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CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Joseph Whitmore Barry 
 dramatic library 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 TWO FRIENDS 
 
 OF Cornell University 
 1934 
 
D6^^=^^ffi^-i ^ 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 PN 2049.B92 
 
 Christians and the theater. 
 
 3 1924 027 143 555 
 

 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027143555 
 
CHRISTIANS 
 
 THE THEATER 
 
 BY J. M. BUCKLEY. 
 
 ' Prove all things, hold fast that which is good/ 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 NELSON & PHILLIPS, 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 
 HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. 
 
 1875- 
 
.]is5&k3 
 
 Enti'i-fd ii c f-lini'- tn \ct nf Cnjiirre^j'. in ttu- yi-ar 1-75. by 
 
 NELSON & PHILLIPS, 
 in tilt' ullict' oi" till.- Libr.iii.iii ui i'onyn'Sjs ni \Va:*liiiij;ton. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 T T was my desire to write a book on the 
 Theater in its relation to Christian senti- 
 ment and conduct, in which every idea should 
 be pertinent to the subject in hand, and from 
 which nothing vital to its just treatment 
 should be omitted. 
 
 I intended that every statement made 
 therein should be true, either of matters of 
 history or in the description of existing facts 
 and institutions. 
 
 I wished the whole to be written in lan- 
 guage colloquial yet correct, and without dif- 
 fuseness or repetition. 
 
 It was also in my plan that the treatise 
 should be so brief that it could be read aloud 
 
2 Preface. 
 
 without haste, and discussed at home, or in 
 schools, or in teachers' meetings, in one or 
 two evenings. 
 
 That these hopes have become realities I 
 cannot flatter myself until my attempt shall 
 have undergone the charitable scrutiny of 
 friends, and until the keen eye and keener 
 dart of hostile criticism shall have done their 
 work upon it. But with respect to the ele- 
 ment of brevity I am sure that the purpose 
 avowed has been attained. 
 
CO IT TENTS. 
 
 Chafteb Paob 
 
 I. Introductory 5 
 
 II. How THE Theater is Regarded bv the Roman 
 
 Catholic and Greek Churches 9 
 
 III. The Theater and the Protestant Churches 12 
 
 IV. The Theater and the Protestant Churches — 
 
 Continued 16 
 
 V. How the Theater is Defended 20 
 
 VI. How the Theater is Defended — Continued 24 
 
 VII. Sentiments Adverse to the Theater 29 
 
 VIII. The Christian Life 33 
 
 IX. The Christian's Influence 40 
 
 X. The Impulses and Tastes of Youth 47 
 
 XI. Principles Involved in Theatrical Representa- 
 tions 52 
 
 XII. General Characteristics of Plays — The Matter. 55 
 
 XIII. How Plays are put upon the Stage. 61 
 
 XIV. Grounds on which these Statements are Made. . 67 
 
 XV. Plays Presented in New York during the Past 
 
 Three Years 71 
 
 XVI. Plays Presented in New York during the Past 
 
 Three Years — Continued 76 
 
4 Contents. 
 
 Chaftsb PiOE 
 
 XVII. Plays Presented in New York during the Past 
 
 Three Years — Continued 85 
 
 XVIII. The Great Plays of Shakspeare 93 
 
 XIX. Can the Theater be Reformed ? gg 
 
 XX. Can the Theater be Reformed? — Continued 105 
 
 XXI. Making up Judgment on the Main Issue 116 
 
 XXII. How to Present this Subject 122 
 
 XXIII. A Healthy and Happy Religious Life 133 
 
 XXIV. The Open Field of Christian Pritilege 141 
 
 XXV. Conclusion 148 
 
CHRISTIANS AND THE THEATER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ' I ""HE Theater is an institution which has existed 
 for many hundreds of years, traces of it being 
 found a thousand years before Christ. Probably 
 never in its history, in Europe and this country, was 
 it, viewed in all its bearings, more flourishing than 
 it is at the present time. Not that the present is a 
 period distinguished by the production of plays of 
 remarkable excellence, for the contrary is true ; or 
 that there are many actors of the first reputation, or 
 more than one or two who compare favorably with 
 the brilliant names of a former generation. But in 
 the number of its patrons, the amount of its financial 
 receipts, and the extent of its hold upon the country 
 at large, the Theatre has never been more successful 
 
6 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 than it is now. Not only is it thoroughly estab- 
 lished in the large cities, where it has always pros- 
 pered ; but in " provincial " places large halls and 
 " opera " houses have been erected, and theatrical 
 companies, made up for the tour, perform through- 
 out the entire country ; and even in out-of-the- 
 way villages a " superannuated " " star," supported 
 by a dilapidated " cast," may be found delighting 
 the rustics, and impressing them with the belief 
 that they have in him a worthy rival of Garrick, or, 
 at least, of the most distinguished actors of the 
 day. When persons from the country visit any of 
 our larger cities, they not unfrequently, unless re- 
 strained by religious considerations, propose to at- 
 tend the Theater, although at home, where well 
 known, they would conscientiously abstain from 
 such recreation. The number of persons of, in gen- 
 eral, strict views, who visit this institution more or 
 less frequently, is larger now than it has been for 
 many years, perhaps than it has ever been in this 
 country. 
 
 The Theater is largely, though indirectly, con- 
 nected with general literature ; sentences, peculiar 
 
Introductory. 7 
 
 turns of expression, apothegms in particular plays 
 which strike the public fancy, become incorpo- 
 rated with the conversation and newspaper and 
 magazine articles of the day ; while many of the 
 larger periodicals present discussions of plays, 
 critiques of actors, etc. ; and the daily papers give to 
 the community every morning a column or two of 
 criticism on the performances of the preceding even- 
 ing, written, in many instances, with so much dis- 
 crimination and in such an attractive manner as to 
 make very interesting reading. Under these cir- 
 cumstances the position proper to be taken by 
 Christians toward the Theater is much debated in 
 almost every household. Individual Christians have 
 to determine what it is right for them to do, and 
 parents, guardians, and educators are obliged to de- 
 cide what they may encourage or allow to those in 
 their charge. 
 
 To whatever conclusion the conscientious Chris- 
 tian may come, he who assists him in the solution 
 of the problem by a careful presentation of the 
 subject in all its relations, will perform a real serv- 
 ice. Believing that there is a place, and that there 
 
8 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 is a positive demand for such a discussion as will 
 bear the test of a rigorous examination of the prin- 
 ciples maintained, the author submits the following 
 chapters as the best contribution which he can make 
 to the elucidation of this theme. 
 
Views of the Roman and Greek Churches. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW THE THEATER IS REGARDED BY THE ROMAN 
 CATHOLIC AND GREEK CHURCHES. 
 
 ' I ""HE Roman Catholic Church, notwithstanding 
 the blows which it has received from Moham- 
 medanism, and more recently from the great Refor- 
 mation and spread of Rationalism, is still the Church 
 of Italy, Austria, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, 
 Mexico, and South America, and is the controlling 
 religious influence in Ireland, while it is very active 
 in England and flourishing in the United States. As 
 upon many subjects it is most pronounced, and on 
 some questions has never sought to conciliate adverse 
 opinion, it is worth while to consider its treatment of 
 theatrical amusements. In its ritual it makes more 
 use of dramatic representation than any other body 
 bearing the Christian name, and in some parts of 
 the world, at certain seasons, actually dramatizes the 
 scenes of the crucifixion. To ordinary theatrical 
 amusements it is tolerant, and in the countries which 
 
10 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 are exclusively Catholic they are allowed and patron- 
 ized without rebuke, by the population generally. 
 In most or all of these countries the Theaters are 
 open on Sunday evenings, when the most popular 
 plays are put upon the boards and are witnessed by 
 larger concourses than usual. But in Lent the peo- 
 ple are dissuaded, and in fact prohibited, from going, 
 and those who are at all devotional, or recognize 
 the authority of the Church, either abstain wholly 
 from plays, or studiously avoid the more frivolous, 
 attending only on tragedies. In some countries, 
 where the civil law is controlled by the Church of 
 Rome, the Theaters are closed in Lent. It is a fact, 
 however, of some interest and significance, that with 
 few exceptions, if any, those " orders " and individ- 
 uals who lay claim to peculiar devotion renounce 
 theatrical amusements altogether. But they pur- 
 sue the same course with regard to other amuse- 
 ments, and place abstinence from them on the same 
 ground on which they rest the obligation of fasting, 
 vigils, additional prayers, masses, and divers forms 
 of self-denial and voluntary humiliation. While the 
 average Catholic population are allowed to attend 
 
Views of the Roman and Greek Churches. 1 1 
 
 the Theaters, except at certain seasons, and are 
 countenanced by the presence of their priests in 
 so doing, many bishops, priests, and monks have 
 strongly condemned theatrical amusements, and 
 written weighty arguments against them, some go- 
 ing so far as to declare that they are " instruments 
 of Satan," "a curse to the Church," "beguiling 
 unstable souls ;" and charging those priests who 
 lend those amusements their influence with leading 
 the flock of God astray. I have been told, on good 
 authority, that there have been papal allocutions 
 against Theaters ; but, however this may be, with 
 the exceptions above-named, the spirit of the Rom- 
 ish Church has been one of tolerance, if not of 
 friendship, toward them. 
 
 The Greek Church, " predominating in all Russia, 
 European Turkey, Greece, the Ionian Isles, and 
 Montenegro," holds about the same relation to the 
 Theater which characterizes the Church of Rome, 
 and has not thought it important to instruct its 
 people on the subject, at least to any extent per- 
 ceptible to the outside world. 
 
12 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE THEATER AND THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES. 
 
 ^ I "HE results of the Lutheran Reformation, direct 
 and indirect, to the Christian world can never 
 be fully estimated, for they must continue and ex- 
 tend to the end of time. No denomination is what 
 it would have been without that Reformation ; per- 
 haps no individual Christian is what he would have 
 been without it. Rapidly spreading over Germany, 
 Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, it did not work any 
 great change in the views or practices of the people 
 of those countries with regard to the observance of 
 the Sabbath, or the question of amusements. 
 
 It is now generally conceded that the change, as 
 far as it related to the external life of the communi- 
 ties which it affected, was more nearly nominal than, 
 until comparatively recently, it was supposed to have 
 been. The authority of the pope was shaken off, 
 masses, confessions, absolutions, monkish orders, and 
 the spurious sacraments were abolished ; but in other 
 
The Theater and the Protestant Churches. 1 3 
 
 respects the greater part of the people went on as 
 they had done. The doctrine of justification by- 
 faith was preached, and the corresponding duty of 
 consecrating the heart and life to God was enforced, 
 but it was a long time before any great and general 
 change in religious experience took place. And, in 
 truth, the spirit of rationalism soon appeared, so that 
 three or more parties arose, one evangelical and de- 
 vout, another critical and semi-skeptical, and a third 
 simply ritualistic. For the most part the subject of 
 amusements was left to the people, and " every man 
 did what was right in his own eyes." Theatrical 
 amusements flourish in these countries and are sel- 
 dom denounced, though many ministers and lay- 
 men in communion with the State Church exert a 
 powerful influence in favor of a discrimination based 
 on the necessities of a religious experience. 
 
 In Switzerland, especially in Geneva, very differ- 
 ent views prevailed. During the twenty-three years 
 of Calvin's rule no public amusements were permit- 
 ted, and the gamester was " pilloried with a pack 
 of cards around his neck." Theatrical performances 
 were interdicted by one of Calvin's laws, which re- 
 
14 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 mained unrepealed for more than two centuries after 
 his death. As late as the time of Voltaire the 
 prejudices of the citizens were against plays, but 
 now "the Salle de Spectacle can be seen close to 
 the Porte Neuve," and the population frequent the 
 Theater on Sabbath more than on any other day. 
 In most, if not in all of the cantons, the Theater is 
 allowed, and the people, except the more strictly 
 religious, as in Germany or Frsmce, patronize it as 
 often as they wish. 
 
 In England the Reformation affected the manners 
 of the people even less than in Germany. Henry 
 VIII., as head of the Church, was not in a condition 
 to promote good morals, and the issue on which he 
 broke with the pope did not at all strengthen his 
 spiritual influence. The return of Romanism under 
 Mary, the partial reformation under Elizabeth, and 
 the subsequent struggles, left the mass of the people 
 to do as they pleased ; and intemperance. Sabbath- 
 breaking, gaming, and all kinds of dissipation, were 
 prevalent. The authority of the priests and the 
 confessional having been destroyed, and no great 
 moral force substituted, the bulk of the population 
 
The Theater and the Protestant Churches, 15 
 
 differed but little from the people of Catholic coun- 
 tries. To this day the Theater is, in general, popu- 
 lar among the communicants of the English Church, 
 subject to the restrictions in Lent; with the ex- 
 ception of many of the more strict clergymen and 
 of a few bishops, who, supported by a small pro- 
 portion of laymen, do not favor any of the amuse- 
 ments known as " worldly." 
 
 In Scotland, however, the Reformation was prin- 
 cipally promoted and organized by John Knox, and 
 men of like stamp. Knox, when driven out of the 
 country, spent two years with Calvin in Geneva, 
 where he was established in his doctrines, principles, 
 and views of morals, by the great learning, vast 
 ability, indomitable will, and perseverance of that, 
 in many respects, unparalleled man. Returning to 
 Scotland, Knox laid the foundations of as rigid an 
 adherence to doctrine, and as austere a morality, 
 as have ever been seen in the history of Christian- 
 ity. And by that morality Theaters were abso- 
 lutely and irrevocably condemned, and those who 
 attended them considered to be in the " gall of bit- 
 terness and the bond of iniquity." 
 
1 6 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 the theater and the PROTESTANT CHURCHES — 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 ' I ""HE sentiments and practices of the leading 
 sects of Protestantism which have originated 
 outside of, or split off from, the Churches of the 
 Reformation, must now be considered. 
 
 The Presbyterians, under the legitimate operation 
 of the Protestant principle and their anomalous 
 relation to the State, have subdivided into various 
 sects, and owing to the peculiar tendencies of the 
 Scotch mind, so clear, penetrating, and tenacious, 
 and, as one of its most distinguished American rep- 
 resentatives has said, " as ready to die for a pin as 
 for a post," have examined and argued every ques- 
 tion at great length ; but in all their divisions they 
 are a unit in denouncing the Theater. 
 
 The Puritans and Independents, of every school, 
 were equally decided in their opposition, and the 
 early settlers of Massachusetts would have been as 
 
The Theater and the Protestant Churches. ly 
 
 much shocked at the proposal to erect a Theater in 
 Boston as they would have been at a movement to 
 allow business and travel to proceed on the Lord's 
 day. 
 
 The Congregationalists, in general, are still op- 
 posed to the Theater, though there is a growing 
 tendency to relax among them, which is a cause of 
 rejoicing to some and of alarm to others, according 
 to the view which they take of the main question. 
 
 The Baptist denomination, in its many branches, 
 now numbering more than the Presbyterians and 
 Congregationalists united, has never had any sym- 
 pathy with the Theater ; and whatever certain indi- 
 viduals, ministers or laymen, in the great centers, 
 may think or do, the spirit of the body is over- 
 whelmingly against the institution. 
 
 The Society of Friends has, without exception, 
 borne " testimony " against Theaters, as it has, in- 
 deed, against all diversion of every kind, even go- 
 ing so far as to condemn music, and to discipline its 
 members for owning or using musical instruments, 
 or allowing them in their homes. 
 
 The Protestant Episcopal Church in this country 
 
1 8 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 has regarded the Theater in a light similar to that 
 in which it is placed by the Church of England. To 
 this may be added the remark, that the evangelical 
 bishops and ministers of that Church are, perhaps, 
 more pronounced in their opposition to attendance 
 on public plays than their brethren in England, 
 though there are, of course, individual exceptions of 
 laxity in this country, and of strictness in England. 
 
 The Methodists in England and America were 
 originally as rigid as the Friends, except that they 
 did not condemn music, and as strenuous in enforc- 
 ing their Discipline against fashionable amusements 
 as were the Puritans or Calvin himself. Their rule 
 forbidding " the taking such diversions as cannot 
 be used in the name of the Lord Jesus " has from 
 the beginning been understood to condemn and pro- 
 hibit going to Theaters. Many, in the early history 
 of the movement, were expelled under that rule for 
 attending play-houses, and many deterred from 
 joining these societies by the knowledge of the re- 
 striction. 
 
 But at all times, and in the strictest Churches, there 
 have been some who, believing that the Theater 
 
The Theater and the Protestant Churclies. 19 
 
 ought not to be attended by Christians, have, never- 
 theless, indulged themselves therein, and suffered in 
 their consciences for doing so. And there have al- 
 ways been some, both of the clergy and the laity, 
 who have held that the opposition to the stage is 
 not well founded and should be discontinued. Of 
 these clergymen most, for the sake of peace, repu- 
 tation, and influence, have kept their views to them- 
 selves, or communicated them privately to a few 
 friends ; while the laymen have been less deterred 
 from acting in harmony with their sentiments. 
 
 At present the number of ministers in favor of a 
 compromise between the Church and the Drama 
 seems to be increasing in the cities, while many of 
 the members of all Churches openly attend the 
 Theater, some aiming to discriminate as to places 
 and plays, but the many going where accident or 
 fancy may lead them, while the immense majority 
 of the sects originally condemning Theaters still 
 hold their sentiments unchanged, and regard those 
 who have departed as having fallen into serious 
 errors of opinion and conduct. 
 
20 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW THE THEATER IS DEFENDED. 
 
 T T is maintained by some that amusement is 
 necessary, and that any amusement generally 
 patronized by all classes of men, in all civilized 
 countries, and for many ages, must meet a want of 
 human nature. But what meets a want of human 
 nature cannot be essentially evil, and, therefore, may 
 be discriminatingly enjoyed. If these propositions, 
 taken separately, are true, and the conclusions an- 
 nounced are properly drawn from them, the ques- 
 tion is se.'ttled beyond room for doubt. 
 
 The first assertion " amusement is necessary," is 
 almost self-evident. Asceticism may deny it, but 
 the body and mind will alike rebel. The Theater 
 has been generally patronized by most, if not all, 
 classes of men, in all civilized countries, and for 
 more than two thousand years. That it gratifies 
 some of the desires of men, pleases their tastes, and 
 powerfully attracts them, all must concede. The 
 
How the Theater is Defended. 2 1 
 
 problem, however, is not solved by these facts until 
 it shall be determined whether the desires which the 
 Theater gratifies are, on the whole, such as the 
 Christian should cherish and gratify, or such as, un- 
 der the law of self-denial, are to be restricted or sup- 
 pressed. If it be held that dramatic representation 
 is not essentially evil, it would not follow that the 
 concrete form in which it appears in a particular city 
 or age could be justifiably encouraged. So that the 
 summary way of disposing of the subject is not 
 satisfactory. Others take the ground that the 
 Theater exists, has existed, and will exist ; that to 
 denounce it is useless, and that Christians should 
 address themselves to the work of pruning, reform- 
 ing, and elevating it, rather than of assailing it in 
 the spirit of narrowness and fanaticism. 
 
