LEGO Ninjago Character Encyclopedia

Simon Hugo
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CHARACTER ENCYCLOPEDIA
U P D AT E D A N D E X PA N D E D
WRITTEN BY
SIMON HUGO AND CLAIRE SIPI
CONTENTS 73
74
75
Anacondrai Cult
Chope’rai
Kapau’rai
76 Jungle Kai
NINJA VS. SKULKINS NINJA VS. OVERLORD 77 Jungle Ninja
5 Master Wu 39 Kimono Kai
6 Cole 40 Kimono Jay NINJA VS. GHOST NINJA
7 Kai 41 Kimono Cole
8 Jay 42 Kimono Zane 79 Morro
9 Zane 43 Golden Ninja 80 Deepstone Lloyd
10 Nya 44 Lord Garmadon 81 Evil Green Ninja
11 Lord Garmadon 45 Overlord 82 Deepstone Jay
12 Samukai 46 General Kozu 83 Deepstone Kai
13 Kruncha 47 Stone Army Soldiers 84 Deepstone Zane
14 Wyplash 85 Deepstone Cole
15 Nuckal 86 Ronin
NINJA VS. NINDROIDS 87 Deepstone Nya
16 Chopov
17 Skulkin Soldiers 49 Master Garmadon 88 Soul Archer
18 Kai DX 50 Cyrus Borg 89 Ghost Masters
19 Ninja DX 51 Techno Cole 90 Ming
52 Techno Kai 91 Ghost Ninja
53 Techno Ninja 92 Airjitzu Kai
NINJA VS. SERPENTINE 93 Airjitzu Ninja
54 Techno Wu
21 Lloyd Garmadon 55 P.I.X.A.L. 94 Temple Wu
22 Cole ZX 56 General Cryptor 95 Misako
23 Ninja ZX 57 Nindroid Army 96 Ninjago Mailman
24 Master Wu 97 Dareth
98 Jesper
25 Pythor P. Chumsworth NINJA VS. ANACONDRAI CULT
26 Acidicus 99 Claire
27 Venomari Tribe 59 Master Chen
28 Fangtom 60 Pythor NINJA VS. SKY PIRATES
29 Fangpyre Tribe 61 Skylor
30 Skales 62 Tournament Kai 101 Nadakhan
31 Hypnobrai Tribe 63 Tournament Cole 102 Clancee
32 Skalidor 64 Tournament Jay 103 Flintlocke
33 Constrictai Tribe 65 Tournament Lloyd 104 Dogshank
34 NRG Zane 66 Jungle Samurai X 105 Sky Pirate Crew
35 NRG Ninja 67 Karlof 106 Destiny Jay
36 Samurai X 68 Griffin Turner 107 Destiny Nya
37 Green Ninja 69 Elemental Masters 108 Ghost Cole
70 Titanium Zane 109 Destiny Ninja
71 Clouse 110 Echo Zane
72 Eyezor 111 Tai-D
2
112 Prisoner Zane NINJA VS. DRAGON HUNTERS 189 Avatar Lloyd
113 Kryptarium Prison Crew 190 Avatar Pink Zane
114 Master Yang 151 Hunted Lloyd 191 Avatar Ninja
115 Yang’s Student 152 Hunted Nya 192 Okino
153 Hunted Ninja 193 Scott
NINJA VS. VERMILLION 154 Hunted Zane 194 Avatar Harumi
155 Iron Baron 195 NPCs
117 General Machia 156 Heavy Metal
118 Acronix 157 Daddy No Legs NINJA VS. SKULL SORCERER
119 Krux 158 Jet Jack
120 Commander Blunck 159 Dragon Hunters 197 Hero Cole
121 Commander Raggmunk 160 Teen Wu 198 Hero Wu
122 Rivett 161 Dragon Master Wu 199 Hero Zane
123 Vermillion Troops 162 Dragon Master Jay 200 Hero Nya
124 Fusion Kai 163 Dragon Masters 201 Hero Ninja
125 Fusion Nya 202 Skull Sorcerer
126 Fusion Lloyd NINJA VS. FIRE AND ICE 203 Awakened Warrior
127 Fusion Ninja 204 Murt
128 Ray 165 Aspheera 205 Gleck
129 Maya 166 Char 206 Princess Vania
167 Pyro Vipers 207 Spinjitzu Burst Ninja
NINJA VS. SONS OF GARMADON 168 Armor Kai
169 Armor Ninja
NINJA VS. KEEPERS
131 Resistance Lloyd 170 Armor Lloyd
132 Snake Jaguar 171 Akita 209 Island Lloyd
133 P.I.X.A.L. Samurai X 172 Master Wu 210 Island Nya
134 Resistance Cole 173 Ice Emperor 211 Island Ninja
135 Resistance Ninja 174 General Vex 212 Island Jay
136 Princess Harumi 175 Blizzard Samurai 213 Chief Mammatus
137 The Quiet One 176 Nya FS 214 PoulErik
138 Hutchins 177 Jay FS 215 Thunder Keeper
139 Mr. E 178 Cole FS 216 Rumble Keeper
140 Ultra Violet 179 Ninja FS
141 Killow 180 Spinjitzu Slam Lloyd
NINJA CELEBRATION
142 Chopper Maroon 181 Spinjitzu Slam Ninja
143 S.O.G. Gang Members 218 Golden Legacy Kai
144 Hunted Skylor NINJA VS. GAME MASTER 219 Golden Legacy Lloyd
145 Emperor Garmadon 220 Golden Legacy Ninja
146 Spinjitzu Master Kai 183 Digi Jay
147 Spinjitzu Master Nya 184 Digi Lloyd 222 Character Index
148 Spinjitzu Master Jay 185 Digi Ninja 224 Acknowledgments
149 Spinjitzu Masters 186 Unagami
187 Red Visor
188 Avatar Jay 3
 THE EARLIEST OF THE NINJA’S adventures
revolves around Lord Garmadon. Wise Master
Wu trains a group of youngsters to help him
beat his bad-guy brother, but will their heroic
efforts be enough to stop Garmadon and
the Skulkins who follow him?
NINJA VS. SKULKINS

SOUNDS
EXCITING! I HOPE
MY PART IS WELL
FLESHED OUT!
CHAPTER ONE
 MASTER WU
SPINJITZU MASTER

NINJA FILE
......................
LIKES: Drinking tea
DISLIKES: Siblings
throwing tantrums Master Wu’s
FRIENDS: New recruits beard and
mustache are
FOES: Lord Garmadon removable
SKILLS: Wisdom
GEAR: Bo staff

KEY SET: Monastery of

Spinjitzu (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70670
YEAR: 2019

BROTHERLY BOTHER
Master Wu and his brother, Lord
Garmadon, were trained by their
father, the First Spinjitzu Master.
He hoped that his sons would use
their skills to protect the people of
Magical writing
Ninjago Island. Lord Garmadon protects Master
uses his powers selfishly, but Wu Wu from dark
carries on his father’s noble legacy. powers

MASTER WU IS THE SON of the First

Spinjitzu Master, who created Ninjago
Island. Wu has spent his life mastering the
ancient martial art of Spinjitzu. He uses
his skill and experience to guide a group of
young ninja. He also protects Ninjago from
his troublesome brother!
5
 COLE
MASTER OF EARTH

Chain mail
visible under
NINJA FILE robe (known
...................... as gi)
DID YOU
LIKES: Extreme sports KNOW?
DISLIKES: Dancing Real-life ninja, medieval
FRIENDS: Fellow ninja Japanese warriors, were
trained from childhood
FOES: Kruncha, Chopov
in fighting, stealth,
SKILLS: Strength and survival.
GEAR: Scythe of Quakes

KEY SET: Monastery

of Spinjitzu (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70670
YEAR: 2019

TEAM FIRST
Cole was the first student Master
Wu recruited for ninja training. Golden dragon
Cole enjoys focusing his energy emblem wraps
around jacket
and powers during Wu’s grueling
training routines. A spinning sword
platform allows him to train alone
or with his fellow ninja.

