42 
ANCIENT RECORDS OF FRANCE. 
[Nature and Art, July 1, 3866. 
ATHLETICS. 
T HE word “ athletics,” in a substantive form, is a coinage 
of the last few years, adapted to signify pursuits for 
which the terms already in use, such as “sports” and 
“ games ” were felt to he either inappropriate or inade- 
quate. It must be owned that, philosophically speaking', 
there is not much to be said for the word. It is merely a 
rough and ready adaptation of a well-known adjective, and 
though it certainly supplies a want long felt, and, indeed, 
falls under the Horatian term, in so far that 
“ Grasco fonte cadit parce detorta,” 
it has nothing further to recommend it, in point either of 
elegance or ingenuity. According to its Greek derivation, 
it means properly, all bodily contests of skill, strength, and 
endurance, with or without the collateral idea of a prize of 
some kind attached to victory. The nature of such prize, 
of course, varies with the generations. The victors of old 
were contented with the honour symbolized in a wreath of 
laurel, the palma nobilis ; but ours is a more substantial 
age, and, instead of the “ ennobling palm,” the modern 
champion expects something of solidity and value as a 
recompense for his exertions. 
In the days when Greek met Greek, there were five 
principal contests, forming a gymnastic course, to win 
which was the crowning glory of the athlete. ' This “ Pen- 
tathlon,” to give it its proper name, comprised leaping, 
running, throwing the quoit, wrestling, and boxing ; and 
though, of course, there were other contests, such as 
chariot and horse-racing, it is these chiefly from which the 
word is derived, and from which we recognise its applica- 
tion to modern times. 
It may be doubted whether, from among modern pastimes, 
some might not be selected more worthy of first-class rank 
than these ; but waiving that question for the present, it 
will probably be admitted that, in substituting “ cricket 
and rowing” for the “wrestling and boxing,” which by 
common consent are excluded from the modern curriculum, 
we shall be exalting, instead of detracting from the dignity 
of our gymnastic course. As regards the order and pre- 
cedence of the different contests, it is obvious that any 
arrangement must be purely arbitrary. Probably no two 
men would agree as to the five contests, which are worthy 
of first-class rank in “athletics.” North of Tweed they are 
very fond of “ tossing the caber,” “putting the weight,” 
and “flinging the hammer.” An Irishman, on the other 
hand, might consider any programme incomplete which did 
not include the exciting game of shillelagh. But setting 
aside national idiosyncrasies, it may be suggested as a 
general rule, that athletic contests should take rank in pro- 
portion as they require, and are calculated to develope the 
| higher qualities both of mind and body. In this point of 
view, cricket, undoubtedly, ought to rank first of all ; 
because, besides the scientific skill required in all depart- 
ments of the same, it offers so many opportunities for the 
exercise of such important moral qualities, as judgment, 
patience, foresight, and combination, 
An inquiry into the origin of the present feeling in 
favour of athletic exercise would take us back to the era of 
the volunteer movement in 18S9. This movement, which 
sprang from a general conviction that it was time for the 
nation to take in hand the measures necessary for its own 
defence, g'ave a wonderful impulse to the pursuit of bodily 
exercise throughout the country. Partly from natural 
inclination, partly from a conviction of its advantage and 
utility, and partly, perhaps, from the example of foreign 
nations, the taste for gymnastics has grown and become 
almost universal since that period. But the various pur- 
suits, to which the term in its most comprehensive sense 
applies, have been systematized and reduced to rule to such 
an extent, that what was before merely practised as a 
pastime, is rapidly becoming elevated to the dignity of a 
science. Treatises are compiled, rules are laid down, perio- 
dicals are conducted, with the view of instructing competi- 
i tors on the most approved principles. Enthusiastic crowds 
now attend the great cricket matches at Lord’s and else- 
where ; while the rowing contests at Putney and Henley, 
the athletic gatherings at different centres, and the pro- 
minence given by the mass to the subject, all indicate how 
much the national taste for such things has been developed 
of late years. The fact, itself, is undoubted ; and though 
some may regret this glorification of the gymnastic element 
as interfering with more important business, it is a question 
whether, in these days of, wealth and luxury, any mote 
effectual antidote and corrective of the Virtuti inimica 
voluptas could be found, than the real healthy hard 
work indispensable to individual success, and the man- 
liness of tone which is born of fair, free, and genuine 
competition. 
ANCIENT RECORDS OF FRANCE. 
W HAT Lord Romilly and other liberal-minded men have 
done, and are still doing, for the past history of our 
own country, the Imperial government is doing for France, 
namely, placing the contents of the national archives at the 
disposal of the intellects of the nation ; and a more valuable 
or more interesting work it is not easy to imagine. The 
circumstances of the cases and the habits of the two coun- 
tries cause the work to be effected in different ways. The 
English authorities simply open the mine and clear away 
the obstructions ; and the pioneers of literature, like British 
colonists in new lands, soon pick out the diamonds and sift 
the gold from the mass. The Imperial government proceeds 
in a different manner — examines the deposits, analyses, in- 
dexes, and supplies the public with a key to the whole. 
The treasures dealt with exist, too, under different condi- 
tions in the two countries. The archaeological wealth of 
England lies chiefly, though certainly not solely, in the 
various record-offices of the metropolis ; the archives dealt 
with by the French authorities are principally contained 
in the muniment-rooms of the provinces. 
More than three years ago, M. de Persigny, then Minister 
of the Interior, presented to the Emperor a report accom- 
panied by the first two volumes of a “ Summary of the 
Departmental Archives anterior to 1790.” Since that time 
the work has been pushed forward with considerable activity. 
All the departments of France, except five, have commenced 
the publication of the analyses of their historic documents ; 
thirty-five volumes are completed and placed at the disposi- 
tion of the public, and a mass of equal amount is in the 
hands of the Conseils GJndraux of the departments, in the 
preparatory form of fascicules or loose sheets. The number 
of documents analysed to the present time amounts to more 
than four and a half millions. Sixteen towns have followed 
the example of the departments, and seven of the former 
have completed their work ; Lyons has published the first 
volume of its analysis. 
Amongst the matters thus brought to light are- — masses 
of important political correspondence with the sovereigns of 
France, Spain, and Savoy, with the chiefs of the League and 
the agents of the Pope; much interesting information 
