Severest School

“He is best who trains in the severest school.” – Thucydides

I saw this quote today in an airport, while reading an article about a SWAT team and all of the rigorous, varied training they go through.  No matter how well they plan, the random always happens.  They often fall back on their training.  The point, of course, is the harder you train, the more likely you are to be successful in the entirely unpredictable situations that life throws at you.

I really enjoy these nuggets of wisdom that were relevant in Greece in 400 B.C. and are still very relevant now.  Thucydides, an Athenian general who served in the 5th century B.C. war between Athens and Sparta, later became a historian and wrote about his experience in the History of the Peloponnesian War.