 That it exists, has existed, and will exist, is ob- 
 vious ; that to denounce it in the hope of destroy- 
 ing it, or preventing its financial success, is chimer- 
 ical, is to every one, except a few enthusiasts, ap- 
 parent ; but that Christians are called upon to de- 
 vote their energies to its reconstruction and purifi- 
 cation would admit of considerable to be said on 
 
22 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 both sides. That it should not be assailed in the 
 spirit of narrowness and fanaticism is certain, for 
 that spirit cannot be defended in the plane either of 
 reason or religion. Whether it should be assailed 
 at all depends upon its nature and influence, and if 
 these do not deserve condemnation, it should at 
 least be let alone ; and if they are not to be justified, 
 a temperate and truthful exposure is necessary. The 
 " short cut " method of settling such questions is 
 never the best ; though to those who read a chain 
 of propositions without examining the separate 
 links it may seem conclusive. 
 
 I remember to have seen an argument in favor of 
 the proposition that "all men are now perfectly 
 happy." It was constructed thus: " All men desire 
 to be happy ; there never was a man who wished to 
 be miserable. The Creator is the author of this 
 universal desire. He is omnipotent and beneficent, 
 therefore he would not implant this desire without 
 making it absolutely certain that it would be grati- 
 fied ; therefore all men always have been, and now 
 are, perfectly happy." In the same way one might 
 prove that all men are good- All desjre Xq \)e 
 
Hozv the Theater is Defended. 23 
 
 happy. None but the good are happy, therefore all 
 desire to be good ; " but all that desire to be good 
 are good, therefore all are good." The stern logic 
 of experience contradicts these specious reasonings, 
 and teaches us that we must ever be on our guard 
 against "short cuts" to a conclusion. They may 
 be sound, they may not be. 
 
24 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HOW THE THEATER IS DEFENDED — CONTINUED. 
 
 T T has been eloquently set forth by some that art 
 is inferior only to religion in its elevating influ- 
 ence upon mankind ; that the drama unites poetry, 
 in its highest forms, with painting, and sculpture, 
 and oratory, and music ; and that to disparage it is 
 vandalism, and springs from a spirit which would 
 " destroy the sun because of its spots," and " hurl 
 the world back on its path of progress." It is true 
 that the drama blends all the arts in itself; that it is 
 the product and illustration of them all ; and that an 
 abstract idea of a dramatic representation may be 
 formed which would ennoble all who should behold 
 it : but it is impossible to describe an existing insti- 
 tution by means of " glittering generalities." Paint- 
 ing, statuary, poetry, music, and oratory have all 
 been made to promote licentiousness and irreligion 
 as well as to assist religion. Because the spirit of 
 poetry is allied to that of religion, it does not follow 
 
How the Theater is Defended. 25 
 
 that Queen Mab, or the Tragedy of Cain, or Don 
 Juan are of a reUgious tendency ; or because 
 Raphael's " Madonna," or Michael Angelo's " Judg- 
 ment," are imbued with a devotional spirit, that all 
 of the works of art unearthed at Pompeii are in- 
 centives to virtue. These generalities cannot be 
 applied even to religion. Because religion is the 
 friend and saviour of man it does not follow that 
 there have not been religions which were worse than 
 no religion at all ; religions so corrupting as to im- 
 peril the very existence of society. When we praise 
 religion we must know what religion we praise, and 
 when we eulogize art we must distinguish its noble 
 from its base uses. So that the whole question is 
 open till we determine to what ends the music, and 
 poetry, and oratory, and painting, of the Theater 
 are made to contribute. 
 
 In defending the Theater it is said that it is a 
 " school of morals ; " that it " holds the mirror up to 
 nature ;" that virtue and its rewards, vice and its pains 
 and penalties, are so skillfully, naturally, and truth- 
 fully represented, that good impressions are made ; 
 and that the evils are incidental and insignificant. 
 
26 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 If we examine these statements we see at once that 
 as the Theater deals with moral questions, it must be 
 a " school of morals; " and as its methods of teach- 
 ing are most impressive, it must be a very influen- 
 tial school. Hence, whether virtue and vice, with 
 their results, are properly represented there, becomes 
 a question of great importance. Nor would we be 
 able to conclude our inquiries if it were found that 
 virtue and vice are represented true to nature ; for 
 the vital point would still remain, whether it is 
 beneficial to the moral nature to witness vice natu- 
 rally delineated. 
 
 The foregoing are the principal views held of 
 the stage by those of its friends who are not them- 
 selves actors ; but there may be some who would 
 indorse the estimate placed upon it by the actor 
 Sothern, who, in a recent English paper, "aggran- 
 dizes his profession," at the same time expressing 
 his opinion of the Church and the Press. He says : 
 " The Drama is but an acted novel, and being acted, 
 that is, presented in bodily form and audible speech, 
 appeals even more vividly than mere written de- 
 scription to the masses, who have not the faculty of 
 
How the Theater is Defended. 27 
 
 impersonating in their own minds the ideas of others, 
 and to whom representation is essential. We won- 
 der what the world would be without the Drama to 
 ' hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature ; ' to show 
 virtue her own features, scorn her own image, and 
 ' the very age and body of the time its form and 
 pressure ; ' had we no Othello, to warn us agafnst 
 jealousy ; no School for Scandal, to ridicule that most 
 fashionable vice ; no Tartuffe, to gibbet hypocrisy ; 
 no lago, to put us on our guard against our honest 
 friends. In this material age and most matter-of- 
 fact country, the Drama, either in its spoken or 
 written form, is almost the sole intellectual element 
 of our civilization ; all else is Fact, sir ; hard fact ! . . . 
 The Pulpit is so entirely given over to the exaltation 
 of sect and dreams of the future Hfe, to the utter 
 neglect of all things pertaining to the present exist- 
 ence — deals so exclusively in post-obits — in fact, is so 
 thoroughly polemical and retrogressive, that its pow- 
 er as a purifier and guide is almost naught. The 
 press ... is, by the necessity of the case, forced to 
 neglect the lighter subjects, and so the Drama is 
 left almost alone as a refining, elevating, and warn- 
 
28 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 ing medium to that large majority of the world's 
 inhabitants whose lack of time, opportunity, or taste 
 for study prohibits any profound views to originate 
 with themselves, and are, therefore, fain to accept 
 the opinion of some ' guide, philosopher, and friend ' 
 to mold their crude views of things into shape and 
 cotisistence." He further calls the Drama the " prop 
 and mainstay of civilization," and would seem to 
 have looked through one end of his telescope at the 
 Drama, and through the other at the Church and 
 the Press. 
 
Sentiments Adverse to the Theater. 29 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SENTIMENTS ADVERSE TO THE THEATER. 
 
 TV /r ANY of the opponents of the Theater declare 
 that it is evil and only evil, and that contin- 
 ually ; that no one can, under any circumstances, en- 
 ter the Theater and be a Christian ; and that even 
 the desire to do so is ground for a strong presump- 
 tion, if not a settled conviction, that the individual 
 possessing such a desire is, if he professes to be 
 a Christian, either a hypocrite or thoroughly self- 
 deceived. 
 
 Every statement made in the interest of truth, 
 which is inconsistent with facts defeats its own ends; 
 and those who have for a time been imposed upon 
 are rendered hostile to the truth itself when pre- 
 sented by those whom they have found unreli- 
 able. The charge that every play ever put on the 
 boards is evil in matter and manner, cannot be 
 maintained ; that no dramatic representation has 
 ever exerted a good influence is equally untenable ; 
 
30 The Christian and the Theater. 
 
 that every actor is thoroughly immoral, is also in- 
 capable of proof; and, perhaps, in some instances a 
 virtuous character has been as fully evinced by them 
 as any thing of the nature can be ; and to say that 
 there have been no Christians, who have conscien- 
 tiously supposed themselves at liberty to attend the 
 Theater, is to say that there is no possibility of an 
 error of judgment on this solitary question. Slave- 
 ry, as an institution, was repugnant to Christian mo- 
 rality ; but that good men erred in judgment there- 
 upon will hardly be doubted. So there are different 
 views of the true way to observe the Sabbath. Some 
 hold an extremely rigid view, others are not so stren- 
 uous, and a respectable sect of Christians keep Satur- 
 day and work on Sunday. Shall we denounce those 
 who differ in judgment from us as not worthy the 
 name of Christians merely for that cause ? So, even 
 if it be believed that the Theater is " evil, and only 
 evil, and that continually," let not him who, under 
 that conviction, properly abhors the institution, ab- 
 hor one who honestly holds a different opinion. 
 
 Others believe that there are fine sentiments in 
 many plays ; that but the smaller number are wholly 
 
Sentiments Adverse to the Theater. 31 
 
 evil ; and that a mind thoroughly fortified by religion, 
 observation, experience, and age, might attend certain 
 dramatic representations without injury, and, per- 
 haps, with pleasure and profit. But while they be- 
 lieve these things, they are compelled to believe, with 
 equal confidence, that the character of plays in gen- 
 eral is bad, and that the effect of the Theater upon 
 its patrons is evil. They are also convinced that 
 there are insuperable obstacles in the way of its 
 reformation ; and that Christians, in endeavoring to 
 surmount them, would exhaust their energies to no 
 good end. They think, furthermore, that in at- 
 tempting to do so they would be obliged to turn 
 aside from important fields of Christian effort which 
 now call for greater fidelity than ever before, and 
 that they would, by their example, lead many into 
 temptations which they would not, perhaps could 
 not, resist. And in addition to these evil results, 
 and partly as a consequence of them, they think that 
 the attendance of Christians on the Theater, and their 
 attempt to elevate it, would lower the moral and 
 religious tone of the Church, and diminish the in- 
 fluence of religion over the community in which the 
 
32 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 experiment should be tried. Tiiat it is the duty of 
 all holding these views to remain away from the 
 Theater and to dissuade others from attending, needs 
 no argument. Whether the views of those who ad- 
 vocate, of those who apologize for, or of those who 
 oppose, the Theater, are correct, every one must 
 determine for himself after a careful examination. 
 
The Christian Life. 33 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 
 
 ' I ""HUS far we have not inquired what it is to be 
 a Christian, but certainly we must have a clear 
 idea of this before we can determine whether a 
 "Christian may with propriety do this or that." 
 The term Christian is used to distinguish a man from 
 Jews, Mohammedans, or Pagans. Again, the in- 
 habitant of a Christian nation is, in a general sense, 
 called a Christian. Coming a little nearer to the 
 generic meaning of the word, a Christian is one who 
 believes that Christ was an authoritative teacher of 
 religion, philosophy, and morals. But still the mean- 
 ing is too vague to signify much. The person may 
 class him with Confucius or Buddha, and may him- 
 self be a Deist or a Pantheist. 
 
 To be a Christian is to endeavor to govern the 
 life by the precepts of Christ, acknowledging him 
 as an infallible authority in faith and morals, and 
 relying upon him for salvation. For he said : " Ye 
 
34 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command 
 you;" and again: "If ye love me keep my com- 
 mandments." Or, as taught by an apostle : " Ye 
 are not your own ; for ye are bought with a price : 
 therefore glorify God in your body, and in your 
 spirit, which are God's," and, " Whether, therefore, 
 ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the 
 glory of God." 
 
 To be a Christian, therefore, is to decide on our 
 conduct not by inclination, or selfish considerations, 
 or the opinions of others, or the spirit of the time, 
 or even by the example of the professedly pious, 
 but by our settled and honest conviction of the will 
 of Christ. But he has taught in his word that the 
 heart must be filled with love to God and man ; that 
 the eye must be single if the whole body is full of 
 light ; that the body must be kept under subjec- 
 tion ; that the principal aim of the life must be to 
 love God and imitate Christ. Hence, a fundamental 
 principle in determining the right or wrong of any 
 proposed act is its relation to growth in the knowl- 
 edge and love of God. If it promotes spiritual life, 
 if it strengthens the soul to resist temptation, if it 
 
The Christian Life. 35 
 
 leads to clearer and more worthy conceptions of God 
 and duty, if it increases love to Christians and to all 
 men, and animates faith and hope, it is right. But 
 if it is an impediment to piety and right living, if it 
 diminishes the spirit of prayer or interest in spirit- 
 ual things, if it disqualifies a person for earnest 
 efforts to lead men to the consecration of their 
 hearts and lives to God, it is wrong. 
 
 While these conclusions will not be questioned 
 by any who are striving to be " dead unto the 
 world, and alive unto Christ," it is nevertheless true 
 that many things are allowable, right, and even nec- 
 essary to the Christian whose tendency to assist him 
 in a religious life is indirect, if at all discernible. 
 The animal life must be maintained, hence the ne- 
 cessity for eating and drinking, for resting and sleep- 
 ing. But these are acceptable unto God if we eat 
 and drink for strength, and not for gluttony and 
 drunkenness. Yet food eaten without relish is not 
 promotive of health, hence it is right to prepare 
 gratifications for the palate. Rest and sleep, also, are 
 right, if they do not become the masters instead of 
 the servants of the body; and though they may 
 
36 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 seem like a waste of time and strength, yet He who 
 made us of the dust " knoweth our frame," with all 
 its limitations, and so long as we do not sink into 
 indolence and sloth, we may rest and sleep " to the 
 glory of God." 
 
 But it has been found that something more than 
 rest and sleep is necessary to preserve the body and 
 mind in the best possible condition. Employment 
 that is not work, a movement of body or mind 
 which is spontaneous, causing and being accompa- 
 nied by an unusual flow of spirits, is necessary, and 
 such are its effects that it has been called recrea- 
 tion. A few persons whose labor is not exhausting, 
 who are constantly traveling and mingling in socie- 
 ty, or whose employment is of a most diversified 
 character, may dispense with allotments of time for 
 recreation, and a very few may pursue a monoto- 
 nous business to old age, and despise amusement ; 
 but to most persons, especially in this high-strung 
 civilization, in which more of exhausting brain work 
 is concentrated in a day than was demanded half 
 a century ago for the affairs of a week, it is essen- 
 tial for health, good spirits, and the best working 
 
The Christian Life. 37 
 
 condition, that some time should be devoted to re- 
 laxation, diversion, amusement, or whatever it may- 
 be called ; and when it involves nothing immoral or 
 pernicious, and is not carried so far as to become 
 enervating, it can be done " to the glory of God." 
 
 Conversation, and music, and travel, and company, 
 and healthful games, pictures, and calisthenics, and 
 countless entertaining occupations, passive or active, 
 here subserve a good purpose. And He who said 
 unto his disciples " Come ye yourselves apart into a 
 desert place, and rest awhile," can never condemn his 
 tired servants if they loosen the bow which, if too 
 long bent, will surely lose its elasticity. All will grant, 
 however, that it would be improper to adopt as an 
 amusement, without examination, any thing which 
 may be suggested by others, or may occur to our 
 own minds. It would not be maintained that he 
 who professes to " live unto Christ " can seek amuse- 
 ment as the end of his life, any more than a man can 
 be a Christian and make the sole object of his ambi- 
 tion the accumulation of wealth, or another live 
 to eat instead of eating to live. 
 
 Nor should the Christian indulge in amusements 
 
38 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 which are of such a character that he will be likely 
 to be so fascinated by them as to interfere with the 
 prosecution of the serious work of his life. It is 
 also plain that any thing which appeals to the lower 
 nature, the sensual appetites, must be discarded. 
 These ever clamor for gratification, ever " obtrude 
 beyond their proper sphere," and he who is taught 
 by his Lord and Master to pray, " Lead us not into 
 temptation," will not amuse himself by stimulating 
 the source from which his most dangerous tempta- 
 tions and worst impulses arise. The rights of others 
 must ever be regarded, and no known command of 
 God violated. The spirit of cruelty, which in for- 
 mer ages pervaded the popular amusements of the 
 world, is antagonistic to that of the Gospel. If a 
 proposed amusement be injurious to the mind or 
 body, it then defeats the only object for which it 
 could with propriety be employed. But if its at- 
 tractions are strong, but not dangerous — -if it is 
 healthful to the mind and body — if it does not excite 
 the lower nature — if it does not inflict pain or disre- 
 gard the rights or feelings of others — and if it be not 
 carried so far as to occasion the neglect of duty or 
 
The Christian Life. 39 
 
 the expenditure of time without return or compen- 
 sation which will justify it in the forum of conscience 
 and reason — it is the privilege of the Christian, so 
 far as it relates to his individual experience, to in- 
 dulge in it. And from such amusement he may 
 turn to work, or meditation, or prayer, with a con- 
 science void of offense toward God or man on this 
 account. 
 
40 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 the CHRISTIAN'S INFLUENCE. 
 
 T N the previous chapter we have spoken of the 
 Christian's privilege as respects his individual 
 experience. There is, however, a principle revealed 
 in the Gospel, and powerfully urged, which may 
 make it necessary for the Christian sometimes to 
 deny himself an amusement which, to his own judg- 
 ment, seems entirely unobjectionable. He may be 
 obliged, in view of his relation to others, to say " all 
 things are lawful for me, but all things are not ex- 
 pedient." 
 
 The duty of denying ourselves of voluntary grati- 
 fications when our indulgence in them would injure 
 others, is a direct deduction from the Golden Rule. 
 It finds its sublimest illustration in the sacrifice of 
 Christ for us. The Apostle John (i John iii, i6) 
 deduces from that sacrifice the duty of the Christian 
 to lay down his life, if necessary, for the brethren. 
 
 The logical clearness with which St. Paul states 
 
The Christian 's Influence. 41 
 
 this application of the law of love leaves nothing 
 further to be said on the subject. As regards the 
 opinion which we hold of what is right or wrong, 
 "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own 
 mind ; " and we should not judge our brother, for he 
 is not our servant, but Christ's, and "we shall all 
 stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." " But 
 if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walk- 
 est thou not charitably." " It is gbod neither to 
 eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby 
 thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made 
 weak." " We then that are strong ought to bear 
 the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our- 
 selves. Let every one of us please his neighbor 
 for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased 
 not himself." 
 
 This duty of the Christian to deny himself for the 
 benefit of his " weak brother " has never been very 
 popular in the Church of Christ. Next to forgiv- 
 ing our enemies, and praying for them that despite- 
 fully use us, it is the most difficult task imposed 
 upon the average Christian. It has been said that 
 " this weak brother is the greatest bully in the uni- 
 
42 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 verse," that he attempts to abridge our liberty in 
 Christ Jesus, to place us under a yoke of bondage, 
 and that yoke made of his narrow prejudices. To 
 the " weak brother " who proposes to domineer over 
 us there is but one answer: "Who art thou that 
 judgest another man's servant? to his own master 
 he standeth or falleth ; yea, he shall be holden up : 
 for God is able to make him stand." " All things 
 are lawful for me." But it is not the case of the 
 bullying " weak brother " that is contemplated in 
 these inspired directions. " Him that is weak in 
 the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputa- 
 tions!' Receive the "weak brother," but not to 
 give him authority over your faith. If he " bullies," 
 the Christian must assert his liberty in Christ Jesus, 
 and the other must learn humility. 
 
