The Stoic Philosopher Musonius Rufus is best known through the lectures of his marvelous student, Epictetus. Like Plato and Socrates, Epictetus tells us so many delightful vignettes and teachings of his beloved Rufus that we really cannot distinguish between the thoughts of Epictetus and Musonius Rufus. In addition to the writings of Epictetus, a small collection of Musonius Rufus’ writings come down to us from antiquity in an anthology by the Greek Stobaeus, and a few fragments quoted in other ancient works. We know he was exiled by Nero, and came in and out of exile under the succeeding emperors, Tacitus mentions he helped negotiate several treaties, and we know he taught in Greek and that he taught Epictetus, but we know little else about the life of Rufus. Rufus and Epictetus sound more like father and son than master and student, so close is their stoicism. The similarities between Rufus and Epictetus and the Epistles of St Paul and the writings of the early Church Fathers are amazing. We highlight a living example of the observations Rufus makes in these essays on exile and living a philosophical life is illustrated by the life of St John the Russian, who, though his life was not a successful life according to worldly standards, since he served his life as a slave to a Turkish master, he lived a life of such holiness that today he is recognized as a saint in the Orthodox Church. YouTube video: https://youtu.be/2Ft0YOjfbP8 Our blog on these other teachings by the Stoic Philosopher Musonius Rufus: http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/musonius-rufus-on-exile/

2. YouTube Video:
Stoic Musonius Rufus on Forgiveness,
Obedience, Exile, and Living a Philosophical Life
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3. Today we will learn and reflect on the writings of Musonius Rufus.
Like Socrates, Musonius Rufus did not write down his teachings, they
have been passed down by his students, mainly by Epictetus, but it is
those teachings remembered by other students that we will ponder
today.
You may ask, how can we benefit when we ponder the stoicism of
Musonius Rufus?
Living a godly and moral life is all that mattered to the Stoic
philosophers. In this video we will ponder what Rufus reveals to us
about forgiveness, obedience, exile, and other philosophical teachings,
plus illustrations how the Christian tradition shares many of these same
values.

4. At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video, and my blogs that also cover this
topic. Please, we welcome interesting questions in
the comments, sometimes these will generate short
videos of their own. Let us learn and reflect
together!

5. To find the source of any
direct quotes in this blog,
please type in the phrase to
the search box in my blog to
see the referenced footnote.

6. Musonius Rufus is best known through the lectures of his marvelous
student, Epictetus. Epictetus tells us so many delightful vignettes and
teachings of his beloved Rufus that we really cannot distinguish between
the thoughts of Epictetus and Musonius Rufus. This is the video we have
uploaded on the philosophy of Epictetus.
In addition to the writings of Epictetus, a small collection of Musonius
Rufus’ writings come down to us from antiquity in an anthology by the
Greek Stobaeus, and a few fragments quoted in other ancient works. We
know he was exiled by Nero, and came in and out of exile under the
succeeding emperors, Tacitus mentions he helped negotiate several
treaties, and we know he taught in Greek and that he taught Epictetus,
but we know little else about the life of Rufus.

8. We really do not know what Musonius Rufus looks like either,
you will note that the opening thumbnail does not include a
likeness of Rufus, we could not find one in the public domain.
On occasion, in this video we will simply display a picture of
Epictetus.
Rufus and Epictetus sound more like father and son than master
and student, so close is their stoicism. The similarities between
Rufus and Epictetus and the Epistles of St Paul and the writings
of the early Church Fathers are amazing. We can see that
Epictetus and St Paul lived roughly in the same period, there is
no certainty that they ever corresponded.

9. Musonius Rufus and Epictetus lived in the same
general timeframe as St Paul.
Musonius Rufus, born 20-30 AD, died 101 AD.
Epictetus, born 50 AD, died 135 AD.
St Paul, born 5 AD, died 64-67 AD.
There is no direct evidence that St Paul and
Rufus/Epictetus read each others’ writings. In an age
of hand copied documents, it could take years for
them to circulate. However, they all contributed to
the philosophical discussions of the Roman Empire.
MUSONIUS RUFUS AND EPICTETUS: ROMAN STOIC PHILOSOPHERS

10. When someone wrongs us, should we file
suit, or should we forgive and
forbear? Rufus tells us that “those who do
not know what is really good and what is
really shameful, and who are overly
concerned with their own fame, these
people think that they are being injured if
someone glares at them, laughs at them,
hits them, or mocks them. But a man who
is thoughtful and sensible, as a philosopher
should be, is disturbed by none of these
things.” Epictetus, student of Rufus

11. Who suffers more, the person who is
wronged, or the wrong-doer? The wrong-
doer suffers shame, not the
wronged. Rufus tells us that it is petty to
count wrongs like sheep, if he is virtuous
the wronged “will calmly and quietly bear
what has happened, since that is how the
magnanimous behave.” “Plotting how to
bite back someone who bites and return
evil against the evil-doer is characteristic of
a beast, not a man.”
Epictetus, student of Rufus

