Discourse 10: Will the Philosopher Prosecute Anyone for Personal Injury?

Yale's recent republication of the Discourses of the Roman Stoic Musonius Rufus has made them cheaply available for Modern Stoic practitioners. One of these discourses has the same title as this chapter, and argues that a Stoic philosopher should not 'prosecute anyone for personal injury'. I first explain just what this actually means in Roman law, showing that the interpersonal wrongs and politics of the Roman procedure are different than those for 'personal injury' suits in England or America today. I then argue that Musonius is, in any event, incorrect: a Stoic practitioner sometimes had good reason to prosecute for this offence at Rome, and Stoic ethics give a modern Stoic practitioner good reason to prosecute for analogous wrongs.