this cheerful element in the education of youth. The schools of the Jesuits were, in this respect, conducted on more reasonable principles than most of the rest."[1] It is a well-known fact that in Germany sport in the higher schools, is, or was, until recently, neglected more than is expedient for the general development of the pupils. And yet, wherever German Jesuits opened a college, be it in Freiburg (Switzerland), Feldkirch (Vorarlberg), or Sao Leopoldo (Brazil), everywhere they introduced and encouraged plenty of healthful games, an evident sign that it is the spirit of the Society to give the pupils sufficient recreation. Of the French Jesuits, the Figaro wrote years ago (June 2, 1879): "Games and amusements occupy an important place in the schools of the Jesuits. They are as much interested about the place of recreation as about the study hall. The prefects induce the pupils to join in the games with the same ardor they display in stimulating them to work at their books. Two prefects, Fathers de Nodaillac and Rousseau, have written the history of games. ... Fencing is honored and encouraged in the Jesuit schools. In the three institutions at Paris (rue de Madrid, de Vaugirard and des Postes) more than four hundred pupils take lessons in fencing under the direction of the best instructors."[2] It is not necessary to prove that in English speaking countries the Jesuit colleges do not neglect this part of training.