12. This reminds us of our favorite observation
made by Epictetus. He tells us of someone
who stole his lamp one night, he got the
better end of the exchange. For Epictetus
only lost his lamp, but he kept his faith. The
man who stole his lamp, in exchange for the
lamp he consented to become a thief,
becoming faithless.
EPICTETUS: ROMAN STOIC PHILOSOPHER

13. This stoic advice is similar to that of the
Gospel, when Jesus counsels us to turn
the cheek, to walk two miles when
compelled to walk one, to give up the
coat also when the cloak is requested. As
St Maximus the Confessor teaches, we
should not only forgive our enemies, we
should be eager to forgive our enemies.
Cosimo Rosselli, Sermon on the Mount, painted 1482

14. One of the commandments of the Decalogue exhorts us to
honor our father and mother. Musonius Rufus agrees, and this is
also pondered by the Platonic dialogue of Euthyphro, the Son
Who Won’t Listen.
A young man who wanted to study philosophy but whose father
forbade him asked Rufus, “Should we always obey our parents,
or are their situations when you should not obey?” Rufus
responded that children should obey their parents, and he
agrees that they should, but to examine the question further you
must ask, What does it mean to obey? What is disobedience? If
the son is gravely ill and the father forbids him to consult with a
doctor, and the son does so anyway, is he disobedient? If the
father is a robber and orders his son to be his accomplice and he
refuses, is he disobedient?

15. Rufus answers, “It is true the act of disobeying and the
person who disobey are shameful and blameworthy. But
refusing to do what one should not do brings praise, not
shame. And so, if someone refuses to obey a person who is
wicked, unjust, or shameful, whether that person is his
father, ruler, or despot, he is not disobeying, he is not acting
unjustly, he is not a wrong-doer. Rather, a disobedient
person is one who ignore or disobeys orders that are right,
honorable, and beneficial.”

16. Indeed, when we are commanded to honor our father and our
mother, we are also commanded to respect everyone who is in a
position of authority, bosses, teachers, policemen,
everyone. The commandment is more binding on the father and
the mother, that they provide a good example to their children,
that the commandment implies a greater duty on them to live a
godly worthy of the honor and respect their children should
show them.

17. In regards to the original question, Rufus asks, “If
your father, who knows nothing about philosophy,
forbids you to study philosophy, but you know and
understand the meaning of philosophy, should you
listen to him? Or should you instead explain to him
that he is not giving you good advice?”

18. Rufus counsels patience, Rufus discourages his young man from
rash and heated arguments, Rufus encourages that he convince
his father about the value of philosophy by example.

19. Rufus advises, “As a student of philosophy, he will be
most eager to help his father in every way, and he will
be conspicuously self-disciplined and courteous. In his
dealings with his father, he will never be quarrelsome or
self-regarding, and never be rash, rebellious, or
angry. Furthermore, he will always control his tongue,
stomach, and sexual appetites, and will be brave enough
to face calamities and pain. He will be careful to discern
what is right and not be deceived by what only seems to
be right. He will gladly forsake all pleasures for his
father and for him will shoulder hardships. Who would
not pray to the gods to have such a son? And who, if he
had such a son, would not love him?”

20. But even if the father resists, and locks up his son so he cannot
go off to study philosophy, how can he prevent him from
studying philosophy?

21. Rufus explains, “We seek philosophy
with our soul and that little part of it we
call our intellect.” Nobody can prevent
you from studying philosophy “to be
pleased by the good rather than the
shameful, or from choosing the good
and refusing the shameful. Do these,
and you will be studying philosophy.”

22. You do not need to run off to school, you do not need to don a
cloak, you don’t need long hair, you don’t need to be
eccentric. Real philosophers need only contemplate what you
need to do to live a godly life.

23. Rufus also advises us that we can live a godly life even when we
have been exiled. Exile was common to leading citizens who
were out of favor politically in ancient Greece. At a certain time
of the year the Assembly of all voting males could vote to
ostracize a leading citizen, or send him into exile to a
neighboring city-state. Sometimes this was done every few
years, sometimes a generation would pass between ostracism
votes. Those exiled would not lose their property, they could
move back in five or ten or even twenty years, unless they were
permanently exiled. They would live a life of leisure with
aristocratic friends in neighboring city-states, and it was
evidently not too hard to find a couch to sleep on for years at a
time for who knows, those friends themselves may be exiled one
day.

24. Acropolis of Athens, Leo von Klenze, painted 1846

25. Rufus adds that in exile we may
associate with our friends, our true
friends, those friends “who would
never betray or abandon us,” but
those who shun us are not true
friends, we are better off without
those who are not truly friends.
The most important question
Rufus asks is, “How can exile be an
obstacle to the . . . acquisition of
virtue, when no one was ever
hindered from the knowledge and
practice of what is needful
because of exile?”

26. The wise, on the other hand, are gracious, the wise look for the
good, the wise are forgiving. Those who are evil find fault with
their neighbor but find excuses for their own faults, while those
who seek to love their neighbor seek to see the good in their
neighbor’s heart, excusing their faults, while searching their
hearts and repenting of their shortcomings.

