It was, after all, how he'd survived the thirty years since the death of his parents.
And we've been surviving since the beginning of the world.
In fact, it looked like it had survived every war since the one of 1812.
And having survived it all since 1900, each can claim - perhaps more than most Americans - a certain proprietary right to the 20th century.
Greece has been surviving on international rescue loans since May 2010.
The building has survived remarkably well since its humble beginnings.
The bridge has also survived several major earthquakes since its completion.
That the murals had survived since the 18th century seemed miraculous.
How have technology companies survived since the credit crunch?
They believed that the bacteria survived since the time of the craft's launch to the Moon.