COLE IS AS STRONG and reliable as a

rock. His natural strategic and leadership
skills make him a key part of the ninja team.
Cole always puts his team first and is a true
friend to the other ninja. Cole can spin dirt
and soil into a huge storm, reducing
everything in its path to dust.
6
 KAI
MASTER OF FIRE
Traditional headwrap
made from two
NINJA FILE
scarves to leave only
the eyes uncovered .......................
LIKES: Rushing into danger
DISLIKES: Losing battles
FRIENDS: Master Wu
and Nya
FOES: Samukai, Frakjaw
Sword of Fire is SKILLS: Making weapons
one of the four
Golden Weapons GEAR: Sword of Fire

KEY SET: Monastery

of Spinjitzu (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70670
YEAR: 2019
DID YOU
KNOW?
Kai’s father guarded
a map that showed the
location of the four
Golden Weapons used
to create the Realm
of Ninjago.
FAMILY HISTORY
Kai and his sister, Nya, took
over the family Blacksmith Shop
(set 2508) when their parents
disappeared. Wu saw that Kai
had the potential to be a ninja
Sashes and belts
are an essential and trained him to use his natural
part of a ninja’s “fire” to master Spinjitzu.
outfit

THIS NINJA’S ELEMENT is fire, and his

temper is equally hot! Kai accepts Master
Wu’s challenge to train as a ninja, but he must
work hard to control his anger and impatience.
Master Wu’s faith in Kai is justified—he soon
becomes a brave, loyal, and skillful ninja.
He channels his fiery energy into Spinjitzu.
7
 JAY
MASTER OF LIGHTNING

Nunchucks of
Lightning have
NINJA FILE dragon-head
........................ handles

LIKES: Witty jokes

DISLIKES: Broken
technology
FRIENDS: Nya
FOES: Nuckal, Krazi
SKILLS: Inventing
GEAR: Nunchucks
of Lightning
Gi design
matches
nunchuck
KEY SET: Monastery handles
of Spinjitzu (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70670
YEAR: 2019

LIGHTNING SPINJITZU
Jay was the first of the ninja
to master the art of Spinjitzu.
Now, as quick as a flash, he
can spin to turn into a lightning
tornado crackling with electric
ninja energy.

LIGHTNING IS HIS ELEMENT, and Jay is

lightning-fast in combat. His flair for crazy
inventions, his thirst for adventure, and his
sense of humor are just some of the qualities
that Master Wu knew would make Jay a good,
skillful ninja. Jay is also creative and loves
solving problems.
8
 ZANE
MASTER OF ICE

DID YOU
KNOW? Zane’s
artificial
When he became a ninja, eyes are
Zane looked completely an icy blue
human and did not realize
that he was actually a
robot, or Nindroid
(ninja-droid).

NINJA FILE
....................... Two Shurikens
of Ice make up
one of the
LIKES: Cooking Golden Weapons
DISLIKES: Jokes
FRIENDS: Master Wu
Black hands
FOES: Wyplash, Bonezai contrast with
SKILLS: Logic Zane’s white
robes but are
GEAR: Shurikens of Ice featured on all
the ninja recruits

KEY SET: Monastery

of Spinjitzu (Legacy) NINJA GLIDER
SET NUMBER: 70670 The ninja first appeared in LEGO®
YEAR: 2019 sets in 2011 in simple training
robes. In Ninja Glider (set 30080),
the original Zane minifigure has
a glider made from six golden
blades and carries an
additional black katana.

ZANE IS QUIET, serious, and focused. He

learns quickly and is curious about everything.
Zane watches and waits for the right moment
to strike. He is so quiet and stealthy that he
can creep up on his enemies without being
detected. However, his friends’ jokes often
pass him by undetected in return!
9
 NYA NINJA FILE
THE WATER NINJA ......................
LIKES: Her independence
DISLIKES: Being
Nya can use kidnapped
many different FRIENDS: Jay
weapons,
including FOES: Skulkin
daggers
SKILLS: Tech wiz
GEAR: Daggers, staff

KEY SET: Fire Temple

SET NUMBER: 2507
YEAR: 2011

DID YOU
KNOW?
Nya was the first LEGO®
NINJAGO® minifigure to
have a double-sided head.
She was followed by
Lloyd, P.I.X.A.L., and
many others.

Robes with
phoenix detail FLOWING HER OWN WAY
are printed on
legs Nya forged her own path before
becoming the Water Ninja in
2015. In the 2019 Legacy set
Monastery of Spinjitzu (set
70670), Nya appears in full ninja
training garb, alongside the four
original ninja and Lloyd.

NYA IS KAI’S SISTER. She works with Kai in

the Four Weapons Blacksmith Shop. Although
she doesn’t become a ninja immediately, tough
Nya is every bit as capable as her brother. She
trains hard and is always ready to battle evil.
Nya uses her skills with computers to spy on
the ninja’s enemies.
10
 LORD GARMADON
KING OF SHADOWS

NINJA FILE
.......................
LIKES: Villainous plans
DISLIKES: Meddling ninja
FRIENDS: None
Underworld
helmet helps FOES: Great Devourer
to control the SKILLS: Arguing with Wu
Skulkins
GEAR: Thunder Bolt,
Underworld helmet

KEY SET: Garmadon’s

Dark Fortress
SET NUMBER: 2505
YEAR: 2011

FOUR-ARMED FOE
Garmadon becomes a regular foe
of the ninja. As his powers grow,
he grows taller and even gets an
extra set of arms! His four-armed
form appears in many sets,
including 2019’s The Ultra Dragon
(Legacy set 70679.)

Thunder Bolt Extra arms

weapon can allow Garmadon
zap foes with to wield four
electricity weapons at
once

MASTER WU’S BROTHER, Lord Garmadon,

was infected with a powerful, villainous energy
long ago. He was banished to the Underworld,
but is now on a quest to defeat his brother and
destroy Ninjago Island. He trains his bony
Skulkin followers in the ways of Spinjitzu,
making them fearsome foes.
11
 SAMUKAI
FORMER KING
DID YOU
KNOW?
Samukai was the
rarest figure in the 2011
Unique skull LEGO NINJAGO range.
markings He only appears in
NINJA FILE
....................... two sets.