27. On Exile, Rufus concludes,
“Certainly the exile is not
prevented from possessing
courage and justice simply
because he is banished, nor is he
denied self-control, or any virtue
that brings honor and benefit to
the man with a good reputation
and worthy of praise. . . If you are
good, you will never be harmed or
degraded by exile, for your virtues
will help you and sustain you. But
if you are bad, it is the evil that
harms you and not exile, and the
misery you feel in exile is the
product of evil, not of exile.”

28. Today ordinary people often suffer from the rejection of types of
exile who will find the advice of Rufus refreshing. When
someone whose work is suddenly picked at and criticized by a
company that has employed him for decades, and who is
unceremoniously shown to the door by security guards, is that
not a form of exile? When a man is served papers and is
humiliated by being thrown out of his house by a vengeful
divorcing spouse, is that not a form of exile? How much we are
at fault for our rejection, for our exile, although it does matter,
and we should always learn from our sins and mistakes, what
matters most is whether we can become better persons through
our experiences, what matters most is that we are not bitter and
forbear and forgive, what matters most is whether I lead a godly
and virtuous life.

30. Since we are mentioning divorce and exile, and if you get
throwed out of your house because of your divorce it is definitely
an exile, the picture we are showing is for Divorce Care, and you
can find a divorce support group free of charge in most parts of
the country, I have been active in this ministry for many years.
Rufus asks, like a good stoic, Why should the exile lament of his
condition, why should he complain, how is he oppressed? Has
he been exiled from the warmth of sun, has he been exiled from
being refreshed by the rain, has he been excluded from the
society of men?

31. A Christian example of both how we can live a godly life in exile, and the
philosopher who can live a godly life under even the most trying
circumstances, is the life of St. John the Russian, a devout Russian soldier
who was captured and enslaved to the family of a Muslim Turk
commander. When pressed to convert he confessed he would sooner die
than renounce his Lord or his Orthodox faith. John was assigned to work
and live in the stable. Reminded that his Lord was born in a stable, he
rejoiced in his little corner of the stable, knowing that in the evenings he
would have the freedom to spend many long hours in prayer, praying
those Psalms of David that he memorized, for he owned nothing, eating
little, praying often. Every Saturday he took Holy Communion, and kept
all night vigils at a local Christian church. He lived a joyful life of humility,
kindness and charity to his fellow servants and his masters. His devotion
brought prosperity to the house of his master.

32. Church, Prokopi, TripAdvisor

33. Having gained riches, his master decided to make a pilgrimage to
Mecca. While he was gone, his wife cooked a piping hot plate of rice
pilaf, saying out loud that she wished her husband were home to enjoy
his favorite dish. John, who was waiting on the table, responded that he
could have it brought to Mecca for him. The wife laughed, thinking he
would donate it to the other poor Christians nearby let him have the dish,
and John prayed that his master would enjoy the dish.
The next month his master returned, with the plate with his
monogrammed initials. He said his plate of piping hot rice pilaf
appeared in his locked room in Mecca when he had finished the day’s
devotions. His master offered John a nearby house where he could live
as a freedman, but John refused, choosing to live the rest of his short life
in the stable in prayer.

34. This is the website of
the Holy Shrine and
Museum of St John the
Russian in Prokopi,
Evia, Greece.

35. We will conclude with a small collection of Sayings attributed to
Musonius Rufus.

36. Rufus advises, us,
“Speak of shameful
things, and you will lose
your reluctance to do
them.”
“If you work hard to do
what is right, do not be
upset by roadblocks.”
“You will deserve respect
from everyone if you
start by respecting
yourself.”

37. This is a different and healthier emphasis from a saying we hear
far too often, which we never hear from the Stoics, you cannot
love others until you love yourself. This is counter to Stoic
philosophy.

38. “Only the man who learns to want
nothing in every circumstance is truly
wealthy.”
“Don’t expect to tell others what they
should do when they know that you do
what you shouldn’t.”

39. This is particularly good advice for parents, and a good reason for
parents to strive to set a good example for their children, for children do
not do as you say, they do as you do.
SOURCES
Amazon sells this very readable, though very slim, collection of the writings of
Musonius Rufus, he is likely not included in the Loeb Classical library. If you enjoy
these writings of Rufus, you will enjoy the writings of Epictetus, and more of his
lessons were recorded by his students, though many of his lessons he credits to
Rufus.
Professor Luke Timothy Johnson turned me on to reading the stoic philosophers,
we highly recommend these Great Courses lectures, they are not on the Great
Courses Plus.

40. Also available
on Amazon.

41. We have already recorded videos for most of the Stoic and Cynic
philosophers, we plan to record additional videos on Plutarch, Cicero,
and other stoics in 2021 and 2022.
PLEASE click on the link for our blogs on Rufus in the description
below.
And please click on the links for interesting videos that will broaden
your knowledge and improve your soul.