Seneca's Views on Physical Exercise

Extract

[...] Whatever you do, quickly return from the body to the mind. French It is that, my dear Lucilius, a foolish occupation and quite unbecoming for a man of letters to seek to exercise his limbs, to deploy his neck and to make his sides stronger: when your corpulence has developed successfully and your muscles have been defined, you will never rival, either in strength or in mass, a fat ox. Now, add to this that the mind is repressed by the heavy weight of the body and it is less agile. [...]

[...] Letters to Lucilius, Letter 15 - Seneca - Latin Version Latin It is foolish, my dear Lucilius, and quite unbecoming for a man of letters to spend his time exercising his arms and strengthening his neck and sides: even if you are successful in bulking up and your muscles grow, you will never equal the strength or weight of a fat ox. Add to this that a larger bodily burden crushes the mind and makes it less agile. Therefore, as much as you can, restrict your body and give space to your mind. Many disadvantages follow those devoted to this care: first, the exercises themselves, whose labor drains the breath and makes one unfit for intense concentration and studies; then, the abundance of food hinders subtlety. [...]

[...] So many unpleasant things follow the cult of the body for those who devote themselves to it: first, exercises whose work exhausts the spirit and makes it incapable of concentrating and studying seriously; then, all subtlety is hindered by the abundance of food. There are exercises that are both easy and quick that purify the body without delay and do not take too much time, to which one must pay particular attention: running, hands attached to carry some weight, jumping high or jumping long, or again, as one could say, 'the jump of the salian priest', or to speak familiarly, 'the jump of the fuller'. But whatever you do, come back quickly to the soul after having occupied yourself with the body. [...]