 But the case provided for is this: When the Chris- 
 tian sees that for him to do a certain thing, the do- 
 ing or not doing being voluntary, will put a stum- 
 bling-block in his brother's way, or grieve him, or 
 make him weak, he being conscious of his own 
 strength, holding his faith and freedom before God, 
 must " bear the infirmities of the weak, and not 
 
The Christian 's Influence. 43 
 
 please " himself, rather must he " please his neighbor 
 for his good to edification." This voluntary sur- 
 render under the law of love, and in the " imitation 
 of Christ," for the sake of "the weak brother," is a 
 very different thing from being " bullied " by him 
 into a cowardly and unwilling relinquishment of our 
 rights. 
 
 But, strangely or otherwise, most believers are 
 more favorably impressed with the declaration, "All 
 things are lawful for me," than with that which fol- 
 lows, "All things are not expedient;" and again, 
 "All things edify not." Is this because the asser- 
 tion of freedom is more congenial to human nature 
 than the recognition of the duty of restraint on ac- 
 count of, as it often seems to us, the contemptible 
 and inexcusable prejudices of others ? 
 
 The application through love of others of this 
 self-denial to amusements is just what it is to 
 other questions. We may not amuse ourselves in 
 such a way that our example will lead others into 
 dangerous positions. He would not be thought a 
 kind or discreet parent who, in the presence of chil- 
 dren, would amuse himself with fire-arms and then 
 
44 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 leave them loaded where those children could reach 
 them. Nor is he who indulges, in promiscuous so- 
 ciety, in the use of intoxicating liquors, even though 
 he honestly claims a right to use them for himself, 
 acting charitably toward those who will by his act 
 " look upon the wine when it is red," even though 
 " at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth 
 like an adder." He, therefore, who would " please 
 his neighbor for his good to edification," will indulge 
 in no amusement whose general effect is bad, even 
 though upon himself it may be indifferent, or even, 
 as he supposes, good. 
 
 Again, it is the duty of the Christian to " walk in 
 wisdom toward them that are without," and this 
 wisdom has respect to the word of Christ : " As 
 thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I 
 sent them into the world," that men might " believe 
 in me through their word." Whence it follows 
 that no faithful disciple of Christ can amuse him- 
 self by what he believes will weaken his influence as 
 a Christian. But it may be asked, Is there no 
 limitation to the application of this principle ? What 
 subject is there on which none have prejudices? 
 
The Christian 's Influence. 45 
 
 The inquiry is both pertinent and difficult. The 
 wearing of beards by the ministry has offended many, 
 and the mustache in the pulpit yet disturbs some ; 
 the introduction of instrumental music into churches, 
 the disuse of the white cravat, countless things used 
 and disused, have grieved many. 
 
 In the matter of amusement some believe that 
 none is necessary, while others admit its rightful- 
 ness, and yet condemn in detail every possible form. 
 A recent but very popular game, as much used by 
 clergymen and Christians as among irreligious peo- 
 ple, is denounced by some as " billiards in disguise," 
 and as " Satan's principal card in the game which he 
 is playing with the Church." I admit that there is 
 a limit, and of that limit the Christian must serious- 
 ly judge for himself, and ask in every instance, " Is 
 this one of the things which I ought to avoid for 
 the sake of my brethren, and that my influence as 
 a Christian may not be diminished ? or is it of such a 
 nature that I may indulge in it, trusting to my gen- 
 eral character and influence to counteract any inci- 
 dental evils?" 
 
 In all cases where there is not an express com- 
 
46 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 mand, we must at the last retreat to our own 
 best judgment. . But the word of God is explicit 
 in teaching that we cannot decide merely that an 
 act is lawful, and then proceed to perform it, re- 
 gardless of its effect upon our brethren, and our in- 
 fluence over the irreligious. We must also decide 
 whether it, though proper, as we conceive, in itself, 
 will have such an influence that we should deny our- 
 selves of it for the sake of others ; and if we decide 
 that it will, we are to give it up joyfully for " his 
 sake" and for " conscience' sake ; " "conscience, I 
 say, not thine own, but of the other : for why is my 
 liberty judged of another man's conscience ? " 
 
The Impulses and Tastes of Youth. 47 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Impulses and Tastes of Youth. 
 
 ' I ""HE Theater always has been and must be chiefly 
 attended and supported by the young. And 
 investigation shows that in every audience as many 
 as two thirds are under thirty years of age. This 
 would be so if the Theater attracted all classes of the 
 population equally, for but little more than one third 
 are over thirty years old. But as age advances the 
 love of amusement, as such, in many persons dimin- 
 ishes, and the loss of novelty, the increase of cares, 
 the demands on money, and the decline of health, 
 all tend to reduce the attendance on expensive and 
 late evening entertainments of every kind. And as 
 very young children are seldom taken, we are, proba- 
 bly, much below the truth in stating that as many 
 as two thirds of the persons composing every ordi- 
 nary assembly in the Theater are between the ages 
 of fifteen and thirty. 
 
 In deterniining, therefore, whether the Theater, as 
 
48 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 an institution, should receive the support of Chris- 
 tians, we must keep the fact that it chiefly influences 
 youth and young men and women clearly before our 
 minds. Now there are principles concerning the 
 impulses and tastes of youth, as well as the peculiar 
 dangers to which they are exposed, that are as cer- 
 tain as any thing which experience and observation 
 teach, and these must be applied in estimating the 
 probable influence of the Theater. Among these 
 principles the following are most important, and 
 bear directly on the solution of the problem. Lib- 
 erty and license are peculiarly charming to the 
 young, and especially to young men ; while the 
 idea of restraint is entirely distasteful to them, and 
 those who impose it are disliked in proportion to 
 the extent of their power and persistency. 
 
 Quiet living and self-denial are attained by pain- 
 ful discipline. Many and bitter are the lessons which 
 the high-spirited youth must learn before he can be 
 brought to adopt, as the rule of his life, a willing and 
 rational denial to himself of present gratification for 
 future good. And often the very qualities which 
 would make the young man, if he practice self-' 
 
The Impulses and Tastes of Youth. 49 
 
 denial, pre-eminently powerful and useful, will ruin 
 him most speedily and hopelessly if he does not 
 deny himself. 
 
 Equally true is it that a horroi of vice, arising 
 from a conviction and vivid apprehension of its sin- 
 fulness and of its dreadful consequences, is the best 
 safeguard for youth. Familiarity with vice in any 
 form, before the mind and conscience are thoroughly 
 fortified against temptation, and habits of right liv- 
 ing are established, is dangerous in the extreme. 
 
 Tt is also known and admitted by all thoughtful 
 observers, that the gratification of irregular im- 
 pulses in youth forms a habit sooner than similar 
 gratifications in adult years. The nature is more 
 plastic and there is less power of self-control. Be- 
 sides, the blood then courses more wildly through 
 the veins, and excitement yields more pleasure. 
 Lord Byron had this in view when he wrote : — 
 
 I 
 
 " Ah, vice, how soft are thy vokiptuous ways ! 
 
 When boyish blood is mantling, who can 'scape. 
 The fascination of thy magic gaze ? 
 A cherub hydra round us thou dost gape. 
 And mold to every taste thy dear delusive shape." 
 
50 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 And what is as pertinent, and in its consequences 
 as baneful, is, that when such a habit is formed in 
 youth it is much more difficult to shake it off than 
 when it was not begun till middle life. 
 
 The system has, in the former case, " grown to the 
 act," and a positive change has taken place in the 
 structure ; while in the latter all the preceding tend- 
 encies are against the permanent domination of a 
 new course of action. Hence we know that it is 
 comparatively rare that bad habits, whose founda- 
 tion was not laid in the excesses of youth, are 
 formed after middle life, excepting in the cases 
 where morals, in extreme age, deteriorate with the 
 accession of dotage, an occurrence more frequent 
 than those who never gave the subject any atten- 
 tion may suppose. And we also know that when 
 the evil habits set up in youth are persisted in 
 through early manhood, the probabilities of their 
 ev^r being shaken off greatly and rapidly di- 
 minish with every succeeding year ; and that to 
 break them up at any stage after they have been 
 fairly entered upon, is like " wrenching a bone from 
 its socket." 
 
The Impulses and Tastes of Youth. 5 1 
 
 Another fact of great significance is, that morbid 
 habits are much more persistent than those which 
 fall in with the healthful operations of nature or the 
 legitimate obligations of life. It is more difficult 
 to give up the use of opium, alcohol, or even tobac- 
 co, than to deny one's self any one kind of whole- 
 some food ; and it is much harder to prevent the 
 rising of lascivious thoughts, when allowed long or 
 frequently to absorb the attention, than to destroy 
 any habit of reflection or occupation which does not 
 awaken or stimulate the passions. Such abnormal 
 habits become "second nature," and often enchain 
 the victim in a thraldom more abject and pitiless 
 than the first nature, even where that is intensified 
 by a strong hereditary predisposition, would ordi- 
 narily maintain over any responsible being. 
 
52 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THEATRICAL REPRE- 
 SENTATIONS. 
 
 ' I "HE success of a theatrical entertainment de- 
 pends largely upon its power to fasten the 
 attention and excite the emotions. And representa- 
 tion and costume, the voice and the living person, 
 make a much deeper impression, and produce in 
 most minds, if not all, a more intense excitement, 
 than reading or study, however protracted or pro- 
 found. The introduction of different characters, 
 the whole scenery resembling real life, produces an 
 illusion in susceptible minds which has been prop- 
 erly expressed by the word " entranced." And this 
 effect, if the sentiments advanced be elevating, is 
 good, and if they be immoral, it is bad. But it is 
 a point of great weight and positive bearing wheth- 
 er the virtues are capable of yielding such intense 
 excitement as the vices. 
 
 It will, I think, be conceded either at once, or 
 
Principles Involved in Representations. 53 
 
 after a little reflection, that truth, honesty, temper- 
 ance, industry, frugality, chastity, and, in general, 
 religion, are not capable of being represented in the 
 Theater, either in matter or manner, so as to cause 
 such intense excitement as vice and its entangle- 
 ments, as intrigue, drunkenness, duelling, conspira- 
 cy, adultery, divorce, treason, robbery, forgery, the 
 altering of wills, murder, incest, and the passions 
 which occasion these crimes, namely, lust, revenge, 
 covetousness, and ambition. The virtues which in 
 actual life are quiet and unobtrusive, could be worked 
 ap to excite only by bringing the vices into proximity 
 to them, and delineating so vividly the temptation as 
 to make it long doubtful how the scale would turn ; 
 and then if it should always turn on the side of vir- 
 tue it would often be against the sympathies of 
 many, and in a brief period become monotonous to 
 most. Thus the two grand divisions of the Drama, 
 tragedy and comedy, deal chiefly with sins and vices, 
 either alone, or in terrible and long uncertain con- 
 flict with virtue. The very idea of tragedy involves 
 a fatal issue, or a fatal issue unexpectedly escaped ; 
 while that of comedy includes foibles, sins which are 
 
54 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 comical in their effects, and in general the ludicrous 
 accidents of life. 
 
 There is, however, a limit to the interest which 
 the Christian can take in the representation of 
 scenes of vice. It cannot be proper to hear or see 
 voluntarily, for the sake of pleasure, what it would 
 be improper to say or do. If the doing of sinful 
 things is sinful, " to have pleasure in them that do 
 them " must be sinful also, for the same state of 
 mind is implied in both cases. If there are in plays 
 profane expressions, or indecent allusions, or lasciv- 
 ious looks, attitudes, and gestures, it cannot be right 
 to derive amusement from the spectacle. 
 
 We speak now, not of the crimes represented, but 
 of the language and attitudes employed in repre- 
 senting them. Hence, the Christian could find no 
 pleasure in much that would create great interest in 
 an assembly of average morality ; and what is con- 
 sidered by a sagacious " management actually nec- 
 essary to success," would be regarded as sinful by 
 any one who adopts the precepts of Christ as the 
 rule of his life. 
 
General Characteristics of Plays. 55 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLAYS — THE 
 MATTER. 
 
 "OELIEVING the principles set forth in the pre- 
 ceding chapters to be evident, we will now 
 make a discrinainating examination of the Theater 
 in this country with respect chiefly to the funda- 
 mental elements of matter and manner. And there 
 are certain general characteristics of plays which 
 will be at once recognized, and hardly denied by 
 any. 
 
 Christian principles are not accepted as the rule 
 of morals. Praise and censure are not given ac- 
 cording to the precepts of the Gospel, but accord- 
 ing to shifting, worldly, and often immoral, codes. 
 Hence, the Theater cannot teach the morals of 
 Christianity to those whom it influences ; but, so far 
 as it departs therefrom, it diminishes the hold which 
 Christian morality has upon the public. That which 
 Christianity denounces as a great sin is often spoken 
 
$6 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 of as a mere folly or insignificant defect of char- 
 acter. And a mode of life which Christ enjoins 
 on his disciples is disparaged as superfluous or im- 
 possible. 
 
 True religion — meaning the conscientious, self- 
 denying, world-renouncing, God-fearing, Christian — 
 is never praised, but usually ridiculed ; and when 
 religion comes upon the stage it is generally in 
 the person of a sporting parson, or an Amina- 
 dab Sleek, or the Hypocrite. If an instance of 
 whole-souled benevolence is brought forward, it is 
 usually an act performed by some " good liver," 
 some " hale fellow ; " and if a piece of penurious- 
 ness is to be denounced, not unfrequently it is con- 
 nected with some " sanctimonious " professor. That 
 religion of an easy-going sort is sometimes compli- 
 mented, is freely admitted ; and that many fine and 
 just sentiments concerning God, and virtue, and 
 the future life are introduced, is well known. But 
 that the kind of piety that denies self, renounces 
 the world, and fears God, is seldom or never praised 
 in the literature of the Drama, will be denied by 
 none who are familiar with the subject. 
 
General Characteristics of Plays. 57 
 
 A few plays have been written in which conscien- 
 tious piety has been justly commended and illustra- 
 ted, but they never became popular, and it is diiifi- 
 cult to name one that was ever performed three 
 times in the same place. And yet this is the only 
 kind of piety to which the promise of salvation is 
 annexed — a piety which is distasteful to man until 
 he is renewed by the Holy Spirit, and which even 
 then requires much prayer and self-denial to bear 
 its burdens and discharge its duties. 
 
 Again, in most plays, wickedness is made to fur- 
 nish amusement. Lying, drunkenness, adultery, and 
 " other " works of the flesh, " become the cause of 
 sport," and the occasion of hilarity. And, as it has 
 been truly said, " Crimes that would call down the 
 wrath of God on their perpetrators are systematic- 
 ally made to provoke laughter." 
 
 To this charge it may be said, " Such is life ; the 
 newspapers abound with accounts of similar crimes 
 daily committed among us ; history is full of them." 
 This, alas! is too true; but who, if his moral sense 
 be acute, would read them anywhere, or behold 
 them for diversion, or otherwise than from necessity, 
 
58 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 and with feelings of real horror. On the .stage one 
 character is introduced "who incessantly Hes;" an- 
 other, who steals ; another, who is always drinking 
 and reveling; another, who is conspiring; another, 
 who attempts intrigue; another, who poisons; an- 
 other, who commits adultery or murder: and though 
 some of these actions are not now, as they were at 
 one time, actually represented before the spectators, 
 yet all is done to produce the illusion that they are 
 really happening. Oaths and profane expressions 
 are often introduced, and in some popular plays are 
 used by the actors more frequently than they occur 
 in the original text. Witticisms, whose whole point 
 lies in an indecent allusion or implication, are very 
 common ; and in many cases if the open obscenity, 
 the licentious wit, the profaneness, and the turns 
 of expression which run along the confines of im- 
 propriety, always apparently about to cross, but just 
 escaping, were expurgated, there would be little left 
 to excite, or even to hold, attention. 
 
 Much is sometimes said of the " moral " of the 
 play being good. As a rule, where there is any 
 moral, in the technical sense of that word, it is has- 
 
General Characteristics of Plays. 59 
 
 tily disposed of in the fifth act. But this cannot 
 counteract the evil influence of what has pre- 
 ceded it. 
 
 Suppose a story for youth, full of reckless adven- 
 tures, illicit loves, profane and vulgar witticisms, in 
 which the characters have a good time, and though 
 getting into many perplexities generally extricate 
 themselves by their own ingenuity, or escape by 
 some stroke of fortune, is it to be believed, or even 
 fancied, that if on the last page it should be stated 
 that the " way to be happy is to be good," or the 
 " path of duty is the path of safety," the effect of 
 the previous narrative would be favorably modified ? 
 
 It is sometimes affirmed that this objection, that 
 plays contain obscene allusions, would condemn the 
 Bible. This reply will have force when one pas- 
 sage can be found in the Bible in which a word was 
 introduced for the sake of its obscenity. And the 
 attempt to bolster up the filthy allusions in plays 
 by the Bible will be seen to be as absurd as it is 
 profane when we remember, that from the sixty-six 
 different books of which the Bible is composed, not 
 an instance can be produced of a joke founded on 
 
6o Christians and the Theater. 
 
 licentiousness or sin, while its solemn declaration 
 is, that neither " drunkards," nor " thieves," nor 
 " fornicators," nor " adulterers," nor " liars," nor 
 " profane " swearers, nor " murderers," "shall inherit 
 the kingdom of God." 
 
How Plays are Put Upon the Stage. 6i 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 HOW PLAYS ARE PUT UPON THE STAGE. 
 
 '^'^HUS far we have spoken of the matter of 
 plays ; but when we inquire into the manner 
 in which they are put upon the stage it becomes 
 apparent that good impressions cannot be made. 
 To sit unmoved, coldly critical, saying to one's self, 
 " This is but fiction," would not admit of much en- 
 joyment. The greater the sympathetic excitement 
 the more exquisite the emotion. The spectator 
 must laugh with him that laughs, rave with him 
 that raves, and weep with him that weeps ; or if 
 the play be such as to require sympathy with one 
 character and antipathy to another, this feeling 
 must be maintained all the way through. 
 
 The terror-stricken old lady who, being at the 
 Theater for the first time, cried out, "Are you going 
 to let him kill her right here ! " as a disappointed 
 lover was about to plunge his dagger into the heart 
 of a young woman, was in the state to get the great- 
 
62 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 est enjoyment could she but have suppressed the 
 absurd outcry. Lord Byron had a convulsion un- 
 der Kean's acting of " Sir Giles Overreach ; " many 
 ladies went into hysterics ; and even a " veteran act- 
 ress was so overpowered by the last speech of Sir 
 Giles that she absolutely fainted on the stage." If 
 the sentiment of the play were unexceptionable the 
 highest moral results could not be produced under 
 such conditions ; but if the play be immoral, none 
 but the worst effects can follow. 
 
