The Old School: Lessons from Antiquity

Good ideas stick around.

Fitness in the modern day is far removed from what it has been in the past, at its most useful - if actually being fit is the idea, I mean.

If we go way, way back, of course, there were martial reasons for maintaining a high level of fitness, but it was the ancient Greeks who really took this idea and ran with it. In fact, they built Western civilisation on it.

That’s right. In reading the texts you quickly understand that exercise wasn’t merely complementary to other sought after qualities, it was recognised as the precursor to all of them. We see precisely this idea in Eastern philosophy if you flip the map over. The reasons are, certainly partly, physical - mens sana in corpore sana - a sound mind in a sound body. Unfortunately, at least in Western society, along with all our advances in medicine, and perhaps because of them (medical imaging), we have mistakenly come to divide body and mind - an illusion that in antiquity we were yet to be saddled with. But, equally importantly, we see the psychological. The wise heads of the Forum and Senate saw that the same qualities needed to achieve physical fitness are those we respect and celebrate in broader society. Those deemed virtuous, necessary for progress. Valued in education, politics, law, music; all the cornerstones of the societal bigger picture, but equally so all the way down to the minutiae of the individual life, well-lived. Patience, persistence, honesty, determination, grit, responsibility. Physical fitness is evidence of all these things if for no other reason than the fact that there are no shortcuts. Reward is matched by effort, awareness and intent. 

As the weather warms, you'll start to see posters and commercials all imploring you to use the remaining weeks of spring to get your summer body. First consider, that in all the words, from all the greatest minds in history, nowhere in any of these philosophies that underpin life as we know it, is there any reference to doing what you like for 46 weeks of the year, and getting a beach body in the other 6. 

Pick a horse. The greatest minds in history, or the marketing genius at your local gym, who, in keeping with their blazing originality will again start pushing your pain buttons with the lure of your dream body this summer. Is it because the great minds were missing some unimagined benefit of the modern day - that they weren't quite up to speed? Or is it because you aren’t?

Because their philosophies also highlight the fact that exercise is not the only thing missing here. These ideas are an education in ethics - something sorely needed by those making the claims. And a hefty dose of common sense for those believing them. Read Seneca, or Confucius for the next 6 weeks instead, and start working on next summer.