Mens sana in corpore sano

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Sit mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) is a famous Latin quotation, often translated as "A sound mind in a sound body." It is derived from Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal (10.356). In context, the phrase is part of the author’s answer to the question of what people should desire in life, the answer consisting of a long list of things:

It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body. Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death, which places the length of life last among nature’s blessings, which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings, does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king. I will reveal what you are able to give yourself; For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.

orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano. fortem posce animum mortis terrore carentem, qui spatium uitae extremum inter munera ponat naturae, qui ferre queat quoscumque labores, nesciat irasci, cupiat nihil et potiores Herculis aerumnas credat saeuosque labores et uenere et cenis et pluma Sardanapalli. monstro quod ipse tibi possis dare; semita certe tranquillae per uirtutem patet unica uitae. (10.356-64)

The satirical connotation of the phrase, that it would be nice to also have a sound mind in a sound body, is a more recent interpretation of what Juvenal may have intended to express. More traditional commentators believe that Juvenal's intention was to remind those of his fellow Roman citizens who uttered foolish prayers that all that should be prayed for were physical and mental health. Over time and separated from its context, the phrase has come to have a range of meanings. It can be construed to mean that only a healthy body can produce or sustain a healthy mind. Its most general usage is to express the concept of a healthy balance in one’s mode of life.

The phrase is foreshadowed by (if not an actual paraphrase from) a saying of Thales, "Nous igeiis en somati igii".

[edit] See also

• The phrase was a favorite of American President Harry S. Truman.
• Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia uses the phrase as its motto.
• R.S.C. Anderlecht, uses the phrase as its motto.
• Teacher's College of Columbia University has this phrase engraved on its Horace Mann hall, on 120th street in New York City.
• Motto of the Turners Organization American Turners and their local organizations like the Los Angeles Turners. The Turners promoted gymnastics and introduced PE to schools in America
• ASICS, company name derived from the phrase.
• Carlton Football Club, uses the phrase as its motto.
• Army Physical Training Corps (APTC), uses the phrase as its motto.
• Asociacion Atletica Argentinos Juniors, uses the phrase as its motto.
• The Israeli Institute of Technology athletics teams use the phrase as their motto.
• It is the motto of Grant Medical College and Sir J.J. Hospital, Mumbai
• PERI (Physical Education & Recreation Instructors), which is part of the Canadian Military use this as their motto
• Widener University and the State University at of New York at Buffalo use the phrase as their motto.
• The phrase appears in stone on the western facade of the HPER (School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation) at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
• It is the motto of Dhaka Physical Education College in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• It is the motto of Roger Bacon High School, St. Bernard, Ohio
• John Locke (1632-1704) uses the phrase in his book 'Some thoughts concerning education'.
• Is the motto for Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture, Australia.
• The PC game Robinson's Requiem was packaged with a "White Booklet", in which the phrase is given.
• Mens Sana Basket, a prominent Italian basketball club.