<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Look up mens sana in corpore sano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary . </Td> </Tr> <P> Mens sana in corpore sano is a Latin phrase, usually translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body". The phrase is widely used in sporting and educational contexts to express the theory that physical exercise is an important or essential part of mental and psychological well - being . </P> <P> The phrase comes from Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal (10.356). It is the first in a list of what is desirable in life: </P> <Dl> <Dd> <Table> <Tr> <Td> English translation: <Dl> <Dd> You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body . </Dd> <Dd> Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death, </Dd> <Dd> and deems length of days the least of Nature's gifts </Dd> <Dd> that can endure any kind of toil, </Dd> <Dd> that knows neither wrath nor desire and thinks </Dd> <Dd> the woes and hard labors of Hercules better than </Dd> <Dd> the loves and banquets and downy cushions of Sardanapalus . </Dd> <Dd> What I commend to you, you can give to yourself; </Dd> <Dd> For assuredly, the only road to a life of peace is virtue . </Dd> </Dl> </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Dd> </Dl>

Who said sound mind in a sound body