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Show CHARACTER DEVELOPED BY ATHLETICS. (By Rev. M. P. Dowiing, S. J., in Don-a Don-a hoe's for May.) Every one will admit that athletics are sometimes cultivated to excess, that they sometimes interfere with serious se-rious study; and that the safe return of the college athletea from the field of prowess is often hailed with a devout de-vout "Te Deum" as if one more danger dan-ger were passed and their friends were free to breathe once more. But we must remember, too, that the best athletes ath-letes are often the best students; backward back-ward young men can be barred out by proper authority and the time lost af-'fects af-'fects compaxaOvely few, while the ! healthy college spirit engendered, the enthusiasm for excellence aroused more than counterbalance these disadvantages. disadvan-tages. Recreation need not consist in lounging about doorways, moping through corridors, creeping along from place to place; something virile ought to be aimed at, the development of a manly spirit. Where is this to be- acquiredin ac-quiredin the classroom? It is a mistake mis-take to suppose that men learn only from those appointed to teach them; there is a great deal of useful education educa-tion to be had from mixing with college companions, and character is developed on the gridiron and in the diamond, on the campus and athletic field as well as in the precdncts of the classroom. The educational results of athletics are numerous enough to .be overwhelming. The self-denial required in training promotes discipline; the., struggle for supremacy prepares one to take the hard knocks the world will subsequently subsequent-ly give: the moderation and submission required in accepting adverse decisions teaches self-control in trying circumstances circum-stances and under strong provocation; the tense engagement of mind and muscle leaves little place for lewd conversation, con-versation, drinking habits and the malignant ma-lignant influence of troublesome coteries. co-teries. These advantages flow especially especial-ly from games' played in combination, where there is question of courage as well as "ft'iii, where the player being of leas importance each one learns the necessity of organization, the art of playing together and the need of sacrificing sac-rificing his athletic reputation in a critical emergency, for the common good, particularly where there exists the disposition rather to lose a game tlan vin it unfairly. There Is. undoubted un-doubted generalship in many of these games and a practical lesvson in administration. admin-istration. Quickness is needed, decision, de-cision, courage, determination to win, ability to give and take; these qualities qual-ities are all of the highest moment for the battle of life. |