May 22, 2019

Hippomachus

They say that the trainer Hippomachus, when an athlete he was training competed in wrestling and everyone who was present applauded, struck the student with his staff. "You did it badly, and not as you should have," he said. "You should have done better. If you had done it artfully they would not have applauded you."

- from Various Histories, Aelian.

When some persons praised a tall fellow with a long reach as having the makings of a fine boxer, the trainer Hippomachus remarked: "Yes, if the crown were hung up and to be got by reaching."

- from Plutarch, On Love of Wealth.

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