The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-10-12

lustration, and we will not pause to con
slider what effect upon the Roman worl,
was had by their feeble limitations of th'
Grecian games, or to trace, through tht
labyrinths of their civil and religious his
tory, the good and evil influences tn,
numerous festivals and shows of the Ro
mans eXerted upon national character
The mind turns with horror and DISCUS
from the thought of the cruel gladiatoria
exhibitions of the Coliseum, and finds it.
only consolation in the recollection that
race of warriors was developed by whose
conquests the way was opened Throughout
the then known world for the diffusion OF
the civilization and refinement of Greece
The savage propensities Of human ma
ture were more or less developed by all the
pastimes and ports OF ancient times. Wal
was then mans trade. Everything that
tended to make him better soldier, made
holy influence of Christianity was felt in
the practices and usages of war; not until
courage, at first a brutal impulse, was eN-
halted into a noble principle, and temper
ed with generosity and mercy, through the
grand institution of chivalry, that the
purest civilization commenced, and the
truest ana noblest development of manly
attributes was possible. When tourn;-
ments were introduced into England by
the Normans and the institutions of
knighthood had begun to leave their en-
nobling impress upon the manners and
customs of forefathers, then for the first
time did national pastimes assume an in
tellectual and moral dignity.
| am an advocate of national pastimes
as health giving, and, therefore, brain
building institutions. Who does not re-
ioicc at the sight of IA youth rich in the
blessing of a vigorous constitution, with
cheeks aglow with the roseate tinge of
health, with form erect and limbs symmet-
rical, in all the grandeur of his physical
strength and beauty, IA tit type of Gods
noblest work" believe in the truth of
the old Roman adage Mems sana in cor
pore sano,' and although every sound
body does not indicate a sound mind,
nothing is more certain than that the high
est mental qualities are powerless for use
| full effort unless supplemented by ca
pacity for physical endurance.
Some of the brightest lights in the in
tellectual world have vanished like meteor
ic visions The brilliancy and intensity of
| IL, fall
before the frail earthly tabernacles in
which they were encased, succumbed from
the want of proper and natural develop
ment AS the mind is strengthened by edu-
cation, so the body reaches its noble perfec-
ton only when Systematically exercised
and symmetrically developed. In our mad
ambition for mental culture let us not neg
lect our physical culture. The one is
a counterpart of the other; and it is
healthy tendency of the times that our
educators are realizing this fact. Our
bodies, as well as our minds, are the talents
entrusted to us by an all wise Providence
to our keeping, and both must be improv-
ed and cultivated. A sto v of classical
mythology relates that Minerva, the god
dess of wisdom and war, sprang full
grown, armed and equipped, from the
head of Jupiter Unfortunately, or fortu-
nately it may, be we are not Minerva-like,
but to reach strength and maturity must
30 through all the yradations of growth.
The fostering of national pastimes is a
| fn al lnynlnninnDf Tho
best verdict on athletic exercises was that
of the great Sully, when he said Il was
always of the same opinion with Henry
| ". concerning them they are the most
solid foundation, not only of discipline
and other military virtues, but also of
| those noble sentiments and that elevation
of mind which gives one nature >uperiori-
ty over another
We live in a serious, progressive and ac-
tive age. Perhaps, the solemn Anglo
Saxon make labor too much of life. An
abnormal development of mental powers,
the over straining of the nervous system,
has done at times work of fearful devas-
tation. There is too much cultivation of
the aesthetic, and too little of the pratical
in our modern natures. The mind needs
diversion. He is but IA ''pompous block
head or Il solemn prig,' who frowns upon
pastimes The most interesting charac-
ters of all ages condescended to indulge in
innocent amusement. 1t is related of
King Agesilaus, of Sparta, that he rode
upon Il stick ho rse for the entertainment
of his children. The courtly and scholar
ly NJ ;ecenas and his friends, Virgil and
Horace, delighted in sports and games.
Even Shakespeare, with all the gran
deur of his IN ghty intellect, in his hours
of recreation is said to have played upon
a bass-viol which he accompanied with
his voice Healthful innocent sport alone
gives rest and recreation to the wcaried
brain. The cultivation and encoura ge-
ment of national pastimeS, therefore, |
hold to be one of the essentials of success
full civilization. Their influence is direct
and positive upon those who participate
in the real or mimic indulgence; their
usefulness is manifested in the countcrac-
ton tncN a1oru 10 the tendency III mod
ern times to ignore the demands of our
physical natures; and they serve, in de
gree, to thwart the futile and unnatural
endeavors to relr giant intcllccts upon
pigmv staturcs. When the love for, and
the interest in nation pastimeS begin to
wane when athc!ctic exercises fall out Of
favor; when physical culture, their natur
al concomitant is neglected, almost i'm
mediatcly do individual enominacy and
natural degeneracy follow
Let me not seem to imply that physical
culture is Of equal or even compara-