PSEUDO-GLORY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1697, 13 March 1913, Page 6

PSEUDO-GLORY.

A TILT AT SPORT.

BY MR. A. DE B. BRANDON. I

CULT OF "HIGHLY-TRAINED BEASTS." "That this association is of opinion that the efforts of. the Old Boys' athletic clubs. should be directed to lnrnishing the means of exercise and lecieation for individual members rather than to the selection of teams to take part iu public displays." J.lie foregoing was the text of a resolution moved by Mr. A. de B. Brandon at fast nignts annual meeting of the Wellington College Old Boys' Association, tie proposed .that- the resolution should be an additional paragraph" to the annual report. In doing so he delivered himself of some interesting remarks oil the present condition of athietics. "At the present time," lie said, "an interesting revolution is taking place, in which muscle and cunning are trying to assert a claim for pre-eminence aS against intellect. Muscle without cunning'- is a ponderous clumsy beast, but controlled or regulated by cunning or knack it is a dangerous -beaut; subordinated to intellect it is a necessary and useful beast. Intellect without the help of muscle is helpless! Intellect with muscle- under control is' the' successful general, who can dominate the world and yet not fight a battle. Intellect only half- developed regards well-developed intellect contemptuously: Half-developed intellect gazes with admiration at the butterfly, but takes no heed of the studious ant. Half-developed intellect is wildly enthusiastic over a 'struggle between beasts, biit is profoundly unconcerned With the struggle among sages to solve the prol>leins of life. Cricket, football, tennis, rowing, running, jumping, golf, aud the like are all games designed to afford exercise and recreation to the human body in order that the mind may flourish without the disturbance engendered by malnutrition of its corporeal elements. "Highly-trained Beasts." "All these games, however," said Mr. Brandon, "are now exploited by associations, leagues', and what not for the purpose ol' exhibiting to gaping crowds the prowess of a few individuals, who have developed muscle and cunning to such an extent as to be themselves-worthy of inclusion in' the category of highly-train-ed beasts. When physical inability overtakes these highly-trained beasts and they fall out of favour, they find themselves unable to adapt themselves to the more serious occupations in life. Physical development has been attained at the expense of intellect, and the unfortunate cast-off is irot able to turn his mind to legitimately profitable account. He becomes a panderer to human vices—tho promoter of, or ignoble instrument in, schemes designed for-the plucking of pigeons. "Let this exploitation continue, and the ambition of the young v;ill be turned away from those employments which are valuable to the community, and tempted to the search for an earlier but unstable reward in the plaudits of u brute-worshipping crowd. "As to which is best for the Stalte, muscle or intellect, there can bo do doubt. Muscle dominant must lead to savagedom. Civilisation is the result of the influence of intellect on the manners and customs of tho community, and when once that influence is withdrawn, qT allowed to become sfcipnant, the community retrogresses into barbarism. Schools are tho means adopted for the development of intellect in the young while the young are iu a fit stale 'to be trained. Tho more thoroughly the school develops the iutellcct the greater is the advantage 'to the community, for the more intellect is distributed.among, the community, tho more likely are the-affairs of tho community; to be managed wisely and in accord with sound social and economic propositions, which intellect will from time 'to time discover.. Turn the school into a taming and training ground for beasts, and tho truo purpose of tho school is set on ono side. Turn the school into a studio exclusively for the development of the purely mental faculties, and the product will bo of littlo uso 'to the community, for, in the process of the development "of the intellect, its physical frame will have become so neglected that the community will bo unable to support the merits of its opinion by the scientific display ami use of force. Mischievous Contests.

"The true position then is that the school shall cultivate muscle to the extent nocessary to permit of tho best development of intellect, and to that extent only. And when that is done,. tile community, will get the'best service from the school, for it will then have both mental and physical ability. The development of intellect must be the dominant idea, and muscle must be the servant. Client) trips for sporting competitions, the so-called championships, and the modern Olympic contests, are most mischievous in that they make the- jiseiulo-glory of "the playground the be-all and end-all of athletics, while tlio true function of athletic exercise is to promote, as far as possible, in each individual tho 'mens sana in corpora sano,' so that the nation will bs at once respected for its virility and its learning. In his closing remarks, Mr. Brandon also spoke against the cricket system, which "dragooned" players into district clubs. Adverse Discussion—Motion Lost. Mr. W. H. D. Bell, M.P., seconded tho motion pro forma in order (as lie explained) tluat he might speak against it. He considered that in a community like that in which they lived, where everyone was doing a great deal, of work, the associalion would be justified in giving the whole of its time to sport. He did not think that would preclude the development oi intellect. Nor did he think that while champions were being selected that the ruck was neglected. While that was going on those in the "ruck" spent their time in trying to get beyond tho luck. As Mr. Brandon had inado use ot an old quotation and Teferred to the successful general that could dominate the world without fighting a battle, he Mr. Bell) would like to make use of an old Quotation and refer to a great general- « g™eral we ever had-who, after fighting the greatest battle wo ever engaged in, said that Waterloo was not sa/ufa'r"' b " 1 ™"» p " i "» mover was serious.

Jlr. M. C. Barnett could not support tho motion, but sympathised with the warning sounded 111 the remarks of the mover He considered that the modem trend of striving for excellence in sport was becoming a little too extreme. It was not well that we should be obsessed with