 If it be thought that the same objection might 
 be urged against oratory and the excitement which 
 it produces, it is necessary only to suggest that 
 whenever oratory is so employed as to dethrone 
 the judgment, and govern the hearer wholly by his 
 impulses, it is objectionable in the highest degree ; 
 and when it is employed to persuade men to vice 
 or irreligion, or unjustifiable treason, or to give an 
 unrighteous verdict, it is a curse and not a blessing. 
 But when oratory produces the feelings which rea- 
 son and morals approve, it may intensify them with 
 benefit to any degree not incompatible with a ra- 
 tional self-control. 
 
How Plays are Put Upon the Stage. 63 
 
 The objection against the excitement of the The- 
 ater is, that it is the greatest possible to be caused 
 by the surrender of the judgment to the illusion, and 
 that the matter received is not such as to improve 
 the character, but to loosen the springs of virtue and 
 purity; and that the sympathies are very often, if 
 not generally, drawn out by and to improper 
 objects. 
 
 It is a consideration which, if duly weighed, will 
 be seen to possess great force, that the appearance, 
 dress, expression, language, and attitude of actors 
 must, and do correspond, as far as possible, to the 
 characters assumed. The woman of easy virtue, 
 the young woman being led astray, the libertine, 
 the gambler, the reveler, the traducer — all these 
 must dress and act in character. The law of God 
 declares that the indulgence of the sexual passions 
 out of wedlock is a sin of the deepest malignity. 
 The imagination on this subject is the ally and pro- 
 curess of the passions, and without exception the 
 most terrible moral strain imposed on youth is to 
 be pure in thought, feeling, and act. These things 
 being so, is it possible that the spectacle of women, 
 
64 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 painted, dressed as they are, with heaving bosoms, 
 languishing glances, voluptuous attitudes, falling 
 into the arms of men with whom they are on the 
 verge, according to the play, of committing adul- 
 tery, should make any other than the worst possible 
 impressions? Persons of mature years and thor- 
 ough self-mastery have found such spectacles to 
 "tempt them to immorality;" while to expect the 
 young to behold them without their imaginations 
 being polluted is to defy reason and experience. 
 
 But we are compelled by the truth to probe this 
 subject still further, and to maintain that the excite- 
 ment of the sympathies upon fictitious objects is 
 enervating and pernicious. When the sympathies 
 are awakened by the spectacle of real distress, there 
 is a strong inward prompting to relieve the sufferer. 
 It is well known that if that inward prompting be 
 repressed, after a time suffering will not awaken the 
 emotion. But when the sympathies are excited on 
 fictitious objects, and there is no need or oppor- 
 tunity of relief, it comes to pass that the sympathies 
 only are excited by real suffering, and the prompt- 
 ing to relieve is no longer felt. This explains the 
 
How Plays are Put upon the Stage. 65 
 
 paradoxical spectacle too often seen of eyes stream- 
 ing with tears of sympathy, and hands making no 
 effort, or but a feeble one, to relieve. 
 
 Another law of human nature affects the heart 
 perniciously. It is necessary that every thing should 
 be accomplished in an evening. A man is married, 
 bereaved or divorced, married again, his children 
 grow, estates are divided, all kinds of complications, 
 fearful disasters, such as would naturally be diffused 
 through many years, crowd upon the spectator in 
 rapid succession ; and if he give himself up to the 
 effect he becomes drunk with passion — whether 
 pity, sympathy, love, fear, joy, or hate. When such 
 a man or woman returns to real life ordinary dis- 
 tress fails to move him, and they who weep over im- 
 aginary scenes leave suffering work people unpaid, 
 and consider it annoying to be solicited for charita- 
 ble objects. 
 
 The liberality of some actors is sometimes ad- 
 duced to show the contrary of what is here asserted. 
 But the charity of actors is usually lavish generos- 
 ity ; a profusion fully in harmony with their general 
 character and way of living. Most of them, by their 
 
66 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 own confession regardless of pecuniary obligation, 
 will either spend or give their money according to 
 their changing impulses. How little does this, like 
 the reckless gifts of a Fisk or the politic benefactions 
 of a Tweed, resemble the regular, self-denying, and 
 conscientious efforts of a liberal and well-balanced 
 mind to diminish the griefs or promote the welfare 
 of his fellow-men ! 
 
 It is true that performances are often given for 
 the benefit of certain popular charities, for the re- 
 lief of poverty-stricken actors, and the widows and 
 orphans of firemen, etc. Just so far as such appro- 
 priations are made from motives of charity they de- 
 serve approbation, and the writer has no desire to 
 withhold it ; but where the advantages of an ex- 
 tensive advertisement, and the expectation that 
 many Christians will relax their ordinary strictness 
 " for the sake of the cause," and that having once 
 obtained a " taste of the nectar, they will continue 
 to drink it," are the controlling motives, the ap- 
 propriation deserves no more commendation than 
 that which is to be given to not very scrupulous 
 shrewdness. 
 
Grounds on which these Statements are Made. 67 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 GROUNDS ON WHICH THESE STATEMENTS ARE MADE. 
 
 T T is often said that those who oppose the Theater 
 do so under the influence of unreasoning preju" 
 dice. When asked if they have ever attended a 
 theatrical exhibition they admit that they have not, 
 and are then told that they " do not know what 
 they are talking about," and that if "they were to 
 visit the Theater they would change their sentiments 
 concerning the propriety of attending it." 
 
 It would by no means follow, that enough cannot 
 be ascertained of the tendency of an institution, or a 
 particular line of conduct, without personal experi- 
 ence to determine whether it is good or evil. May 
 not the evils of gambling be ascertained without 
 visiting gambling saloons, and its fascination be 
 proved as a fact by one who has never gambled ? 
 Is it necessary to become a drunkard, or to frequent 
 bar-rooms and groggeries, to obtain satisfactory 
 reasons for adopting temperance principles ! If we 
 
68 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 study the changes that take place in men's conduct 
 and characters we can determine the nature of the 
 influences to which they have been exposed. And 
 by this method it would be sufficiently easy to show 
 that the elements of the charges made against the 
 matter and manner of the Theater are not imaginary 
 but real. But we have the advertisements, and pro- 
 grammes, and critiques in the great daily papers, 
 and from these we may deduce abundant evidence 
 that the Theater ought not to be attended or sup- 
 ported by Christians. If it be what it promises to 
 be — what the critics affirm that it is — its general 
 character is not such that the Christian can find 
 innocent pleasure in visiting it. 
 
 The writer, in his youth, was for a brief period 
 fascinated by the Theater. The time, indeed, was 
 short, but the fever raged. During his attendance 
 thereon, amounting to perhaps thirty visits, he 
 saw some of the most noted actors who have ap- 
 peared in this country during the last quarter of 
 a century — some of whom are still in the front 
 rank of their profession. The influence of this 
 course upon his moral and religious character was 
 
Grounds on which these Statements are Made. 6g 
 
 decidedly bad. The sneers at religion and " strait- 
 laced bigots," which certain comedies contained, 
 embittered him toward a life of piety. The excite- 
 ment of the evening unfitted him for the serious 
 pursuit of his business. He lost relish for lectures 
 and solid reading; his manner, even, underwent a 
 change, and now a semi-tragical extravagance and 
 then an infusion of comical slang came into his 
 mode of speaking and acting. It seemed " smart " 
 to him then, but in the retrospect it appears con- 
 temptible. Besides, the company into which he was 
 thrown was generally of a character injurious to the 
 morals of a young man, and as he gained a 
 relish for it he lost all interest in that of steady 
 persons. And he firmly believes that if, by a de- 
 termined effort, under the influence of an aroused 
 conscience awakened by the contrast between the 
 recklessness of life toward which he was tending 
 and that course of piety which had been inculcated 
 upon him by the precept and example of his par- 
 ents, he had not broken away from his companions 
 and given up Theaters and kindred forms of dissi- 
 pation, he would have been ruined. 
 
70 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 In urging, therefore, the young to abstain from 
 the Theater, and holding that it is wrong for the 
 Christian to countenance it, we " do know what we 
 are talking about," so far as experience can impart 
 that knowledge. Nor are our conclusions drawn 
 from an exceptional case. The writer was neither 
 better nor worse than his companions. And pos- 
 sessing a lively recollection of the influence exerted 
 over himself, he has narrowly observed the unfold- 
 ing of character among the large numbers of youth 
 with whom he has been thrown, and has conversed 
 with many who have had opportunities similar to his 
 own. And from the whole he can draw but two 
 conclusions, namely : — 
 
 That there is no habit, which does not imply a 
 positive renunciation of morality, more pernicious 
 than that of Theater-going ; and that whatever may 
 have occurred in isolated cases, he who intends to 
 live a thoroughly religious life must renounce the 
 Theater. And if, after having made the attempt, 
 he returns to his former habits, a great change for 
 the worse in his moral and spiritijal condition will 
 soon be seen. 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 71 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PLAYS PRESENTED IN NEW YORK DURING THE PAST 
 THREE YEARS. 
 
 T) EING aware of the fact that the Drama, hke 
 ■^ every thing else which caters to the taste, has 
 its fashions — rising and falling and undergoing vari- 
 ous changes — now improving and then degenerat- 
 ing, I have thought it desirable to institute a care- 
 ful inquiry into the plays which have been performed 
 in the principal theaters of New York during the 
 past three years. 
 
 Accordingly I procured the copies used by the 
 performers in preparing for their parts, and took 
 pains to ascertain wherein, in actual use, the actors 
 diverged from the printed copy. They number 
 over sixty, and, with the exception of a few unpub- 
 lished plays, include all that have been produced in 
 the -prominent Theaters of New York during the 
 three years now about closing. And the inquiry has 
 been carried on upon no narrow determination to 
 
72 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 find in every play proof of a preconceived theory. 
 Sentiments and forms of expression which many, 
 whose taste has been formed under the influence of 
 a severely religious life, would throw out as faults, 
 have often been considered by the writer as blem- 
 ishes, and the judgment of those who differ with 
 him on the general subject called in to decide in 
 particular cases. 
 
 Nor has much attention been given to the lower 
 order of Theaters, where the principal and avowed 
 aim is to please the most coarse and depraved 
 tastes ; but most of the plays examined have been 
 produced in the Theaters patronized by the highest 
 circles of society. 
 
 The results of this examination confirm the 
 charges which we have made. Some of the plays 
 produced are in matter unobjectionable, but the 
 number of such is very small in proportion to the 
 whole. Some instances occurred in which, where 
 the. original composition was unexceptionable, the 
 attempt was made, by dress, attitude, emphasis, and 
 look, to please that large part of every audience 
 that cannot be entranced by a chaste performance. 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 73 
 
 These attempts have from time to time been re- 
 buked by the critics of the higher tone, not so 
 much, indeed, on the ground of their immorality, 
 as because of their violation of artistic propriety. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that, with three or four ex- 
 ceptions, those dramatic compositions among the 
 sixty or more under discussion, which are morally 
 unobjectionable, are of a comparatively low order 
 of literary execution. But if language and senti- 
 ments which would not be tolerated among respect- 
 able people, and would excite indignation if ad- 
 dressed to the most uncultivated and coarse serv- 
 ant girl, not openly vicious, by an ordinary young 
 man, and profaneness which would brand him 
 who uttered it as irreligious are improper amuse- 
 ments for the young and for Christians of every 
 age, then at least fifty of these plays are to be con- 
 demned. 
 
 Not all are as bad as the worst, but many are so 
 corrupting that one of the chief illustrations of their 
 evil tendency, and of the demoralizing influence of 
 the Theater is, that such a number can be found to 
 defend them. SJic Stoops to Conquer, Goldsmith's 
 
74 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 well known and popular play, is based on a rake's 
 going to a country house to woo the owner's daugh- 
 ter, mistaking the mansion for an inn, and attempt- 
 ing to persuade the daughter, who is taken for a 
 barmaid, to licentiousness. The hero exhibits some 
 noble traits, one of which is, that while he thought 
 nothing of adultery or fornication, he would shrink 
 from seducing an innocent girl. The play contains 
 much profaneness and vulgarity, and several sneers 
 at temperance and religion. 
 
 There are persons who will look with lofty scorn 
 on the above characterization of She Stoops to Con- 
 quer. They will say that the stern moralist. Dr. 
 Johnson, told his friend. Bishop White, that he 
 thought it worthy of a " very kind reception." 
 This, indeed, will not seem wonderful when the 
 personal relations between Johnson and Goldsmith 
 are remembered. But the whole teaching of Sam- 
 uel Johnson, on which his reputation as a moralist 
 is founded, condemns the play which his personal 
 regard for the author led him to commend. 
 
 It is said that Goldsmith questioned one of his 
 critics thus : " Did it make you laugh ? " " Exceed- 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 75 
 
 ingly," replied the critic. " Then," said the author, 
 " that is all I require." The play is certainly admira- 
 bly adapted to provoke laughter ; but we propound 
 this question : Are lust and attempted libertinism, 
 profaneness, falsehood, and intemperance the things 
 at which Christians should laugh f If we traduce 
 the play we deserve reproof; but if we describe it 
 correctly, the scorn of those who approve it is nat- 
 ural enough on their part, and simply confirmatory 
 of our position. 
 
 Money is a succession of hypocrisy, covetous- 
 ness, drinking, gambling, jealousy, and infidelity, 
 adapted to impart a view of life to the young, which, 
 if taken as true, would lead to distrust, misanthropy, 
 and personal recklessness. East Lynn consists of 
 infidelity, adultery, murder, remarriage, and the 
 subsequent reappearance of the first wife to die in 
 the house of her former husband. 
 
76 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 plays presented in new YORK DURING THE PAST 
 THREE YEARS — CONTINUED. 
 
 ' I "HE atmosphere of the Ticket-of-Leave Man 
 is similar to that of " pirate and murder 
 books," and its style such as to familiarize the mind 
 with scenes of vice and desperate wickedness, and 
 the ear with coarseness and slang. This play is said 
 to have reformed one or more highwaymen and 
 desperadoes. It may have done so ; but if so, it 
 was upon the principle that some medicines which 
 would poison a well man will, in certain abnormal 
 states of the system, work a favorable change. 
 
 Saratoga is to be condemned for its profane- 
 ness and its " double entente" but much more for 
 the spirit of falsehood and perfidy which pervades 
 it. The effect of the characters, attitudes, and 
 sentiments of the piece cannot be good. It is one 
 of those productions which diminish respect for 
 woman, and dissipate all serious views of life. No 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. jj 
 
 doubt some parts of it are tolerably correct descrip- 
 tions of the life of insincerity and folly to which 
 many devote themselves at Saratoga and elsewhere, 
 but the general tendency is to familiarize the mind 
 with impure thoughts, improper words, unchaste 
 feelings, and immoral conduct. Nor is there a sen- 
 timent in it which disparages the life which it de- 
 scribes, unless it be the profane growling of Reming- 
 ton/^;'^ or the moralizing of the nurse. To read it 
 would be detrimental to youth for the same reason 
 that certain inferior kinds of fiction would injure 
 them, and to see it would affect them for evil just 
 as would an evening in bad company. And though 
 in this case, as in the others, many may be found to 
 say " it never did me any harm," may it not be 
 either that " no harm " is done them, because they 
 are already down to its level and saturated with its 
 spirit ; or are not proper judges of whether they are 
 harmed or not. The elements of which a thing is 
 composed determine its tendency ; and so long as it 
 is true that " evil communications corrupt good 
 manners " so long will such a play as Saratoga be 
 indefensible as a legitimate amusement. 
 
78 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 The School for Scandal is a play the whole of 
 which no woman could read to any but her husband, 
 or some other near relative, without giving ground 
 for a presumption against her purity ; and there are 
 in it many sentences and witty turns which no gen- 
 tleman could use even among gentlemen without in- 
 curring the charge of lewdness in his talk. As re- 
 cently remodeled for one of the principal theaters in 
 New York, the editor feels constrained to apologize 
 for its moral tendencies. In this apology the con- 
 venient method, so often employed in defending a 
 bad case, is resorted to, and he omits to attempt the 
 defense of the worst parts, and calls an assignation 
 and the attempted debauching of a married woman, 
 the success of which was prevented by an accident, 
 a " peccadillo " — indeed, he can hardly call it that, 
 but speaks of it as a " supposed peccadillo." 
 
 As a specimen of the moral sense developed by 
 the Theater, we give a paragraph of the editor's 
 apology for the School for Scandal : " Fault has 
 often been found with the moral tendencies of the 
 piece ; and it must be confessed that the spendthrift 
 injustice of Charles is too leniently dealt with. 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 79 
 
 We could never admire that species of generosity 
 which would rob a creditor to lavish money upon 
 one who might have been in no greater want of it 
 than he to whom it was legally due. Sir Peter 
 Teazle is the least objectionable character in the 
 piece, morally considered ; and even he is disposed 
 to make light of the supposed pecc3idillo of Joseph 
 in the fourth act, until he iinds that the lady be- 
 hind the screen is his own wife." 
 
 But the play has more than a "score of filthy al- 
 lusions in it, and deals with adultery and fornication 
 in the loosest way. Nor can the oft-quoted reply, 
 " evil to him who evil thinks," be used with propri- 
 ety against our criticism : for that is applicable only 
 when a sentence is capable of two interpretations, 
 one pure the other impure, and there is no reason to 
 suppose that the impure is the sense intended by the 
 author. In such a case he who insists on the impure 
 interpretation deserves the rebuke ; but the allusions 
 in the School for Scandal are capable of but one in- 
 terpretation, and are undeniably introduced for their 
 impurity. And yet a short time since, in a literary 
 .society, a lady belonging to an excellent family spoke 
 
8o Christians and the Theater. 
 
 in an essay in the most glowing terms of this piece, 
 for which even the actors themselves have been 
 compelled to apologize ! This " color blindness " is 
 the fruit of familiarity with such compositions. 
 
 And what ought we to say of a New Way to 
 Pay Old Debts f It must be freely admitted that 
 it contains some fine sentiments and magnificent 
 turns of expression, among the finest of which is 
 this : " And Heaven here gives a precedent to teach 
 us, that when men leave religion and turn atheists 
 their own abilities leave them." Another is this : 
 " You dare do any ill ; yet want true valor to be 
 honest, and repent." But there is a fatal defect in 
 the moral teaching of the play, which will be ob- 
 vious to every one who has read it, or to whom it 
 may be pointed out. The principal character is 
 punished for his infamous plots and villainies, not 
 by the providence of God, not by civil law, not by 
 the honest work of honest men ; but he is overcome 
 by counterplots, and betrayed by one of his own 
 minions, to whom, after he has used him, the man 
 who marries the heroine addresses these words: — 
 " You are a rascal ; and he that dares be false to a 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 8i 
 
 master, though unjust, will very hardly be true to 
 any other." 
 
