Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-02-03
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher on Rational
AmusementS.

up OF antagOnlStlc forces, the result of
opposing tendencies. Society, there
fore, is always on the tide; men swing
back and forth. Ride any truth as
far as you will and there will always
be another truth to oppose it. Every
truth has its opposite truth, and be
cause a truth is opposed by another
it does not follow that that which Op-
poses is untrue. He touched upon the
tendencies of human life; the trouble
is one of these is pushed too exclusive
ly; it holds in allegiance some other
tendency, and n reaction, which is
better called a cOunter-actiOn, takes
place. Men tire of fineness, and
hunger for coarse grain. Moral senti-
ments are carried too far, and you can
carry them to far. Heresy is the le-
gitimate child of orthodoxy. He
showed the different classes in society
their needs, etc. The old are 90 one
side and the young on the other. The
new cOmers will have their own way.
To-day gaiety was in the ascendant,
and fashion, in brilliant rags and tat
tiers, bewitched society. Tomorrow
came n rebound, and religion was the
fashion; then after time miTth came
balNA eA-~alAAls anu llltlA AOAEOA W bt W Is
in the struggle TO be happy. There
was n laugh lying latent under the
lips of the sOberest man, and tear
under the joyous eye. His PROPOSE
ton was to wed mirth to morality.
He defined amusement to be the
whole art of extracting pleasure in
life, as an element of happiness.
Pleasure for its own sake is self-in-
diligence. Some say by following
duty happiness will come of itself.
The.e by no means express the solid
truth. There are some men who find
pleasurable excitement in business.
Amusement is the prerogative of the
busy man. The popular impression of
the word amusement needs to be cor
rected. Theaters are not amusements.
He would have men understand the
whole act of extracting pleasure from
life - the element of happiness.
Amusements stretch up from the mere
pleasures of the body to the highest
moral sentiment. A certain degree
of happiness is as necessary to the
body as is fOOd-it is a part of the di-
vine provision for life and health.
The happy man may not be virtU-
GUS man, but he is more likely to be.
Without the stimulant of pleasure
in some form the senses of the body
grow languid, the heart enfeebled,
and the whole nervous system lowered
in tone and weakened in friction.
Health is one of the tokens of obedi-
ence to the divine law. As n general
rule men must be happy if they are to
be healthy. The physical form is ere
ated with this need ; the appetite for
food is not more normal than the ap-
petite for pleasure. Some physiolO-
gists go so far as to claim that the
body needs stimulants-nOtO of a phys
ical but of an artificial kind; and you
may be sure if social amusements are
not provided these artificial kinds will
he used in place of the other. In the
countries of Europe where the people
dance most, they drink the least. In
the way people are brought up many
do not know the difference between
animal lstimulantsandr rational amuse-
ment. Life cannot be eeOnomized or
augmented without wholesome enjoy
ment. Healthful amusements econ
OmiZe and promote industry.
No man can work without amuse-
ment. Men languish and then pray
!Or strength. Many robust men re-
gard amusement with contempt; il
would be time enough to be amused
when their fortune was made. He
spoke of work as q brain power, and
alluded to that class of business men
who arc tied down TO their business
cares, and never have rational amuse-
ment. By and by you will see them
nibbling a Graham cracker and ask
ing a doctor, in spite of the Scripture
Injunction, What shall l eat and
what shall | drink? Let tacOmmercial
revulsion come, when all their en-
ergies are needed, and where are they?
Some of them have sOftening of the
brain, and perish in a mad house.
If they had not been soft in the first
place, their brain would not have
troubled them. Every community
mas its tail of business men hanging
on behind men who hold back
against all rational enjoyment. If
Young man wears himself away by
excessive dissipation, everybody
knows it and he is talked about, but
let a man ignore all amusement and
on that account die, and he will be
buried under the sod with honor.
AIluSEllltlltS dlC lAAE NNAN NOuhNNA-
pOise of care, and one of its deadliest
enemies. a gentle measure of care
rouses every function excessive care
wastes the life by over stimulation.
Men who work and whistle, and wO-
men who work and sing, will live
long. The face of care is as thin and
sharp as sandpaper. Excessive care
turns a man into a pin, big at the
head, slender at the middle, and sharp
at the point; it makes woman like
a needle-all eye, making everything
stronger than itself. Whoever shall
sIay care, wounds death. Amuse-
ments well taken promote the kindly
fellowship of men in society. They
tell us that the world is a stage of prep
aration for another. Is il then a
school house where the children are
always glad when vacation comes,
and leave behind them only barren
seats? The gospel is not like wreck
er's boat that goes out to grasp as
many as possible before the ship goes
down. To safely get out and safely
across the world is not mans business;
it is every mans duty to make the
grounds of the world more beautiful.
To neglect the welfare of the world to
save your own soul is a piece of pitiful
cowardice! Yet some say our duty in
the world is to get out off
Whatever made society more beau
tiful was directly prOmOtive of relig-
ion in the church. What made the
world what it ought to be, but relig-
ion in society? a church that was
good inside, and good for nothing out,
was good for nOthing-whO cared for
it, 4 greenhouse was a good thing
in winter, but il didn't change the
climate. What men wanted was not
charming churches, but summer
cheer, smiles, cheerfulness, happiness,
out-breaking joyfulness and merri-
ment. For this end amusements
were important. 1t was the business
of enjoyment to take off the care and
strife of the real business of life. En-
tertainments which brought men to-
gether and tended to make them hap
py, promoted charity, good will and
amibility. The more we knew men
the fewer saints we should find, but a
great deal more of a better class of sim
ners than we supposed.
He would not detract from national
sobriety, but would add to natural
mirth. Men have not yet learned
how to be amused, particularly in
America. EurOpe is emInently be-
fore It's in answering the question
how to be amused. 1t is not pleasure
as some insist, that has degraded Eu-
Il l..