LIKES: Being in charge

Pivoting
DISLIKES: Following orders head piece
allows
FRIENDS: Fellow generals mouth to
FOES: Lord Garmadon open
SKILLS: Plotting schemes
GEAR: Nunchucks,
shurikens, scythe

KEY SET: Garmadon’s

Dark Fortress
SET NUMBER: 2505
YEAR: 2011

MEETING THEIR MATCH

The ninja are still in training
when they must defend Ninjago
against the Skulkin forces. Kai
puts his fiery Spinjitzu powers to Four bony
arms allow
the test against Samukai—it is Samukai to
blaze versus blades! wield multiple
weapons at
once

ONCE THE KING of the Underworld,

Samukai’s reign was overthrown by Lord
Garmadon. Now, the fearsome Samukai
leads the Skulkins into battle against the ninja,
under Garmadon’s control. Garmadon plans
to use four-armed Samukai to wield the four
Golden Weapons.
12
 KRUNCHA
HARD-HATTED GENERAL

Accessories
NINJA FILE can be clipped
...................... onto helmet

LIKES: Being proved right

DISLIKES: Being ignored
FRIENDS: Obedient
soldiers
FOES: Pesky ninja
SKILLS: Bellowing orders
GEAR: Dark blade

KEY SET: The Samurai

Mech (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70665
YEAR: 2019

BODY ARMOR
In 2011 sets such as Lightning
Dragon Battle (set 2521), Kruncha
wears a monocle over his right
Loincloth
eye. His head and helmet are one printed on
unique piece, and his large, standard
printed shoulder armor is also skeleton torso
Jagged blade
exclusive to him. is heavy and
sharp

LOUD, HARD, AND STRONG, Kruncha

is one of the four generals who leads
the Skulkins. Kruncha takes everything
seriously and expects others to do the
same. He often shouts at his minions
but is also constantly bickering with his
fellow general, Nuckal.
13
 WYPLASH
SUSPICIOUS SKULKIN

NINJA FILE
.......................
LIKES: Keeping watch
DISLIKES: Not knowing
Same hat as what is going on
Master Wu
FRIENDS: He trusts no one
FOES: Watchful Nya
SKILLS: Stealth
GEAR: Dagger

KEY SET: Monastery of

Spinjitzu (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70670
YEAR: 2019

Dagger is
small but
sharp

SKULL DECORATION
Back in 2011, Wyplash looked
a little different. In sets such as
Earth Dragon Defense (set 2521),
he wears the same hat but on top
of a larger skull, complete with a
worm crawling out of one side!

Worm could be the

cause of Wyplash’s
headaches

WYPLASH IS A SKULKIN GENERAL and

Samukai’s second-in-command. Stealth is his
special skill, and he always watches and waits
for the right moment to attack his enemy.
Paranoid Wyplash can turn his huge skull
backward, which means he can always see
the enemy approaching.
14
 NUCKAL
HAIR-RAISING VILLAIN

NINJA FILE
........................
LIKES: Causing mayhem
DISLIKES: Being bored
Mohawk hair FRIENDS: Krazi and other
piece plugs
into skull mischievous Skulkins
FOES: Anyone in his way
SKILLS: Bravery
GEAR: Iron bone ax

KEY SET: The Samurai Mech

(Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70665
YEAR: 2019
Metal eye
patch

HISTORIC HAIR DID YOU

Nuckal first appeared in three KNOW?
2011 sets, with skull spikes that Nuckal has unusual arm
were more like dinosaur ridges pieces in the spinner set
than a hairstyle! In Spinjitzu Dojo Nuckal (set 2173).
(set 2504), he carries a silver dark They allow him to
blade, as well as an ax. hold weapons
horizontally.

Spiky blue
shoulder
armor
NUCKAL IS CHILDISH, wild, and very
dangerous. He loves fighting, and if there
is trouble to be found, Nuckal will find it!
This bony brute’s idea of fun is striking
ninja down with his quick reflexes. Nuckal’s
battle moves are often combined with
a cackling and electrifying laugh.
15
 DID YOU
CHOPOV
KNOW? SKULKIN MECHANIC
Variants of the Chopov
figure include one with
gray shoulder armor and
one with no armor
at all!
Black
metal
helmet

NINJA FILE
......................
LIKES: Dreaming big
DISLIKES: Flat tires
FRIENDS: Other
Skulkin warriors
FOES: Earth
Ninja Cole
SKILLS: Engineering
GEAR: Bronzed bone ax
Bone ax

KEY SET: Skull Motorbike

SET NUMBER: 2259
YEAR: 2011

SKULL MOTORBIKE
Chopov’s battle vehicle from set Black boots
2259 is a cool chopper motorbike. worn by all
2011 Skulkins
He uses it in battle or for quick
escapes. The powerful skull
hammerhead can smash anything
in its path, especially ninja!

Catapult
hinge
CHOPOV IS VERY TOUGH. He does not let
mechanism anything get in his way, even ninja! This smart
warrior is also the chief mechanic of the
Skulkins and maintains all of the vehicles.
Chopov secretly wishes that he, instead of
Bonezai, could get creative and also design
the Skulkins’ super-cool vehicles.
16
 SKULKIN SOLDIERS
BONEHEADED BAD GUYS
Don’t let his
smile fool
you—Bonezai
is a true threat!

NINJA FILE NINJA FILE

Battle-scarred
torso printing
NAME: Bonezai NAME: Krazi
KEY SET: Ninja Ambush KEY SET: Ice Dragon
SET NUMBER: 2258 Attack
YEAR: 2011 SET NUMBER: 2260
YEAR: 2011

Removable
jester’s hat in
red and blue

Helmet with
goggles protects
NINJA FILE
Frakjaw in
battle
NAME: Frakjaw
KEY SET: Lightning
Dragon Battle
SET NUMBER: 2521
YEAR: 2011
Stolen
Shuriken
of Ice

THESE LOW-RANKING Skulkin warriors

might not be in charge, but they all have
special talents. Krazi wears a jester’s hat
and clown makeup to confuse his enemy,
Golden mace while talkative Frakjaw uses chatter as
increases
Frakjaw’s attack a distraction. Bonezai uses his skills to
range when he
launches into his design vehicles for the Skulkins.
Spinjitzu moves
17
 KAI DX
FIRE DRAGON EXTREME
DID YOU
KNOW?
Kai was the first of the
ninja to find and tame his
NINJA FILE
....................... Kai’s hood is
the same as his
dragon. He then helped
his fellow ninja do
orignal 2011
LIKES: Flying fast on Flame training uniform the same.
DISLIKES: Losing dragon
races
FRIENDS: Flame
FOES: The Skulkins
SKILLS: Dragon-whispering
GEAR: Black katana, Sword Golden Fire
Dragon printed
of Fire on robe breathes
the element
of fire
KEY SET: Fire Temple
SET NUMBER: 2507
YEAR: 2011

ELEMENTAL BOND
Kai bonds with this mighty Fire
Dragon. The creature is guardian
of the Fire Temple. Kai names
him Flame—a fitting name for a
creature who is red-hot from
nose to tail!