 I admit that very often the wicked are thus over- 
 thrown, and that so far the piece is true to nature ; 
 but the effect of the play is rather to create the im- 
 pression that in contending with a villain all means 
 are lawful ; that if he is a plotter or swindler, he may 
 be overcome by similar modes. That this criticism 
 is just, and not strained, appears from the fact that 
 it has been found necessary to attempt to vindicate 
 the play from the charge, and in the attempt the 
 method of defense fully supports the charge. 
 
 In the editorial introduction to my copy the fol- 
 lowing passage occurs : " It has been objected to this 
 play that Margaret, who is otherwise recommended 
 to our sympathies by the most charming feminine 
 traits, should be concerned in the plot for deceiving 
 her father; but the author questioned nature on 
 this point, and her answer decided him in his course. 
 How improbable that the daughter of a man so 
 reckless and unyielding as Sir Giles would have been 
 withheld by any squeamish considerations of the 
 obligations of filial candor and duty, where her af- 
 
82 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 fections for her lover were likely to be thwarted ! 
 We do not vindicate her disingenuousness ; but we 
 doubt if the best men would not at the crisis feel 
 themselves authorized to use the devil's weapons in 
 outwitting the devil. A simple-minded girl, shrink- 
 ing beneath the insupportable violence of such a 
 tyrant, resorts as naturally to craft for her escape 
 as the ground bird does, who would mislead the 
 trampling school-boy as to the position of her 
 nest." 
 
 We do not doubt the statement that most men 
 would use the " devil's weapons to outwit the devil ;" 
 but when the "devil's weapons" are used, it is gen- 
 erally the devil who conquers, for those weapons 
 are edged in every part, and cut the hand that 
 smites as well as the foe that is smitten. 
 
 One of the charges we made against plays in gen- 
 eral is, that they do not teach Christian morals, but 
 fall in with the instincts and passions of man ; and 
 this defense cf Margaret's duplicity is a bold avow- 
 al of the propriety of " doing evil that good may 
 come," a doctrine which, generally believed and 
 practiced, would undermine the whole fabric of 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 83 
 
 morals and religion, whose root principle is, " Be not 
 overcome of evil, but overcorne evil with good." 
 
 Led Astray is a well-known comedy which had 
 a long run, and will continue to be popular. The 
 writer has heard two persons whom he respects, one 
 an elderly lady the other an intelligent young gen- 
 tleman, praise this piece as wholly unobjectionable 
 in a moral point of view. Said both in substance. 
 There is not a sentiment or situation in it to which 
 the most fastidious could object. 
 
 Having procured a copy the writer read it, and 
 Was surprised at what his friends had said. It is not 
 very profane, nor are there many obscene remarks in 
 it. But in less than half the first act there are many 
 allusions to amorous intrigues ; and as the play pro- 
 gresses indecent situations increase, while the whole 
 of the plot runs along the verge of a double adultery 
 — that of the unappreciative husband and the senti- 
 mental wife. The presumption is, that the former 
 fell ; the latter seems to have wandered in spirit, 
 and burned incense in her heart to an idol for many 
 months, but through the intervention of a watchful 
 cousin escaped plunging into the vortex. 
 
84 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 The writer invited one of the persons who had 
 praised the moral tendency, the language, and the 
 situations of the comedy to reread it with him. On 
 being asked whether he heard " this," and " this," he 
 recollected the greater part, but some of the most 
 objectionable features were unnoticed or had escaped 
 his recollection ; but there they were, and the writer 
 had ascertained that they were produced. What is 
 the explanation of the " obliquity of vision " that 
 defends the indefensible ? In some cases, it is that 
 familiarity with such representations obscures the 
 perceptions ; and in others, that the mind is so ab- 
 sorbed in the progress of events that all power of 
 discrimination is lost, and the most objectionable 
 ideas, feelings, and phrases are imperceptibly im- 
 bibed, and, it is to be feared, assimilated. 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 85 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PLAYS PRESENTED IN NEW YORK DURING THE PAST 
 THREE YEARS — CONTINUED. 
 
 TT /"E will now speak of London Assurance, a 
 comedy whose popularity has been sustained 
 for more than thirty years : but notwithstanding this 
 fact we maintain that it should receive no counte- 
 nance from the Christian, or from persons whose 
 moral principles are in harmony with the New Tes- 
 tament, or from those who desire the elevation of 
 social life. It is published as No. 27 of French's 
 Standard Dramas, edited by Epes Sargent, whose 
 introduction thus abundantly supports the ground 
 we take : — 
 
 " A notable defect in the play is the heartlessness 
 and flippancy of its pervading tone. Max Hark- 
 away, v/ho is a mere repetition of the fox-hunting 
 country gentleman of innumerable comedies, is the 
 only individual of the dramatis personcs, who seems 
 to have the most distant notion of a moral obliga- 
 
86 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 tion or a generous impulse. It is not the absence 
 of ' noble sentiments,' but of redeeming traits, to 
 which we allude. The Coiirtlys, father and son, 
 are weak, unprincipled libertines, the fool prevail- 
 ing in one and the scamp in the other. Lady Gay 
 Spanker is a monstrous, and, we trust, a wholly im- 
 aginary creation. No woman of any pretensions to 
 breeding or good sense would treat a husband, were 
 he ever so much of an ass, in the manner she does. 
 It is a libel upon decent society to suppose that it 
 could tolerate such a creature. Grace Harkaway, 
 from the fustian put into her mouth, is apparently 
 intended for a romantic simpleton. The author has 
 certainly succeeded in making her a very uninter- 
 esting one. Meddle, the lawyer, though a broad 
 caricature, is a very laughable one ; and as members 
 of his profession afford popular subjects for ridicule 
 and abasement, the introduction of this part may 
 have contributed materially to the favorable recep- 
 tion of the piece. In all these pretended portrait- 
 ures of some of the constituents of respectable 
 English society, we look in vain for any thing like 
 earnestness of character. Not an indication does 
 
Plays Dnring the Past Three Years. 87 
 
 any one give that he is conscious of the possession 
 of a soul. All appear to be playing a part — striving 
 to seem, rather than to be. Emotion is voted vul- 
 gar, and a show of sincerity is evidently regarded 
 as precluding the claims of the comedy to the title 
 of fashionable. . . . But in the present play the 
 darker sides of human character are exclusively 
 presented ; and on rising from the representation, 
 we always feel, in spite of the elegant saloons and 
 gilded furniture, that we have been in indifferently 
 honest company. The climax of absurdity is reached 
 when the moralizing speech at the close, on the 
 qualities of a gentleman, is put into the lips of the 
 old miscreant who has just been disappointed in his 
 design of running away with another man's wife." 
 
 The preceding criticism, let it be remembered, was 
 not written by a "Pharisee," or a "Quaker," or a 
 " bigot," or even by " a ranting preacher," but by a 
 Dramatic Editor, for the use of actors, and bears 
 the imprint of the most celebrated dramatic publish- 
 ing house. Judged, however, by Christian moral- 
 ity, severer charges even than these might be main- 
 tained against it. 
 
88 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 The Belle s Stratagem, though written by Mrs. 
 Hannah Cowley, a woman of unquestioned ability, 
 is a most licentious production, full of attempted 
 intrigue, and abounding in base deceptions. No 
 sophistry can gloss it over; and the introduction here 
 and there of fine sentiments, can no more justify the 
 play as a whole than occasional acts of courtesy and 
 refined expressions can make a boor a gentleman, or 
 a tyrant a kind and considerate friend. As insin- 
 cerity characterizes the play throughout — as the 
 tone of conversation is irreverent, skeptical of vir- 
 tue and truth — as only one character is openly in 
 favor of morality, prudence, and restraints, and he 
 is attacked on every side — and as all the good that 
 is done is accomplished by falsehood and deception — 
 it would be useless to enter on a minute criticism 
 of particular parts. After three careful readings the 
 writer is unable to find any abstruse meaning to 
 explain or counter work the obvious indelicacy of 
 the plot and movement. 
 
 Don Cazar de Bazan has less of profaneness in 
 expression than many others, but more of licentious- 
 ness and treachery. The king is represented as 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 89 
 
 making the most desperate efforts to violate his 
 marriage vow, and much of the drama depends on 
 the progress of the schemes which contribute to 
 that end. Don Cazar de Bazan, when he supposes 
 that he is about to die, sings : — 
 
 " Bright wine is the spell, boys, against every care. 
 You'll find each delight that you seek is hid there ; 
 We topers ne'er think how the hours decline, 
 When the glass of old Time runs smoothly wkh wine." 
 
 He calls himself a " poor," " dunned," " desperate 
 libertine," and a well-known dramatic critic says, 
 that " after we have said the best of him we can say, 
 we must admit he is a desperate bully." This 
 drama might with propriety be called the advent- 
 ures of a desperate spendthrift, libertine, drunkard, 
 and bully. Yet three English versions of it have 
 been produced, and it has been very popular for 
 more than a quarter of a century. Indeed, it is 
 declared to be " a favorite entertainment in all the 
 principal Theaters in the United States." 
 
 Masks and Faces is an attempt to show that act- 
 ors and actresses are often better than their general 
 reputation ; but the spice of Peg Woffington is, 
 
90 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 that she did not act as she always had acted, and 
 might reasonably be expected to act. The intro- 
 duction of a "town rake" and an attempted se- 
 duction, the infatuation of Vane, and all the senti- 
 ments of the piece, except the benevolent relief of 
 Triplet and the sympathy of Woffington with the 
 heartbroken wife whose husband she had allured, 
 are elements of a plot " which travels on the verge 
 of open wickedness." 
 
 And here we conclude our strictures on particu- 
 lar plays. It would be easy to enlarge the number, 
 and equally so to confirm the charges by the quo- 
 tation of particular passages, but as it will be im- 
 possible for any one to truthfully deny the state- 
 ments which we have made, it is as unnecessary as 
 it would be unprofitable to transcribe the profane, 
 indelicate, and corrupting expressions to these 
 pages. 
 
 Some time since a statement, supported by what 
 many would consider good authority, began its 
 rounds through the newspapers, that, " with the ex- 
 ception of a few weeks of French opdra bouffe by a 
 French company, not a New York Theater has, dur- 
 
Plays During the Past Three Years. 91 
 
 ing one of the most successful seasons ever known, 
 in any way whatever contributed to that vicious 
 taste," etc., which a writer in some journal, being 
 animadverted upon, " asserts must be pandered to 
 in or^er that monetary success may be achieved." 
 
 This statement has one fatal defect. It is not 
 true. Doubtless the author supposed it to be true. 
 But during the season just closed more than one of 
 the plays above described was brought out. Never- 
 theless, a paper professedly religious made an edi- 
 torial on the above statement, and impliedly sanc- 
 tioned the attendance of those who had formerly 
 scrupled to go. A Christian matron, who had prom- 
 ised her children that they should go to the Theater 
 whenever the stage became purified, read this mis- 
 leading announcement, thought that the blessed 
 time had fully come, brought her children to the 
 city, and as soon as possible they went to one of the 
 Theaters so highly commended, and gave all atten- 
 tion to the play. Soon the hero's character began 
 to be unfolded, and he appeared to have sundry 
 mistresses, and made attempts upon the virtue of 
 other persons. The children needed no command 
 
92 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 to withdraw before the play concluded, but the 
 mother, in conversation with a well-known literary- 
 gentleman of New York, who gave the writer these 
 facts, expressed her regret that Christians should 
 be imposed upon by such erroneous representations 
 as those made in her " weekly religious paper." 
 
 The only key to the problem is, that the Theater 
 forms the taste of its patrons, and that that taste 
 excuses and even advocates what Christian morality 
 condemns. 
 
The Great Plays of Shakspeare. 93 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GREAT PLAYS OF SHAKSPEARE. 
 
 ' I "'HE truth, naturalness, and grandeur of Shaks- 
 peare's plays, as a whole, need no eulogium 
 from the present or any other writer. And an at- 
 tack upon Shakspeare would be the most quixotic 
 undertaking which could be attempted. Yet we 
 confidently appeal to the judgment of those famil- 
 iar with these wonderful works of dramatic art for 
 confirmation of the observations which we now 
 submit. These plays contain many obscene pas- 
 sages, and many that are profane ; which passages 
 were introduced by the author to suit the indelicacy 
 of the age in which he lived, and were necessary to 
 secure the interest and applause of the multitude. 
 Many alterations have been made, and expurgated 
 editions prepared for the stage, but it would not be 
 possible for a woman to read them, as they are put 
 upon the stage, before a promiscuous audience. 
 When Mrs. Kemble was reading in this country 
 
94 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 it was truthfully said of her by an able critic, that 
 she was " obliged to leap from point to point, from 
 passage to passage, as one crossing a stream would 
 leap from stone to stone in order to keep a dry 
 foot." 
 
 It is the custom to make selections from Shaks- 
 peare for the use of boarding schools in the study of 
 the language and of elocution, and a most judicious 
 custom it is ; but all will grant that it would be high- 
 ly improper to take the plays as they are, and make 
 them matters of criticism before a class of young 
 ladies and gentlemen. But they are acted before 
 them in the Theater ; and the obscene and profane 
 passages are not purified or redeemed by the mag- 
 nificent and unobjectionable sentiments and ex- 
 pressions with which they are interwoven. 
 
 The argument made in defense of the lower order 
 of plays, which are confessedly obscene, is this : 
 " You like Shakspeare's plays ; you think it no harm 
 to see them?" The ansvver being in the affirma- 
 tive, it is replied, " There are passages in Shakspeare 
 as bad as any in the plays which you condemn ;" 
 and to that remark it can only be said, " In Shaks- 
 
The Great Plays of Shakspeare. 95 
 
 peare the objectionable features are not the bulk 
 of the work." But the objectionable features are 
 there, and in some of them they exist in such a shape 
 that if Boucicault were to bring out a play contain- 
 ing as many objections of the same class as are pro- 
 duced in Shakspearean representations, he would 
 be remorselessly condemned by many of the same 
 critics who will call the writer a bigot, if not an " il- 
 literate fanatic," for presuming to intimate that there 
 is any thing in Shakspeare not proper to be uttered 
 or acted in the presence of a promiscuous assembly, 
 composed chiefly of young persons. 
 
 It is pertinent also to inquire what proportion of 
 Shakspeare is presented in the Theater at the pres- 
 ent time. The writer has excellent authority for say- 
 ing that not more than one play in fifty performed 
 in the Theaters of the principal cities of the country 
 for the past ten years has been Shakspearean. And 
 an estimate of the number of performances of the 
 same piece will show that Shakspearean repre- 
 sentations are too few, if they were unexceptionable, 
 to modify the general charges against the Theater. 
 
 If five sixths of the plays presented are im- 
 
96 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 moral in sentiment or expression, and indecent in 
 manner, would it be gravely maintained that the 
 acting of the " Pilgrim's Progress " once in every 
 fifty nights would so redeem the whole institution 
 as to make it proper for Christians to attend the 
 Theater as a whole, and for youth to be encouraged 
 to seek amusement there ? It may be said, " We 
 do not hold that it is right to see a vile play be- 
 cause the ' Pilgrim's Progress ' is right, but we do hold 
 that it is right to discriminate, and to see the ' Pil- 
 grim's Progress.' " But the conclusive answer to 
 this is, Not if by so doing you throw your whole 
 influence in favor of an institution whose general 
 effect is pernicious. 
 
 By putting your argument in that way you show 
 that you ignore the duty of denying yourself for 
 the sake of your Christian influence. The Theater 
 is not to be judged as though representations were 
 isolated things, like books. It is an institution. 
 Reading has no significance in the way of moral in- 
 fluence. To say of a man, he reads, indicates noth- 
 ing. To the limited circle who know wfiat he reads 
 the fact of his reading certain books has a moral 
 
The Great Plays of Shakspeare. 97 
 
 meaning. But the Theater is an institution with a 
 very pronounced character. 
 
 "Theater going" means one thing in the estima- 
 tion of the pubHc. He who goes to the Theater 
 throws his influence in favor of the Theater as a 
 whole. He may say, " I discriminate ; I go to see 
 Shakspeare ;" but all who know him will say, " He 
 goes to the Theater." It is here that the superficial 
 character of the analogies sometimes drawn between 
 going to the Theater and reading fiction may be 
 seen. The attempt is made to compare an institu- 
 tion with isolated acts. If there were in all our 
 cities large institutions known as " Recreation Halls," 
 and in them gambling in all its forms, with many 
 more degrading amusements, such as prize-fighting 
 and drinking were allowed, and at the same time 
 chess playing and other harmless games were prac- 
 ticed, and these last were in a very small propor- 
 tion to the evil and sinful things done there, would 
 it be proper for the Christian to patronize these 
 " Recreation Halls," and say, " I ignore the gam- 
 bling, and fighting, and drinking. I discriminate, and 
 go there to play chess." It may be safely assumed 
 
98 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 that the very persons who profess to object to the 
 average play, and argue in favor of going to the 
 " Theater" to see " Shakspeare," would say of such 
 a man, " Why does he not play chess at home, or 
 give it up altogether? Why does he go to ±hose 
 'Recreation Halls,' which are ruining so many?" 
 
 The sum of what the writer has tried to make 
 clear in this chapter is, that though " Shakspeare's 
 plays are the superbest of all plays," "there is 
 many a dark spot of obscenity and profanation " 
 upon them, which render many of them unfit to be 
 performed before a promiscuous assembly, made up 
 principally of youth ; that if they were wholly unex- 
 ceptionable they are too infrequently represented to 
 redeem the general character of the Theater, which, 
 as an institution, is evil ; and that those who go to 
 " see Shakspeare " furnish arguments for those who 
 go to see plays every way inferior to Shakspeare's, 
 and filled with the profaneness and obscenity, which 
 are but incidents in his sublime compositions. 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed ? 99 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CAN THE THEATER BE REFORMED? 
 
