The Death of Marcus Aurelius

The Death of Marcus Aurelius

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Musonius Rufus, Lectures 15.2


How, then, can we avoid doing wrong and breaking the law if we do the opposite of the wish of the lawgivers, godlike men and dear to the gods, whom it is considered good and advantageous to follow?

And certainly, we do the opposite if we avoid having many children. How can we help committing a sin against the gods of our fathers and against Zeus, guardian of the race, if we do this?

For just as the man who is unjust to strangers sins against Zeus, god of hospitality, and one who is unjust to friends sins against Zeus, god of friendship, so whoever is unjust to his own family sins against the gods of his fathers and against Zeus, guardian of the family, from whom wrongs done to the family are not hidden, and surely one who sins against the gods is impious.

Now an appeal to piety? What else could Musonius possibly do to go further against the grain of modernity?

The Divine here, however, is not just some clever crutch to prop up this or that set of arbitrary social customs. The Divine is the Mind behind the order and purpose of everything, that which binds the world together, the meaning of the totality.

When I have the courage to do what is right, to follow the calling of my own nature, then I will also find myself in harmony with all of Nature. Therefore, whenever I act with virtue, with understanding and with love, I also act with piety.

I cannot help but be reverent to God as long as I pursue virtue. By extension, I cannot help but be irreverent to God as long as I follow vice.

Whatever name we may give it, the Divine is present in every expression of justice. The Divine is further present in every act of friendship. The Divine is even more deeply present in every bonding with the family.

As I narrow the circle, from my responsibility to all people, to my responsibility to those who immediately live around me, to my responsibility to my own flesh and blood, the degree of piety increases.

Where there is fairness, there you will also find God. Where there is a personal fellowship, you will find a bit more of God. Where there is the love between parents and children, there you will find perhaps the greatest presence of God on this Earth. The greater the love, the greater the holiness.

I must not confuse this with spouting noble words, while turning my back on the needs of any person at all. I must not replace friendship with mere utility. I must not look at my family as something made to serve me, but as something I am made to serve.

Please don’t tell me that Jesus, or Krishna, or the Buddha are just a bunch of pretty stories. In each case, even if it is manifest in very different ways, the Universal was brought forth. The Divine was made present in something human, reminding us how the love of neighbor and the love of God go hand in hand. To love the whole is to love the part, and to love the part is to love the whole.

I learn, more and more, that if I can’t find the face of God in the people around me, then I also won’t manage to treat them with the unconditional respect that they deserve. The smaller scene is merely a part of the bigger picture.

No man or woman should ever be a mere convenience, and no child should ever be treated like a burden. Zeus is honored when the most helpless life is honored.

Written in 2/2000


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