What Does It Mean To Rest on Your Laurels?

While laurels may not be as comfortable as a Tempur-Pedic mattress, people sure do like to rest on them. The phrase “to rest on one’s laurels” means “to be satisfied with past success and do nothing to achieve further success.” The laurels in question are Laurus nobilis trees, which are native to southern Europe. These trees have ties to an ancient Greek myth and were once bestowed as esteemed trophies.

In ancient Greece, the Pythian Games were an athletic and artistic competition second in importance only to the Olympic Games. Winners of the contests were awarded laurel wreaths as trophies to honor the god Apollo, to whom the event was dedicated. In Greek myth, Apollo was infatuated with the nymph Daphne, who turned into a tree. After this transformation, Apollo cut off one of the branches and wore it as a wreath, thus becoming associated with laurels. This is why the botanical trophies were awarded as status symbols.

The tradition of awarding laurels carried on to the Roman Empire, though as the Greek and Roman empires declined, so too did this concept. But it reemerged in the Middle Ages, thanks in part to a reference in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale: “With laurer crowned as a conquerour; And ther he lyveth in joye and in honour.”

By the early 18th century, the phrase “repose on one’s laurels” had been coined (with “repose” meaning “to lay at rest”). It was largely used to refer to people retiring from a profession or to those who had passed on, suggesting they’d finally be able to rest after achieving many great things in life. One of the earliest mentions is in the 1723 work The Memoirs of the Cardinal de Retz, referencing a person who “was old enough to take his repose under the show of his laurels.” At that time, the saying was used in a positive light.

But by the 19th century, the saying had taken on a more critical, disapproving tone. An 1825 piece about Irish novelist Maria Edgeworth in The Literary Chronicle said, “We do not affect to wish she should repose on her laurels and rest satisfied; on the contrary, we believe that genius is inexhaustible.” From there, the phrase was commonly used in the context of a judgmental critique. Today, to say someone is resting on their laurels means they achieved great things in the past, but they are content to live their life based on former glory, rather than to work hard and achieve more great things in the future.