Fiery head Kai uses a normal

contains katana before
weapons mastering his
launcher inside Golden Weapon
the jaws

KAI MANAGES TO TAME his dragon and

gains DX (Dragon eXtreme) ranking and a
new ninja dragon costume to match. Kai first
enlists the help of his dragon when the ninja
need to travel to the Underworld. Kai is able
to encourage his dragon to use its incredible
speed to fly to Master Wu’s aid.
18
 NINJA DX
DRAGON EXTREME ROBES
Distinctive
eyebrows give
Jay’s identity Removable
away NINJA FILE hood
disguises
Zane’s face

NAME: Zane DX
KEY SET: Ice Dragon
Attack
SET NUMBER: 2260
YEAR: 2011

NINJA FILE
New dark blue
NAME: Jay DX obi sash Ice Dragon
KEY SET: Lightning breathes out
freezing blasts
Dragon Battle of ice
SET NUMBER: 2521
YEAR: 2011

NINJA FILE
DID YOU Scythe of
KNOW? NAME: Cole DX Quakes is
linked to the
All the DX ninja have KEY SET: Earth Dragon Earth element
back printing. Each ninja Defense
has their name and
SET NUMBER: 2509
elemental symbol
on the back of YEAR: 2011
their robes.

EACH NINJA TAMES their dragon Earth Dragon’s

huge scaly tail
differently. Clever Jay invents a dragon-roar is printed on
both legs
amplifier to befriend Wisp, the Lightning
Dragon, but poor Zane initially gets frozen
solid by Shard, the Ice Dragon. Cole has to
overcome his fear of dragons to bond with
the Earth Dragon, who he names Rocky.
19
 SSSEEMSSS
LIKE A SSSTORY I
COULD SSSINK MY
TEETH INTO!
NINJA VS. SERPENTINE
CHAPTER TWO

THE SECOND THREAT the ninja face

comes from the snakelike Serpentine
tribes. If the ninja are to stop the serpents
from taking over Ninjago Island, they must
unlock their True Potential and add a new,
green member to their team!
 LLOYD GARMADON
SON OF LORD GARMADON

NINJA FILE Black-hooded

DID YOU
...................... cloak is
removable KNOW?
LIKES: Causing trouble This 2020 Legacy
DISLIKES: Being left out version of Lloyd has green
eyes and brown eyebrows,
FRIENDS: Serpentine
but the original 2012
FOES: The ninja version had black
SKILLS: Annoying printing for both.
everyone nearby
GEAR: Small dagger

KEY SET: Destiny’s Bounty

(Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 71705
YEAR: 2020

TWO-FACED
Having the most evil
father in all the land
is a difficult legacy
for Lloyd to live up to.
He switches between
playing annoying pranks
Torso printing
and being scared of his designed to
father’s powers—as look like Lord
his face reflects! Garmadon’s chest

Green “5” hints

at Lloyd’s LLOYD GARMADON is not as bad as his
future as the
fifth ninja father, Lord Garmadon. He attends Darkley’s
Boarding School for Bad Boys and is more
interested in candy and practical jokes than
plotting to take over Ninjago Island. Young
Lloyd accidentally releases the Serpentine
tribes and becomes their unlikely leader.
21
 COLE ZX
EARTH ZEN EXTREME

NINJA FILE
Pauldrons do .......................
not feature on LIKES: The open road
every variant
of Cole ZX DISLIKES: Punctures
FRIENDS: Zane
This three-
pronged FOES: Lasha and all snakes
weapon is SKILLS: Driving his Tread
the ultimate
Serpentine Protective Assault vehicle
repellent leather-style
chest plate
GEAR: Golden sai blades

KEY SET: Cole’s Tread

Assault
SET NUMBER: 9444
YEAR: 2012

TOTAL TREAD ASSAULT

Cole’s Tread Assault vehicle first
DID YOU appears to be a typical tank with
KNOW? oversized wheels, in Cole’s
The Serpentine can be traditional black. Underneath the
controlled by sacred flute main body, however, lies green
music. The ninja play camouflage that allows it to sneak
recordings of this up on unsuspecting snakes!
music as a secret
weapon.

THANKS TO HOURS of practice, Cole

has achieved the ZX, or Zen, level of his
ninja training. To mark his new status,
Cole wears silver pauldrons to protect his
upper body. As leader of the ninja, it is
now Cole’s job to help the others develop
their own Zen eXtreme skills.
22
 NINJA ZX
ZEN ATTITUDE, ZEN ATTIRE
Removable ZX
hood with new
gold crown
New robes detail
feature one
arm covered
in protective
silver armor
NINJA FILE
NAME: Kai ZX
KEY SET: Kai’s Blade
Cycle
SET NUMBER: 9441
YEAR: 2012

Pauldron piece
has a slot at Protective
the back that chest plate
can hold two worn over
katana blades red tunic

NINJA FILE NINJA FILE In Hidden Sword

(set 30086),
a variant of
this minifigure
appears without
NAME: Zane ZX golden armor
NAME: Jay ZX
KEY SET: Fangpyre Truck
KEY SET: Epic Dragon
Ambush
Battle
SET NUMBER: 9445
SET NUMBER: 9450
YEAR: 2012
YEAR: 2012

WITH COLE’S HELP, the other ninja soon

achieve Zen eXtreme level. The ninja’s
Zane’s new
new robes show off their new ZX status. robes feature
entwined
The belts, buckles, and other robe details rope belts

are different for each ninja, but they

have all upgraded their old armor and
head pieces for shiny metallic versions!
23
 MASTER WU
CAPTAIN OF DESTINY’S BOUNTY
NINJA FILE
......................
LIKES: Meditating
DISLIKES: Being disturbed
FRIENDS: Reformed
brother Garmadon
FOES: Serpentine
An otherwise
SKILLS: Mastery of identical Wu
Elements and Spinjitzu wears a shinier
hat in Epic
GEAR: Bo staff Dragon Battle
(set 9450) and
Temple of Light
(set 70505)
KEY SET: Destiny’s Bounty
SET NUMBER: 9446
YEAR: 2012

Snake symbols on
robe protect Wu from
evil, snakes, and evil
snakes!

MARK OF A MASTER
A version of Wu with less detailed
robes appears in three 2011 The hem of Wu’s
sets, including Spinjitzu Dojo robe is printed
(set 2504). His black belt indicates on his legs
that he has reached the level
of expert in at least one martial
art—and probably many others!

CALM AND SELF-DISCIPLINED Master Wu

is the perfect teacher. He uses knowledge
from years of training to guide the ninja to
reach the next three levels—ZX (Zen eXtreme),
Kendo, and NRG. In the flying ship Destiny’s
Bounty, he searches for a new ninja base.
Luckily, he doesn’t get sea- or airsick!
24
 PYTHOR P. CHUMSWORTH
LAST OF THE ANACONDRAI

NINJA FILE
......................
LIKES: Evil schemes
Long necks are the
DISLIKES: Getting his Anacondrai’s most
distinctive feature
hands dirty
FRIENDS: Serpentine
minions
FOES: Everyone!
SKILLS: Evil mastermind
GEAR: Serpentine staff,
Fang Blades
DID YOU
KNOW?
KEY SET: Jay’s Storm While imprisoned, the
Anacondrai started eating
Fighter (Legacy)
each other! Pythor ended
SET NUMBER: 70668 up a general with no
YEAR: 2019 followers but a full
stomach!

Winding snake-tail part

first created for
Anacondrai characters
in 2012 Open-mouthed
head with
fangs for
eating friends
and foes alike!

