Sport for spectacles
For glory before people—
To burn up health,
To shorten life.
A sacrifice of time and strength
For medals on the chest.
Someone needs it,
For someone it’s trash.

To strengthen with health,
To drive out stresses,
To stir the body, cleanse the spirit —
No need to torment yourself
To raise your tone.
What helps is not the race, but measured motion.

The choice is yours,
What do you lack?
Vigor of spirit, or hard labor of drills?
Sport may well glorify
But will surely destroy,
Exercise, though modest, will keep, what you had.