than theory without practice. A self-taught musician will always perform better than someone who knows music theory but has not practiced on a musical instrument. Musonius goes on to conclude that similarly, one has to practice the virtues as well. Attending philosophy lectures or reading books about virtue won’t cut it.
Kings should also study philosophy. This is one of the longer lectures in the collection. The lessons in this lecture can be applied to the situation of managers in today’s life. The big takeaway is that leaders should study philosophy because the most important skill for them is self-control. Because they are tested much more than we are. Because the implications of their errors are much bigger than the regular people. Because they need to be able to tell what is good and what is not for the power corrupts. Because they need to be just in managing the affairs of those under their leadership. Musonius reminded us that every king, every leader, is in danger of becoming a tyrant. In fact, we are no different from any king in that sense. “We have the same impulses as the tyrants, but not the same opportunity to indulge them.” Musonius also imagined a good philosopher as being capable of becoming a good king. He did not live to see it, but Marcus Aurelius came as close as possible to this ideal.
Gender Equality. Musonius Rufus emphasized the equal capacity of men and women for the philosophical study, and that daughters should receive the same education as sons, challenging the prevailing societal norms of his time. He believed that virtue was not confined to a specific gender and that both men and women were capable of cultivating wisdom, self-discipline, and moral excellence. It sounds obvious now, but these thoughts were revolutionary for his time. But Musonius Rufus was comfortable going against the societal norms of his time, as long as his statements were in line with his belief system.

Musonius Rufus did not just talk about all this. He practiced it. He embodied it. This is why his words had such an impact. That is also why it is puzzling how little Musonius Rufus is known today. Looking into what little is known about him, it is clear he was one of the most revered figures of ancient philosophy. He therefore deserves to be remembered along with the other prominent Stoics, including Zeno, Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius.

If you want to read more about the Stoics, their philosophy, and their lives, check out Ryan Holiday’s book Lives of the Stoics. Holiday’s website the Daily Stoic has a dedicated page for Musonius Rufus as well as many other Stoics.

If you want to read more about the philosophy of Stoicism, check out the books by Ryan Holiday, Massimo Pigliucci, William B. Irvine, Ward Farnsworth, Peter Sellars, Donald J. Robertson, and Pierre Hadot. You can also read the original works by Ancient Stoics — Musonius Rufus, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Ryan Holiday’s website The Daily Stoic is an excellent resource on Stoicism and there are many, many more great resources.

If you liked this article, here are some of my articles you might want to explore:

Less Known Stoics — Musonius Rufus

Written by Rational Badger