Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1883-05-28
The Theater.
Some Wise and Pertinent WOrds-DIs-
courae BY Rev. IT. n. Bacon.

Some Wise and Pertinent WOrds-Dis-
cour2e BY Rev. IT. r.. Bacon.
At Dwight Place church yesterday two ex-
cellent discourses we're preached by the pas
tor, Rev. T. r. Bacon. The morning ser
mon on theater going was from the text,
Rom, IA, 5, 'Let every man be fully per-
suaded in his own mind" Mr.. Bacon made
cursory review of the series of sermons
which he has preached on the subject, re-
ferring to the unwise stand which was taken
by the early church in its wholesale condem
nation of the drama without discriminating
between it's good and bad qualities, and re-
ferring especially to the sermon of last Sun
day morning in which he considered the
"weak brother The strong brother has
right to indulge in harmless amusement
without reference to the weak brother. The
stweak brother who has been thrown in our
faces whenever we recreate ourselves with
some harmless amusement is only myth and
not the formidable person he is represented
to be- If the strong brother uses discrimi-
nation in his choice of amusement and al
| ways rejects everything that has a show of
immortality, the weak brother" can learn a
| that will be worth more than the silly notion
of abstaining from the moderate enjoyment
of innocent amusements because somebody
else has not self control enough to be mod
crate.
Mr. Bacon referred to the recent article in
the North American Review discussing the
theatrical question, in which one side is
maintained by D. d. of some prominence
| and the other by an actor and dramatic critic
of high standing and unimpeachable charac-
ter All the candor and fairness and Chris
tian courtesy belong to the latter, while the
| first half dozen pages of the former are
models of malignity, unfairness and unchari-
tabIeness The result of the discussion leaves
decided impression in favor of the theater
so far as the fairness and strength of the
arguments go.
The novels of century ago were vastly
different from the novels of to-day. Field
| ing and Smollet were the fathers of the novel,
but their writings are not proper for family
reading at the present day. Their fine de-
| lineations of character are overloaded by the
constant reference to subjects unfit to be in
| troduced into the family circle, but this is no
reason why we should not read Dickens and
George Eliot and Mrs. Oliphant. The drama of
| the last century was mixed SO thoroughly
with the disgusting element that most OF them
| are unfit to be played on our modern stage.
Inc drama OF to-day IS as Olueront hS JIG
| novel is. While there are both bad novels
| and bad plays, we can discriminate between
| the uuclean and the. clean and be
profted by attendance on the better side of
| the drama as it is to day. The old writers on
| the theater held that it was wrong to picture
evil on the stage in order to make contrast
with good, but now We hold this to be one of
| its best points. It is certain that indiscrim-
| mate novel reading is bad and it is also GER
| tain that indiscriminate theater going is bad.
1t is now possible for decent man to 60 to
| the theater without having his moral sense
shocked or perverted. All that tends to rep
| resent good as preferable to evil deserves the
encouragement of all good people
The afternoon sermon was from limo
thy.4, Is: Take heed to thy teaching" the
| subject being mans duty to himself. In
| showing who were our neighbors Mr.. Bacon
said in reference to telegraphic and tels-
phonic communication that the progress of
| human invention more than nature makes
the whole world kin.
The singing in the afternoon was especial
ly' fine, Mrs. Robertson's voice, together with
that of the new eontralto, making the choir
one of the best in the city.
Personal.