The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1869-04-30
"To Dye or not 70 Dye"
Br HENRY WARD DEEcHER.

BY HENRY WARD DEECHER.
We like to receive letters from readers
of the Ledger asking questions on matters
of taste or propriety. Hundreds Of qucs-
tions of right and duty, Of policy or prin-
ciple, arise In daily life, In relation to
things so simple or minute that they arc
not considered stately enough for SER
mon, or important enough for newspa-
per; and yet they have power to vex or to
comfort men. The continuous comfort
of daily life depends upon wisdom In
small things.
without disparaging the great truths OF
society, It may be said that men need full
rs much instruction and help In the sphere
of minor morals, rs they do In the matter
Of fundamental principles. Those who
writb us letters of inquiry must be patient
Onelby one, In due time, VIC hope to re-
ply to all questions that, In our Judgment,
really need an answer.
We print to-day letter verbatim, ex-
cept the address and signature:
"A friend of mine, who read your arti-
Gle IN the New York Ledger about the be-
ginning to use tobacco, says, "Oh that
Mr.. Beecher would write about the use OF
HaffDyes and Restorcrs." He wishes to
know your opinion rs to the morality OF
the thing. Is 1t right, say for man not
vet forty.flye years OF age, who Is begin
ming TO grow gray. yes. white, to use Hair
Dive nj all? Does not God make the hair
black or gray? Ought he not to wear 1t
rs Il grows! But then certainly IL Is right
to take care of your personal appearance.
and look as well rs you can. and man OF
forty don't want to appear like u man OF
seventy or eighty.
Mr.. Beecher, do answer this inquiry In
the N. Y. Ledger. Shall begin to use
Hair Dyer"
II the question had been as to the ma.
ture of hair dyes, We should have replied
promptly, that perhaps onc-third OF them
are unsafe, being compounds Of poisonous
ingredients, which are absorbed by the
skin, to the detrimcnt of health; another
third arc useless stuff, doing neither good
nor harm; the remainder have some mer-
II, but are apt to be dlsagreeablc In odor,
or inconvcnient In application. The
most unexpected and ludicrous results
have followed their use. We know OF
some extraordinary results of color from
the use of hair dyes.
But the questioner asks our "opinion as
to the morality Of the thing" That Is an
other matter. We do not think that 1t lies
In the sphere of morality at all. 1t Is a
mere matter of taste, and every man has
a right to his own liberty, whether to dye
or not to dye. But 1t is asked:
"Does not God make the hair black or
gray?'
God does It, to be sure; but In no other
sense than He gives collie after cucum-
bers, indigestion after excessive eating,
constipation after sedcntary habits, rheu-
matism after exposure to cold and mois-
turc, and premature age to men who have
oyertaxcd themselves. Does anybody
think 1t wrong to take medicine, as II 1t
were an interference with Divine Provi-
dcncc? Still more pat is the question,
"Ought he not to wear 1t as 1t growsy'
How about cutting Il, then? Has he n
right to meddlc with natures length Of
hair, but not with her color? Is 1t wrong
to comb and part the hair? lfnaturc Is
to be strictly followed, how sinful the race
has become by wearing clothes! No man
was ever born with trowscrs on.
There Is a vast deal of nonsense spring.
Ing frsm incorrect notions OF Nature.
Men are born into life with pow
or and faculties susceptible Of in
definite development. The results to
which education brings men arc rs really
n part Of Nature, rs are the faculties
themselves. An acorn Is no nearer to Ma
ture, than Is the oak tree that springs from
1t. A gardener may by skill and patience
produce results In vine which would new
er have been reached, II It had been let
alone. But no gardener has power TO do
more than to develop what God has stored
up In the vine. The susceptibility to de-
velopmcnt Is part Of Nature.
II education has been wisely conducted,
men and societies Of men are more natu-
raj In a highly civilized state, than they
were In their savage condition.
Men talk OF conforming their diet to ma
turei What Is naturci Where Is her bill
OF farcr Is the first thing which child
eats any more natural than Is the affcr
food of the adult?
Are not the conveniences and refine
ments OF life rs really natural rs the rude
and vulgar habits Of barbarians9 He Is
the nearest nature who pushes tho farthest
away from the seed form In which he be-
gan. Otherwise, education Is . crime
against nature.
But let us get back to hair dye. II q
man Is young, and from some peculiarly
Of constitution, or by reason OF sickness,
Is prematurcly gray, whether he shall dye
his hair or not Is matter Of his own. II