Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1858-07-29

and rsjoicings." And Ripley, referring, to the
same passage, says that 'music and dancing"
were the usual accomplishments Of festivity in the
East. Even the dancing Of Herodias' daughter,
OF Herod's feast, shows how it WAS employed a.
mone the Jews. Our opponents definition Of the
dances of our day, as distinguished from those
recorded 10 Scripture, is, that they sare given IN
honor of some person or event &c." Now. does
not the "msking merry" spoken of BY Christ in
the parable of the "Prodigal Son." Luke 1923
-25) accord exactly with this definition? was
not the Emusic and dancing" on that occasion
employed in honor Of "a person and An event ?"
The person was the "Prodigal." the event was his
return.
81 find the popular dances Of our day" says
thiswriter on dancing, 'chsracterized blythe Greek
word komoi,. On this point he is evidently in
rror. The word komoi, is usedinR Romans 10: Is,
Gal. 5:21, and 1st Peter 4:3; in the first IN
stance it is translated ''riodng, and in the other
two, 'revelings )" in all Of these cases, reference
was made to tire dissoluteuess,. wautonness and
debaucbery, that hsd difused themselves through
out the Roman Empire during its decline. 1t was
at this epoch that the Apostles lived. and these
were the practices that they condemned. Komois
is a much more comprehensive word than ''dan
ces'' as we understand them. The dance Of our
day, Is properly characterized by the Greek words
choro, and orchdsis; and to illustrate the use Of
these words we have only to refer to Mat. 1l:l
and Luke IS 25; in the first passage the words.
shave danced are expressed by the Greek word
orcha,asthe. a variation Of the verb orcheonai, to
dance, not komadso, to revel; in the second, 'dan-
cine." is expressed by the Greek word ehoronfrom
Oh oreuo, to dance. Both Of these words nre dis
tinct from komoi,.. 30 that in eudeavoring to
place the "dances Of our day under the ban of
holy writ, he has reckoned without his host.
One remark more, and we have DONE. It is
unnecessary for the advocates Of dancing to de.
fend themselves from the charges of '1ascivious.
ness, riotins, drunkenness, reveling Ind such
like: :" charges which are as uufounded as they
are uncalled for. Dancing has been pracaced IN
every age Of the, world but it was reserved for
the learning and enlightenment Of this fifty eighth
year of the nineteenth century; to make the ss.
founding discovery that the Apostles had reference
to our dances for simple amusement and recrea.
ton. when they denounced. ''wsntouusss; lust,
abomiuahie idolatry &C.. &c." We utterly repu.
date the idea that a company Of ladies and gen.
tlemen in this: enlightened age, cannot assemble
for the purpose Of rational amusement, without
conducting themselves like Bacchsnals and Cory.
bantes. -,
With these remarks We desire to close this con-
troversy. Our opponent has hitherto shown such
an aversion tn "facing the music" that we enter
terrain very little hope Of his doing so in future,-
For our W satisfaction. we have endeavored to
follow him in the hayward and c~optortsd course,
which he has chosen to pursue in this discussion,
but we must acknowledge: that we much prefer
n more direc. road to the attainment Of trnfh.
sCoMUs.