Introduction

Junius Rusticus was a 2nd-century Stoic philosopher. The grandson of a member of The Stoic Opposition, Rusticus must have heard story after story of those revered philosophers. And he must have been enchanted because the sense of duty that compelled his grandfather summoned Rusticus as well. He became a soldier then a general then a consul under the emperor Hadrian.

The consul position was prestigious in itself, but Rusticus further distinguished himself. In 138 AD, the heirless Hadrian began planning to make a 17-year-old Marcus Aurelius emperor. Hadrian selected Rusticus as one of the boy’s tutors. As we’ll see, Rusticus was quite the teacher.

Also around this time, modern scholars like Donald Robertson believe, Rusticus might have been attending the lectures of Epictetus. Epictetus’ student Arrian (whose notes were later published as Epictetus’ Discourses) was also a consul in Hadrian’s court. One way or another, Rusticus had gotten his hands on a copy of Epictetus’ teachings. In book 1 of Meditations, Marcus Aurelius reflects on what he learned from Rusticus:

The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my character. Not to be sidetracked by my interest in rhetoric. Not to write treatises on abstract questions, or deliver moralizing little sermons, or compose imaginary descriptions of The Simple Life or The Man Who Lives Only for Others. To steer clear of oratory, poetry and belles lettres. Not to dress up just to stroll around the house, or things like that. To write straightforward letters (like the one he sent my mother from Sinuessa). And to behave in a conciliatory way when people who have angered or annoyed us want to make up. To read attentively—not to be satisfied with “just getting the gist of it.” And not to fall for every smooth talker.

Then he thanks Rusticus:

For introducing me to Epictetus’s lectures—and loaning me his own copy.

In 161 AD, when Marcus became emperor, he immediately hired Rusticus as his magistrate and advisor. Then in 162 AD, consul and urban prefect. As Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman write in Lives of the Stoics, the urban prefect was “essentially the mayor of Rome, supervising its police, legal enforcement, public works, and the city’s food supply. Given the vast corruption that had been endemic in Rome, this was a position of immense responsibility and trust. By all accounts, [Rusticus] acquitted himself honorably.”

In 165 AD, a seemingly minor court case fell on his lap. A cynic philosopher named Crescens was accusing a Christian philosopher named Justin and six of his students of refusing to acknowledge the Roman gods. Naomi Mitchison wrote in The Blood of the Martyrs about why the burgeoning Christian faith was feared in Rome. “No Roman ever really bothered about a difference of gods,” she has a character—a Stoic philosopher named Nausiphanes—explain, “in religious matters they were profoundly tolerant because their own gods were not of the individual heart but only social inventions—or had become so. Yet politically they did and must persecute: and equally must be attacked by all who had the courage.”

Rusticus’ job was to keep public order, to protect the peace. Only the crazy and dangerous types—tyrants like Nero and Caligula—shun the gods. So Rusticus asked Justin to submit, to go along to get along, to acknowledge the gods protecting the empire. Justin refused to compromise on his beliefs. Like so many Stoics—Cato, Agrippinus, Thrasea, Helvidius—Justin was sentenced to death for being perceived as a threat to power. It was a blemish on Rusticus’ otherwise perfect reputation. In 168 AD, after decades of public service, he retired. In 170 AD, he died.

Lessons

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Rusticus’ grandfather was murdered for stepping into a public role within a violent world. Part of Rusticus feared following his grandfather’s example. Part of him wanted to keep his head down, to be a “mere pen-and-ink philosopher,” to retreat into his books and ides. But he didn’t. Instead, he chose the active life. As Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman write in Lives of the Stoics of Rusticus’ choice to participate in public affairs,