Quintus Junius Rusticus (c. 100 – c. 170 AD), was a Roman teacher and politician. He was probably a grandson of Arulenus Rusticus, who was a prominent member of the

Stoic Opposition The Stoic Opposition is the name given to a group of Stoic philosophers who actively opposed the autocratic rule of certain emperors in the 1st-century, particularly Nero and Domitian. Most prominent among them was Thrasea Paetus, an influential ...

. He was a Stoic philosopher and was one of the teachers of the emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

, whom Aurelius treated with the utmost respect and honour. Rusticus held the political positions of '' Suffect consul'' in 133 and '' Consul ordinarius'' in 162. He served as

urban prefect The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

between 162 and 168. In this role he is notable for presiding over the trial of the Christian theologian

Justin Martyr Justin, known posthumously as Justin Martyr (; ), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and Philosophy, philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The ''First Apolog ...

, which ended with Justin's conviction and execution. According to

Themistius Themistius ( ; 317 – c. 388 AD), nicknamed Euphrades (, "''eloquent''"), was a statesman, rhetorician and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian and Theodosius I, and he enjoyed the favo ...

, a 4th-century Roman philosopher and orator,

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

, Antoninus, and Marcus Aurelius "pulled

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

and Rusticus away from their books, refusing to let them be mere pen-and-ink philosophers" and escorted them from the study of Stoic philosophy "to the general’s tent as well as to the speaker’s platform."Themistius, 34th Oration, In Reply to Those who Found Fault with him for Accepting Public Office Themistius lumps Arrian and Rusticus together in recounting their military achievements:

In their role as Roman generals, these men passed through the Caspian Gates, drove the Alani out of Armenia, and established boundaries for the Iberians and the Albani. For all these accomplishments, they reaped the fruits of the eponymous consulship, governed the great city f Rome and presided over the ancient senate.

Influence on Marcus Aurelius

The ''

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...

'' states that Rusticus was the most important teacher of Marcus Aurelius:

arcusreceived most instruction from Junius Rusticus, whom he ever revered and whose disciple he became, a man esteemed in both private and public life, and exceedingly well acquainted with the Stoic system, with whom Marcus shared all his counsels both public and private, whom he greeted with a kiss prior to the prefects of the guard, whom he even appointed consul for a second term, and whom after his death he asked the senate to honour with statues.

In his ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161–180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Composition Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' i ...

'', Marcus thanks Rusticus for the Stoic training he received from him:

From Rusticus I received the impression that my character required improvement and discipline; and from him I learned not to be led astray to sophistic emulation, nor to writing on speculative matters, nor to delivering little hortatory orations, nor to showing myself off as a man who practices much discipline, or does benevolent acts in order to make a display.Marcus Aurelius, ''Meditations'', i. 7.

Marcus also explains how it was from Rusticus that he first came to read the works of Epictetus:

and I am indebted to him for being acquainted with the
discourses of Epictetus The ''Discourses of Epictetus'' (, ''Epiktētou diatribai'') are a series of informal lectures by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus written down by his pupil Arrian around 108 AD. Four books out of an original eight are still extant. The philoso ...
, which he communicated to me out of his own collection.

Trial of Justin

He was the

between 162 and 168, and it was during this time that he conducted the trial of

which led to Justin's execution. Three transcripts of the trial survive, of which the shortest is probably the most accurate.Grant, Robert McQueen, ''Second-Century Christianity: A Collection of Fragments'', pp. 51ff. Westminster John Knox Press. (2003). Justin was denounced to the authorities after disputing with the Cynic philosopher

Crescens Crescens ( Greek: Κρίσκης) was an individual who appears in the New Testament. He is traditionally considered one of the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. He was a missionary in Galatia and became a companion of Paul. The na ...

, according to

Tatian Tatian of Adiabene, or Tatian the Syrian or Tatian the Assyrian, (; ; ; ; – ) was an Assyrian Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century. Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the ...

and

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

.Tatian, Eusebius, Justin was tried together with six companions. The trial record indicates that Rusticus asked him several questions about Christian beliefs and practices, after which he affirmed the law that failure to sacrifice to the gods in submission to the Imperial decrees was a capital offence. When Justin and his companions refused to do so, Rusticus condemned him and he was beheaded, probably in 165. The martyrdom of Justin preserves the record of the trial.J. Quasten, ''Patrology'' vol. 1, pp. 196–197.

Influence on Marcus Aurelius

Trial of Justin

See also

References

Further reading