Central High School - EN EM Yearbook (North Manchester, IN)

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MAPLE LEAVES. 23 1 The Del'phians, or more properly speaking, the noble families of Delphi, had the superintendence of the oracle. Among the Delphian aristocracy, there were five families which traced their origin to Deucalion, and from each of these one of the five priests was taken. The priests, together with the high priest, or prophetess, held their offices for life, and had the control of all the affairs of the sanctuary and of the sacrifices. That these noble families had an immense influence upon the oracle is manifest from numerous instances, and it is not improbable that they were its very soul, and that it was they who dictated the pretended revelations of the god. Most of the oracular answers which are extant are in hexameters, and in the Ionic dialect, although sometimes Doric forms were also used. The hexameter was, according to some accounts, invented by Phemonoe, the first pythia. This metrical form was chosen, partly because the words of the god were thus rendered more venerable, and partly because it was easier to remember verse than prose. In the times of Theopompous, however, the custom of giving the oracles in verse seems to have gradually ceased; they were henceforth generally in prose, and in the Doric dialect spoken at Delphi. For, when the Greek states had lost their political liberty, there was little or no occasion to consult the oracle on matters of a national or political nature, and the affairs of ordinary life, such as the sale of slaves, the cultivation of fields, marriages, voyages and the like, on which the oracle was then mostly consulted, were little calculated to be spoken of in lofty, poetical strains. The oracle of Delphi, during its best period, was believed to give its answers and advice to every one who came with a pure heart, and had no evil designs; if he had committed a crime the answer was refused until he had atoned for it; and he who consulted the god for bad purposes was sure to accelerate his own ruin. No religious institution in all antiquity obtained such a paramount influence, not only in Greece, but in all countries around the Mediterranean. in all matters of importance, whether relating to religion or politics, to private or public yfe, as the oracle of Delphi. THE INFLUENCE OF ATHLETICS ON THE STUDENT MIND. W. LLOYD FINTON. In order better to comprehend this subject, it might be well to look back into history and read of physical culture and the development of athletics among the civilizations of the past. In each case the race has succumbed because of the weakness and degeneracy that follow a life of luxury, ease, and dissipation. The Pyramids of Egypt, together with what history has been able to gather from other sources, indicate that a remarkable degree of intelligence early existed in the valley of the Nile. Later came the marvelous development of Greece. Monuments of the art, science, and literature of this wonderful people have come down to us even today. They are being studied and copied as the works of genius in this, our own highly civilized age. Following this civilization we have Rome, with all its splendor and pomp, its ceremony, and its magnificence. With the downfall of Rome, there followed the barbarous age of the mediaeval period. And the next civilization of importance which sprang into life was that of Spain. At one time she ruled the world, but, like all others that preceded her, she succumbed to the luxury and weakness which is always a part of civilized life. Caesar, in his commentaries on the Gallic war, makes this point, that after the Helvetians had come in contact with the traders from civilized Rome they rapidly degenerated. In each of the above examples, without single exception, physical and mental development went hand in hand, and Vhen Greece was setting the example for the world in art and literature, her sons and daughters were enjoying the nearest appioach to physical perfection that the world has ever seen; and whenever bodily strength and development fell, the mental productiveness and success of the nation necessarily soon followed. And, with the exception of Pope and a comparatively few others, this fact, that every genius has had a good physique, has been sustained in all the walks of learning. Among the games which have the greatest capacity for developing the physique, persisting from he Olympian games of Greece to the last great tourr.a-ment at the coronation of King Edward, boxing, wrestling, sprinting, hammer-throwing and the national games of base ball and foot ball have survived. Though the latter is to some extent being opposed because of its supposed cruelty, its inherent powrer for developing manly qualities decidedly overbalance its evils. A Western professor has said that all the broken limbs and collar bones from the foot ball fields placed on a heap beside the bones of those physical wrecks who fill untimely graves because of over mental work and lack of exercise and develop ment, w'ould appear as a mole hill to a mountain. And we have all heard the remark of the great Wellington, that Waterloo was wron on the foot ball fields of Eton and Rugby. Since modern science has revealed the close relationship between mind and matter, the development of the one simultaneously with the other has been showfn; also that the centers of the brain are very closely correlated, and that as soon as one part tires out it borrows energy from the adjoining parts. A simple illustration wrill make this plainer. One day a man worked so hard in the Yale gymnasium that

