Marcus Aurelius thanked him for the notes of Epictetus and for the news that his character needed work. As prefect of Rome he also sent Justin Martyr to his death.
Quintus Junius Rusticus was a Roman senator and a Stoic, from a family that had already paid for its philosophy: he is generally thought to have been a grandson of Arulenus Rusticus, whom Domitian had executed. He taught the young Marcus Aurelius and became the adviser Marcus relied on most. Marcus made him consul for the second time in 162 and prefect of the city of Rome, the highest civilian post in the capital, which he held until about 168.
In the first book of the Meditations, where Marcus lists what he owes to each person in his life, Rusticus has one of the longest entries. From him, Marcus writes, he learned that his character needed correcting and training. Not to drift into showy argument, speculative treatises or little sermons, nor to parade himself as disciplined or generous. To stay away from rhetoric and fine writing. To write letters plainly, like the one Rusticus once wrote to Marcus's mother from Sinuessa. To be easily reconciled with people who had given offence, as soon as they wanted to come back. To read carefully rather than settle for the gist, and not to agree quickly with people who talk a lot. And last, to have come to know the notes of Epictetus, which Rusticus gave him from his own library. The story of that list is told in the case Marcus and book one.
A later and not always reliable biography adds that Marcus consulted him on everything, public and private, greeted him with a kiss in front of the praetorian prefects, and after his death asked the Senate to put up statues of him.
As prefect, around 165, Rusticus presided over the trial of the Christian teacher Justin and several companions. The record of the hearing survives. He questioned them, told them to sacrifice to the gods, and when they refused he sentenced them to be flogged and beheaded.
The Meditations are first hand and the best evidence we have. The biography is late and has to be read with care. The family link to Arulenus is probable, not proven. The record of Justin's trial exists in several versions; the shortest is thought to be close to the court report.
What Marcus thanks him for is not a doctrine but a way of paying attention: read properly, write plainly, stop performing. That was his to give, and it lasted. The trial belongs on the same page. The division between what is yours and what is not does not tell you how to use power, and what Rusticus did with his was his.
Yours, Not Yours · A Stoic practice ground · All cases · About this site · Questions or suggestions