1 Corinthians 9:25

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things The temperance of which the Apostle speaks was no light matter. For ten months had the candidates for a prize at these games to abstain from every kind of sensual indulgence, and to undergo the most severe training of the body. See Horace, De Arte Poetica, 412, and Epictetus: "Wouldest thou conquer at the games? Thou must be orderly, spare in food, must abstain from confections, exercise at a fixed hour, whether in heat or cold, drink no cold water, nor wine."

a corruptible crown "A garland of olive, parsley, bay, or pine." Stanley.

but we an incorruptible Cf. 2 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 4:4; Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:11. There was no impropriety in this comparison. The Greek games were free from many of the degrading associations which gather round those athletic sports so rapidly gaining ground among ourselves. They had the importance almost of a religious rite, certainly of a national institution, and they were dignified with recitations of their productions by orators and sophists. Herodotus is even said to have recited his history at the Olympic games.