Middletown transcript., 1891-02-12
HARSH ON DANCING.
AND DANCERS, TOO, RECEIVE LIIfLH
MERCY FROM A WESTERN
CLERGYMAN.

CLERGYMAN.
The Rev. Frank ID. Altman Of the
Lutheran Church preached upon
. The Modern Dance last evening.
He chose his text from Ecclesiastes,
III. a !" And>a Time to Dance.
He said: g In the early ages the
dance was devout, appearing in the
garb of religion as the minister OF
God The Hebrews were accustomed
to express their religious Joy and
emotion in its rhythmic movements.
| As religious ceremony the dance is
recognized in the Scriptures, but as q
social amusement it is nowhere ap-
proved. So completely has the dance
changed from its ancient religious
character that the church now recog
nizes it as one of its most dangerous
foes. All who wish TO maintain
godIy life are warned against its in.
sidions charms.
g The Roman Catholic Church has
been driven by the observed evil in
fuences of the dance to forbid it IN
many Of its popular forms. The
Presbyterian, Methodist. Baptist, and
indeed all evangelical churches, give
their testimony to the perils to vital
godliness lurking in the surroundings
of the social dance. All dances are
not equally dangerous to good morals.
Tie dance in the home. under the eve
of parents and friends, select com
pany, may De considered less injurious
than the public hall. And yet the
dance is condemned without excep-
| tion. fit shall ever appear that the
dance leads as many people toward
| godly life as it now leads from it, the
church will no doubt withdraw its
protest, but while the drift is all away
| from God toward the world and sin,
that protest must stand.
81 The dance is unfavorable to in
teilectual and social development.
The loye and practice of this fascinat-
ing amusement supplants and destroys
the love of solid study, good reading,
intelligent conversation, and the high
er and better forms of social inter-
course. Studies in school are neg
| lected, solid reading is abandoned, the
growth and development Of the
nobler powers are stopped, and life
becomes a succession Of frothy, un-
substantial sensations and excite
ments. There is neither time nor
disposition left for the best work OF
life. Bring together company OF
people accustomed to spend their
4 time in dancing and attempt to en-
gage them in intelligent conversation
and the mental vacancy will be ap-
pareut. An intelligent lady said to
a minister on this subject: But
what can I do with my company
The people of fashionable society do
not read, they are not capable of sus.
! tanning an interesting conversation,
and there is no way of entertaining
them but by letting them dance.
This difficulty no doubt exists. Peo-
pie usually find their highest joy in
the exercise of their strongest faculty
and if a noyel.reading, theatregoing,
dancing, idle, goddess company is
brought together they would doubt
less be pleased with an invitation to
use their heels rather than their
heads.
"The dance requires wasteful ex-
penditure of money. The dance has
, a large place in history, in the work
of Individual, family aud national
degeneracy and bankruptcy. It is in
close alliance with the goddess Of
fashion, and worships at her shrine.
i It must have costumes, equipages,
splendid apartments, and feastings on
an elaborate and expensive scale
The grocer must hold his bill a little
longer, the landlord must wait for hi
rent or look in vain for the bird that
3 has flown, the tailor may collect his
accounts as best he may, while society
: wrings its demands from its victims.
Take the reports of our fashion
t able balls, as they may be found il
) the daily papers, and study the ques
g ton Of expense. 1t discredits straight
= forward living. It stimulates the
8 thirst for fashionable life, for luxury
j and fast living, which wrecks more
families morally and financially thar
anything.
a .The associations Of the dance are
f evil. It was nursed in the lap of tn
a wine god, Bacchus; has kept COM
e pany with the theatre since they were
5 children together, 1000 years ago
! You may almost always find it in ths
S lettering places of the novel reading
# the wine and beer drinking, the pro
/. fame and licentious classes, but rarely
is NAV it be seen in the assemblies o
i earnest students, great thinkers, O
/ degout christians. If we judge it b.
the company it keeps, you will hardl.
It feel like introducing your sons ant
It daughters to its acquaintance. Th
= best : people in society do not dance
d and for the reason that they think i
e, unworthy Of them. In the loves
is and yilest grades of society the dane
&c is most popular and most common ~.
D. as YOU rise in the grade of lntelli
pence and moral excellence its popu,
Of iarity and use decline, till you reacl
5. q point where it disappears altogether
N "Itis unfavorable to the righ
le rolot,on of the sexes. It require
le neither brains nor good morals to b
re q good dancer. In ancient times tn
le sexes danced separately. Alcohol
ne the spirit Of beverages. SO sex is th
ID snirit anil Of the dance. Take it ava
re and and let the sexes dance separated
n. and , dancing will soon 60 out. {
Of. fashion. Parlor dancing is dangerou
in Tinpling leads to drunkenness an
be parior dancing leads to ungodiy ball
IS, aThe dance is destructive
Iy Christian life. Many excellel
neople who are examples Of the cog
n. mon virtues may dance, but the pra