Gaius Musonius Rufus

Abstract

This article is devoted to Gaius Musonius Rufus – a Roman Stoic author of the 1st century AD. Like many other representatives of the Later Stoa, Musonius paid little attention to the theoretical side of the Stoic doctrine, concentrating mostly on practical ethics, namely, the so-called paraenetic, or moralistic discourse, parting from the positive assumption that a human being is born with a proclivity for virtuous life and a capacity of goodness. A paradigmatic Roman intellectual, Musonius contributed to shaping that idea of a dignified way of life which dominated European moral consciousness ever since; his own example gave proof of his adherence to the principles he believed to be true.