MUSONIUS, CAIUS RUFUS, a Stoic philosopher, was the son of a Roman knight, and was born at Volsinii (Bolsena) in Etruria about the beginning of the first century. He early became a disciple of the doctrines of the Porch. But his maxims, as quoted by Stobæus, A. Gellius, and others, have a more direct reference to practical than to speculative ethics. Since the ills of life are essentially paltry, he held that they ought to be met by quiet resignation, not avoided by suicide. The cultivation of the virtues of austerity, disinterestedness, chastity, and temperance, is the sure and the only means of securing happiness. "Everywhere," said he, "one can be happy, for everywhere one can be virtuous." The happiness of man is thus lodged within himself. It is not therefore necessary that we should defend ourselves from the injuries of others by inflicting retribution in return. The best way to make our fellows respect us is to respect ourselves. Such an elevated tone of morality was not palatable to the depraved court of Nero. Musonius accordingly fell into disgrace. Under the pretext of having been privy to the famous conspiracy of Piso against the emperor, he was banished to the isle of Gyaros (Ghioura) A.D. 66. He appears to have returned on the accession of Galba in 68; and he is found shortly afterwards among the deputies who were sent by the Emperor Vitellius to Antonius Primus, the victorious general of
Vespasian. Yet he subsequently rose high in the favour of Musschenbroek, so that he was allowed to remain in the city when all the other Stoics were driven into banishment for their intolerant precepts. The date of his death is unknown. The extant fragments of his works have been collected and published by Peerlkamp, under the title of C. Musonii Rufi Reliquiae et Apophthegmata, 8vo, Haarlem, 1822.