Mercy

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the helpless gladiator would live. was granted only to those who had fought well, and their reward was that they would be allowed to fight another day. However, if the spectators had extended their hands with their thumbs pointed towards the ground, the victorious gladiator was ordered to kill his opponent. One source describes the judgment handed down by the spectators:
According to the most common tradition, when a gladiator had overpowered his opponent, he turned to the spectators. If they wished to spare the defeated man, they waved their handkerchiefs; to indicate that he should be killed, they turned down their thumbs. (Gladiator Combat).
, in this situation, was something that had to be earned. Only the strong survived, there was no sympathy for the weak; those who could not compete did not deserve .
On the baseball field, is thought of as more of a punishment. A “” would signify the end of the game. According to the rules of amateur baseball, “If a team is leading by ...

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