Six Books on the Art of Gymnastics

...broke the power [of enemies], routed countless forces, and finally subjected so many kingdoms and so many nations to their rule that they cannot easily be recounted even by counting. Equipped with this same strength, there was no lack of Princes who dared to compete in physical power against any Athlete. We have received word that such men included Cyrus, Nero, Trajan, Antoninus, and Severus. Mercuriale lists several Roman Emperors (and the Persian King Cyrus) known for their physical vigor or interest in the games. Trajan and Antoninus were often idealized as "good" emperors, while Nero was infamous for his obsession with public performance. Beyond the fact that it is handed down in memory that they preserved their health and became exceptionally strong through this art alone, it is likely they also did this so that they might invite others to these same exercises by their own example. Who is unaware that, with the help of this kind of art, the ancient governors of kingdoms and provinces introduced the spectacles of athletes and gladiators—wisely devised to keep their subjects loyal and dutiful? The author suggests that public games were not just for entertainment, but a clever political tool (social control) used by rulers to maintain order and keep the population disciplined. I shall not even mention the many other benefits which gymnastics, in the time when it flourished, always most abundantly provided for the perfection of human happiness. But, the more benefits we know have flowed from this art, the more we must grieve that, by some miserable fate, it has perished along with many other studies of the finest arts, and is now utterly extinct. Because of this, there are very few in this time who attain that old military strength and true health. Instead, so many types of diseases infest us daily; it is reasonable to believe the ancients did not experience these, thanks to their habit of exercising their bodies. However, although these things are so, [we must] nevertheless... original: "tamen" (implied by the catchword "men"). Mercuriale is transitioning from a lament about the loss of ancient knowledge to a reason for hope or his own effort to restore it.