Donald Trump has brought back the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, once used in state schools to gauge young people’s health and athleticism with one-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. He could usefully add elements of the early training invented by the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus to create disciplined, physically and mentally resilient soldiers and citizens.
Every baby was examined for fitness. They were trained not to fuss about food, or be frightened of the dark when left alone, or to get angry or cry. At seven, they joined bands in which they grew up together while their elders registered their progress in obedience and courage. They were also taught to stay silent rather than drivel on, and if they did talk, to use language clearly and trenchantly (our term ‘laconic’ derives from Lakôn, ‘Spartan’). Famous examples: ‘We do not ask how many the enemy are: just where they are.’ And to a Persian boasting ‘Our arrows will block out the sky’: ‘Good, we shall fight in the shade.’
Girls, while not being formed into the companies, also underwent state-sponsored training that emphasised physical strength and endurance, preparing them for their roles as mothers of warriors. They too learned to express themselves incisively. A girl saw a Milesian having his shoes put on and laced by a slave and said: ‘Father, the foreigner hasn’t any hands!’ Being asked by an Athenian woman ‘Why is it that you Spartan women are the only women that lord it over your men?’, she said: ‘Because we are the only women that are mothers of men.’ Another, when her sons had fled from battle back to her, said ‘Where have you come from now, you craven slaves? Do you intend to creep back in here, where you came from?’, and she pulled up her garment and showed them. Another, as her son was going to war, gave him his shield and said: ‘Your father kept this safe for you; do the same, or do not exist.’ Another, asked by a man if she would be good if he bought her, said: ‘Yes, and if you do not buy me.’
Fine lessons in exploiting the potential of language, rather than waving it flabbily about.
Comments