Called 'The Roman Socrates, ' Musonius Rufus is a first-century Stoic philosopher who was famous for living and teaching the good life of virtue. This book describes his exemplary life, his ethical teachings, and the practical methods he used to educate people in the good life. Based on the ancient texts and modern scholarship, this book is the first comprehensive treatment of Musonius Rufus's life, teachings, and methods
Perennial wisdom from one of history's most important but lesser-known Stoic teachers "He knew that all a philosopher could do was respond well--bravely, boldly, patiently--to what life threw at us. That's what we should be doing now."--Ryan Holiday, Reading List email The Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus was one of the most influential teachers of his era, imperial Rome, and his message still resonates with startling clarity today. Alongside Stoics like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, he emphasized ethics in action, displayed in all aspects of life. Merely learning philosophical doctrine and listening to lectures, they believed, will not do one any good unless one manages to interiorize the teachings and apply them to daily life. In Musonius Rufus's words, "Philosophy is nothing else than to search out by reason what is right and proper and by deeds to put it into practice." At a time of renewed interest in Stoicism, this collection of Musonius Rufus's lectures and sayings, beautifully translated by Cora E. Lutz with an introduction by Gretchen Reydams-Schils, offers readers access to the thought of one of history's most influential and remarkable Stoic thinkers.
The lectures or discourses of Musonius Rufus: 1. That There is No Need of Giving Many Proofs for One Problem 2. That Man is Born with an Inclination Toward Virtue 3. That Women Too Should Study Philosophy 4. Should Daughters Receive the Same Education as Sons? 5. Which is more Effective, Theory or Practice? 6. On Training 7. That One Should Disdain Hardships 8. That Kings Also Should Study Philosophy 9. That Exile is not an Evil 10. Will the Philosopher Prosecute Anyone for Personal Injury? 11. What means of Livelihood is Appropriate for a Philosopher? 12. On Sexual Indulgence 13. What is the Chief End of Marriage 14. Is Marriage a Handicap for the Pursuit of Philosophy? 15. Should Every Child that is Born be Raised? 16. Must One Obey One's Parents under all Circumstances? 17. What is the Best Viaticum for Old Age? 18. On Food 19. On Clothing and Shelter 20. On Furnishings 21. On Cutting the Hair
""To relax the mind is to lose it."" Gaius Musonius Rufus (c. AD 30-100) was one of the four great Roman Stoic philosophers, the other three being Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and Musonius's pupil Epictetus. Rufus taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero, as a consequence of which he was sent into exile in 65 AD to Gyaros, a barren island in the Aegean Sea. Because Stoicism was, for Musonius, not merely a philosophy but a guide to daily living, he has been called "the Roman Socrates." The opinions of Musonius were collected by two of his students, Lucius and Pollio. Twenty one lectures and an assortment of fragments are presented here. The lectures or discourses are as follows: 1. That There is No Need of Giving Many Proofs for One Problem 2. That Man is Born with an Inclination Toward Virtue 3. That Women Too Should Study Philosophy 4. Should Daughters Receive the Same Education as Sons? 5. Which is more Effective, Theory or Practice? 6. On Training 7. That One Should Disdain Hardships 8. That Kings Also Should Study Philosophy 9. That Exile is not an Evil 10. Will the Philosopher Prosecute Anyone for Personal Injury? 11. What means of Livelihood is Appropriate for a Philosopher? 12. On Sexual Indulgence 13. What is the Chief End of Marriage 14. Is Marriage a Handicap for the Pursuit of Philosophy? 15. Should Every Child that is Born be Raised? 16. Must One Obey One's Parents under all Circumstances? 17. What is the Best Viaticum for Old Age? 18. On Food 19. On Clothing and Shelter 20. On Furnishings 21. On Cutting the Hair Lectures and Fragments of Musonius Rufus is essential reading for students of Stoics and anyone interested in leading 'the good life.'
