Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-03-24
DRAMA DISCUSSED.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE SAYS IT CANNOT
BE SUPPRESSED.

He Suggests That ChrIstsani
Should Control and Reform PubI
Amusement-TheC Church Should {
to the Theater.
WASHINGTON, March 1S.-At a tin
when the whole country is In contr
versy as never before concerning Il
theater and some plays are being a
rested by the police and others are b
ing patronized by Christian people tn
sermon Of DR.. Talmage Is of much II
terest. The text Is Corinthians vi
81, "They that use this world as nc
abusing It,"
My reason for preaching this di:
course Is that | have been kindly In
vited by two OF the leading newspa
pers Of this country to inspect and re
port ON two of the popular plays of tn
day-t0 go some weeks ago to Chicag,
and see the drama Quo Vadis" an(
criticlse II with respect to It's moral ef
feet and TO go to New York and see th,
drama "Ben-Hu and write my opin
ion Of 1t for public use. Instead of do
ing that propose In sermon to dis
cuss what we shall do with the dra-
matte element which God has implant.
ed In many Of our natures-not In 10 or
100 or 1000, but In the vast majority
Of the human race. Some people speak
Il; the drama as though ii were some
thing built up outside Of ourselves by
the Congreves and the Goldsmiths and
the Shakespeares and the Sheridans Of
literature and that then we attune our
tastes to correspond with human In
yentions. Not at all. The drama Is an
echo from the feeling which God has
implanted in our immortal souls II Is
seen first in the domestic circle among
the children 3 or years Of age playing
with their dolls and their cradles and
their carts. seen ten years after In the
playhOuses of wood ten years after in
the parlor charadeS. after that in the
elaborate impersOnatiOns lii the ,acadc.
mics Of music Thespis and .Eschylus
and Sophocles and Euripidcs merely
1ramat!zed what was In the Greek
heart; Terence and Ilauius and Sen,
eca merely dramatized what was in |
he Roman heart; COngreye and Far. |
luhar merely dramatized what was In
he English heart; Racine. Cornellle
md Alfieri only dramatlzed what was
n the French and Italian heart: Shakes
'eare only dramatized what was In
he great worlds heart. The dithyram-
ic and classic drama. the sentimental
rama. the romantic drama. were mere
Y echoes Of the human soul.
| do not speak Of the drama on the
oetic shelf or Of the drama In the
layhouse. but ! speak of the dramat-
element in Your soul and. mine. We
OF responsible. They are responsible
)r the perversion Of II. but not for the
riginal implantation. God did that
'ork. and ! suppose he knew what he
as about when he made us. We are
early all moved by the spectacular.
Ihen on Thanksgiving day we deco
tie our churches with the cotton and
lie rice and the apples and the wheat
nd the rye and the oats. our gratitude
God Is stirred; when on Easter
Ornlng we see written in letters OF ,
overs the inscription. He Is Risen," .
lr emotions are stirred. Every parent ,
zes to 90 to the school exhibition,
ith its recitatiOns and It's dialogues ,
I'd its droll costumes. The torchlight !
'ocession Of the political campaign Is
erely the dramatization of principles r
volved. No intelligent man can look :
any secular or religious direction i
lthOut finding this dramatic element 4
vealing, unrolling. demonstrating IT. q
II. What shall we do with It? ,
Love of the Beautiful. v
Shall we suppress 1t? You can as s
silly suppress Its Creator. You may
rect 1t, you may educate II. you may n
rify 1t, you may harness II to multi :,
tent usefulness. and that II Is your q
ty to do. just as we cultivate the n
ste for the beautiful and the sub 4
ne. II
Vow. have to tell you not only that II
ID has implanted this dramatic ele. Fl
mt In our natures. but have to tell II
u in the Scriptures he cultivates it. a.
appeals to it. he develops 1t. | 10 "
care where you open the Bible. h.
ur eye will fall upon drama. Here D,
IS In the book of Judges; the fir tree. C.
, vine. the olive tree, the bramble- s.
y all make speeches Then at the IL
sc Of the scene there Is a coronation. dj
] the bramble is proclaimed king I'll
at is a political drama. Here it is h,
the book Of job. Enter Ellphaz, Bill NJ
]. ZOphar, Elihu and Job. The open. bl
act Of the drama. all darkness: the re
sing act of the drama. all sunshine. nj
gnificent drama Is the book of Job! tb
Iere ii is in SolomoD's Song-the
ion. an oriental region: Vineyards.
negranates. mountain of myrrh. ~
* Of sheep. garden Of spices, WOO
. bride. bridegroom, dialogue 80
er dialogue-intense. gorgeous, all :.
gestive drama is the book of Solo -. ~
n's Song. Here 1t is In the book Of -
ke: Costly mansion In the night. All =, ~
windows bright with illumination. =,
, floor a-Guake with the dance. Re- ~
ned son N costly garments which do ~ ~
very well fit him perhaps. for they -.
e not made for him. but he must -
fly leave off his old garb and pre- -
e for this extemporized levee. Pout- s.t
son at the back door. too mad to go VI
because they are making such q ses
1