Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-10-04

ligious theory opposed TO the position
taken by all those who are Mortified
at playfulness on the part of the
young. and who think that all cues.
tions are neutrality-suspicious. of de-
cency and morals-by the position OF
the feet, while an the other hand, can
see nothing but ruin, temporal and
eternal, for those who go into the dis.
sipations of social life, designations
which have already despoiled thou.
sands of young men and women Of all
that is noble in character and useful
in life
Dancining is the graceful motion OF
the body adjusted by art to the sound
and measures of musical instrument
or of the human voice. All nations
have danced. The ancients thought
that Castor and Pollux taught the art
to the Lacedemonians But whoever
started it, all chimes have adopted it..
In ancient times they had the
festal dance. the military dance, the
mediatorial dance, the bacchanalian
dance, and queens and lords swaved
to and fro in the gardens, and the
rough backwoodsma with this eXer-
else awakened the echo of the forest
There is something in the sound of
lively music to evoke the movement of
the hand and foot, whether cultured
or uncultured. Passing down the
street we unconscouslv keep step to
the sound of the brass band. while
the Christian in church with his foot
beats time while his soul rises upon
some great harmony While this is 20
in civilized lands. the red men of the
forest have their seal p dances, their
green corn dances, their war dances
In ancient times the exercise was so
utterly and completely depraved that
the church mathematical it The old
Christian fathers expressed themselves
most vehementlv againse it. St Chrv-
sostom saws: "The feet were not
given for dancing, but to walk mod
estly, not to leap impudentIy like
camels" One of the dogmas of the
ancient church reads: A dance IS the
devils possession. and he that enter
eth into dance entereth int to his pos
session. AS many PAGES as man
makes in dancing, so many PAGES does
ne make to hell. = Elsewhere the old
dogmas declared this: THE woman
that singeth in the dance is the prin-
cess of the devil. and those that an
swer are her clerks, and the beholders
are his friends, and the music is his
bellows, and the fiddlers are the min
listers of the devil. For as when hogs
are strayed, 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 presently all the dancers
gather together This indiscriminate
and universal denunciation Of the ex-
ercise came from the fact that it was
utterly and completely depraved
But we are not to discuss the customs
OF the olden times, but customs now
We are not to take the evidence of the
ancient fathers but our own con-
science. enlightened by the word of
God, is to be the standard. Oh, bring
no harsh criticism upon the Young.
would not drive out from their soul
the hilarities Of life I do not believe
that the inhabitants of ancient Wales,
when they stepped to the sound of the
rustic harm went down to ruin.
believe God intended the young peo-
pie to laugh and romp and play. lido
not believe God would have put ex.
uberance in the soul and exuberance
in the body if he had not intended
they should in some wise exercise it
and demonstrate it. If a mother join
hands with her children and cross the
floor to the sound of music, ! see no
harm If group of friends
cross and e-cross the room to
the sound Of piano we'll played.
| see no, harm. If a company, all
of whom are known TO host and hostess
rs reputable, cross and recros' the
room to the sound of musical instru-
ment / see no harm. tried for n
long while to see harm in it. 1 could
not see any harm in it. never shall
see any harm in that. Our men need
to be kept young, young for many
years longer than they are kept young.
Never since my boyhood days have I
had more sympathy with the innocent
hilarities of life than I have now.
What though we have felt heavy
burdens! What though we have had
to endure hard knocks! Is that any
reason why we should stand in the
way of those who. unstung OF life's
misfortunes, are full of exhilara ton
and glee? God bless the young! They
will have to wait manv a long year be-
fore they hear me say ANYTHING that
would depress their ardor or clip their
wings or make them believe that life is
hard and cold and repulsive. 1t is
not tell them, Judging from my
own experience. that they will be
treated great deal better than they
deserve. We have no right to grudge
the innocent hilarities to the young.
As we go on in years let us remem-
Ter that we had our gleeful times; let
us be able to say, I'VE had orr good
times, let others have their good
times" Let us willingly resign our
place to those who are coming after
us. l will cheerfully give them every
thing-my house. my books, my posi-
ton in society, my heritage After
twenty, forty, fifty years we have
been drinking out of the cup of this
life, do not let us begrudge the pass
ing of it that OF ners may take drink.