Richard Francis Burton

“ I should say fencing was as easy as riding for most men, whose sight is good and whose nerves can be depended upon. Of course, we must not push the comparison between fencing and riding too far.
The first point to try with the pupil is, to flash the sword before his eyes. If he winks nervously, and if no practice will cure him of winking, he will never be a perfect swordsman or a first-rate shot.
"I'm certain of that," interrupted Shughtie. "In Upper India a Sikh will swing his open hand across a stranger's face without touching it, and cry ' You are a soldier! ' if the eyes do not blink ”

“ This does not much help one with a foil. Again, the art of arms is a subject which, like chemistry, cannot bo learned from books; even illustrations give only the detached stanzas of the poem (6) . Chief of all, these are the words of the professional men who take a pride in making and multiplying difficulties; as masters they must know everything, and as authors they must show what they know. With them the noble art becomes an abstruse science, a veritable mystery of which they are the Magi, the priests. ”

“ Being " above the arms" (Ic haut des armcs; II disopra delle armi) is when your hand and sword are more elevated than those of your opponent. It is necessary to remember this distinction, as some schools assign the victory, when both oppo- nents touch simultaneously, to the "higher line" of thrust.
By thus mastering first principles, the most complicated treatises will readily be understood, and the theory of managing the sword becomes self-evident. My royal road to learning, in fact, is the path of common sense. ”

“ It is really refreshing to read of four millions being able to arm nearly 700,000 hands. We are fast returning to those fine old days, still preserved in Asia and Africa, where every free-born man was a born man-at-arms, when every citizen was a soldier, and our falling back on the " wisdom of antiquity " in this, as in other matters, is not one of the least curious features of the age. ”

“ The greater is that wild and fiery joy which accompanies actual discovery; the lesser light is the mild and tranquil enjoyment snatched from rude life and spent amid the radiance and fragrance of civilisation. ”

“ Briefly, in six weeks men with " good dispositions " can do something; with a year's work they ought to make palpable and real progress in the noble art of arms. But they too often go to a mere sciolist of tierce and carte, or to the dancing-master; fencing-master (12) . ”

“ Do you know why men who lose their way in the Arabian desert, on the prairies and pampas of America, on the Russian steppes, or in the Australian bush walk round and round, describing irregular circles and broken ovals, till they droop and drop and die of fatigue, perhaps within a mile of the hidden camp? Simply because when the brain is morbidly fixed upon one object muscle asserts itself, and the stronger right runs away with tho weaker left. ”

“ III. History and Development of Sword "Do you know," said the Chatelaine, " that you are revealing to us the Secrets of the Sword? "
I accept the epigram, was my reply, and certainly nothing can better describe my intention. Amongst all weapons the rapier alone has its inner meaning, its arcana, its mysteries. See how it interprets man's ideas and obeys every turn of his thoughts! At once the blade that threatens and the shield that guards, it is now agile, supple, and intelligent; then slow, sturdy, and persevering ”

“ Prime and seconde yearly become rarer; the first because of its many risks in case of failure, and the second because it causes the point to deviate absolutely from the line of direction. Wary swordsmen affect them only against those who " run in," or to force the blade which lingers too long on the lunge.
Another simplification, probably due to the facility which it is the fashion of our age to cultivate, has been apparently borrowed from the Italian school. The old tierce, with nails down, and the carte, with nails up, are reserved for certain conventional exercises ”

“ Lastly, I proved, to my own satisfaction at least, that, although the man who would be a perfect master of fence must begin in boyhood, simple offence is easily, and defence is even more easily, taught. ”

“ V. How to Teach Fencing " You must not let your listeners suppose," remarked Lord B., " that you would make arms the business of every man's life."
Of course not, unless they are to be soldiers; we may leave that to their intelligence. A pleasant and useful exercise should not be turned into an absorbing pursuit. Some will be amateur fencing masters, like myself; others will take up a foil gymnastically, or to spend a pleasant hour amongst friends. ”

“ A low and sullen murmur made itself heard; it came from the direction where Seaton was sitting.
There are four other parries and passes which are affected by the treatises, as late as the nineteenth century. Some of them are now so rarely used, even in books, that many a fencing master either knows them only by theo.ry, or has a, very hazy idea of them. You need not learn them I quote the names only to complete my list. These are (1) quinte, for which the moderns use "low carte"; (2) sixte, also called " carte sur les armes " ”

“ Nothing proves so well the greatness of Englishmen, nationally and individually, as their wonderful success, despite their various governments.
And now, when "la force prime le droit," when Europe stands up like Minerva in her panoply ready for the trial by what sciolists call " brute strength," I would see the old nation, England, take a lesson from her fair and gallant daughter, Canada. ”

“ I should be the last man in the room to decry them; but do not let us be Pharisees, who can see no good beyond a certain pale. Athletics are the great prerogative of the North as are gymnastics of the South, and this ie one of the main reasons why the North always beats the South has always beaten it, from the days of Bellovesus and Brennus, to those of " Kaiser Weissbart." ”

“ But he was leading up to my point, so I told him bluntly enough he was wrong.
" Pardon me, I've turned over a treatise or two in the library, and they made me feel small; really, it is like reading up geometry or alchemy, or any other secret science."
IV. Early Fencing Treatises and Technicalities Simplification Italian School and Names of Parries Now we come to the gist of the matter. You are quite right about the treatises. They are produced mostly by or for men far more used to the company of Captain Sword [4] than that of Captain Pen. ”

“ Regarding nerve, I asserted that the same quality which makes an exceptionally good rider, marksman, or skater, a cricketer, tennis, or billiard player, to name no others, is required for the finished swordsman. ”

“ The collegian, who wants only to understand the Pentateuch, does not read after the fashion of his neighbour who intends to become a Hebrew professor. If men refused to ride unless they could rival Lords Waterford and Cardigan, they would be doomed never to sit on pigskins. ”

“ This has been tried partially and has failed, because the boys take little interest in learning the dull course of " sitting up" and " squad work," which the artless tutor proposes as the art of arms; but when the parents shall set the example, the sons will follow them.
" Ou le pere a passe, passera bien 1'enfant," but the sooner drill is introduced perforce into our public schools, the better.
" The worst of fencing," said Charlie, the Oxonian, " is that one must begin from one's childhood, like riding; one must work for years to be a tolerable hand ”

“ Each line, therefore, relies upon two parades (parries) , which may be reduced to half, as the direction of the blade is the same in both; and the only difference is in the nails being turned upwards or downwards. The parries were named by the Italian school after the Latin numbers, and we have adapted them from the French. These are (1) prime (or first position) , so called because it is that naturally and neces- sarily taken by a man drawing his sword from the scabbard which hangs to the left side; (2) seconde; (3) tierce ”

“ Le maitre d'armes doit avoir une conduite irreprochable, une humeur egale, de la bonte, de 1'indulgence sans faiblesse, il doit surtout etre juste et impartial, c'est le moyen pour lui d'obtenir 1'estime publique et la confiance de scs elevcs. ”