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22 MAPLE LEAVES. THE ORACLE. MAVME G. SWANK. The oracle was the response delivered by a deity or supernatural being to a worshiper or inquirer, also the place where the response was given. These responses were supposed to be given by a certan divine afflatus, either through means of mankind, as in the organisms of the Pythia and the dreams of the worshiper in the temples; or by its effect on certain objects, as the tinkling of the caldrons at Dodona, the rustling of the sacred laurel, the murmuring of the streams; or by the actions of sacred animals, as exemplified in the Apis, and the feeding of holy chickens by the Romans. The oracle, situated at definite and limited places, dates from the highest antiquity and gradually declines with the decline of Animism and with the increasing knowledge of mankind. Among the Egyptians all the temples were probably oracular. In the hieroglyphic texts the gods speak constantly in an oracular manner and their consultation by the Pharaohs is occasionally mentioned. The Hebrew oracles were by oral expression, as the speech of God to Moses, dreams, visions, and prophetical denunciations; besides which there were oracles of Phoenicia, as that of Beelzebub and others of Baalim. They were also in use throughout Babylonia and Chaldaea. where the responses were delivered by dreams given to the priestesses who slept alone in in the temples as concubines of the gods. Among the Greeks, there were more oracles of A'pollo than of any other person. In these twenty-two the Panhellenic one at Delphi, which was the most celebrated, may be taken as a typical example. The divine agency at Delphi is said to have first been discovered by shepherds who tended their flocks in the neighborhood of the chasm, and whose sheep, when approaching the place, were seized with convulsions. Persons who came near the place showed the same symptoms, and received the power of prophecy. This, at last, induced the people to build a temple over the sacred spot. According to the Homeric hymn on Apollo, this god was, himself, the founder of the Delphic oracle, but the local legends of Delphi stated that originally it was in the possession of other deities, such as Gaea, Themis, Phoebus, Poseidon, Night, Cronos, and that it was given to Apollo as a present. Other traditions, perhaps the most ancient and genuine, represented Apollo as having gained possession of the oracle by a struggle, which is generally described as a fight with Python, a dragon, who guarded the oracle of Gaea or Themis. In the innermost sanctuary there was the statue of Apollo, which was, at least in later times, of gold; and, before it, there burned upon an altar an eter- nal fire, which was fed only with fir wood. The inner roof of the temple was covered with laurel garlands, and laurel was burned as incense upon the altar. In the center of this temple there was a small opening in the ground, from which, from time to time, an intoxicating smoke arose, which was believed to come from the well of Cassotis, which vanished into the ground near the sanctuary. Over this chasm there stood a high tripod on which the pythia, led into the temple by the prophetess, took her seat whenever the oracle was to be consulted. The smoke, rising from under the tripod, affected her brain in such a manner that she fell into a state of delirious intoxication, and the sounds which she uttered in this state were believed to contain the revelations of Apollo. These sounds were carefully written down by the prophetess, and afterwards communicated to the persons who had come to consult the oracle. The pythia was always a native of Delphi, and taken from some, family of poor country people. When she had once entered the service of the god, she never left it, and was never allowed to marry. In early times, she was always a young girl, but later, an old woman dressed as a maiden. Before ascending the tripod she always spent three days in preparing herself for the solemn act, and, during this time, she fasted, bathed in the Castalian well, and dressed in a simple manner. She also burned, in the temple, laurel leaves and flour of barley upon the altar. The effect of the smoke upon her whole mental and physical constitution is said to have sometimes been so great that, in her delirium, she leaped from the tripod, was thrown into convulsions, and died after a few days. At first, oracles were only given once every year, on the seventh of the month of Bysius, which was believed to be the birthday of Apollo. But as this one day, in the course of time, was not found sufficient, certain days in each month were set apart for the purpose. The order in which the persons who came to consult were admitted was determined by lot, but the Delphian magistrates had the power of granting the right of first consultation to such individuals or states as had acquired claims on the gratitude of the Delpliians, or whose political ascendency seemed to give them higher claims than others. It appears that those who consulted the oracle had to pay a certain fee. They also had to sacrifice a goat, an ox, or a sheep, and it was necessary that these victims should be healthy in body and soul, and, to ascertain this, they had to undergo a peculiar scrutiny. An ox rereceived barley, and a sheep chick-pease, to see whether they ate them with an appetite; water was poured over the goats, and if this put them into a thorough tremble, the victim was good.

