The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-01-13

lecture delivered in the Methodist church al
uicns FALL, Nov. se, 10y Rev. j. !. Clymer.
II is II sad misfortune lur our human
lty that Christianity and amusemcnts
have been divorced. God has Joined
them together, but man has put them
asunder. That IL, Christianity IL sys-
TEN whose end Is The highest happiness
Of Gods creatures. And ii amusement
mean happiness, they ought to proceed
under The lead Of Christian principles,
or else their issue will be injurious Ii
a man therefore he II Christian he Is not
thereby cut of from any real pleasure
In this world or the next. But contra
rywise, the fact Of his being q Christian
gives him the best right to all the pleas
ures Of Heaven and earth within his
reach.
Christianity i, moi system to lessen
human pleasures, but to multiply them.
II is not Il plan to narrow the range of
youthful joys, but to widen ii. If there
fore any pastiine which we call amuse-
ment Is carried on regardless Of Chris
tian principles, it is on that account nm
9odly, dcmorali1ing and destructive of
happinr-", and ought to br discontinued
ne II means of pleasure, because its
promise. nrc broken and its claim, false.
In answering this question, What
amusements can be substituted for dane
ing and card-playing,' l ask, Why not
dance: Why not play cards? Because
the genius of Christianity forbids dane
ing and card-playing as carried on un-
der the auspices of modern society. II
L. urged that dancing has the sanction
of the Bible, that God, chosen people,
the Jews, danced. True, but their
dance were religious dances. They
consisted of solemn marches or process
sions; keeping time 10 sacred music.
These dances were always opened with
PRAYER, continued in q spirit of devotion
and closed by song of praise to God.
They were the physical expression of Il
heart dancing with JOY in the Lord.
They were methods of religious demon
siralion, peculiar 10 All undevcloped
people in the dark ages Of the world.
Then, too, in 4 Jewish dance on no ac-
count were men and women allowed to
dance together. When the modern dance
can be conducted on this basis, certainly
no harm will come Of it. When mod
ern ball can be opened W ith prayer, and
closed with the dOXology, the men and
women dancing in separate companies,
then and only then will dancing be
harmless.
But the Bible says, ''There is q time
to dance" So the Bible SAYS, "there is
q time to die Every one ought to
know that this is said historically and
not Ia counsel or instruction. In these
passages there is simply citation of
what does and will happen among men,
no approval being given in either case.
The only mention of dancing i'm the
New Testament is that of the dance be-
fore Herod. And for that dance he
gave tho head of one of the most Qodly
men in his kingdom. And [ am in
clined to the opinion that there is de-
struction to life in some form in every
modern dance. Let me recall some rca-
sons why moralists and Christians
should not dance.
|. Dancing is connected with II prodi- |
gal waste ofmoney. TO learn to dance, |
you must have dancing master, who |
III most cases is consummate fop;sAnd |
receives moro pay for educating the |
heels than the schoomaster for educat- |
Ing the head. To make good appear
ance as Il dancer, a dress must be bought
for The occasion, too indecent and un-
comfortable 10 be worn at any other
time. The young mani must have a i
richer suit, jauntier hat, finer boots. |
Add to these expenses the bills for car
riages, wine and an indi9estible feast at
midnight, and you have some of the |
causes why some fathers fail in bust |
ness, why some Young men lose their |
situations, and do not rise in the world. |
III. The companionship of the dance is |
for the most part bad, debasing and
cOrlupting. DO the best you can to
make your company select, and persons
of all classes will find their wav into il,
especially those of the baser sort. In
deed, In making ups dancing party,
the company is not formed about moral
character as Il center, but about skill
fulncss in dancing. Character Is not
question In the modern dance. The
questions overlapping all others are,
as he good danccr?" SIS he we'll
dres-edr' as he nice looking!' Such
l. the Indifference to moral standing In |
most dances, that ladies will dance with |
men whom they would scorn to enter
tain in their own parlors. This dilem.
ma L. not helped any by the plea for
private dances In our own homes. Ones
own home is too narrow sphere for
the skillful dancer, and the facts show
that home dancing Is very insipid
thing 10 those who know how to dance.
Such Is the composition of human ma
tnre that the only safety for us is not
10 learn TO dance at all. There l. no
plea for grace or ease Of carriage, or
physical healthfulncss, that can be fairly
put over against the moral dangers that
lurk in modern dancing.
IlanOitfr 4
generally associated with tippling and
oittimes results In intemperance. Nine
out of ten of the young men who main
tain our dances are tipplers. They
drink either ale or strong beer or wine.
These are the \ b c of drunkenness.
You can easier have funeral without
corpse than flrst-class ball without
wine. And the young man or Young
woman who drinks wine as beverage
in these days, has cut hole in the dyke
of morality which, If not stopped, will
let In on them some day an ocean of de-
struction. Young padiea better be for
ever alone than TO have the companion
ship of tippler at Il ball one hour. Bet
tor die thrice than TO be bound once in
wedlock to a drunkard. All, the unut-
terable woe of being the wife of n man
W NV VI Nv tOlittltlOH Ill lllt
out of hell is so bad as TO be the wife of
drunkard, unless il is TO be drunk
ard. The tendency of the modern
dance is to make drunkards. The ball
room and the bar-room are Siamese
twins.
~: Modern dancing is in every way
Injurious to health. II Is hard work 10
dance from nine to three O'Clock at
night, especially when ono has worked
hard with body or mind through the
day. Unnatural or violent movements
In crowded halls whose atmosphere is
thick with the poison from overcharged
lungs and heated bodies Is by no means
healthful. Aye, all the conditions of
health are violated insufficient and
uncomfortable clothing, late hours, loss
of needed rest, midnight feasts and ex-
posures, which are the Legitimate fore