The stretching and tension
of healthy muscles, the deep draughts of out-of-door air, the excitement
of rivalry, the comradeship of cooperative endeavor, the ABANDON of
effort, the glow of achievement, contribute much in immediate and
retrospective pleasure to the worth of living.
(2) When not carried too far, the physical gain is clear. Regular
exercise is necessary for abundant health; and of all forms of
exercise the happiest is, other things equal, the best.
(3) In many ways there are potentialities of moral gain in athletics
which do not result from ordinary exercise. There is the stimulus to
intense effort, the awakening of strenuousness which may carry over
into other fields of activity. Here, at least, indolence is impossible,
alertness is demanded, and the willingness to strive against obstacles.
To put one's whole soul into anything is wholesome, even if it be but
a game; and the man who bucks the line hard on the gridiron has begun
a habit which may serve him well when he meets more dangerous
obstacles and more doughty opponents on a larger field.
(4) The lesson of cooperation taught by teamwork of any sort is a
valuable schooling. One of the prime needs of our day is the
development of the spirit of loyalty, the willingness to subordinate
individual welfare to that of a group, and to look upon one's own work
as part of a larger endeavor. The man who has learned to take pride
in making sacrifice hits is ripe to respond to the growing sense of
the dishonorableness of making personal profit the aim of business
or of politics.
Pages:
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240