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24 MAPLE LEAVES. when he came to open his locker to dress he had forgotten the combination. This is only one of many instances which might be given. Hence we are justified in believing that the building up of cells in one center aids weaker cells in another. We might expect one with rich motor centers to learn better, other things being equal, than the student whose brain has a poor motor area. There is a very intimate connection between muscularity and mentality. Animals which have the greatest latitude of movements have the largest brains and best intellects. The parrot stands preeminent in this respect, having an unusual movement of tongue, head, beak and legs. The monkey, on account of his muscularity approaches nearest to man in the size of his brain and his intelligence. Further, we find that co-ordinate movements are first made in the brain and that skill, as such, has its seat in the central system. There is no such a thing as manual skill, if by this we place skill in the muscles. A muscle has in itself no more power to perform work than a hammer. We also find that the more complicated the movements. just so much more complete is the brain development, and the readier it is to lend its strength to other parts of the encephalon. This one argument is of sufficient worth to make a place for a rational sch. ine of gymnastics in our public schools. Take as typical instances of stamina, two prominent Americans’ who are remarkable from the standpoint of mental and physical prowess, Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan. Aside from any possible political prejudices. we can but admire the tremendous vitality of these two men, two sturdy, stocky, indefatigable workers, defying hunger and loss of sleep, and working as no day laborer ever dreamed of toiling, and yet recuperating in a miraculous manner. The average athlete in training could not equal what they did during the last presidential campaign. Were we to select men who might approximate to their work, we should look to the foot ball players, to the crew men, or to the best boxers and wrestlers. Hence we see how' a well developed and quick acting body stimulates with a fresh influx of blood the quick action of a clear mind—a necessary factor for success in the present day of cultivated competition. This is one of the reasons why the greater number of important state and city offices are filled by the country youth of well poised mind and body. Then again, rivalry in athletic sports has inci-dently, while training for supremacy, established a proper wray of living and has showrn the importance and benefit of a proper diet. Its moral tendencies are also to be noticed. For the Y. M. C. A. leagues and the captains of crewr teams have often shown young men their moral weaknesses, such as the tobacco and alcohol habits, and their influence has been the direct cause of the remedying these defects in many cases where temperance societies and ministers have entirely failed. The love of these out-door sports, the social side of team or gymnasium work is a marked incentive to a great many students. Here the backward farmer lad enjoys the companionship of his fellows and first begins to realize that there is a place for him, by virtue of his sturdy muscles. In the ball room of the college gymnasium or on the basket ball field the girls of all classes associate and enjoy each other’s company, as if there were no upper, lower and middle “cliques’ in college society. But w'hat has this to do w'ith the student’s mind or mental output? Simply this, that since it affords him beneficial amusement and gives his mind the satisfaction w'hich he craves it leaves him better able to pursue his studies. For it is a well knowrn fact that a restless and dissatisfied mind results in unsatisfactory wrork. Then I know of cases even in the smaller schools in which this incentive has actually kept students in school. The skeptic here might say that a student who cares no more for his course than this might as well be out of school. This sounds very well, but such is not the case. It is not practical, for there come times in every student’s life w'hen things look gloomy—that first freshman day, for instance—and as long as his moral standard is not lowered any method of bridging him over the chasm is certainly to be commended. In this connection should be mentioned the policy in colleges of compelling students to reach a specified standard of good work before they can “make” the teams which play official match games. This spur has resulted in many students decidedly improving their work. Dr. D. A. Sargent, Professor of Physical Training at Harvard, in a paper read before the Public Health Association of America, said: “Students enter college trained in mind but not in body; and wrhere one fails for want of mental ability , ten break down for wrant of physical stamina. Under an appropriate system of physical training, however, they make most rapid advancement, showing that their bodies have been kept in arrears, while their brains were developed. Not infrequently the students wrho stood highest in the preparatory schools are taken with a sort of mental dyspepsia after entering college, and devote most of their energies to physical exercises.” Athletics have come to be a study; no longer simply a diversion from study. Taking Yale as typical, we see that the larger schools now require a specified amount of time to be spent every w'eek in the gymnasium, just as they do in the laboratory or recitation room. Therefore, in view' of w'hat the history of athletics teaches, to secure the greatest happiness by striving to obtain the fullest development, let us hold as our inviolable standard, the Latin precept, “Sans mens in sani corpore.”