NEVER TRUST A SNAKE

When Pythor finally gets his hands
on all four Fang Blades, he uses
them to release the Great Devourer.
His moment of triumph is short-
lived—the first thing the Great
Devourer does is devour Pythor!
PYTHOR WAS GENERAL of the
Anacondrai, the most feared snake tribe
around. After their imprisonment many
years ago, he is now the tribe’s last
surviving member. Pythor wants all four
Fang Blades so that he can release the
Great Devourer and destroy Ninjago Island.
25
 ACIDICUS
VENOMARI GENERAL

DID YOU
KNOW?
The Venomari tribe’s
toxic venom causes
NINJA FILE terrible hallucinations in its
...................... victims. Acidicus keeps
a vial of anti-venom
Acidicus
has two side
fangs, as
LIKES: Devious weapons in a special staff. well as two
DISLIKES: Venom front fangs
shortages
FRIENDS: Other generals
FOES: Skalidor, at times
SKILLS: Inventive mind
GEAR: Venomari Fang
Blade

KEY SET: Epic Dragon

Battle
SET NUMBER: 9450
YEAR: 2012

All Serpent
Generals
have a snake
tail instead
of legs

ONE OF FOUR
There are four ancient
silver Fang Blades,
one for each of the GENERAL OF THE Venomari, Acidicus is
four large tribes. Each very crafty. He has constructed special vials
blade is filled with the
venom of its tribe. The that the Venomari use to carry extra venom in
Venomari blade has a their combat gear, so they never run out of
gruesome green vial
of venom at its base.
poison in battle. How brilliantly evil! However,
no one knows where clever Acidicus keeps his
own vials—maybe there are pockets in his tail!
26
 VENOMARI TRIBE
VIAL VILLAINS
Fangs are too large
for Spitta’s mouth,
so he is always
dribbling venom!
Distinctive
striped
head
NINJA FILE markings

Long Serpentine NAME: Spitta

scythe contains
a vial of venom KEY SET: Kai’s Blade
Cycle & Zane’s
Snowmobile (Legacy)
SET NUMBER: 70667
YEAR: 2019

Scaly, scarred
torso similar to
other members
of the Venomari
tribe

NINJA FILE
Missing eye
doesn’t stop Lasha
from being the NAME: Lasha
tribe’s best scout
KEY SET: Kai’s Blade NINJA FILE
Cycle & Zane’s
Snowmobile (Legacy)
NAME: Lizaru
SET NUMBER: 70667
KEY SET: Lizaru
YEAR: 2019
SET NUMBER: 9557
YEAR: 2012

THE VENOMARI TRIBE are truly toxic!

This group of swamp-dwelling Serpentine
use vials of their naturally occuring venom
to poison their enemies. Head shape and
size gives an important clue to a Serpent’s
rank in their tribe, from second-in-command
Bandolier
shoulder belt Lizaru, down to junior scout Lasha.
to hold vials
27
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
and every time he gave a particularly fervent bite, the bell rang. I
hope it scared him as much as it did me, but if so, his hunger
triumphed over his fear, for he kept returning to the feast.
On another occasion I was out shooting in a desolate place in
Michigan. I was accompanied by my friend, A. K. Merritt, now
Registrar of Yale College, who will vouch for the truth of the story.
Dusk was falling; there was no wind. We had wandered into a scene
of stagnant desolation. Dead trees had fallen in rotten ruin across
the trail, and the swampy pools were covered with a green mantle of
decay. Merritt was walking in front and I close behind him. The gloom
and depression of the scene in the deepening dusk had affected our
spirits, so that we had not spoken for some time. Suddenly I thought
of the scenery of Browning’s poem, Childe Roland. The lines of that
masterpiece of horror would well describe this place, I thought; and I
began to repeat them in my mind without saying a word aloud. Then
methought there was only one thing needed to make the picture
complete. That was the horrible horse, which in the poem stood
alone and sinister in the gathering night. If that horse were here, I
said to myself, this would indeed be the veritable country of Childe
Roland. Something impelled me to look behind my back, and, to my
unutterable surprise and horror, I found myself looking directly into
the eyes of a forlorn old horse. I let out a yell of sheer uncontrollable
terror.
Merritt was as startled by the yell as I had been by its cause. I
asked him if the horse was really there. It was bad to have him there,
but worse if he were not. Merritt reassured me on that point.
I suppose the poor old horse had been pensioned off by some
farmer, and had silently followed us on the spongy ground, either
because he was lonesome or because he wanted salt. But he gave
me the shock of my life.
I have thought much about it since, and I am unable to
determine whether the appearance of the horse at the precise
moment when I was thinking of him was a coincidence—or was I all
the time subconsciously aware of his presence? That is to say, did
the nearness of the horse, even though I had no conscious
knowledge of it, suggest to my subconscious mind the lines from the
poem? I wish I knew.
 XLII
TRIAL BY JURY

When I was an undergraduate at Yale, we were fortunate in

having as one of our professors Edward John Phelps, who was
unexpectedly appointed minister to England by Grover Cleveland,
and who, after making a fine impression at the Court of St. James—
do you know why it is called that?—returned to his professorship. He
was fond of making general statements, not only concerned with his
specialty, the law, but on anything that rose to the surface of his
mind; so that to take his course was in itself a liberal education.
I well remember his beginning one lecture by saying
emphatically, “Trial by jury is a good thing which has outlived its
usefulness.”
I believe that when he made that statement, he spoke the truth.
If it was true then, it is certainly true now; nothing has happened
since to improve the situation, or to make jury trials fairer or less
expensive to the state. In America, we have two pieces of obsolete
machinery—the electoral college and trial by jury. When I began
university teaching, one of my freshman pupils made the only
interesting contribution to the workings of the electoral college that I
have ever seen. I gave out as a theme subject, “The Electoral
College,” and the first theme handed in opened with this sentence
—“I do not believe in the Electoral College.” Well, neither did I, so
thus far I agreed with my pupil; I read the next sentence to get his
reasons; it was the next sentence that contained the original
contribution to the subject, “The trouble is,” wrote the freshman, “that
in the Electoral College everybody chooses snap courses.”
 Now the original idea on which the scheme of trial by jury was
founded was as good as human ingenuity could devise. Any person
accused of anything involving legal punishment was to be tried by a
jury of his peers—twelve average, common-sensible, fair-minded
men, who, after hearing all the evidence and the pleas of the
lawyers, would bring in a verdict, which presumably would be in
accordance with the facts, and therefore just. But in the course of
time, although human nature has not changed, circumstances have,
and it is difficult to avoid today the conclusion that the chief
qualification for a member of a jury is that he should not be fit to
serve. Unfitness is the only fitness. Anyone who has an opinion is
barred; in order therefore for one to be eligible he must be one who
knows little of the world in which he lives and who is curiously
insensitive to what everybody is talking about. In a recent editorial in
the New Haven Journal-Courier, the point is well made.

An intelligent man even with prejudice would appear to be a

better person to entrust the decision of life or death with, after
the presentation of the evidence and the interpretation of it by
counsel and the judge’s charge, than an ignorant person who
knows too little of current life to form any opinions whatever
upon any subject.

