Gaius Musonius Rufus quotes

Gaius Musonius Rufus was a Stoic philosopher known for his teachings on ethics and virtue. Born in the 1st century AD, he was a prominent figure in ancient Rome. Rufus believed in living a simple and virtuous life, focusing on self-discipline and perseverance. His influence extended beyond his time, with his writings and lectures inspiring many future Stoic philosophers. Learn more about the life and teachings of Gaius Musonius Rufus to gain insights on how to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

The home or the city doesn't depend on women or men alone, but on their union with each other. I find no other association more necessary nor more pleasant than that of men and women. For what man is as devoted to his friend as much as a loving wife is to her husband? What brother to a brother? What son to his parents? Who is as longed for as a husband by his wife, or a wife by her husband, when the other is away. Who would do more to lighten grief or increase joy or correct misfortune? Who judges everything to be shared-body, soul, and possessions-except man and wife? For these reasons, we all consider the love of man and wife to be the highest form of love-no reasonable mother or father would expect to entertain a deeper love for their own child than for the one joined to him in marriage.

- Gaius Musonius Rufus

The best livelihood (particularly for the strong) is earning a living from the soil, whether you own your land or not. Many can support their families by farming land owned by the state or private landowners. Some even get rich through hard work with their own hands. The earth repays those who cultivate her, both justly and well, multiplying what she received – endowing in abundance all the necessities of life to anyone willing to work-and all this without violating your dignity or self-respect!

- Gaius Musonius Rufus

Of the things that exist, God has put some in our control, others not in our control. In our control he has put the noblest and most excellent part by reason of which He is Himself happy, the power of using our impressions. For when this is correctly used, it means serenity, cheerfulness, constancy; it also means justice and law and self-control and virtue as a whole. But all other things He has not put in our control. Therefore we ought to become of like mind with God and, dividing things in like manner, we ought in every way to lay claim to the things that are in our control, but what is not in our control we ought to entrust to the universe and gladly yield to it whether it asks for our children, our country, our body, or anything whatsoever.

- Gaius Musonius Rufus

In marriage there must be complete companionship and concern for each other on the part of both husband and wife, in health and in sickness and at all times, because they entered upon the marriage for this reason as well as to produce offspring. When such caring for one another is perfect, and the married couple provide it for one another, and each strives to outdo the other, then this is marriage as it ought to be and deserving of emulation, since it is a noble union. But when one partner looks to his own interests alone and neglects the other's, or (by Zeus) the other is so minded that he lives in the same house, but keeps his mind on what is outside it, and does not wish to pull together with his partner or to cooperate, then inevitably the union is destroyed, and although they live together their common interests fare badly, and either they finally get divorced from one another or they continue on in an existence that is worse than loneliness.

- Gaius Musonius Rufus

In general, of all creatures on earth man alone resembles God and has the same virtues that He has, since we can imagine nothing even in the gods better than prudence, justice, courage, and temperance. Therefore, as God, through the possession of these virtues, is unconquered by pleasure or greed, is superior to desire, envy, and jealousy; is high-minded, beneficent, and kindly (for such is our conception of God), so also man in the image of Him, when living in accord with nature, should be thought of as being like Him, and being like Him, being enviable, and being enviable, he would forthwith be happy, for we envy none but the happy. Indeed it is not impossible for man to be such, for certainly when we encounter men whom we call godly and godlike, we do not have to imagine that these virtues came from elsewhere than from man’s own nature.

- Gaius Musonius Rufus

Husband and wife should come together to craft a shared life, procreating children, seeing all things as shared between them - with nothing withheld or private to one another - not even their bodies. The birth of a human being which results from this union is, to be sure, something wonderful-but it isn't yet enough to account for the relationship of husband and wife-since even outside marriage it could result from any other sexual union (just as in the case of animals). So, in marriage there must be, above all, perfect companionship and mutual love - both in sickness, health and under all conditions-it should be with desire for this (and children) that both entered upon marriage.

- Gaius Musonius Rufus