Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-03-23

grand and holy and magnificent
mission. Let me say at this point in
my sermon that the drama will never
be lifted TO its rightful sphere by those
people who have not sense enough to
distinguish between the drama and the
playhouse. The drama Is no more the
theater than Il hymnbook Is a church
| am not speaking in regard TO the the
alter at all. The drama Is literary ex-
preston of that feeling which God inn
planted In the human soul. Neither
will the drama ever be lifted TO its
proper sphere by wholesale denuncia-
ton OF all dramatists. III you have not
known men and women connected with
the drama who are pure i'm heart and
pure in speech and pure in life. IL is be-
cause you have not had very wide ac-
quaintance.
Wholesale denunciation of all dram
atists will never elevate the drama.
Yonder stand n church and theater
on opposite sides OF the street. The
church shouts over to the theater, "You
are all scoundrelsr' The theater shouts
back. You are all hypocrltes," And
they both falsify. Dropping all indis-
criminate jeremiads against dramatists
and realizing that the drama is not
necessarily connected with this insti-
tuition or with that, want TO show
you how the dramatic element in our
natures may be harnessed to the chart
OF of civilization and Christianity.
An Everyday Drama.
Fifty essays about the sorrows of
the poor could not affect me as little
a Of nj Z
one slippery morning Ia the streets of
Philadelphia. Just ahead OF me was a
lad. wretched in apparel, his limb am
putated ut the knee; from the pallor of
the boys cheek, the amputation not
long before. He had a package of bro
ken food under his arm-food he had
begged, j suppose. at the doors. As he
passed on over the-v}ippery pavement,
cautiously and carefully, steadied
him until his crutch slipped and he fell
l helped him up as well as l could,
gathered up the fragments Of the pack
age as well as l could, put them under
one arm and the crutch under the 9th
err arm, but when l saw the blood run
down his pale cheek burst into tears.
Fifty essays about the sufferings of
the poor could not touch one like that
little drama OF accident and suffering
oh. we want In all our different de-
partments of usefulness more of the
dramatic element and less of the di-
dactic. The tendency In this day is TO
drone religion, 20 whine religion. to
can't religion. TO moan religion, to croak
religion, to sepulcharize religion, when
we ought 10 present II in animated aud
spectacular manner
What we want, ministers and lay
men, is to get our sermons and our ex-
hortations and our prayers out of the
old rut. The old hackneyed religious
phrases that come snoring down
through the centuries will never arrest
the masses. What we want today, you
in your sphere and In my sphere. is TO
freshen up. People do not want in
their sermons the sham flowers bought
at the millinery shop. but the japonicas
wet with the morning dew, not the
heavy bones of extinct megatherium OF
past ages, but the. living reindeer
caught last August Mt the edge of
Schroon lake. We want TO drive out
the drowsy and the prosaic and the te-
dious and the humdrum and introduce
holy sarcasm and the sanctified wit
and the epigrammatic power and the
blood red earpestness and the fire OF
religious zeal. and do not know of
any way of doing it as well as through
the dramatic.
What Is Needed
But now let us turn 20 the drama as
In amusement and entertainment.
Rev. DIR. Bellows OF New York many
years ago i'm a very brilliant but much
criticised sermon took the position that
the theater might be renovated and
made auxiliary to the church. Many
Christian people are OF the same opln.
ion. do not agree with them. I have
no idea that success Is in that dircc-
lion. What have said heretofore on
lhis subject, as far MS remember, Is
ny sentiment now. But today take
step In advance OF my former theory.
Christianity is going TO take full pos.
session OF this world and control its
maNiips, its laws, its literature, its SCI
ence and its amusements. Shut out
from the realm OF Christianity any
thing and you give IL up to sin and
death.
IL Christianity is mighty enough TO
manage everything but the amuse-
ments OF the world, then it Is very
defective Christianity. Is IL capable OF
keeping account of the tears of the
world and Incompetent TO make record
of,its smiles? Is il good TO follow the
funeral, but dumb ut the worlds play?
Can IL control all the other elements of
our nature but the dramatic element?
My idea of Christianity is that IL can
and will conquer everything.
Now, what we want is TO hasten
that time. How will it he done? BY
the church going over TO the theater?
1t will not so. BY the theater coming
TO the church? Ii will not come What
we want Is a reformed amusement as
ISOLATION in every city and town OF the
United States. Once announced and
explained and Illustrated, the Chris
tan and philanthropic capitalist will
come forward to establish 1t, and there
will be public spirited men everywhere
who viii do this work for the dramatic
element OF our natures. We need a
new institution TO meet and recognize
and develop and defend the dramatic
element of our nature. 1t needs to be
distinct from everything that is or has
been.
1 would have this reformed amuse-
ment association having In charge this
new institution OF the spectacular take
possession of some hall or academy
IL night take smaller building at the
start, but Ii would soon need the lar
gest hall, and even that would not hold
the people. for he who opens before
the dramatic element In human nature
an opportunity of qualification without
compromise and without danger does
the mightiest thing of this century, and
the tides OF such an institution would
rise as the Atlantic rises at Liverpool
docks.