The London Mercury, Vol. I, Nos. 1-6, November 1919 to April 1920Various
General
The London Mercury, Vol. I, Nos. 1-6, November 1919 to April 1920
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; London (England) -- Periodicals
In the last chapter the following passage occurs: "... it is felt that
a new epoch of athleticism in Great Britain is about to commence--that
an entirely new breed of athletes will arise or be recruited from the
ranks of those who through four and a half years of war have learned
the true meaning of discipline and the importance of close attention to
the least little detail of instruction." Now we all feel that something
good must come after all this suffering and slaughter; the Briton has
proved that he is possessed of true greatness; how can this greatness
be turned to full account? Let us give up once for all this idea of
record-breaking and producing freaks who can jump an inch higher than
any other man or throw a hammer a foot farther. At best that is a
very low ideal, and such over-specialisation produces ugliness and
unhealthiness. The only kind of athlete that we want to contemplate is
the all-round athlete who can run fast and far, jump high and broad,
and have sufficient strength for heavy events. An instance of what
we mean occurs in this book--the pictures of A. E. Flaxman show a
magnificent athlete of about eleven stone; such a man would have to
compete in heavy events with mountains of flesh weighing twenty stone;
hence all Flaxman's symmetry and grace and style are wasted, and the
mountain wins the points for his side. This is all wrong. We should
abandon the practice of selecting one athlete for one event. We should
have teams composed of all-round athletes, each of whom competes in
all events; these athletes will not break records, but they will be
super-athletes such as a great nation should aim at producing. When we
have got rid of this odious specialisation it will be time to aim still
higher, and produce not only the all-round athlete but the all-round
man, made up of mind, character, and muscle, all developed to the
utmost extent.
PHILOSOPHY
AN INVISIBLE KINGDOM. By W. S. LILLY. Chapman & Hall. 15_s._ net.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account