One of the great fears many of us face is that despite all our effort and striving, we will discover at the end that we have wasted our life. In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine plumbs the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to modern lives. In A Guide to the Good Life, Irvine offers a refreshing presentation of Stoicism, showing how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life. Using the psychological insights and the practical techniques of the Stoics, Irvine offers a roadmap for anyone seeking to avoid the feelings of chronic dissatisfaction that plague so many of us. Irvine looks at various Stoic techniques for attaining tranquility and shows how to put these techniques to work in our own life. As he does so, he describes his own experiences practicing Stoicism and offers valuable first-hand advice for anyone wishing to live better by following in the footsteps of these ancient philosophers. Readers learn how to minimize worry, how to let go of the past and focus our efforts on the things we can control, and how to deal with insults, grief, old age, and the distracting temptations of fame and fortune. We learn from Marcus Aurelius the importance of prizing only things of true value, and from Epictetus we learn how to be more content with what we have. Finally, A Guide to the Good Life shows readers how to become thoughtful observers of their own lives. If we watch ourselves as we go about our daily business and later reflect on what we saw, we can better identify the sources of distress and eventually avoid that pain in our life. By doing this, the Stoics thought, we can hope to attain a truly joyful life.
This book is a manifesto of reformed Stoicism. It proposes a system of life which is bullet-proof, universal, viable and effective in every cosmic setting. It holds in every possible universe, under any government and within any economic system. We can be reformed Stoics no matter what we believe in. Reformed Stoicism is about enjoying and exercising our agency. In other words, it’s about the flow of making autonomous and right decisions, and about celebrating our ability to make them. With no reliance on nature, with the recalibration of metaphysical positions, with skepticism towards grand discourses and universal answers, with an emphasis on the usefulness instead of truthfulness of narratives, with no reference to the vanity argument, with criticism of both conservative and ascetic misinterpretations of Stoicism, with an overall softer and more empathic approach, we can no longer be defined by the generic term “Stoicism”. Our time, in short, calls for a fresh interpretation of Stoicism. It is time for a new generation of Stoics. Thus: reformed Stoicism.
Jesus as Philosopher: The Philosophical Sage in the Synoptic Gospels examines the possible ways in which the authors of the Synoptic Gospels, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, were inspired by contemporary philosophical traditions about the ideal philosophical sage in their description of their ideal human being, Jesus Christ. Runar M. Thorsteinsson considers the following questions: How does the author in question speak of Jesus in relation to contemporary philosophy? Do we see Jesus take on a certain 'philosophical' role in the Gospels, either by his statements and reasoning or his way of life? In what way are Jesus' words and actions analogous to that of leading philosophical figures in Graeco-Roman antiquity, according to these texts? Conversely, in what way do his words and actions differ from theirs? While Thorsteinsson discusses a number of Graeco-Roman sources, the emphasis is on the question of how these parallel texts help us better to understand the Gospel authors' perception and presentation of the character of Jesus. While the fields of theology and ethics are often intertwined in these texts, including the philosophical texts, Thorsteinsson's main focus is the ethical aspect. He argues that the Gospel authors drew in some ways on classical virtue ethics. The study concludes that the Gospel authors inherited stories and sayings of Jesus that they wanted to improve upon and recount as truthfully as possible, and they did so in part by making use of philosophical traditions about the ideal sage, especially that of Stoicism and Cynicism.
Dignity is a fundamental aspect of our lives, yet one we rarely pause to consider; our understandings of dignity, on individual, collective and philosophical perspectives, shape how we think, act and relate to others. This book offers an historical survey of how dignity has been understood and explores the concept in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. World-renowned contributors examine the roots of human dignity in classical Greece and Rome and the Scriptures, as well as in the work of theologians, such as St Thomas Aquinas and St John Paul II. Further chapters consider dignity within Renaissance art and sacred music. The volume shows that dignity is also a contemporary issue by analysing situations where the traditional understanding has been challenged by philosophical and policy developments. To this end, further essays look at the role of dignity in discussions about transhumanism, religious freedom, robotics and medicine. Grounded in the principal Christian traditions of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and Protestantism, this book offers an interdisciplinary and cross-period approach to a timely topic. It validates the notion of human dignity and offers an introduction to the field, while also challenging it.
"Collecting documentary evidence that appeared in publications between 1988 and 1992, volume 10 reproduces, translates, and reviews a selection of Greek inscriptions and papyri that focus on major social institutions of the time. A comprehensive series of indexes for volumes 6-10 offers a cumulative perspective on many topics."--p. 4 of cover.
