Author: Kate F. Bremner

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-05-17

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9780259469414

Excerpt from A Book of Song Games and Ball Games: Adapted for School Use But play, whether it concern children or adults, must maintain the essential characteristics of play, viz emancipation from the earnestness with regard to the end which is the mark of all true work. If one is work ing, it is for a conscious, practical aim, while real play, like pure art, ought to be its own aim. In Britain quite in contrast to what has been the case on the continent - games have always been highly appreciated; but I am doubtful if in Britain play has always remained play, and if the players themselves have not too often had a certain inclination to put into it a seriousness which has nothing to do with play as play. Where play exclusively for the sake of pleasure is changed into play for the sake of gaining a prize, ideal or material, where there are professionals in football as there are professionals in shoemaking, there is no longer play as it was originally; it has been altered into earnest work, and has become what is called sport. It is with Games, as it is with Educations. They comprehend, and necessarily must comprehend, some thing partly human, and partly national. From the History of Games we learn that the majority of games now used are very old. There are Ball, Stone, and Song Games, where the origin is lost in the night of the tales. I think that the expression a national game has to be understood less as a game which has its origin in the nation in question than as a game which has become a favourite game of that nation, and has been changed to suit its peculiar character. I think Miss Bremner has well understood this. She has understood that what can give pleasure to Swedish children may also give pleasure to English-speaking children, on con dition that it is properly adapted to them. May - I sincerely wish and hope so' - these games give pleasure to many, and at the same time serve as a means of Education. Man, adults as well as children, needs the one as well as the other, and perhaps most both united. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.