National Baptist world., 1894-10-12
men and Young women OF all that is
-, 4 ,,caful in life

noble in character and useful in life.
Dancing is the graceful motion OF
the body, adjusted by art to the souno
and measures Of musical instrument or
of the human voice. All nations nave
danced. The ancients thought that
Castor and Pollux taught the art TO the
Lacedamonians. But whoever started
it. all climes have adopted it. In an
cient times they had the festal dance,
the military dance, the medlatorlai
dance, the bacchanalian dance, anu
queens and lords swaved to and fro IN |
the gardens. and the rough backwooos-
man with this exercise awakened the |
echo of the forest. There is issomethlng |
in the sound of lively music to evoke
the movement of the hand and foCt
whether cultured or uncultured. fas-
sing down the street we unconsclously
/ keep step to the sound Of the brass
band. while the Christian in chnrch
with his foot beats time while his soul
rises upon some great harmony While
this is SO in civilized lands, the red men
of the forest have their scalp dances,
their green-corn dances, their war
dances. In ancient times the exercise
was so utterly and completely depraVed
that the church mathematical 1T.
The old Christian fathers expressed
themselves most vehemently against
it. ST. Chrysostom says: ''The feet
were not given for dancing, but to walk
modestly, not to leap imprudently like
camels." One of the dogmas Of the
ancient church reads: "a dance is the
DEVILS possession, and he that entereth
into a dance entereth into his possess
sion. AS many PAGES as a man makes
in dancing, so many PAGES does ne
make to hell" Elsewhere the old
doomas declared this: 1.-The woman
, that singeth in the dance is the prln-
, cess of the devil, and those that an
swer are her clerks, and the behOlderS
are his friends, and the music is his bel
lows, and the fiddlers are the ministers
Of the devil For as when hogs are
straved. if the hogsherd call one all
) assemble together, so when the devil
| calleth one woman to sing in the dance.
: or to play on some musical Instruments
l presently all the dancers gathe' to-
2 pether." This indiscriminate AID uni
l versal denunciation Of the exercise
.
2 and completely depraved.
d But we are not to discuss the customs
e of the olden times, but customs now
t We are not to take the evidence OF the
:, ancient fathers, but our own conscience
: enlightened by the word of God, is t(
e he the standard Oh. bring no harsf
e criticism upon the young. I would no
d drive out from their soul the hilaritie
= of life. I do not believe that the IN
k habitants of ancient Wales, when they
If stepped to the sound OF the rustl
n harp. went down to ruin. l belleV
e God intended the young people U
D. laugh and romp and play. l DO no
1t believe God would have put exube1
y ance in the soul and exuberance In Tn
E. body if he had not intended the
ID should in some wise exercise 1t an
IF demonstrate it. If a mother join hand
i. with her children and cross the Hoo
r. TO the sound of music, l see no harn
x If a group of friends cross and recros
I'd the room to the sound of piano we
le nlaved. T see no harm. If a company
all Of whom are known to host an
le hostess as reputable, cross and recros
ne the room to the sound of musical III
,ir strument, | see no harm. l tried Tor
ey long while to see harm IN 1t. coul
to not see any harm in it. never sha
A see any harm in that.
D. AS we go on in years let us rememo oe
10 that we had our gleeful times; let US
no able to say: eve had our good time
tn let others nave their good times IL
ed rs willingly resign our place to tho
is who are coming after us. But whl
lis all this is so, we can have no sympatf
.lv with sinful indulgences, and am gol1
1r- to speak in regard to some OF the1
ITS +houph 7 should tread on the long ira
in of some popular vanities.
hit Social dissipation is the abettOr
of pride, it the instigator OF jealousy,
Sa- is the sacrificial altar OF health, II
of the defiler of the soul, it is the aven
an of lust, and it is the curse OF eve
nix town on both sides of the sea. Soc
ick dissipation. 1t may be hard to drf
est the line and say that this is right
j. one side. and that is wrong on t
Law other side. 1t is not necessary that
his do that. for God has put throne
ms. every mans soul, and l appeal to tt
in throne to-day When man o.
in wrong he knows he does wrong,
in when he does right he knows he q
and rioht, and to that throne which
hat mighty God lifted in the heart OF ev
am man and woman appeal.
ues- AS to the physical ruin wrought
but the dissipations Of social life there
>oes he no doubt. What may we expec
oc- neople who work all day and dance
etv? NIGHT? After awhile they Will
With thrown on society nervous, exhaus
all imbeciles.
ve | How many people have stepped +
the ballroom into the graveyard? I
Won sumptions and swift neuralgias
and close on their track. Amid many
has the glittering scenes of social life
,rsa- eases stand right and left and bala
has and chain. The breath of the sepult
O do floats up through the perfume ana
not froth of deaths lips bubbles up IN
not champagne. am told that
,rsa some of the cities there
thew narents who have actually given
un- housekeeping and gone to boar
limit, that they may give their
1any illimitably to social dlsslpatlons
;sipa- have known such cases.
known family after family blaste
,,h.+ that way in one of the other c