It is right to endure with resignation what the gods send, and to

Pericles, the great statesman of Athens, once spoke words that shimmer with timeless dignity: “It is right to endure with resignation what the gods send, and to face one’s enemies with courage.” These words, born in the heart of a civilization that prized both wisdom and valor, are not merely a call to stoic endurance or martial bravery — they are a philosophy of life. In them, Pericles captures the balance every human soul must seek: the acceptance of fate and the courage to act. To endure what cannot be changed with grace, and to fight what must be opposed with strength — this, he declares, is the essence of noble living.

The origin of these words lies in the Golden Age of Athens, when Pericles stood as the voice and vision of a flourishing democracy. He led his people not only in war, but in art, philosophy, and reason. Yet, beneath the grandeur of that age lay the fragility of human life — plagues, invasions, betrayals, and the inexorable turning of fortune’s wheel. Pericles, shaped by the teachings of the philosophers and the discipline of the soldier, understood that greatness is not found in controlling destiny, but in meeting it rightly. Thus, he taught his people that the gods send both blessings and trials, and that to live well is to receive both without complaint — not with bitterness, but with resignation born of wisdom.

The first half of his teaching speaks of endurance — the ability to bow before what is beyond our power. The ancients called this piety: the humility to recognize that the universe is vast and the will of the divine inscrutable. When Pericles urges us to “endure with resignation what the gods send,” he is not calling for weakness, but for inner strength — the strength to accept suffering without despair, loss without resentment, and change without fear. The wise man, he reminds us, does not waste his soul in railing against fate; he gathers his dignity around him like a cloak and walks forward, knowing that storms are as much a part of life as sunlight.

Yet the second half of his wisdom is fiercer: to “face one’s enemies with courage.” Acceptance of fate must never turn into passivity. There are evils in the world that must be met not with resignation, but with resistance. To bear hardship is divine; to confront injustice is heroic. Courage, for Pericles, is not the absence of fear but the mastery of it — the calm heart that stands upright even when the ground shakes beneath it. To be human is to live between these two poles: to bow to what cannot be changed, and to rise against what should not be tolerated. Between these, the soul finds its equilibrium.

History itself gives witness to Pericles’ creed. When the Plague of Athens struck the city — devouring rich and poor alike, and turning temples into tombs — Pericles did not flee or surrender to despair. He walked among his people, comforting them, leading them, enduring with the calm of one who knows that fate must be met, not fled. And when Athens was surrounded by its enemies, he did not yield to fear but urged his city to stand tall, saying, “You must remember that happiness depends on freedom, and freedom on courage.” In this, he embodied his own teaching: acceptance before fate, defiance before fear.

We see the same wisdom echo through the ages. Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor, would later write, “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” He, too, understood the harmony between endurance and action, between peace within and courage without. The greatest souls in every age — from the saints to the soldiers — have followed this path: enduring what life imposes, and confronting what conscience demands.

So, my listener, take this ancient teaching as a compass for your own life. When fate strikes, endure with dignity; do not curse the heavens, for storms pass, and your serenity is your fortress. But when injustice rises, stand with courage; meet it not with bitterness, but with resolve, for valor is the flame that keeps humanity alive. Remember that life will always ask of you both — surrender and defiance, faith and action. The art of living lies in knowing when to bow and when to fight. For as Pericles taught in the dawn of history, it is not victory that makes us noble, but the manner in which we face the blows of fate and the battles of the world — with resignation before the gods, and with courage before all else.