70 THE GYMNASIUM. 



the Crimea to Marseilles might contend at the Olym- 

 pian games with the full rights of a Spartan or Athe- 

 nian, a privilege which the Great King could by no 

 means have obtained. 



The intense enthusiasm which was excited by the 

 Olympian games was the chief cause of the remarkable 

 development of Greece. The man who won the olive 

 garland on that celebrated course was famous for ever 

 afterwards. His statue was erected in the public hall 

 at Delphi ; he was received by his native city with all 

 the honours of a formal triumph ; he was not allowed 

 to enter by the gates ; a part of the city wall was 

 beaten down. The city itself became, during five years, 

 the talk of Greece, and wherever its people travelled, 

 they were welcomed with congratulations and esteem. 



The passion for praise is innate in the human mind. 

 It is only natural that, throughout the whole Greek 

 world, a spirit of eager rivalry and emulation should 

 prevail. In every city was established a gymnasium 

 where crowds of young men exercised themselves naked. 

 This institution was originally intended for those only 

 who were in training for the Olympian games, but 

 afterwards it became a part of daily life, and the 

 Greeks went to the gymnasium with the same regu- 

 larity as the Romans went to the bath. 



At first the national prizes were only for athletes, 

 but at a later period the principle of competition was 

 extended to books and musical compositions, paintings, 

 and statues. There was also a competition, in rich 

 and elegant display. The carriages and retinues 

 which were exhibited upon the course excited a de- 

 sire to obtain wealth, and gave a useful impulse to 

 foreign commerce, manufactures, and mining opera- 

 tions. 



