c. 30-100
Musonius Rufus
Roman Stoic who taught in Greek and was the teacher of Epictetus. He insisted that philosophy is practice: cold, hunger, hard beds and daily discipline.
Every line we carry
Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.
- Toil passes, the good stays. Pleasure passes, the shame stays.
Aulus Gellius heard this from Musonius and remembered it because it was short and round: do something fine with effort and the effort goes while the fine thing remains; do something shameful with pleasure and the pleasure goes while the shame remains. Weigh what lasts.
Fragment 51 (Aulus Gellius 16.1), our translation from the Greek
- Virtue is not just theory. It is practice.
Musonius taught that virtue is knowledge that is practical, not only theoretical, like medicine and music. A doctor who has only read about surgery is not a surgeon. Do the reps.
Lectures 6, our translation from the Greek
- Train in cold, heat, thirst, hunger, plain food and a hard bed.
Musonius says body and soul are trained together when we accustom ourselves to cold and heat, thirst and hunger, simple food and a hard bed, avoiding pleasures and enduring hardships. Cold water is philosophy for the body. The Stoics did it first.
Lectures 6, our translation from the Greek
- Refuse the work and you've judged yourself unworthy of anything good.
Musonius says the man unwilling to toil practically condemns himself as deserving nothing good, since every good thing is won by effort. Wanting the reward and refusing the work is a verdict on yourself.
Lectures 7, our translation from the Greek