Furthermore, it frequently happens that after a trial lasting for

months the jury disagree, making another trial necessary, and
involving an enormous waste of public money. There ought to be
some better way of reaching a decision.
Then the very fact that the members of a jury are apt to be below
rather than above the average person in intelligence, makes them
particularly susceptible to emotional response when skilfully handled
by a clever criminal lawyer. Only a short time ago a jealous woman
deliberately murdered her husband and the woman she suspected,
although neither then nor at any time were they caught in a
compromising situation; at the trial the evidence certainly looked
black because it was all against the murderess. She was, however,
an attractive physical specimen. Her lawyer stood her up in front of
the jury, put his arm around her, and defiantly asked the jury if they
were going to put to death this beautiful woman whose only offence
was that she was a defender of the ideals of the home, American
ideals. Should she, who stood so nobly and resolutely for family
purity, be slaughtered? The jury acquitted her.
Furthermore, jury verdicts, instead of being in accordance with
the evidence and with the law, are often determined by local
sentiment. I remember two events in America at the same time, only
in widely separated parts of our country. In the first instance, a
husband who had for some time suspected his wife, happened to
stumble upon the unmistakable proof of guilt; in a transport of rage,
he killed his man. He was convicted of murder in the first degree, but
the death sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life. He is in
prison now. In the second instance, a husband hearing that his wife
had gone to a hotel with another man, deliberately armed himself,
went thither and killed both. The local jury instantly acquitted him,
and he was a popular hero.
I do not believe in capital punishment, and should like to see it
abolished. But its sole merit, acting as a deterrent to crime, can be
realised only in a country like England, where trials are conducted
with absolute formality, where a decision is speedily reached, and
where the verdict of guilty is speedily followed by execution. In the
United States the murderer is too often a romantic hero, and has a
long career as a great actor, whether or not he is convicted.
It seems to me that the best judges of any case are those who
by education and training are best qualified to judge. It is significant
that in Connecticut the prisoner may now choose to be tried by three
professional judges rather than by twelve incompetent men. In a
recent famous instance the prisoner did make that choice.
Too often a public trial by jury becomes a public scandal; of
greater harm to the community and to the state than the crime of
which the prisoner is accused.
Mark Twain said: “We have a criminal jury system which is
superior to any in the world; and its efficiency is only marred by the
difficulty of finding twelve men every day who don’t know anything
and can’t read.”
 XLIII
ATHLETICS

The whole world, with the exception of India, China, Siberia and
a few other countries, has gone wild over athletics. Although new
stadiums and amphitheatres are in process of construction
everywhere, it is impossible to accommodate the crowds. Millions of
people have apparently the money and the time to devote to these
spectacular contests, and many more millions “listen in” on the radio.
In England last June Wimbledon was not half large enough to hold
the frantic crowd that wished to see the tennis matches; the same is
true of France. At a recent wrestling contest in Austria, after all the
seats were taken, the gates were broken down by the mob of
spectators who wished to enter; about 150,000 people saw a prize
fight in Chicago and it is significant of the times that the only vacant
seats were the cheapest.
Every newspaper devotes an immense amount of space to
sporting news; and all the leading daily journals employ a highly paid
staff of experts on sports, who keep the public agog with excitement
before every contest and who endeavour to satisfy its curiosity after
the battle is over.
Now there are some pessimistic philosophers who look upon all
this athletic fever as a sign of degeneration, as evidence of the
coming eclipse of civilisation. They point out that during the decay of
the Roman Empire there was a universal excitement over sports,
and they draw the inference that European and American civilisation
is headed toward disaster.
No one can read the future, although innumerable fakers are
paid for doing so. But it is at least possible that the ever-growing
interest in athletics, instead of being a sign of degeneration, is in
reality one more proof of the gradual domination of the world by
Anglo-Saxon language, customs and ideas.
Extreme interest in athletics, though it cannot be defended on
strictly rational grounds, is not necessarily accompanied by a lack or
loss of interest in intellectual matters. If one had to name the place
and the time when civilisation reached its climax, one might well
name Athens in the fifth century before Christ. If one compares
Athenian public interest in the tragedies of Sophocles with New York
public interest in musical comedy, the contrast is not flattering to
American pride. Yet that intellectual fervour in Athens was
accompanied by a tremendous interest in track athletics. Every
Greek city was a separate state; their only bond of union was the
track meet held every four years and called the Olympic Games, to
which the flower of youth from every Greek town contributed; and the
winner of each event—a simon-pure amateur, receiving as prize only
a laurel wreath—was a hero for at least four years.
From the strictly rational point of view it is impossible to defend
or even to explain the universal ardour over athletics, but it is best to
regard it as a fact, and then see what its causes are.
The majority of Anglo-Saxons have always had sporting blood,
and the Latin races are now being infused with it. I well remember a
train journey near Chicago during the darkest days of the World War.
We were all awaiting the newspapers. Suddenly a newsboy entered
and we bought eagerly. The man sitting next to me was a clergyman
in Episcopal uniform. He looked not at the front part of the paper, but
turned feverishly to the sporting page, which he read carefully. When
I called on the Very Reverend Dean of Rochester Cathedral, in
England, Dean Hole, I was shown into a room containing several
thousand books. I glanced over these and all I saw dealt exclusively
with sport.
Many excellent men without sporting blood have protested
against the domination of athletics. The famous English novelist,
Wilkie Collins, published a novel, Man and Wife, which was a protest
against the British love of sports, in which both athletes and the
public were ridiculed. Why should thousands pay money to see two
men run a race? What difference did it make to civilisation which
man won?
Yet, although it is easy to overdo excitement about athletics, the
growing interest in sport which has been so characteristic of France,
Germany and Italy during the last ten years is a good thing for the
youth of these countries and for their national and international
temper.
Years ago, the space occupied in England and in America by
fields devoted to various outdoor sports was in Germany and France
used for public gardens, where people sat and drank liquor while
listening to a band or watching some vaudeville. When I first
travelled on the Continent, I found only one tennis court and that was
at Baden-Baden. Today one finds everywhere in France and
Germany tennis courts, golf links and football fields.
It is surely not a change for the worse that a German student
who used to test his physical endurance by the number of quarts of
beer he could drink at a sitting tests it today in tennis, rowing and
football, and that the French students with silky beards, who used to
strain their eyes looking at women, now, clean-shaven and alert, are
looking at the tennis ball.
It is, of course, irrational to take an eager interest in a prize fight,
but if you have sporting blood you cannot help it. My father was an
orthodox Baptist minister. As I had never heard him mention prize
fighting, I supposed he took no interest in it.
But the day after a famous battle, as I was reading aloud the
newspaper to him, I simply read the headline, “Corbett Defeats
Sullivan,” and was about to pass on to something important when my
father leaned forward and said earnestly, “Read it by rounds.”
 XLIV
A PRIVATE LIBRARY ALL YOUR OWN