 ■■ I "HERE have always been persons who, while 
 admitting existing evils, have held the opinion 
 that the Theater can and should be reformed, and 
 that the work of reconstructing it properly devolves 
 on Christians. These are distinct propositions, and 
 if the first were proved true, the second would not 
 necessarily follow. Many reformations are de- 
 manded which the Christian can better promote, 
 not by direct action upon the evils in question, but 
 by disseminating and practicing the principles of 
 the Gospel. As the outward symptoms and results 
 of disease in the human body are to be removed, 
 not by a direct attack, but by the general purifica- 
 tion and restoration of the system, so many social 
 evils and pernicious institutions may be destroyed 
 or modified by the elevation of the moral tone of 
 the community. Whether, then. Christians should 
 undertake the reformation of the Theater by apply- 
 
loo Christians and the Theater. 
 
 ing their energies directly to the task, is a question 
 which would require cautious examination and dis- 
 cussion. But the primary inquiry is this : Is there any 
 just reason to think that it is possible to reform the 
 Theater ? It is a very ancient institution, and its his- 
 tory runs through many nations and various stages of 
 civilization. Is there any period in its history when 
 it was in such a condition that the self-denying and 
 devout Christian could consistently patronize it — 
 when its characters, sentiments, expressions, atti- 
 tudes, and accessories were such, that he who pro- 
 poses for his rule of life, " Put ye on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh," 
 — he who sets his affections on things above, deny- 
 ing ungodliness and worldly lusts, " living soberly, 
 righteously, and godly," could indulge in attendance 
 upon it ? " Cant ! cant ! unmitigated cant ! " says 
 some "Christian " who never thought of self-denial, 
 or his influence over others as the regulating princi- 
 ple of his life. But where is the "cant?" Is it in the 
 description of the Christian life, or in the historic 
 statements concerning the Theater? That the 
 spirit of the New Testament teaching is contained 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed? loi 
 
 in those passages (not, indeed, with regard to the 
 right kind and measure of amusement, but with re- 
 spect to every thing evil) will hardly be doubted. 
 The question, then, is. Where, in the long course of 
 its history, has the Theater reached a development 
 when it furnished suitable entertainment for Chris- 
 tians, and proper moral food for the undisciplined 
 and plastic minds of youth. That isolated plays 
 can be selected we concede, but they are as a few 
 harmless or nutritious berries found in a wilder- 
 ness of nightshade. The writer asks no mercy on 
 the ground of ignorance if this characterization be 
 not in the general true, for he has been at great 
 pains to inform himself, and believes that the his- 
 tory of the Theater is correctly epitomized in the 
 words of Pollock : — 
 
 " The Theater was, from the very first, 
 The favorite haunt of sin, though honest men, 
 Some very honest, wise, and worthy men. 
 Maintained it might be turned to good account ; 
 And so, perhaps, it might, but never was ; 
 From first to last it was an evil place.'' 
 
 We are not unaware of the fact that at cer- 
 tain periods the Drama was called, and in a sense 
 
I02 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 was, the ally of the Church, but an examination of 
 the Theater in those ages and countries, and of the 
 religious condition of the Church at the same time, 
 fully demonstrates the position here taken. It is not 
 pretended that attendance on the Theater is incon- 
 sistent with the general moral and religious charac- 
 ter of the average Roman Catholic population of 
 the world, or with that of the Church of England 
 in the times of Henry the Eighth, Edward, Eliza- 
 beth, or of Charles the First and his son. Nor is 
 this a reflection upon the stricter part of those 
 Churches, for we have in a former chapter pointed 
 out the different views and practices found in them. 
 The standard here assumed is not that which ac- 
 commodates itself to those who " walk in the ways 
 of their hearts and the sight of their eyes," but that 
 which requires the nature to be adjusted to the law 
 of God and the example of Christ, the standard 
 which has been presented by all the " reformed " 
 Churches, properly so called. 
 
 But is there any reason to hope for a reformation 
 of that which has not, in so long a time and under 
 such a variety of conditions, eyer taeeri in a state 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed? 103 
 
 which did not need to be reformed ? • There is 
 an almost insuperable obstacle in the way. The 
 " classics " of the Drama are fixed, and by all the 
 laws of art, and poetical, or dramatical composition, 
 the generic character of the Theater is settled as 
 firmly as the hills. And the iron grasp in which 
 the "classics" hold the Theater is due alike to the 
 veneration which is naturally given to antiquity, 
 to the superior advantages which the "classic" 
 writers had, and the vast intelligence which they 
 possessed. And as in the case of inferior artists 
 in any field, beauties are feebly imitated, while 
 faults are easily copied and intensified. A diverg- 
 ence so great as would be necessary to render the 
 Theater no longer obnoxious to Christian condem- 
 nation could not be brought about in many ages 
 unless all the laws which have obtained in other 
 departments of progress should fail. The rise of a 
 transcendent genius, such as Shakspeare, to whose 
 ability should be added the virtues and tastes ade- 
 quate to revolutionize the Theater and the Theater- 
 going public, is not to be anticipated, and nothing 
 less than this could effect the result. 
 
104 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 Another difficulty inheres in the demand for ex- 
 citement, and in the impossibility of producing it 
 without the delineation of vice and all its attendant 
 entanglements, whether in tragedy or comedy. This 
 remark having been elaborated in a preceding chap- 
 ter, nothing more than a reference to it here is nec- 
 essary. Those who fancy that the just representa- 
 tion of human life, in which " praise or censure are 
 awarded according to the principles of Christian 
 morality," — in which evangelical godliness is always 
 praised and the want of it deplored, — can afford 
 permanent amusement to the general public, are 
 under a delusion as great as was poor Miss Bacon 
 when she believed that she had proved as clearly as 
 a demonstration in Euclid, that Lord Bacon wrote 
 Shakspeare to introduce a philosophy for which the 
 world was not ready. 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed ? 105 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CAN THE THEATER BE REFORMED? — CONTINUED. 
 
 ' I ""HE improbability, if not the impossibility, of 
 the Theater's being reformed, appears from the 
 relation which its patrons sustain to the character 
 of the entertainment furnished. While a higher 
 function may be claimed for the Drama than pro- 
 viding amusement, it will not be questioned that 
 the Theater is supported by the bulk of its patrons 
 as an entertainment. And as the management must 
 make a financial success, it is plain that the repre- 
 sentations cannot diverge very far from the tastes of 
 the majority. If the attempt be made to force 
 them to hear something above their intellectual or 
 moral level, it must be " floated " by something at 
 or below that level. The money of the most de- 
 praved attendant bears the same relation to the 
 sum total as an equal amount paid by the most 
 refined. If, then, nine tenths of the Theater-going 
 public call for the present order of plays they will 
 
io6 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 get what they call for, or the management will fail. 
 Garrick understood this, and admitted it in the well- 
 known epilogue which he delivered at the opening 
 of the Drury Lane Theater in the city of London : — 
 
 " Hard is his lot, that here by fortune placed 
 Must watch the wild vicissitudes of taste ; 
 With ev'ry meteor of caprice must play, 
 And chase the new-born bubbles of the day. 
 Ah ! let not censure terra our fate our choice, 
 The stage but echoes back the public voice ; 
 The drama! s laws the drama- s patrons give. 
 For we that live to please vn-ast please to live.'' 
 
 One hundred and twenty-eight years have passed 
 since that epilogue, composed by Dr. Johnson, was 
 spoken by Garrick, and it closed with the following 
 earnest appeal : — 
 
 " Then prompt no more the follies you decry, 
 As tyrants doom their tools of guilt to die ; 
 'Tis yours this night to bid the reign commence 
 Of rescued nature and reviving sense ; 
 To chase the charms of sound, the pomp of show, 
 For useful mirth and salutary woe ; 
 Bid scenic virtue form the rising age, 
 And truth diffuse her radiance from the stage." 
 
 But during that long period the "drama's laws" 
 have been given by the " drama's patrons," and the 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed? 107 
 
 Theater in New York is in some respects, though 
 not in all, below what it was then, and in none very- 
 much better. The prospects of a reformation of 
 the Theater, as deduced from the fact that " the stage 
 but echoes back the public voice," and also from the 
 tastes of the bulk of its patrons as evinced by the 
 kind of pieces that have the " greatest run," is as 
 remote as ever. 
 
 We may see, also, that there is no probability 
 of the Theater's being reformed from within itself. 
 To say nothing of the fact just urged, that no con- 
 siderable portion of its supporters demand a refor- 
 mation, there is no reason to expect, from the moral 
 convictions of the composers and actors of the 
 present day, any improved standard of matter or 
 manner. Let it not be supposed that this is an 
 insinuation against the moral character of actors in 
 the ordinary sense of that term : that is a question 
 which the writer does not think of much importance 
 to a calm examination of the subject. What is 
 meant is, that neither actors nor composers look at 
 the subject from the Christian point of view, or have 
 any sympathy with the strictness of life required in 
 
•io8 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 the New Testament. If they have any affiliation with 
 Christians it is rather with what may be called the 
 " cavalier " type. We have, indeed, heard of an act- 
 ress who is endeavoring to blend a religious life with 
 appearances in most licentious plays ; but an abnor- 
 mal instance is of no value on the general question. 
 We presume that it will not be pretended that there 
 is any error in our statement on this subject. 
 
 But in addition, we must say that whatever may 
 be their private moral character, good, bad, or in- 
 different, on this question of what is right in The- 
 atrical representation, there seems to be in them all 
 a " strange obliquity of vision." A recent instance 
 is furnished by a lady of fine literary abilities and 
 reputation who has recently entered the dramatic 
 profession, and comes forward over her own signa- 
 ture in the paper to which she has long been a brill- 
 iant contributor, to defend the Theater and repel 
 attacks upon it. Her testimony is valuable, and her 
 mode of viewing the question is that of the pro- 
 fession at large. Says Miss Kate Field, in the " New 
 York Tribune " of March 29, 1875 : " As a rule man- 
 agers prefer legitimate plays acted by ladies and gen- 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed? 109 
 
 tlemen. If such do not pay, they spread the viands 
 in demand." This is confirmatory of Garrick, as 
 before quoted, and authorizes us to conclude the 
 nature of the demand from the "viands spread." 
 " Many a time I have heard managers deplore the 
 uneducated taste of their audiences, and regret the 
 necessity of acting down to their level." But, alas ! 
 the fatal necessity exists. She proceeds : " But it 
 is a mistake to suppose the public depraved ; it is a 
 mistake to declare that under all circumstances the 
 Black Crook will draw better than Richard III. 
 Let Richard III. be as well acted throughout as the 
 Black Crook was illustrated, and Shakspeare will 
 win a decided victory. It is the absence of dra- 
 matic ability that renders Shakspeare unattractive. 
 The most cultivated public had rather see beautiful 
 dancing and scenery than a great dramatist mur- 
 dered." The writer is aware that these passages are 
 somewhat contradictory, but as that is not con- 
 sidered a defect in style in these days, he quotes 
 them that the testimony may be weighed by those 
 who have not seen the original article. The two 
 explanations are, first, that of the management that 
 
no Christians and the Theater. 
 
 they must act down to the level ; and, second, ab- 
 sence of dramatic abihty in the actors, which drives 
 even the cultivated to lower exhibitions. 
 
 To our amazement we find this brilliant lady 
 offering a defense of the Black Cruok ; and in that 
 defense, " the way of looking at the subjects," 
 which precludes all hope of reformation from with- 
 in the Theatrical profession, is convincingly and 
 sadly illustrated. 
 
 " The Black Crook was complete in its way. Its 
 way is not intellectual. It is sensuous ; but unless 
 people are vile at heart, and seek in such specta- 
 cles food for vice, even the greatly abused Black 
 Crook needs do no harm. There are those who 
 are shocked at marble Venuses and Greek slaves. 
 Others see in them perfect form, and thank the 
 creator for the existence of so much beauty." 
 
 Let the intelligent Christian reader ponder that 
 passage well. It implies the purity of character for 
 which its author is held in such high esteem by so 
 wide a circle of friends and admirers. But what a 
 view of this subject it gives ! " Unless people are 
 vile at heart, and seek in such spectacles food for 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed? iii 
 
 vice, it needs do no harm." But this is only to say 
 that a pious city missionary could visit dens of 
 infamy without being contaminated. The average 
 public, the youth, who throng to see these specta- 
 cles " " are not more vile at heart " than mankind at 
 large ; but all have passions whose restraint in 
 thought and feeling, as well as in act, is a solemn 
 Christian duty. And though they may not con- 
 sciously seek food for vice, the influence of such 
 spectacles on the common mind is harmful, while to 
 those who do go to seek food for vice every facility - 
 is offered. 
 
 The analogy between Greek slaves and marble 
 Venuses, and the Black Crook, is strangely in- 
 appropriate. " The Greek slaves and marble Ve- 
 nuses " are dead marble. Would any one defend a 
 class of exhibitions once common, but now pro- 
 hibited by law, on the ground that unless persons 
 were vile at heart, and seek food for vice, they 
 need do no harm? But we pursue this subject no 
 further, except to say that there is no hope of the 
 Theater's being reformed by the profession, who 
 
 have no sympathy with the Christian view of life, 
 8 
 
112 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 morals, and religion, and look at the subject from a 
 point of view so remote that they cannot see what 
 is needed. 
 
 It now only remains to inquire whether the 
 Theater can be reformed from without ; that is, can 
 Christian poets and moralists be found to compose, 
 and Christian men and women to represent, their 
 compositions in living sympathy with their work. 
 And this is one of a large class of inquiries which, 
 when propounded, answer themselves, and in this 
 case the answer is in the negative. 
 
 Such an attempt would have many insuperable 
 obstacles to surmount. Dramatic poets are not 
 made to order, and actors, whatever^ their natural 
 endowments, require long training and practice be- 
 fore they can succeed. Such a movement would, of 
 necessity, avow hostility to the existing institution, 
 and could find no materials on which to rely. The 
 existing literature of the stage could be but in small 
 part appropriated. The dullness of " Christian " 
 acting, and " Christian " comedy and tragedy, could 
 not compete before the Theater-going public with 
 the high seasoning to which they have so long been 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed / 113 
 
 accustomed, while those who should begin to at- 
 tend for the first time would be acting from prin- 
 ciple ih the line of penance, and the " beggarly array 
 of empty boxes " which would soon be seen, would 
 furnish boundless material for satire. 
 
 It must not be lost sight of that in every case the 
 number of Christian Theater-goers would be much 
 smaller in proportion to their whole number than 
 of irreligious persons. For every active Christian 
 has a demand upon him for from two to three 
 evenings per week : such as the prayer-meeting ; 
 if he happens to be an officer, the official meeting; 
 the meeting of the Sunday-school teachers ; and 
 many other calls upon his time. So that very many 
 Christians, if they loved the Theater, and if the 
 Utopian Reformed Theater were perfected, could not 
 often patronize it. And very many pious men and 
 women find in their religious exercises all the enjoy- 
 ment they need, and are cheerful through life with- 
 out once thinking of the necessity of making sys- 
 tematic provision for amusement. Others, and in 
 the aggregate a great multitude of Christians, are 
 poor, and to educate their children, and to give a 
 
114 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 little to Christian benevolence, requires all that they 
 can save, and they could have no money for such 
 amusements. Hence, it is equally chimerical to ex- 
 pect that the Theater can be reformed by Christians 
 either from without, or by their holding, through 
 numbers, the balance of power and becoming the 
 arbiters of taste. 
 
 The suggestion is made by Miss Field that, "were 
 enlightened souls to endow a Theater, as colleges 
 are frequently endowed, whereby it might become 
 totally independent of popular caprice, the benefits 
 conferred on public morals and on histrionic art 
 would be incalculable. Is the suggestion utterly 
 Utopian?" 
 
 If the benefit to public morals of such an institu- 
 tion would be incalculable, it is, perhaps, a valid infer- 
 ence that the influence on the public morals of the 
 present condition of the Theater is very bad ; but 
 however this may be, the radical difference between 
 colleges and places of amusement must not be over- 
 looked. Colleges make no appeal to the general 
 public, but to a particular class, having a careful 
 preparation, a definite purpose, and a willingness to 
 
Can the Theater be Reformed ? 115 
 
 be trained by those whose authority and compe- 
 tency are recognized. But an endowed Theater 
 would either open its doors to the public for free 
 admission, or make the usual charge. 
 
 In the former case it would be subject to the 
 charge of being hostile to the regular profession, 
 and in the latter it would not be removed from popu- 
 lar caprice, and in any form it would be subject to 
 criticism and intense competition. And if Chris- 
 tians were to attempt a censorship of such a Thea- 
 ter, or any other, it would be a mark for every 
 shaft of ridicule ; and from causes heretofore set 
 forth, and the absence of the usual excitement, it 
 would be an insipid and unsatisfactory thing. But 
 it is unnecessary to further discuss an impracticable 
 proposition. 
 
ii6 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MAKING UP JUDGMENT ON THE MAIN ISSUE. 
 
 /'~*ERTAIN remarkable coincidences must strike 
 ^"^ every one in reviewing this subject. In gen- 
 eral terms it may be said that all evangelical 
 Churches in this country, except the Protestant 
 Episcopal, are opposed to the Theater, and teach 
 that it should not be attended by Christians : and 
 that the more in sympathy with spiritual religion 
 the ministers and members of that Church are, the 
 less the countenance they give to the Theater. It 
 is equally obvious that all the non-evangelical bod- 
 ies are either favorable or indifferent in their moral 
 attitude to the Theater ; also that the more world- 
 ly and formal portion of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church entertain no scruples against the Theater, 
 and generally attend it. 
 
 While the more earnest and devoted to the work 
 of promoting Christianity by personal efforts any 
 denomination may be, the more pronounced is its 
 
Making up Judgment on the Main Issue 1 1 7 
 
 hostility to the Theater. In all the Churches those 
 ministers most distinguished for piety, most zealous 
 in self-denying labors, and most successful in genuine 
 revivals of religion, are most opposed to the Thea- 
 ter ; while those notoriously indolent, luxurious, and 
 tolerant to worldliness, with few exceptions, furnish 
 ministerial apologir^ts for the Theater. 
 
 It is not affirmed that all who denounce the 
 Theater are eminent for zeal and piety, or that all 
 worldly-minded ministers apologize for the Theater. 
 Men may have just views of one subject, and be 
 very inconsistent in their opinions and practices on 
 others; and often persons are very loose in their 
 views and indefensible in their general conduct, 
 and yet, on a particular topic, they are correct. 
 The general representation here given has as few 
 exceptions as any statement concerning human 
 character and conduct could have. 
 
 In local Churches, where the members in general 
 give themselves up to Theater-going and kindred 
 amusements, spiritual power declines to the lowest 
 ebb, revivals are unknown, and conversions are rare, 
 and mostly among children. In particular Churches, 
 
ii8 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 whatever may have been their past history, when- 
 ever a genuine, wide-spread, and powerful revival of 
 personal religion takes place, the people spontane- 
 ously renounce the Theater, and no instance can be 
 assigned of such a revival occurring in any Church 
 contemporaneously with a general attendance of its 
 members and congregation on the Theater. 
 
