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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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'Play up! play up! and play the game!'
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The line which epitomizes the amateur spirit in British sport. It comes from a poem by Henry Newbolt (1862–1938), vividly suggesting a cricket match at the turn of the century: There's a breathless hush in the Close to-night –
Ten to make and the match to win –
A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
But his Captain's hand on his shoulder smote –
'Play up! play up! and play the game!'
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The exceptionally obscure title of the poem, Vitai Lampada (Latin for 'the lamp of life'), is – somewhat typically – borrowed from a poet of the 1st century BC, Lucretius.
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