Fragment 45: Fragment 45

Musonius Rufus

Musonius Rufus · Fragments

Fragment 45

And in the same way to make trial of me, Rufus used to say, "Such and such a thing will befall you at the hands of your master." In answer to him, I said that in such a case it would be kind of him (to intercede in my behalf.) "What!" he exclaimed, "Do you mean that I should intercede in your behalf when I can get the same result from you yourself?" For in truth what one can get from himself it is superfluous and foolish as well to get from someone else.¹

Translator’s notes

Every editor of Musonius and of Epictetus has expressed his dissatisfaction with the text of this fragment, but none has suggested the solution. From the preceding context in Epictetus, the meaning is that a man must get from himself what he needs for his comfort or security, and not from another or with the help of another. Here Musonius, testing the young slave Epictetus to see how well he had learned the lesson, mentions the ill-treatment he would suffer from his master Epaphroditus. Professor Hendrickson conjectures that after ’ανρώπινα something has been lost from the text, possibly (ποιοϊς ’αν περί μου παραιτούμενος) and that ’ανρώπινα is used in the sense of ’ανρωπίνως. Following this interpretation, Epictetus, by asking Musonius to intercede for him, shows that he has not learned the lesson.

Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Fragments, Fragment 45, translated by Cora E. Lutz (1947). The Stoic Library.