 What is the key to these coincidences ? How 
 have the Churches and ministers been led to this 
 unanimity of sentiment? The solution of the prob- 
 lem is in the character and influence of the Theater, 
 and especially its effect on the young. Those who 
 have made it their chief business to promote the 
 spirituahty of Christ's Church, have been as natu- 
 rally led to inquire into the influence of the Theater 
 as physicians have been led to ascertain the effects 
 of malaria on the physical system ; and the almost 
 absolute concurrence of opinion furnishes a pre- 
 sumption which scarcely needs the confirmation 
 of independent examination. Those who advance 
 boldly upon the world in the hope of bringing it to 
 Christ, are obliged to contend with opposing influ- 
 ences ; and they see that few thhigs aj-e more un- 
 
Making up Judgment on the Main Issue. 1 19 
 
 favorable to religion than the practice of Theater- 
 going, and that nothing is more potent in causing 
 men to relinquish a strictly religious life than the 
 spirit and associations of the Theater. And these 
 deadening effects of Theater-going on Churches 
 must have a cause, and that cause cannot but be in 
 the character of the Theater itself, while the in- 
 dulgence shown to the institution by non-evangelical 
 bodies, and professedly irreligious or atheistical 
 writers and teachers, should not surprise any who 
 consider their general scheme of religion and char- 
 acter. 
 
 The position proper to be taken by all Christian 
 ministers and conscientious Christians, if the prin- 
 ciples here advanced are true, and the statements 
 made are facts, is opposition to the Theater, classing it 
 with the " unfruitful works of darkness " with which 
 we are tD have " no fellowship." This opposition 
 should be open, candid, and uncompromising. Who- 
 ever avows such an opposition will himself be opposed 
 by the self-styled " liberals " of every grade, who will 
 sneer at his bigotry and narrowness. He will be op- 
 posed by a very few good men who differ in judg- 
 
I20 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 ment on this question from the rest of the Church. 
 He will be opposed by all who are attempting the 
 impossible, and, from the New Testament point of 
 view, the perfidious task of attempting to harmonize 
 Christianity and worldliness. He will, perhaps, be 
 satirized by the secular press, and denounced as a 
 Pharisee by many nominal professors, and regarded 
 by not a few undiscerning youth as an enemy to 
 innocent enjoyment. 
 
 But what one thing can a minister do to promote 
 the cause of Christ which will not expose him to 
 opposition ? And the opposition he provokes is 
 sometimes a proof of the power of his ministry. 
 Paul thanked God that a great and effectual door was 
 opened to him, and there were " many adversaries." 
 The present is no time for compromise on this or 
 any other question. There is an appalling disinte- 
 gration of morals. There is nothing gained by 
 compromise. To be called a bigot or a fanatic by 
 the opponents of religion is a price to be paid for 
 true success. The fawning of those whose worldli- 
 ness has been flattered is as disgusting to the soul 
 of every man as decayed fruit is to his taste. 
 
Making up Judgment on the Main Issue. 1 2 1 
 
 " But some of our wealthiest members attend the 
 Theater, and if we speak too plainly they will be- 
 come disaffected and leave." But many of our 
 wealthiest men are the truest in their devotion to 
 our principles, and more would be if their pastors 
 were faithful to them. But suppose that a few 
 should leave your Church because you have done 
 right ! Which is the healthier, a tree pruned of 
 dead and decaying branches, or one in which decay 
 is going on unchecked ? If any one will leave the 
 Baptist, the Presbyterian, the Congregational, or the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, because you, its pas- 
 tor, endeavor to dissuade the youth from the Theater, 
 give him any credentials to which, after the develop- 
 ment of such a spirit, he may be entitled, and rejoice 
 that the Lord is giving you such a seal to your 
 ministry. But very few will depart if your zeal is 
 "according to knowledge," and your testimony on 
 this subject is delivered at the right time, in the 
 right way, and in the right spirit. 
 
122 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 HOW TO PRESENT THIS SUBJECT. 
 
 ' I ""HE suggestions made in this chapter are pre- 
 sented with some confidence, and have arisen 
 from much consideration of the subject, from con- 
 versations with discriminating pastors of different 
 denominations, intelligent parents and teachers, as 
 ,well as from some years of experiment in endeavor- 
 ing to counteract the tendency to Theater-going 
 among professed Christians. The principle of pri- 
 mary importance is to endeavor to raise such a high 
 standard of spirituality and Christian refinement 
 that those to whom we preach will have no relish 
 for such an amusement, and, consequently, no de- 
 sire to go to the Theater. 
 
 While recognizing fully the compatibility of a 
 due proportion of recreative amusement with the 
 highest religious attainments, the writer has no 
 doubt that the more rationally religious a person is, 
 the less he feels the need of amusement as such, 
 
How to Present this Subject, 123 
 
 and the greater his distaste for every questionable 
 form thereof. Such a Christian does not begin his 
 inquiries by that common but most misleading 
 question, "What harm is there in it?" but asks, 
 "What good is there in it?" and, if this cannot be 
 definitely answered, can easily find ways of gratify- 
 ing and recreating himself without hazarding uncer- 
 tain experiments. " And be not drunk with wine, 
 wherein is excess ; but be filled with the Spirit ; 
 speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and 
 spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your 
 heart to the Lord." This inspired direction teaches 
 us that the Christian must not resort to wine nor 
 any other pernicious thing to keep up his spirits . 
 and while it does not teach that all manifestations 
 and causes of joy except singing psalms are wrong, 
 it certainly implies a state in which the character 
 will be so independent of merely worldly sources 
 as to admit of the exercise of a wise discrimination. 
 Persons without religion, or with only enough con- 
 viction of truth to perpetuate an uneasy and an 
 accusing conscience, must have very frequent and 
 absorbing amusements to smother their disquietude 
 
124 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 and misery ; but it is not a want of happiness that 
 drives the growing Christian to it. Relaxation and 
 rest, and the necessity of variety of occupation to 
 health and elasticity, are the occasions which he 
 finds for diversion. If, then, the general effect of 
 preaching be to promote genuine religion and real 
 "growth in grace," it diminishes the passion for 
 amusement, and destroys the taste for all question- 
 able kinds ; while he who thus " enjoys " religion is 
 willing to make any sacrifice for the good of others. 
 Some pastors have had so high an opinion of this 
 principle as to rely on it entirely, and have said 
 nothing against intemperance, fraud, gaming, or 
 Sabbath-breaking. But this is not enough, for Sa- 
 tan often comes as an "angel of light." As in the 
 case of the human constitution we must not only ob- 
 serve the general laws of health, but also be vigilant 
 to discern and check the insidious encroachments 
 of disease, so we must not only teach positive truth, 
 but we must lay bare the forms in which evil enters 
 the individual life and pollutes the Church. At 
 this stage, however, several errors may be made, 
 whose influence, if they are committed by the pas- 
 
How to Present this Subject. 125 
 
 tor, will weaken him before the people. Indiscrim- 
 inate denunciation is very common and works no 
 good. " No Christian ever went to the theater." 
 " No Christian ever wanted to go." " To wish to 
 go is a certain sign of an unregenerate state." " AH 
 who do go to the theater are low characters, drunk- 
 ards, prostitutes, gamblers, and such like." 
 
 These statements cannot be maintained. They 
 are false, and people know that they are false. It 
 may be that the youth to whom you preach have 
 worthy relatives, perhaps parents, who sometimes, 
 even frequently, go. When such statements are 
 made these youth are driven either to disbelieve the 
 statement, or class these relatives and friends with 
 corrupt characters. The latter they will not do, 
 hence they conclude that the minister is a bigot, or 
 does not know what he is talking about. Thence it 
 is a short distance to the conclusion that the Thea- 
 ter is not very bad, and that the Church is an intol- 
 erable burden, and religion a gloomy thing for the 
 youth. Nor is this all ; confidence in the minister's 
 reliability is permanently and generally weakened. 
 
 The use of personalities and epithets on this, as 
 
126 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 on all other subjects, should be avoided. To intro- 
 duce side issues and raise questions which can never 
 be disposed of is also an unwise method of proced- 
 ure. That "all actors and actresses are corrupt" 
 cannot be proved. It is sufficient to assume — what 
 can be proved — that there is no sympathy, and 
 never has been any, between members of this profes- 
 sion and evangelical piety ; and that the tendency 
 of their profession is the explanation of that fact. 
 It may further be shown that the domestic relations 
 of actors and actresses have, in very many instances, 
 exhibited the freedom which they so often illustrate 
 on the stage. But this is very different from making 
 a general statement that " all actors and actresses 
 are flagrantly immoral." 
 
 Another grave error is the waiting for a crisis to 
 denounce the Theater. The Rev. Mr. A. was a 
 pastor in N. For nine years he said nothing about 
 the Theater in public or private. On a certain 
 occasion he heard that Mr. B., one of his leading 
 members, had been at the Theater in New York, 
 and taken his family. On the following Sunday he 
 delivered a terrible tirade against the Theater, said 
 
How to Present this Subject. 127 
 
 that he would " bear his testimony" that " men and 
 devils could not padlock his lips," lashed himself 
 into a tempest of fury, created a great excitement 
 in the town, advertising the fault of the brother 
 to wfwm. he tiad never spoken privately on the subject. 
 This course was neither judicious nor courageous. 
 To declaim at a man from the safe retreat of a 
 pulpit is not to do as valiantly as to approach him 
 first privately in the " spirit of meekness ; " and to 
 complicate the discussion of a subject such as this 
 with intense personal feeling, is the depth of folly. 
 To make a martyr of a man is a good way of caus- 
 ing all his friends to defend his conduct, and to 
 give all who agree with him on the matter an effect- 
 ive weapon to use for their own purposes. The 
 true method is to set forth your views on the 
 Theater clearly, forcibly, proportionately, uncom- 
 promisingly, in the regular course of religious in- 
 struction. If you do this the crisis may never come. 
 If it should come, it may not be a great crisis. If 
 it should prove a great crisis do not shrink from it, 
 for your regular teaching will have raised up a 
 
 phalanx to support you. The winds strengthen a 
 9 
 
128 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 tree whose roots are strong, and deep, and far- 
 reaching, but they tear up those which have Httle 
 depth of earth. 
 
 Thus far we have considered the discussion of the 
 subject by the pastor in the pulpit. It is, or ought 
 to be, hardly necessary to say that he must be at all 
 times ready to defend his sentiments in private, and 
 must act in harmony with them. He who is silent 
 when his friends advance sentiments which he be- 
 lieves dangerous, or utters a mild demurrer, unsup- 
 ported either by fact or argument, can do but little 
 by public appeals. And the minister who admits 
 that " he visited the Theater when he was abroad," 
 or moves among his people regretting " that it will 
 not do for him to hear Ristori," need not be sur- 
 prised if those who hear him speak thus attend the 
 Theater instead of the prayer-meeting ; and also, if 
 they seem to have some contempt for a man who 
 either has no opinions, or lacks the courage to de- 
 fend them, or to act in harmony with them. We 
 would not be supposed to mean that a minister 
 must carry a tomahawk and scalping-knife with 
 him, attacking; on this or any other subject, his 
 
How to Present this Subject. 129 
 
 parishioners ; but we do mean that he should at all 
 proper times, in a gentlemanly manner, explain and 
 vindicate his views. 
 
 In arguing with young Christians, whose senti- 
 ments are not yet fully formed, the most effective 
 method is to appeal to them on the ground of their 
 influence. To show them that they cannot consist- 
 ently remain connected with the Church and attend 
 the Theater ; that if they do so, many of their breth- 
 ren and sisters will be grieved ; that they will have 
 no moral influence over their irreligious friends, 
 who can never be impressed with the need of relig- 
 ion so long as those who profess it are not distin- 
 guished from the world. If they say that some 
 will be alienated from religion by their narrowness 
 if they refuse to accompany them to the Theater, let 
 them be shown that the world in general count that 
 an advantage is gained over the Christian who is 
 seen at the Theater ; and that it is better to be true 
 to Christ at the expense of temporary alienation, 
 than to acquiesce, in the vain hope that com- 
 promising with evil will attract the irreligious to 
 Christ. 
 
I30 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 Persons seldom refuse to become Christians mere- 
 ly because they think it a yoke, but because they love 
 the world ; and few are the cases in which by investi- 
 gation previous to repentance they have reconsidered 
 the matter and concluded that it is not a yoke. In 
 addition it may be shown them, that he who ear- 
 nestly prays, " Lead us not into temptation," cannot 
 consistently put himself in its way. 
 
 Parents have it in their power to fix the senti- 
 ments of their children on this subject, not by creat- 
 ing an unreasoning prejudice, but by informing them 
 of the solid grounds of their objections. They can 
 also control their conduct by parental authority 
 until they can reason. Some parents have tried 
 the hazardous plan of taking their children once or 
 twice " to show them the folly of it." Which will 
 they be more likely to remember, the protest of 
 their parents, or the fascination of the spectacle? 
 It would hardly be wise to give a boy a few bottles 
 of champagne that he may " see the folly of drink- 
 ing." Nor would the folly of going to the Theater be 
 at once apparent to an ordinary youth ; in which, as 
 we have seen, much of the danger consists, that im- 
 
How to Present this Subject. 131 
 
 proper sentiments and forms of expression will be 
 imperceptibly imbibed, the imagination filled with 
 unhealthy ideas, and the passions prematurely 
 aroused and morbidly excited. 
 
 We sometimes find parents who say that they 
 were brought up too strictly, and that they intend 
 to indulge their children. Granting that they were 
 brought up too strictly, which in many alleged in- 
 stances is not true, the reaction too often leads 
 them to indulge their children to a ruinous extent ; 
 and thus far the careers of these indulged children 
 are not very encouraging in a religious way, and 
 sometimes not as respects ordinary morality. 
 
 Doubtless, in former times, many parents were 
 too strict. But this strictness consisted in the 
 tyrannical oppressiveness of their manner, and the 
 absence of all reasonable explanation of their com- 
 mands, as well as in forbidding innocent pleasures. 
 But those parents who prohibit Theater-going, and 
 explain the reason for the prohibition as soon as 
 the child can understand it, at the same time show- 
 ing a lively interest in every unobjectionable amuse- 
 ment, will be increasingly honored for it to the end 
 
132 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 of their lives. It is true that while the minds of 
 children are undeveloped, they will "think" as chil- 
 dren, "speak" as children, and "understand" as 
 children ; and much firmness will be required to sup- 
 press their burning desires to see every thing of 
 which they hear ; but the difficulty is no greater 
 in this than in many other questions in which the 
 matured judgment of parents differs from the unwise 
 opinions of children. The capricious smile of an 
 indulged and spoiled child is not to be compared 
 as a source of consolation to the intelligent Chris- 
 tian parent, with the approbation which well-trained 
 sons or daughters will give when in after years 
 they rise up and call their parents blessed." And 
 in endeavoring to avoid undue strictness, it is no 
 more necessary to become unduly indulgent than 
 it is to commit suicide by gluttony to avoid death 
 by starvation. 
 
A Healthy and Happy Religious Life. 133 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 A HEALTHY AND HAPPY RELIGIOUS LIFE. 
 
 '' 1 ^WO extreme views have been held of the sub- 
 ject of religion, and the tendency of mankind 
 has been to oscillate between them, never remain- 
 ing long at the center, where reposes the truth in 
 its symmetry and beauty, awaiting the embrace of 
 all who will tarry long enough to perceive its at- 
 tractions. By some in all ages, and by most in par- 
 ticular periods, all conversation and reading not of a 
 directly devotional or religious character has been 
 considered sinful ; business has been regarded as a 
 necessary evil ; every form of recreation dangerous 
 and useless ; the ardent love of nature a suspicious 
 indication ; society a hot-bed of temptation. Re- 
 ligion, in their view, consisted chiefly in self-denial, 
 solitude, and the preservation of a solemn and even 
 awful sense of eternal things, which covered life with 
 a funereal gloom. The love of art, music, and beauty 
 is vanity; and fasting, vigils, and directly spiritual 
 
134 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 employments " the whole duty of man." This view 
 of religion has flourished chiefly in the Church of 
 Rome among the monkish orders and brother and 
 sisterhoods. But it has also affected Protestantism, 
 sometimes giving character to entire sects ; and 
 whenever the Church in general has become worldly, 
 a reaction has set in which has tended to this ex- 
 treme, its progress thitherward having been accel- 
 erated by the persecution and opposition which 
 good men have encountered. 
 
 The irrationality, however, of this view, in its 
 most pronounced form, is clear. It is a disparage- 
 ment of the universe which God has made, and it is 
 injurious to health, shortening and often destroying 
 life. It is essentially morbid, and distorts the mind 
 and heart, unbalancing the entire nature. It is 
 modeled on the practice of John the Baptist, and 
 not on the teachings or practice of Christ. 
 
 In our time, however, there is but little need of 
 protesting against this extreme, for we live in " a 
 time of transition." Many would reduce the relig- 
 ious life to a few public services, and these must be 
 made interesting by outward and sensuous things; 
 
A Healthy and Happy Religious Life. 135 
 
 as music, flowers, and variety. So that, in many 
 services, the elements least regarded are the word 
 of God and spirit of devotion. Self-denial is ig- 
 nored, and self-gratification substituted. Solemn 
 thinking is an intolerable burden, anxiety for the 
 spiritual condition of others is not promoted, and 
 vigorous efforts to induce them to enter the service 
 of Christ are seldom or never made. Material grati- 
 fication — accumulation of wealth — is the ruling prin- 
 ciple with most adults, while the real pleasure of 
 most youth is found in display, worldliness, and 
 questionable or positively harmful amusements : 
 these, all the while, fancying that Jesus is the Sav- 
 iour of the world, and that they will at last " get to 
 heaven," of which, however, their ideas are vague — 
 some depicting it to themselves as a place of rest, 
 others as a family re-union, and most as a kind of 
 " Central Park " in the universe, where the inhab- 
 itants will never be sick, or poor, or disappointed, 
 and will listen to music, and have every thing that 
 they want. Of the root ideas of the heaven prom- 
 ised in the New Testament — spiritual purity, the 
 love, and knowledge, and presence of God, and the 
 
136 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 fellowship of Christ — they never think, for " where 
 the treasure is there will the heart be also." 
 
 Whoever will read the New Testament will see 
 that this view of the life of piety is even more irra- 
 tional than the other. That was serious, this is 
 frivolous ; that considered sin a deadly foe and 
 fought against it ; this, as a pleasant companion to 
 be watched but toyed with, and, perhaps, em- 
 braced ; that did good very often by its terribly 
 earnest labors for the salvation of men, this does 
 nothing but carelessly sow dead seed ; that kept 
 alive a sense of the reality of religion, this turns 
 it into a melo-drama. This is the extreme preva- 
 lent in this age ; and we have apostles of license 
 instead of liberty, who are applauded by admiring 
 friends in proportion to the skill and boldness 
 with which they reduce religion to sentimentality, 
 and put the conscience to sleep while the life 
 is one of worldliness and frivolity. Into such a 
 religion as this Theater-going, Sabbath excursions, 
 wine and card parties, fit very easily. There is a 
 correspondence between the inward state and the 
 outward life ; but when the heart is filled with love 
 
A Healthy and Happy Religious Life. 137 
 
 to God, and really devoted to Christ, an unendur- 
 able discord between such things and the inner life 
 is apparent. 
 
