Musonius Rufus 30 AD – 101 AD
Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Roman Stoic philosopher and the teacher of Epictetus. Twice exiled by emperors who feared his moral influence, he insisted that philosophy is for everyone and held that women, like men, should study it. His lectures, preserved in summaries by his students, develop a practical Stoicism focused on the daily exercise of virtue: marriage, parenthood, food, clothing, and the conduct of public life. He returned to Rome under Vespasian and continued to teach until his death.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Roman
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Stoicism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Musonius Rufus:
“Few are the days during which we shall not need to be reminded of what we have to bear.”
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Attributed to Musonius Rufus:
“Women have received from the gods the same ability to reason that men have.”
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Attributed to Musonius Rufus:
“It is not he who has many possessions who is rich, but he who has few wants.”
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Attributed to Musonius Rufus:
“We should keep ourselves in such fitness for any kind of labor that even the unaccustomed shall be easy for us.”
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Attributed to Musonius Rufus:
“Every distress is mitigated by reason.”