A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated

with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must
see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your
roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot
turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And then, some
day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it.
But your own books belong to you; you treat them with that
affectionate intimacy that annihilates formality. Books are for use, not
for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or
afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down. A good
reason for marking favourite passages in books is that this practice
enables you to remember more easily the significant sayings, to refer
to them quickly, and then in later years, it is like visiting a forest
where you once blazed a trail. You have the pleasure of going over
the old ground, and recalling both the intellectual scenery and your
own earlier self.
Everyone should begin collecting a private library in youth; the
instinct of private property, which is fundamental in human beings,
can here be cultivated with every advantage and no evils. One
should have one’s own bookshelves, which should not have doors,
glass windows, or keys; they should be free and accessible to the
hand as well as to the eye. The best of mural decorations is books;
they are more varied in colour and appearance than any wall-paper,
they are more attractive in design, and they have the prime
advantage of being separate personalities, so that if you sit alone in
the room in the firelight, you are surrounded with intimate friends.
The knowledge that they are there in plain view is both stimulating
and refreshing. You do not have to read them all. Most of my indoor
life is spent in a room containing six thousand books; and I have a
stock answer to the invariable question that comes from strangers.
“Have you read all of these books?” “Some of them twice.” This reply
is both true and unexpected.
There are of course no friends like living, breathing, corporeal
men and women; my devotion to reading has never made me a
recluse. How could it? Books are of the people, by the people, for
the people. Literature is the immortal part of history; it is the best and
most enduring part of personality. But book-friends have this
advantage over living friends; you can enjoy the most truly
aristocratic society in the world whenever you want it. The great
dead are beyond our physical reach, and the great living are usually
almost as inaccessible; as for our personal friends and
acquaintances, you cannot always see them. Perchance they are
asleep, or away on a journey. But in a private library, you can at any
moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeare or Carlyle or
Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Barrie or Galsworthy. And there is no
doubt that in these books you see these men at their best. They
wrote for YOU. They “laid themselves out,” they did their ultimate
best to entertain you, to make a favourable impression. You are
necessary to them as an audience is to an actor; only instead of
seeing them masked, you look into their inmost heart of heart. The
“real Charles Dickens” is in his novels, not in his dressing-room.
Everyone should have a few reference books, carefully selected,
and within reach. I have a few that I can lay my hands on without
leaving my chair; this is not because I am lazy, but because I am
busy.
One should own an Authorised Version of the Bible in big type, a
good one-volume dictionary, the one-volume Index and Epitome to
the Dictionary of National Biography, a one-volume History of
England and another of the United States, Ryland’s Chronological
Outlines of English Literature, Whitcomb’s Chronological Outlines of
American Literature, and other works of reference according to one’s
special tastes and pursuits. These reference books should be, so far
as possible, up to date.
 The works of poets, dramatists, novelists, essayists, historians,
should be selected with care, and should grow in number in one’s
private library from the dawn of youth to the day of death.
First editions are an expensive luxury, but are more interesting to
the average mind than luxurious bindings. When you hold in your
hand a first edition of the seventeenth century, you are reading that
book in its proper time-setting; you are reading it as the author’s
contemporaries read it; maybe your copy was handled by the author
himself. Furthermore, unless you have paid too much for it, it is
usually a good investment; it increases in value more rapidly than
stocks and shares, and you have the advantage of using it. It is great
fun to search book-catalogues with an eye to bargains; it is exciting
to attend an auction sale.
But of course most of us must be content to buy standard
authors, living and dead, in modern editions. Three qualities are well
to bear in mind. In getting any book, get the complete edition of that
book; not a clipped, or condensed, or improved or paraphrased
version. Second, always get books in black, clear, readable type.
When you are young, you don’t mind; youth has the eyes of eagles.
But later, you refuse to submit to the effort—often amounting to pain
—involved in reading small type, and lines set too close together.
Third, get volumes that are light in weight. It is almost always
possible to secure this inestimable blessing in standard authors.
Some books are so heavy that to read them is primarily a gymnastic,
rather than mental exercise; and if you travel, and wish to carry them
in your bag or trunk, they are an intolerable burden. Refuse to submit
to this. There was a time when I could tell, merely by “hefting” it,
whether a book had been printed in England or in America; but
American publishers have grown in grace, and today many American
books are easy to hold.
Some books must be bought in double column; but avoid this
wherever possible, and buy such books only when economy makes
it necessary to have the complete works of the author in one volume.
A one-volume Shakespeare is almost a necessity; but it should be
used for reference, as we use a dictionary, never for reading. Get
Shakespeare in separate volumes, one play at a time. It is better to
have some of an author’s works in attractive form, than to have them
complete in a cumbrous or ugly shape.
Remember that for the price of one ticket to an ephemeral
entertainment, you can secure a book that will give strength and
pleasure to your mind all your life. Thus I close by saying two words
to boys and girls, men and women: BUY BOOKS.
 XLV
THE GREATEST COMMON DIVISOR

Some distinguished novelists are like lofty peaks. Few ascend

them and those who do breathe rarefied air. There are writers whose
fame is apparently secure who have never had many readers, and
there are writers who have an enormous public and no fame. George
Meredith and Henry James were men of genius, and there will
always be enough people of taste to save some of their books from
oblivion; but neither of these authors made much money. Both
Meredith and James would have liked to have a million readers;
perhaps it is to their credit that they made no compromises to
increase the sales of their works, perhaps they could not have
succeeded in such an undertaking had they tried.
While in the long run it is popularity that determines a writer’s
fame—not only Shakespeare, but every first rate English poet has
today many thousands of readers—there are also “trashy” books
which sell like gasolene, and there are trashy books which do not
sell at all. It is a comforting thought that the majority of trashy books
have a smaller sale than masterpieces, and that the best book ever
written has had, has, and will have the largest sale of all.
It won’t do to prefer posterity to popularity; posterity is more cruel
to the average writer than are his contemporaries. Shakespeare was
the most popular Elizabethan dramatist; Ben Jonson, the foremost
press agent of his time, said that his friend Shakespeare had
surpassed all the writers of Greece and Rome, which was exactly
what John Dryden, the foremost press agent of his time, said of his
contemporary, Milton. Gray’s Elegy, Byron’s Childe Harold,
Tennyson’s In Memoriam, Kipling’s Recessional, were popular two
weeks after their publication, and they are popular now. In the long
run the best books have the largest sales.
In every age, however, there are certain novelists of prodigious
vogue, whose works nevertheless are to readers of good taste
negligible. The common people read them gladly and the Scribes
and Pharisees regard them with scorn. When our high school
teachers and junior college professors wish to relieve their systems
of accumulated bile, they pour out before their sceptical pupils bitter
denunciations of Harold Bell Wright, the late Gene Stratton Porter
and Zane Grey. They try to persuade their flocks that the books by
these writers are not interesting; but the flocks know that they are,
and instead of despising these novelists, they lose confidence in
their instructors.
Far be it from me to pretend that Mr. Wright and Mr. Grey are
literary artists, or to enter the lists as a champion of their works.
What I have read of them has not left me with an insatiable appetite
for more. But here is a fact of interest to students of books and of
human nature—of the “works” of Porter and of Wright over nine
million copies have been sold, and as we rate five readers to every
copy, each of these two worthies has an audience of forty-five million
readers. What does this mean? Many will say it means that the
public loves trash. I don’t believe it; the majority of books are trash,
and the majority of books do not sell. Some critics and some
unsuccessful writers say that they could write just the same sort of
thing if they would stoop to it; I don’t believe it. The financial rewards
of popularity are so great that many writers would produce tales of
adventure if they were sure of a million readers.
It is possible that boys and girls read these books because of
their good qualities rather than because of their defects. Why is it
that these authors are Greatest Common Divisors? Why do they
make the largest appeal to the largest number of people?
Well, in the first place they are novelists, and the foremost of
recent novelists, Thomas Hardy, says that the novel should tell a
story. The average school-boy knows that a book by Wright, Porter
or Grey will have a good story. The majority of our novelists either
will not or can not tell a story. All they have is a time-plot, beginning
with the smells the baby had in his cradle, of no interest to any one
except the novelist, going on with his fights and loves at school, etc.,
etc. Most people are like the Sultan in the Arabian Nights, they love
a good story; Wright, Porter and Grey furnish it. The lives of most
boys and girls are not romantic or unusual; in the novel they get an
escape from life, a change of air, a vacation; and there is nothing
boys love more than a vacation. Again, however deficient in conduct
boys and girls may be, they instinctively love courage, honour, truth,
beauty, magnanimity; the novels of the Terrible Three all work for
righteousness. In the eternal conflict between good and evil, these
Greatest Common Divisors are on the right side; even if they do not
know much about style, or much about psychology, or much about
subtlety of motive, they do know the difference between right and
wrong, something that some much bepraised novelists seem to have
forgotten or to think unimportant.
I do not believe the majority of supercilious critics and other
cultivated mature readers began in early youth by reading great
books exclusively; I think they read Jack Harkaway, and Old Sleuth,
and the works of Oliver Optic and Horatio Alger. From these
enchanters they learned a thing of importance—the delight of
reading. Once having learned that having found that a book, easily
procurable, is the key to happy recreation, they obtained a never-
failing resource of happiness.
A similar thing is observable in poetry. If a boy learns to love
highly exciting narrative poetry, or pretty sentiments set to easy
tunes, it is more probable that he will later love great poetry than if
he never caught the lilt of words in youth.
Nothing that I have said is at variance with one of my oft-
expressed beliefs—those parents who are not only interested in the
welfare of their children, but are capable of setting them a good
example, do not need to use the Greatest Common Divisor so often.
They can by sympathetic intercourse with their children, and by
patience, bring them up from the start on the Bible, Shakespeare,
Bunyan, Swift, Defoe and other writers of genius; but a large number
of boys and girls come to our schools from uncultivated homes, and
from parents who are stupid, or selfish, or silly; these children must
learn the magic of books, and it is my belief that the makers of
exciting stories, with sentiment laid on thick, with heroes and
heroines who are brave, honourable and virtuous are performing a
public service.
 XLVI
THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME

Baseball is American in its origin, development and area. It is

also American in its dynamic qualities of speed and force, and in the
shortness of time required to play a full game and reach a decision.
Americans do not love serial games like cricket; in literature they are
better at writing short stories than at novels, and they enjoy games
where a verdict is soon reached.
Looking back over the history of this national pastime, I can
remember when the pitcher was allowed nine balls before losing his
man, and one year in the last century it took four strikes to retire the
batsman. I can also remember when a foul ball caught on the first
bound was “out,” when a foul tip—often successfully imitated by
clever catchers—was “out,” and I played the game many years
before an uncaught foul was a strike. In order to have a wider radius
for fouls, the catcher used to stand far back, moving up behind the
bat only after the second strike, or when bases had the tenancy of
opponents. Every advance in the rules has been in the direction of
speed; and at present the game seems unimprovable.
Nearly every game has some inherent defect; as putting is sixty-
five per cent of golf, so pitching is sixty-five per cent of baseball.
Moral: Be a good putter, and see that your nine has a good pitcher.
Pitching seems to be a greater physical and mental strain than in
the last century, although the box artist does not pitch so many balls
in the average game as he used to. In spite of that fact, Radbourne
of Providence, who was the greatest professional pitcher I ever saw,
won the national championship for his team in 1884 by pitching
every day for a long period. And his team-mate, the late John M.
Ward, who afterwards joined New York, told me that in 1879 he
pitched sixty-six consecutive games! The universal disease of
nerves, from which no twentieth century American is exempt, is
probably responsible for the more careful treatment of pitchers today.
On July 23, 1884, the Providence club, then in the National
league, was crippled for pitchers. Radbourne went into the box from
that date until September 26 when he had won the National league
pennant, daily, except August 2, 18, 20. He pitched thirty-six games
during that period, twenty-two on consecutive days, and winning
eighteen. Of the thirty-six, he won thirty-one, lost four, and tied one.
Tim Keefe in 1888 broke Radbourne’s record for straight games
won, by winning nineteen, and Marquard in 1912 equalled Keefe’s.
Next to Radbourne comes Joe Wood, with sixteen straight, won in
1912.
Radbourne’s total feat for the 1884 season of pitching seventy-
seven games (seventy-four National league championships and
three world series, winning three straight in the world series—no
other pitcher was used) is another record that stands.
The greatest baseball player of all time is Tyrus Raymond Cobb,
of Georgia. He not only holds an unexampled batting record, his
speed in the outfield was so great that he was moved from right to
centre, and in his base-running it is not much to say that he raised
the art to a higher plane. Ordinarily, the best of players was content
to steal second, but if Cobb saw that the ball was not going to beat
him to the second bag, he kept right on to third. The bewildered
second baseman, who naturally had a psychological caesura when
the attempted play failed, had to begin all over again in order to
catch his parting guest at third. And, flustered as he was by the
sheer audacity of the thing, he was apt to be wild. Cobb capitalised
his reputation; he knew the basemen were all “laying for him,” and
owing to that curse which has always afflicted humanity, which
makes it more difficult to do a thing in proportion to one’s desire to
do it, they found it more of a task to retire Cobb than to retire anyone
else. If they had not known it was Cobb, they could have got him. Mr.
Cobb told me once that it was largely a matter of mind reading; he
had to out-guess his opponents, he had to know what they were
going to do. Certainly his stealing of bases has been phenomenal;
he would steal first base if he could.
His ambitious, fiery, high-strung disposition, which is largely
responsible for his success, has also caused him to lose his temper
on the field. This is regrettable, and of course, must be punished.
And yet I have some sympathy for these lapses, and do not
condemn them unqualifiedly as some colder judges do. The anxiety
to win is what enrages a player when things go wrong, and I fully
understand it though I recognise its sinfulness. Although I myself
was very carefully brought up by a pious father and mother, and
although I had the unspeakable advantage of being a Yale graduate,
I once threw a bat at an umpire when he called me out on strikes. In
order to atone for this sin, I have often—like Doctor Johnson—stood
unprotected in the rain, when I had no umbrella.
The greatest baseball pitcher in Yale’s history was Amos Alonzo
Stagg, of the class of 1888. He won the championship over both
Harvard and Princeton five successive years, pitching in every
championship game. He headed the batting order, was a fine base-
runner, and in minor games, played behind the bat, on the bases and
in the outfield. He knew baseball thoroughly. He never had great
speed, or wide curves; but he had marvellous control and a memory
that was uncanny. If a batsman faced him once, Stagg never forgot
him, and thereafter never gave that batsman anything he wanted.
Carter, of the class of ’95, was a great pitcher and all-round ball
player, as different in other respects from Stagg as could well be
imagined. Stagg was very short; Carter was six foot four. Carter had
blinding speed with tremendous curves. But if you compare his
record of championships with that of his predecessor, you will see
why I rate him second to Stagg. These two men, are, I think, Yale’s
foremost box heroes.
Baseball is not so spectacular as football, but in one respect it
has a great advantage over its more lusty rival. Everyone sees what
happens in baseball; the spectator sees every play, and he knows
instantly the reason for every success and every failure. In football