CHAPTER XIV AN AFTERTHOUGHT

The Prize-Ring served its turn and passed; and modern boxing, roughly, fills the gap. At present we do not see why modern boxing should not go on indefinitely. For all that people say human nature has changed, does change, will persist in changing, and—we dare hope—for the better. By modern standards the Prize-Ring was brutal¹, just as the execution of young lads for sheep-stealing was brutal. The same issue of the Times in June, 1833, which reported the acquittal at the Hertford Assizes of Deaf Burke for the manslaughter of Simon Byrne (See Chapter XIV, Part I.), informed its readers that a man found guilty of stealing spoons to the value of 27s. had been sentenced to transportation for life. Human nature has rebelled against the greater brutality² as it did against the less. And war is the ultimate expression of brutality in man, and as we have seen only too lately, a brutality which carried to its logical conclusion (or very nearly) surpasses anything in that sort that mankind has been guilty of throughout the ages. A case, you say, against the truth or hope or possibility of change in human nature? Not quite; for human consciousness did, even before the German war, begin to realise what war would mean, and since then has made, is making, genuine efforts to withstand the tide of what pessimists³ regard as an inevitable⁴ tendency.

But apart from war in which we now know that “fair play” is ridiculously impossible, a little friendly hurting of each other in a roped ring and cold blood will do no harm to any two men. Not as a preparation for the hardships of warfare⁵, not necessarily as a means of self-defence, but in view of a fine ideal of physical fitness, the strain and pain of violent athletics⁶ should be perpetuated⁷. 202 And this, apart from the fun of the thing (which after all matters most) is the excuse and reason for amateur boxing. So let boxing be regarded as a sport, and let us leave it at that.

Old prejudices live with extraordinary vigour⁸: and boxing—the very fact of it—the peaceful and positively⁹ harmless encounter of two men with well-padded gloves stirs the deepest rancour still. We are not surprised at this rancour in people who are not English, French, or American: most of us have to take their point of view for granted, because we find it so difficult to capture. We think that bull-fights are barbarous, and a friend of mine who organised an amateur boxing competition in Monte Video and tried to hire the bull-ring for the purpose was prohibited by the Uruguayan authorities because boxing was—barbarous. You come up against a brick wall sometimes, and you can’t see through it, so it’s not the slightest good trying to explain the plants which grow on the other side.

But in England, and in America too, the prejudices of the “righteous overmuch,” in fact, the prejudices of the Puritan tradition against the Prize-Ring have lived on to regard modern boxing in a similar light. My personal prejudice against overmuch righteousness and the Puritan tradition make the gist¹¹ of my researches into the history of the Prize-Ring and of professional boxing a very nasty pill to swallow, very painful to digest. I don’t know that I ever hoped to disprove calumnies¹², for I had always supposed that there was no reason, but a mere¹³ love of softness and Pleasant-Sunday-Afternoon respectability behind these objections to boxing. But, as a matter of fact, I have found, to my disgust, that there is much to be said for the “respectable” view—not, of course, on Puritan grounds, but both on humane¹⁴ grounds and in the cause of good sportsmanship. I believe that sport to-day (I don’t say “amateur sport” because I am unable to recognise as sport any pastime that is not, in its true sense, “amateur”) is better and finer and more chivalrous¹⁵ than it has ever been. It is, as a rule, fair—quixotically fair very often, and the more quixotic it is the better. Where a good sportsman could 203 win a fight within the rules, but risks the chance of losing because, on a particular occasion, he is not satisfied that the letter of the rules is adequate, he is behaving quixotically, and as no one suffers but himself, his quixoticism doesn’t matter. A game is only a game.

We might almost define sportsmanship as quixotry, the giving of something for nothing. The word amateur in other relations has become derisive¹⁶, and has lost its genuine meaning. But an amateur in sport is still recognised as one who loves an occupation for its own sake. He loves it so much that he will deny himself softer pleasures in order to be proficient¹⁷, and is prepared to undergo serious hardship in its pursuit.

In an affair of life and death, sportsmanship is not involved. We try very hard indeed to make out that it is or that it ought to be, but a man who obeys the rules of—say—the Amateur Boxing Association when he is attacked in a dark lane by a ruffian with half a brick, will have no tribute to his wisdom in any obituary¹⁸ notice written by me.

Sport to-day is beautifully fair. Not so, invariably, are professional athletics.

The Prize-Ring, by its rules, the application of its rules, and the disregard of its rules was what ordinarily intelligent and humane people nowadays call brutal. The professional boxing contest is seldom that, though, as we have seen, individual cases of deliberate cruelty have been known. The object amongst the majority of professional pugilists nowadays is not the enjoyment¹⁹ of a good contest and the money for a contest fairly won, but the money alone for a contest won anyhow. The average pro¹⁰. is quite happy so long as the referee²⁰ leaves him alone. He will do anything the referee lets him. What, he asks, is that official for? He is there to see fair play, and to stop the boxer²¹ if he does wrong.

But apart from the actual boxing, much connected with its “promotion” and management is so nauseously vulgar, false, unfair, and dishonest, that remaining prejudices based on that foundation are not unintelligible²².

The End

1 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

2 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

3 pessimists   

n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pessimists tell us that the family as we know it is doomed. 悲观主义者告诉我们说，我们现在的这种家庭注定要崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Experts on the future are divided into pessimists and optimists. 对未来发展进行预测的专家可分为悲观主义者和乐观主义者两类。 来自互联网

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

6 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

7 perpetuated   

vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• This system perpetuated itself for several centuries. 这一制度维持了几个世纪。
• I never before saw smile caught like that, and perpetuated. 我从来没有看见过谁的笑容陷入这样的窘况，而且持续不变。 来自辞典例句

8 vigour   

（=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力

参考例句：

• She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情，有朝气。
• At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。

9 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

10 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

11 gist   

n.要旨；梗概

参考例句：

• Can you give me the gist of this report?你能告诉我这个报告的要点吗？
• He is quick in grasping the gist of a book.他敏于了解书的要点。

12 calumnies   

n.诬蔑，诽谤，中伤（的话）( calumny的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He doesn't care about scandals, slanders, calumnies, aspersions, or defamation. 他不在乎流言蜚语，诽谤，中伤，造谣，诬蔑。 来自互联网
• Spreading rumors and calumnies and plotting riots. 造谣诽谤，策动骚乱。 来自互联网

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

15 chivalrous   

adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的

参考例句：

• Men are so little chivalrous now.现在的男人几乎没有什么骑士风度了。
• Toward women he was nobly restrained and chivalrous.对于妇女，他表现得高尚拘谨，尊敬三分。

16 derisive   

adj.嘲弄的

参考例句：

• A storm of derisive applause broke out.一阵暴风雨般的哄笑声轰然响起。
• They flushed,however,when she burst into a shout of derisive laughter.然而，当地大声嘲笑起来的时候，她们的脸不禁涨红了。

17 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

18 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

19 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

20 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

21 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

22 unintelligible   

adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的

参考例句：

• If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据，它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
• The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。