The only competition worthy a wise man is with himself.

The aphorism frames “competition” as ethically and intellectually meaningful only when it is inward: the wise person measures progress against personal standards rather than against rivals. It implies that external rivalry tends to breed vanity, envy, and distorted priorities, while self-competition encourages discipline, humility, and steady moral or intellectual improvement. The line also aligns with a broadly Stoic and Christian-inflected ideal of self-mastery: the proper arena for ambition is one’s own character and conduct. In that sense, the quote elevates self-cultivation over social comparison, suggesting that wisdom is less about outperforming others than about becoming better than one was.