 A healthy and happy religious life avoids these 
 extremes. Its possessor fears God but is not afraid 
 of him, loves him but also reveres him, confides 
 fully in him but has respect to the condition on 
 which his promises are made. He begins and ends 
 the day with earnest secret prayer; and whenever 
 conscious of needing special help, guidance, or 
 comfort, he calls upon God. The public services 
 of the sanctuary are delightful to him, and he is 
 always strengthened and encouraged by the com- 
 munion of saints and the worship of God. He 
 aims to be a genuine philanthropist, ever ready to 
 aid others, and is as anxious to confer spiritual ben- 
 efits upon them as to relieve their physical necessi- 
 ties. He attends strictly to business, but, regarding 
 it as a means to an end, does not become its slave. 
 Social intercourse is pleasant to him, and his moral 
 and spiritual instincts lead him to select the refined, 
 the intelligent, the pure, instead of the coarse or 
 corrupt. All physical and sensuous gratifications 
 
138 Christians and the THEAtER. 
 
 are enjoyed in their place and proportion, and kept 
 in due subordination. He indulges in nothing per- 
 nicious, in nothing that violates the precepts of 
 Christ, that injures others, or destroys his influence 
 as a Christian. And he is ready, at the proper time, 
 for special labors in the Church to promote the 
 conversion of men. Naturally a youth will give 
 more time to pleasure and society than a man in 
 the prime of life, who will be more closely occu- 
 pied with the cares of business ; while the aged 
 should cultivate a quiet and contemplative spirit as 
 the great change approaches. 
 
 This healthy and happy religious life is not mor- 
 bid, because not disproportionate. It develops man 
 symmetrically, admits of the greatest happiness, 
 and introduces no elements of misery. It gives 
 the greatest influence for good, and is the religion 
 of Christ and his apostles. But it is impossible to 
 graft Theater-going upon it without destroying the 
 original stock. For Theater-going, as a habit and 
 for the love of it, implies either inactivity or dull- 
 ness of the conscience, else the spectator would be 
 pained by every element of immorality and irrelig- 
 
A Healthy and Happy Religious Life. J39 
 
 lon. While he who returns from an average play 
 will hardly pray, even if he takes the time to " say 
 his prayers ; " and a willingness to be delighted by 
 the progress of such events and characters as are 
 delineated in the Theater implies such an easy view 
 of human nature in general that no motives will 
 exist to prompt to special efforts to lead men to 
 repentance. He who can laugh at sin or a sinful 
 character will never feel an agony of soul to save 
 the sinner. 
 
 If it be said that there are persons who " love 
 the 'Black Crook' and yet are zealous members of 
 Churches, laboring to save men," it is replied that 
 they are so few that they must be classed with other 
 unnatural instances which shed no light on the tend, 
 ency of influences. But it will hardly be found that 
 such persons have any heart for private, personal, 
 earnest expostulations ; their zeal usually evapo- 
 rates in singing, speaking, and praying in public, 
 while the texture of their general religious char- 
 acter is defective. 
 
 Thus have we tried to show why it is that he 
 who attempts to find a place in his religious life 
 
I40 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 for Theater-going hazards the destruction of its 
 purity, and consistency, and power. Nor does he 
 lose any thing of value if he renounces the Theater 
 forever. For the more closely we examine the acts 
 of self-denial required of the Christian, the more 
 obvious it becomes that those which are demanded 
 by our personal necessities in the religious life, bear 
 the same relation to our growth that pruning does 
 to the growth and fruit-bearing qualities of a tree : 
 therefore Christ said, " Every branch in me that 
 beareth not fruit he [the Father] taketh away : and 
 every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that 
 it may bring forth more fruit : " while those acts 
 of self-denial required by our relation to others 
 pertain to superfluities, and rarely or never to any 
 thing of really great importance. 
 
The Open Field of Christian Privilege. 141 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE OPEN FIELD OF CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE. 
 
 TT /"E are sometimes told that if the Church pro- 
 hibits the Theater it should furnish a sub- 
 stitute. This requirement has a plausible sound, 
 but nothing more. The function of the Church is 
 not to map out the whole sphere of possible activ- 
 ity and erect at every turn sign-boards warning in- 
 dividuals away from certain points, and at the same 
 time indicating just what walks may be permitted. 
 Nor is the individual Christian to be treated as an 
 imbecile, but as a rational and responsible being. 
 " Prove all things : hold fast that which is good. 
 Abstain from all appearance of evil," or as some 
 think it should be rendered, " from every form of 
 evil," are not only commands, but constitute the 
 great charter of Christian liberty. It is to be pre- 
 sumed that if the Church protests against intemper- 
 ance, that the Christian who practices temperance 
 will not need to have a substitute furnished to him 
 
142 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 for the stimulus of the intoxicating cup. All na- 
 ture furnishes wholesome food, opportunities foi 
 healthful exercise and rest, the pure and invigorat- 
 ing air, and the sparkling water, or the " cup which 
 cheers but does not inebriate." 
 
 Let the temperate man govern himself by the laws 
 of his God, and the constitution which he has given 
 him, and he will need no specific directions from the 
 Church. So when Christianity prohibits particular 
 acts of dishonesty the reformed swindler has the 
 whole field of legitimate effort in which to obtain 
 an honest livelihood. And when the Christian 
 Church endeavors to persuade its members to ab- 
 stain from evil and destructive amusements, is it to 
 be told that it must find a substitute? All varieties 
 of innocent recreation are before the Christian ; let 
 him exclaim, in the language of David, " I will walk 
 at liberty: for I seek thy precepts." Nevertheless 
 it may be well to show how utterly unnecessary the 
 Theater as an amusement is to any Christian. Mul- 
 titudes of the best, purest, wisest, most refined per- 
 sons of both sexes never entered a Theater in their 
 lives. Many of the most hopeful, cheerful, and 
 
The Open Field of Christian Privilege. 143 
 
 happy people have never laughed at lewd wit, pro- 
 faneness, or exceptionable sentiments in the Thea- 
 ter, for they have never entered its doors. Many 
 have at certain periods attended the Theater, but 
 have subsequently conscientiously remained away, 
 and have not lost their cheerfulness. And why 
 should any think that no substitute can be found 
 for the Theater ? For all that is good in it, many 
 substitutes can be found ; for what is bad no sub- 
 stitute in kind can be asked by the Christian. But 
 it may be said, " We ask not for ourselves but for 
 our children." Is it so ? Have you, then, ever 
 seriously tried to amuse them ? At home, by free 
 and familiar intercourse, by conversation, by nar- 
 rative, by always looking for incidents to interest 
 them ? By inculcating a taste for reading, and fur- 
 nishing them with new and interesting books, pa- 
 pers, magazines, and objects of interest of every 
 kind ? by encouraging reading aloud, and doing all 
 in your power to make the evenings interesting ? 
 Have you encouraged them to learn to sing, or to 
 play on musical instruments, and thus provided the 
 
 materials for an amateur musical entertainment at 
 10 
 
144 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 home ? As an amusement, a means of promoting 
 cheerfulness, a refining influence, a cementing bond, 
 increasing parental and filial and brotherly affec- 
 tion, and as a friend to good health, the cultivation 
 of social and instrumental music in the family circle 
 is invaluable. Then there are for little children 
 countless games which the ingenuity of all lands 
 and ages has invented and commerce brings to your 
 door ; while for youth there are all games that are 
 
 not intrinsically demoralizing or by their associa- 
 tions made dangerous. Company, also, when dis- 
 creetly managed, may be made to furnish the ma- 
 terials of a great variety of amusement. The oc- 
 casional invitation of suitable young people who, 
 when properly trained, need but little supervision, 
 with moderate refreshments and early departure ; 
 the bringing forward of all but the youngest chil- 
 dren when general entertainments are given ; and 
 the selection for guests of persons of refinement, of 
 travelers, of those who pursue professions and kinds 
 of business which qualify them to narrate interest- 
 ing and exciting adventures, experiments, etc., of 
 fine singers and readers, will give endless delight to 
 
The Open Field of Christian Privilege. 145 
 
 your children. But " you have never thought of 
 these things." What have you done ? Have you 
 neglected your family? caused your sons and 
 daughters to think that you were annoyed by them ; 
 made the boys feel that their parents were never 
 so glad as when they were in bed or out of doors ? 
 Perhaps if you would give a little attention to 
 these things they might think the home evenings 
 were the pleasantest in the year. But there are 
 many admirable amusements to be enjoyed away 
 from home, such as riding, for those who can afford 
 it ; walking for those who know how to do it, and 
 excursions of various kinds : the visiting of mu- 
 seums and art galleries, of public institutions, and 
 all the entertainments provided by academies, Sun- 
 day-schools, congregations. Young Men's Christian 
 Associations, etc. There are grand musical enter- 
 tainments, magnificent concerts, which, if you allow 
 your children to attend two or three of them in a 
 season, will form their taste and give them increas- 
 ing pleasure as well as something to anticipate and 
 recollect with delight. There are lecturers of all 
 kinds to be heard, and not a few who are almost 
 
146 The Christian and the Theater. 
 
 comedians, but, being held responsible for their 
 matter as well as manner, are not likely to offend 
 good morals, however much they may violate good 
 taste. 
 
 Nor should the magicians and ventriloquists 
 be forgotten, who afford infinite sport to children, 
 and are some of them worthy of patronage by 
 thoughtful people whom they will teach a needed 
 lesson, namely, that the senses are not to be im- 
 plicitly relied on when they appear to contradict 
 the general sense of mankind. 
 
 The brilliant scientific lectures attended by thrill- 
 ing experiments which are now put within the 
 reach even of the poor in our large cities, combine 
 instruction and amusement in such harmonious pro- 
 portions that the best possible effects are obtained. 
 With such a programme as the Young Men's Chris- 
 tian Associations in the principal cities offer to 
 young people of limited means, none need ask, 
 "What shall I do if I cannot go to the Theater?" 
 While iox persons of wealth to affirm that they can- 
 not amuse themselves and their children without 
 the aid of the Theater is to stigmatize themselves 
 
The Open Field of Christian Privilege, 147 
 
 as deficient in candor, or as below mediocrity in in- 
 telligence. 
 
 The foregoing is not presented as a full descrip- 
 tion of the wide field of innocent amusement, but 
 as a general outline of it. To some it may seem 
 like a desert of sand. But as the purest spring 
 water seems insipid to the man whose taste has 
 been corrupted by drunkenness, so to the habitual 
 Theater-goer of average intelligence every thing but 
 the Theater will be very tame. 
 
148 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV, 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 "XT riTH this chapter we conclude our survey 
 of this practical and important subject. 
 " Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God " 
 may feel unmeasured contempt for the work, and, 
 perhaps, for the author. But even they, if con- 
 scious of their moral condition and attitude toward 
 the question, must admit that their feelings, if they 
 are excited by the doctrines taught, but confirm the 
 truthfulness of the teaching. And they must see 
 that it would be impossible to treat any subject 
 fairly, and at the same time " conciliate those who 
 are determined not to be conciliated." We incur 
 a similar liability to contempt whenever we urge 
 any of the more humbling doctrines of Christian- 
 ity, and any of the more irksome duties of the 
 Christian life. But to support us under contempt 
 in this instance we have the consciousness of 
 our own sincerity, the concurrent judgment of the 
 
Conclusion. 149 
 
 most active and spiritually-minded ministers and 
 members of all Churches, and the certainty that 
 any one who may be led by our book to renounce the 
 Theater, or be confirmed in his opposition to it, will 
 never have reason to think that we have weakened 
 his faith or diminished his usefulness as a Christian, 
 or imperiled his hope of heaven. 
 
 Some worthy persons may dissent from our gen- 
 eral conclusion. This will neither surprise nor dis- 
 courage us, for the most approved and necessary 
 truths do not receive universal assent. Many never 
 did, and never will, investigate this or any other 
 question. They are governed by impulse, fancy, 
 prepossession, or prejudice, and employ their rea- 
 soning faculties, not in coming to a conclusion, but 
 in fortifying, defending, or illustrating an opinion 
 which they adopted in the beginning without con- 
 sideration. Therefore, if our reasoning be correct 
 and our conclusions just, we cannot reasonably ex- 
 pect to convince all. Besides such as have just 
 been characterized, there may be a few persons of 
 ability and piety who will examine this subject and 
 come to an opposite conclusion. In most of these 
 
150 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 cases, however, the explanation of their differing 
 from so vast a majority of Christian men of all 
 creeds is this : They fall into the error of estimat- 
 ing the effect of the Theater upon others by its 
 supposed effect upon themselves, 
 
 A disciplined Christian, though he would not 
 voluntarily read, or hear, or see that which is evil, 
 may, indeed, assimilate the good and reject the 
 evil in the books he reads, and in what he sees or 
 hears ; but youth, though innocent of evil intent, 
 have not this power ; and those in whom passion is 
 strong, or who are not scrupulous, will assimilate the 
 evil. Hence the Christian cannot consistently coun- 
 tenance the Theater, Here and there a brilliant 
 young writer or preacher, a novelist or an utterer 
 of startling paradoxes, may favor the Theater, but 
 his observations on this and other subjects are as 
 incapable of serious refutation as the incoherent rav- 
 ings of frenzy. Such a minister is said to have de- 
 clared that " to see a certain actor in tragedy has 
 a better religious effect than an hour of prayer." 
 These wild talkers soon come to pass at their proper 
 worth, and though persons of sense may some- 
 
Conclusion. 151 
 
 times laugh with them, much oftener they laugh at 
 them. 
 
 Some may try to impeach our statements of fact, 
 but if the falsity of any assertion shall be shown, it 
 will be promptly corrected. The utmost care can- 
 not guarantee entire freedom from error. The pro- 
 priety of furnishing an analysis of plays in an argu- 
 ment against the Theater may be doubted. But if 
 so, it must be on the ground that some may be 
 led to attend the Theater by reading the accounts 
 of the plays. But if such a result were to follow, 
 it would come either from a desire to see whether 
 they have been correctly delineated, or from a wish to 
 see the plays if they are as described. Little harm 
 can be done in the latter case, for none who would 
 really desire to see these plays if they are as stated, 
 will be kept from the Theater by any arguments or 
 influences whatever. In the former case the neces- 
 sity does not exist. . All these plays have been pub- 
 lished by actors or for the use of actofs, and if any 
 one desires to see whether they are properly de- 
 scribed he need not deceive himself by thinking 
 that he must go to a Theater to do so. They can 
 
152 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 be procured and examined. The writer, however, 
 has no fear that any who will take the trouble to do 
 this will call his statements in question. Those 
 who denounce him as inaccurate will be those who 
 have never read the plays at all, and are comparing 
 their partial recollection of what they heard with 
 his description. 
 
 But to those who think it unwise to present the 
 analysis, we wish to say that without this the argu- 
 ment would have no support. It would consist of 
 naked assertions. To declare the Theater evil is 
 not to prove it to be so, or to show why it is so. 
 The Scriptures have not hesitated to describe sin 
 for fear that some would be led by the vivid delin- 
 eation of them to commit sins of which they were 
 previously ignorant. But the Scriptures are not ob- 
 noxious to the charge of promoting sin. The pur- 
 pose for which they portray it, the manner in which 
 they do it, their uniform denunciation of it, and the 
 tendency of their entire treatment of it, vindicate 
 them from the charge. We know that we have not 
 so described the plays analyzed as to make them at- 
 tractive to any one whom we can hope to benefit. 
 
Conclusion. 153 
 
 Others may affirm that it is unjust to select ob- 
 jectionable plays and examine and condemn them 
 by name, while the author admits that he found 
 four or five which he approves, and does not give 
 an analysis of these. To which he has to say, that 
 when he began the examination, thrusting aside as 
 far as possible his recollections, he carefully read 
 nearly seventy plays. If the result had been that 
 sixty were found unobjectionable, or only marred 
 by inconsiderable defects, this argument would 
 never have been written. If he had written any 
 thing, it would have been in condemnation of 
 the few and in praise of the many. But when, in 
 the course of his reading, he became convinced that 
 the number that could with propriety be enacted 
 before youth, or read as they are acted, by a modest 
 woman in a promiscuous company — that contain no 
 disparaging allusions to religion, no profaneness, 
 and nothing which tends to promote licentiousness, 
 dissipation, or recklessness of life — is scarcely one 
 in twelve ; in a word, that the immense majority 
 are such as have been described, and under that 
 conviction he makes an argument against the Thea- 
 
154 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 ter in its relation to Christians and youth ; it is not 
 pertinent to characterize those five or six further 
 than to say they are unexceptionable. In a treatise 
 expressly designed to warn people against settling 
 in a malarious region, the author could hardly be 
 expected to expatiate on the cheapness of a few 
 building lots there, especially if some were so atix- 
 ious to reside in the infected district that they would 
 seize any pretext to justify it, and even quote the 
 friend who had warned them against it as their 
 authority for going< 
 
 There are others who think that a book against 
 the Theater should abound in flaming appeals 
 and solemn warnings. Certainly these have their 
 place, but not in an argument. I have written 
 to the judgment of ministers, teachers, parents, 
 thoughtful men and women in every department of 
 life, and to intelligent youth of both sexes. I can 
 hardly expect a child to read or understand the train 
 of thought herein pursued ; but unless the average 
 intelligence of youth is greatly overestimated, many 
 such find pleasure in reading works addressed pri- 
 marily to the understanding. 
 
Conclusion. 155 
 
 If, however, those who have read are convinced of 
 the truth of the conclusion which is here main- 
 tained, whether they be ministers, parents, teach- 
 ers, or friends, let them, strengthened by these or 
 other, and, it may be, more convincing arguments, 
 make the appeals for which their personal relations 
 to those whom they address prepare them. If any 
 who suppose the subject comparatively insignifi- 
 cant think that we have given it too much time, 
 and displayed too much earnestness in its treat- 
 ment, we ask them to consider whether the question 
 be not vital to the evangelical Churches ; whether, 
 when Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, 
 Methodists, and all others who maintain " the faith 
 once delivered to the saints," generally attend the 
 Theater, and live in a manner corresponding with the 
 state of conscience and religious feeling which a love 
 for the Theater as it now is and always has been, 
 implies, revivals will not be unknown, conversions 
 cease, and every form of worldliness overspread the 
 Church. 
 
 Nothing can prevent the coming of such a period 
 but the fidelity of ministers and Christians, espe- 
 
156 Christians and the Theater. 
 
 cially in the great cities, and jn wealthy Churches, 
 where the tendency to patronize and apologize for 
 the Theater is a symptom and fruit of that moral 
 and spiritual enervation which thus far in the his- 
 tory of Christianity has been the concomitant, and, 
 perhaps, the inevitable effect, of luxury. 
 
 THE END.