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13 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Those erstwhileplayers of horns, those perpetualfriends Ofpublicarenas, noted through all the towns for their Roundedcheeks,now mount shows themselves, andkill Topleasewhen the mob demand it witha turned thumb |
Juvenal (Satire 3) - Pollice Verso |
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“After lunch Commodus wouldfight as a gladiator. The form of contest that he practicedandthe armour that he used were those of the secutores, asthey were called: he held the shield in his right hand and the woodensword inhis left, and indeed took great pride in the fact that he was left-handed.His antagonistwould be some athlete or perchance a gladiator armed with astick; sometimesit was a man that he himself had challenged, sometimes one chosen by thepeople, for in this as well as in other matters he put himself on an equalfooting with the other gladiators, except for the fact that they enter thelists for a very small sum, whereas Commodus received a million sesterces fromthe gladiatorial fund each day.” |
Cassius Dio Senator and Eye Witness |
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“As Ifrequently contemplate and call to mind the times of old, those in general seemto me, brother Quintus, to have been supremely happy, who, while they weredistinguished with honours and the glory of their actions in the best days ofthe republic, were enabled to pursue such a course of life, that they couldcontinue either in employment without danger, or in leisure with dignity.To myself, also, there was a time whenI thought that a season for relaxation, and for turning my thoughts again tothe noble studies once pursued by both of us, would be fairly allowable, and beconceded by almost every one; if the infinite labour of forensic business andthe occupations of ambition should be brought to a stand, either by thecompletion of my course of honours(cursus honorum), or by the decline of age.” |
Cicero (Roman Politican of the Republic) De Oratore 1.1 |
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“For it isby a man’s pleasures – his pleasures indeed – that his sense of dignity,integrity and moderation can best be judged. For who is so dissolute that notrace of seriousness is to be found in his pastimes? Our leisure(otium) givesus away.” |
Pliny, Panegyric (for Emperor Trajan), 82.8-9 |
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“It isessential for those who are looking after the state that the people be veryhappy and devoid of all concern and contemplation, having handed their leisureover to others (aliis permisso otio suo) who must look after it and who mustnot make the mistake of having the people think that their leaders areneglecting their comforts (commoda)’’. |
Cicero, On the Republic 1.52 |
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“But if weourselves who are kept by our business from public pleasure and are able tofind many other pleasures in the work itself, if we nevertheless are delightedand attracted to games, why are you amazed at the ignorant masses?’’ |
Cicero, Pro Murena 39 |
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“Here Iam, surrounded by all kinds of noise (my lodgings overlook a Bath).Conjure up in your imagination all the sounds that make one hate one's ears. Ihear the grunts of musclemen exercising and jerking those heavy weights around;they are working hard, or pretending to. I hear their sharp hissing when theyrelease their pent breath. If there happens to be a lazy fellow content with asimple massage I hear the slap of hand on shoulder; you can tell whether it'shitting a flat or a hollow. If a ball-player comes up and starts calling outhis score, I'm done for. Add to this the racket of a cocky bastard, a thiefcaught in the act, and a fellow who likes the sound of his own voice in thebath, plus those who plunge into the pool with a huge splash of water. Besidesthose who just have loud voices, imagine the skinny armpit-hair plucker whosecries are shrill so as to draw people's attention and never stop except whenhe's doing his job and making someone else shriek for him.” |
Seneca, Letter to Lucius 56.1-2 (Disdain for the Otium of FItness) |
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“Antiphanesdescribes the game thus: ‘He seized the ball and passed it with a laugh to one,while the other player he dodged; from one he pushed it out of the way, whilehe raised another player to his feet amid resounding shouts of ‘out of bounds’‘too far’ ‘right beside him’ ‘over his head’ ‘on the ground’ ‘up in the air’‘too short’ ‘pass it back in the crowd’” |
Descripition of Harpasum in Athenaeus |
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“Sparta, we are amazed at the rulesof your wrestling schools, and particularly at the young women athletes: foryour girls, there is no shame in working out, naked among the menwrestling…..The Roman Woman, on the other hand, goes around in a huge crowd–you can’t get anywhere near her, can’t find out what she’s really like or finda way to talk to her. Rome, if you would adopt the rules of wrestling fromSparta, you would be even dearer to me.” |
Elegy 3.13 The Fantasy of Sparta (Women) |
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“Who doesn’t know about the purpleathlete’s cloaks, and the ladies’ wrestling ointment? Who hasn’t seen thewounds on the palus,which they’ve gouged with the rudisand beaten with the shield?...What decency can a woman show wearing a helmet,when she leaves her own sex behind? She wants to be strong like a man, but doesnot want to turn into a man: after all, we men have such little pleasure.” |
Juvenal Satire 6: Roman Gladiatrix: Fear of a strong women |
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“For it issilly, my dear Lucilius, andno way for an educated man to behave, to spend one’s time exercising thebiceps, broadening the neck and shoulders and developing the lungs. Even whenthe extra feeding has produced gratifying results and you’ve put on a lot ofmuscle, you’ll never match the strength of the weight of a prizedbull. Moreover, the more weight you put on, the more constricted and sluggishyour mind becomes. You ought therefore to reduce your body and give more playto your mind.” |
Seneca )Critics of Phsyical Exercise: Brain versus Brawn |
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“Thereare numerous disadvantages to being an athlete. There is first of all thelaborious training, which exhausts a man’s vitality and disqualifies him fromconcentration and serious study. Then there is the sheer size of a trainingmeal, enough to deprive a mind of its agility. There are the slave-coaches,dreadful men who behave like tyrants. … A perfect day for them is one in whichthey have had a really good sweat and, to make good the loss, take a good swigof liquor, which will sink the deeper if they have had nothing to eat. Drinkingand sweating- this is the life to which those people are condemned.” |
Seneca Criics of Physical Exercise |
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You shouldpray for a healthy mind in a healthy body. Askfora stout heart that has no fear of death, anddeemslength of days the least of Nature's gifts thatcanendure any kind of toil, that knows neither wrath nor desire andthinks thewoesand hard labors of Hercules better than thelovesand banquets and downy cushions of Sardanapalus. What I commend to you, you can give toyourself; Forassuredly,the only road to a life of peace is virtue (virtus). |
Juvenal, Satire 10 |
