Marcus Aurelius expressed this with striking clarity:
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
A simple line, yet it contains an entire worldview. What we resist becomes our teacher. What we fear becomes our path.
Seneca echoed the same wisdom:
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body.”
Just as muscles grow through resistance, our character grows through adversity. Every hardship is a form of training — unwelcome at first, transformative in the end.
"Per aspera ad astra" — "Through hardships to the stars."
This ancient Latin maxim distils the Stoic spirit into few words. It reminds us that the journey upward is rarely smooth. The stars are reached not in spite of difficulty, but because of it.
The Three Philosophers of My Childhood
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| The three “philosophers” who shaped my youth — a priest, a scholar, and a farmer who spoke Latin to his sheep. |
This morning, the phrase "Per aspera ad astra" returned to me unexpectedly, carrying with it a wave of memories from my youth.Growing up, three wise figures shaped my understanding of the world:
my grandfather, his brother (a priest), and their close friend (also a priest).
To me, they were real philosophers — my own Seneca, Socrates, and Plato.
I’m sure each of you has your own philosophers too: people whose wisdom warms your heart and, even after many years, brings a tear to your eye.
The phrase they repeated most often was "Per aspera ad astra."
For the two priests, fluent in Greek and Latin, it made perfect sense. They read philosophy in its original languages every day.
But my grandfather?
He was a farmer. A brilliant, kind, grounded man — but still a farmer who spent his days tending fields, cattle, and sheep, not studying ancient texts.
The Farmer Who Spoke Latin to the Sheep
While other farmers expressed frustration with colourful language, my grandfather had his own version of “swearing”:
“Per aspera ad astra.”
He became famous for it.
I can still hear him:
“Too much rain this year… the crops will be poor… Per aspera ad astra. What can we do?”
My grandmother teased him endlessly.
“Mr. Perasperaadastra,” she’d laugh, “off speaking Latin to the sheep again.”
And he’d reply, “Why not? They understand me better than people do.”
One day, I finally asked him why he always said it.
He smiled — that quiet, knowing smile — and told me a story I will never forget.
His Mother’s Last Words
These were the last words his mother spoke to him before she died of the Spanish flu:
“Per aspera ad astra.”
She asked him to look after his younger siblings and never forget those words.
They became his compass.
Through the Second World War, through the harsh years of communist Poland, through every hardship life placed before him, he carried that phrase like a lantern. He became the head of the family, the steady one, the strong one.
Because of his sacrifices, his brother was able to pursue his calling as a priest and complete his philosophy studies at one of the best universities.
Epictetus once said:
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
My grandfather lived this truth without ever reading a Stoic text.
He didn’t just endure adversity — he transformed it into strength.
His legacy continues to guide me.
Through Hardships to the Stars
So to all my readers, wherever you are:
"Per aspera ad astra."
Through hardships to the stars.
Who are your philosophers?
Who are the people whose wisdom and quirks shaped you, whose words still echo in your heart?
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