Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-03-20
PLEASURES FATAL CUP
Dr. Talmage Points Out the Peril
of Fatal lndulgenceS.
subject "Bai fui Amu,smen,s."
TEXT: "Let the young men mo'g arise

sword fencing. Nothing could De more
healthful and innocent. The other army &C
cepts the challenge. Twelve men against
twelve men. the sport opens. But something
went adversely. Perhaps one of the swords
men got an unlucky clip, or in some way had
his ire aroused. and that which opened in
sportfulness ended in violence, each one tax
ing his contestant by the hair, and then with
the sword thrusting him in the side, so that
that which opened in innocent fun ended IN
the massacre of all the twenty-fOur sports
men. Was there ever a better illustration
of what was true then, and is true now that
that which is innocent may be made de-
structive2
What Of a worldly nature is more I'M
portant and strengthening and innocent than
amusement, and yet what has counted more
victims? have no sympathy with a straight,
Jacket religion. This is very bright world
to me, and / propose to do all can TO make
it bright for others.
l never could keep step to a dead march.
A book years ago issued says that Chris
tian man has right TO some amusements.
For instance, if he comes home at night
weary from his work, and feeling III need OF
recreation, puts on his slippers, and goes into
his garrett and walks lively round the floor
several times there can be no harm in 1t. L
believe the church of God has made ire
mendous mistake in trying to suppress the
sportfulneSs of youth and drive out from
men their love of amusement. If God ever
implanted anything in us he implanted this
desire
But instead of providing for this demand
Of our nature. the church Of God has, for the
main part, ignored it. As in a riot, the
mayor plants a battery at the end OF the
street, and has it fired Off so that everything
is cut down that happens to stand IN the
range. the good as we'll as the bad. 50 there
are men in the church who plant their bat
teries of condemnation and fire away indis-
criminately. Everything Is condemned.
But my Bible commeDds those who use the
world without abusing it. and in the natural
world God has done everything topleass ana
amuse us. In poetic cures we sometimes
speak of natural objects as being in pain,
but it is a mere fancy. Poets say the clouds
weep. but they never vet shed a tear; and
the winds sight but they never did have
any trouble; and that the storm howiS. but
il never lost its temper. The world is
rose. and the universe garland.
| am glad to know that in ali our c ties
there are plenty Of places where we may find
elevated, moral entertainment. But all
honest men and good women will agree with
me in the statement that one Of the worst
plaques Of these cities is corrupt amusement.
Multitudes have gone down under the blast
ing influence never to rise. II we may judge
of what is going on in many of the PAGES of
amusement by the Sodomic pictures on
board fences and in many of the show
windows. there is not much lower depth Of
prohigacv to reach At Naples Italy, they
keep such pictures locked up from indis-
criminate inspection. These pictures were
exhumed from Pompeii and are not fit for
public gaze. If the effrontery Of bad places
of amusement in handing out improper ad-
vertisements OF what they are doing night
10y night grows worse IN the same proper
tion, in fifty years New York aud Brooklyn
will beat not only Pompeii, but SOdom.
To help stay the plague now raging pro
ject certain principles by which you may
Judge in regard to any amusement or re
creation, finding out for yourself whether 1t
is right OF whether II Is wrong.
remark in the first place that you can
Judge Of the moral character of any amuse-
ment by its healthfui result or by its baletul
reaction. There are people who seem made
up of bard facts. They are combination of
multiplication tables and statistics II you
show them an exquisite picture they will be
gin to discuss the pigments involved IN the
colOring Ii YOU show them a beautiful rose
they will submit it to a botanical analysis,
which is only the post-mOrtem examination
of flower They have no rebound In their
nature. They never do anything more than
smile. There are no great tides Of feeling
surging up from the depths Of their soul In
billow ter billow of reverberating laugh
ter. They seem as if nature had built them
by contract and made bungling job of it,
But. blessed be God, there arepeople in the
world who have bright faces, and whose life
is a song, an anthem, a pean Of victory.
Even their troubles are like the vines that
crawl up the side of great tower, on the top
Of which the sunlight sits and the soft air
Of summer hold perpetual carnival. They
are the PEOPLE you like to have come TO your
house; they are the people I like to have
come to my house. If you but touch the
hem Of their garments you are healed.
Now il is these exhilarant and sympathe-
tic and warm hearted people that are most
tempted to perniciOus amusements. In pro-
portion as a ship is swift it wants strong
helmsman: in proportion as a horse is gay,
it wants a stout driver; and these people OF
exuberant nature will do well to look at the
reaction of all their amusements- If an
amusement sends you home at night nervous
50 that YOU cannot sleep, and you rise up IN
the morning. not because you are slept out,
Int because your duty drags you from your
siumbers YOU have been where YOU ought
not to have been. There are amusements
q
shot, yawning, stupid, nauseated; and they
are wrong kinds OF amusement. They are
entertainments that give man disgust with
the drudgery Of life, with tools because they
are not swords with working aprons because
they are not robes, with cattle because they
are not Infatuated bulls of the arena.
If any amusement sends you home longing
Cor life Of romance and thrilling adventure
love that takes poison and shoots itself,
moonlight adventures and hair breadth es
capes, you may depend upon it that you are
the sacrificed victim of unSanctified pleasure
Our recreatiOns are intended to build up
and if they pull us down as to our moral OF
as to our physical strength you may come to
the conclusion that they are obnoxious.
There is nothing more depraving than at
tendance upon amusements that are full OF
innuendo and low suggestion. The young
man enters. At first be sits far back, with
his hat on and his coat collar up, fearful that
somebody there may know him. Severa
nights pass on. He takes off his hat earlier
and puts his coat collar down. The blust
that first came into his cheek when anything
indecent was enacted comes no more to hi
cheek Farewell, young man! You hav'
probably started on the long road wh.ci
ends in consummate destruction. Tit
stars Of hope will 90 out one by one
until you will be left in utter darkness, Heal
you not the rush Of the mae!strom, in who's
outer circle Your boat now dances, maxim:
merry with the whiring waters? But yol
are being drawn in, ana the gentle motion
will become terrific agitation. You cry 70
help In vain. You pull at the oar to pui
bach. lut the struggle will not avail Yo
viii lie tossed and dashed and shipwrecke
and swallowed in the whirlpool That has a.
ready crashed in its wrath ten thouSan
huiks.
Young men who have just come from
country residence to city residence will
well 10 be on guard and let no one Undue
you 70 places OF improper amusement.
is nightly allufug when a young maj
long a citizen, offers to show new conner
around.
Still further. Those amnsements arc wron
which lead you into expenditure beyond you
meaus Money spent in recreation is nc
thrown away 1t is all folly for Us to com
from place of amusement feeling that "
have wasted our money and time. You ma
by it have made an investment worth MOI
than the transactions that yielded you hun
orets or thousands Of dollars. But how man
properties nave been riddled by cost
amusements.
The first time 7 ever saw the city-it wa
the city OF Phila ielphia-I was mere lad
stopped at a hotel, cnl / remem Der in th
eventide one of these men piled me with hi
inierual art. He saw was green He wante
70 show me the sights Of the town. H
painted the path OF sin until it looked lik