In the Olympic Oath, I ask for only one thing: sporting loyalty.
Pierre De CoubertinRead
In our view the Olympic idea involves a strong physical culture supplemented on the one hand by mobility, what is so aptly called 'fair play', and on the other hand by aesthetics, that is the cultivation of what is beautiful and graceful.
Interpretation
The Olympic idea promotes a balance between physical excellence, fair play, and appreciation of beauty.
Pierre De Coubertin emphasizes that the essence of the Olympic spirit lies not just in physical prowess but in the values of fair play and the beauty of athletic performance. This holistic view seeks to combine strength, integrity, and aesthetics in sports, encouraging a well-rounded appreciation for athletic achievement.
In practice
This quote could be shared during an Olympic-themed event or discussion about sportsmanship.
In the Olympic Oath, I ask for only one thing: sporting loyalty.
Success comprises in itself the seeds of its own decline and sport is not spared by this law.
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.
The day when a sportsman stops thinking above all else of the happiness in his own effort and the intoxication of the power and physical balance he derives from it, the day when he lets considerations of vanity or interest take over, on this day his ideal will die.
May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic Torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.
I have remained true to my deepest convictions. I mean the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy—for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?
It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.
Plan for this world as if you expect to live forever; but plan for the hereafter as if you expect to die tomorrow.
The fact is that the more we take flight upward [to God], the more our words are confined to the ideas we are capable of forming; so that now as we plunge into that darkness which is beyond intellect, we shall find ourselves not simply running short of words but actually speechless and unknowing.
Authority and place demonstrate and try the tempers of men, by moving every passion and discovering every frailty.
Barbarism is the absence of standards to which appeal can be made.
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