ROOSEVELT'S BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 53 



Upon one occasion he was called upon to recite the poem 



beginning : 



"At midnight, in his guarded tent 



The Turk lay dreaming of the hour 



When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, 



Would tremble at his power." 



Theodore arose and started out bravely. With all the flour- 

 ishes of boyish energy he repeated the lines as far as "When 

 Greece, her knee " and then he stopped. 



He stammered, shuffled his feet, and began again : " When 



Greece, her knee " The old schoolmaster leaned forward, and 



in a shrill voice said : "Grease 'em again, Teddy, and maybe it 

 will go then. " And Teddy, with his usual pluck, tried it again 

 with marked success. 



" What strong direction did your home influence take in your 

 boyhood ? " was asked Mr. Roosevelt. 



"Why," he replied, "I was brought up with the constant 

 injunction to be active and industrious. My father — all my peo- 

 ple — held that no one had a right to merely cumber the earth; 

 that the most contemptible of created beings is the man who does 

 nothing. I imbibed the idea that I must work hard, whether at 

 making money or whatever else. 



TAUGHT THAT HE MUST BE A WORKER. 



" The whole family training taught me that I must be doing, 

 must be working — and at decent work. I made my health what 

 it is. I determined to be strong and well, and did everything to 

 make myself so. By the time I entered Harvard College I was 

 able to take my part in whatever sports I liked. I wrestled and 

 sparred and ran a great deal while in college, and though I never 

 came in first I got more good of the exercise than those who did, 

 because I immensely enjoyed it and never injured myself. 



" I was fond of wrestling and boxing ; I think I was a good 

 deal of a wrestler, and, though I never won a championship, yet 

 more than once I won my trial heats and got into the final round. 

 I was captain of my polo team at one time, but since I left college 



