Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-11-29
OLD-TIlNE RELIGION
THE MAD,PURsUIr OF PLEASURE
BY BISHOP w.

THE MAD PURSUIT OF PLEASURE
~ PHILOSOPHERS and seers of all ages,
r both inspired and uninspired, have
perceived the peril and condemned the
habits of lives devoted to the pursuit of pleas
ure.
The Holy Scriptures especially abound in
such warnings and denunciations.
1t is said in the book of Proverbs. "He
that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man"
proverbs Xxi:17.)
In the parable of the Sewer 'the pleas
ures of this life" are enumerated among the
thorns which infest the human heart and
choke the good seed of the kingdom, so that
all spiritual fruitfulness is forestalled. (Luke
viii: 14.)
st. Paul declared that "she that liveth in
pleasure is dead while she liveth," (I Tim
othy v:6.) Again the great Apostle, pointing
out the various types of bad men who pro-
duce ''perilous times,'' denounces among
them those who are "lovers of pleasures
more than lovers of Cod Oh Timothy
iii:4.)
St. James, st. Peter and St. John utter
strong words to the same purpose.
The sacred writer's in all these passages
are not enunciating the principles of SOM
her Puritanism but declaring the fundamen-
tai truth of Christianity. At the very center
of the Christian religion is the law of self
denial; and if self-denial be the law of life,
SolI-1nQulg0uC6
And so it is.
The disposition to pursue pleasure relaxes
all the moral ffbers of character and destroys
the capacity for self-sacrifice This fact eX-
plains the death of men and nations by lux
ury Their self-indulgence suffocates every
heroic element in their nations and makes
them unable to resist any formidable evil or
support any mperiled good. They become ut
terly incapacitated for doing or suffering any
thing which gives them discomfort or inter
feres with their qualifications.
Such was the case with the Roman Com
monweath of ancient times, The people be-
came pleasure-mad, so that they were inca
pable Of resisting the assaults of the hardy
barbarians from the north. Amid all the suf-
fering around them and in sight of the i'm
pending ruin before them they could not for
sake their destructive diversions and absorb
ing amusements. Hence, the bitter epigram
of Salvian, 'the empire laughs while it is dy-
ing (''rdet ct rortur'') There was a direct
connection of the fall of the state with the
folly of the people. The pampered populace
was prepared for their subsection to tyranni-
cal rulers by their consuming interest in
sports. The INSCRIPTIONS men in power found
it to be greatly for their interest to keep the
peoples diverted Bread and Games" was
the cry, and so long as Rome had enough to
eat and was amused, the Emperor might,
without fear do what he pleased The more
occupied by sports.
The mania for amusement not only drew
away the attention of the people from their
duties as citizens and diverted their thoughts
from all other serious matters, but it tended
also to make their amusements more sensual
and demoralizing. This was the natural and
inevitable result PIeasure-Ioving never fails
to run downward, and it reaches the basest
levels at the last 1t is born of selfishneSs,
and lives under the law of degeneration. Its
diversions for today are too tame for tomor-
row and daily they must become more and
more piquant and exciting. Hence the better
forms of the drama quickly passed among
the Romans and low comedy, with grotesque
drollery and coarse jokes, took it's place Buff
fooner and pantomimes became overwhelm-
ingly popular The lofty deeds of heroes were
no longer held up for imitation in the plays
of the theaters, but the adventures of de-
ceived husbands, adulteries and amorous in
trigues formed the staple of the plots. Vir-
tue was derided, and everything sacred and
worthy of admiration was dragged in the
mire of cynical senSualism. Everything akin
to art was left out of account, and every
thing exhibited was designated for sensual
qualification.
And sensualish drew after it heartlessness
and cruelty as it always does; for it cheap
ems human life until its pains are lightly re-
garded and it's most tragic conditions are OBJ
jects of mirth. Following the licentious spec
tacles in Rome came the bloody gladiatorial
shows.
Are not the American people moving on
the same doWn-grade over which the Roman
commonwealth ran to it's ruin? Let no one
dismiss the question with sneerng mega
tive and go off into an irrelevant denuncia-
ton of pessimism. Facts not matters of
pessimism or optimism; they are hard reali-
ties which must be faced honestly and han