D 
 
 N 
 
 AN CINQ 
 
 AS A 
 
 OF T1 
 UNIVERSITY i)\ 
 
 Christian Amusement. 
 
 OAK ST. s " : ' 
 
 BY THE j 
 
 r 
 
 Rev. GEORGE C. HECKMANN, D.D., 
 
 1933 
 
 UNIV£HS|)y yf P. 
 
 i 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: . 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBlJf!ATION t 
 
 1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
Intel’edl^cording to Act of Congress, in tne year 1879 by 
 THE TRUSTEES OE THE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 j th^Qffibe of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 4 ^ 
 
 
 y Westcott & Thomson, 
 
 Strrtotypers land Electrdtypers * PhilddUi 
 
 \ 
 
LI prtRY .. ' 
 
 H5.V A 0f ™E 
 
 WIMJJNOb 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 UBiARY 
 
 - —.——---— 
 
 - . UNIVERSITY Or U-LLI* 
 
 The scriptural titles of a minister of Je¬ 
 sus Christ are suggestive. Among them are 
 “watchman,” “shepherd” and “bishop.” 
 
 The particular charge which the pastor is to 
 wafoh, to feed and to oversee is “ the Church 
 
 of God, which he has purchased with his 
 own blood.” When any social amusement, 
 fashionable custom, secular business or heret¬ 
 ical propagandist*! threatens the Church with 
 injury and society with demoralization, it is 
 the right and duty of the Christian pulpit 
 or church-court to use all proper means in 
 a proper spirit to confront, expose and resist 
 the threatening danger. This should be done 
 in a kind, gentle, respectful maimer, not in an 
 
 arrogant, ascetic, self-righteous spirit. 
 
 The amusement under discussion is sus¬ 
 tained by the opinion and practice of the 
 fashionable world, and sometimes, too, by 
 members of the Church. I deem it at least 
 questionable, as a barrier to the progress of 
 
 3 
 
 834927 
 
4 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 Christian society, as unfriendly to virtue and 
 grace, and as a leaven of individual and social 
 corruption. Can this conviction be sustained? 
 The recreation is seeking recognition and en¬ 
 couragement in families and churches where 
 once it was utterly excluded. Is this a neces¬ 
 sary consequence of our growth in wealth and 
 evangelical liberality? This fact, and the 
 recent and continuous deliverances of every 
 grade of church-courts, make it a timely 
 theme for our consideration. 
 
 Let us first consider and answer some of 
 the most plausible defences of dancing. 
 
 1. Honest appeal has been made to the au¬ 
 thority of Scripture in favor of this amuse¬ 
 ment. It has been found in such a passage 
 as this, “ There is a time to dance,” and in 
 the example of such worthies as Miriam and 
 David. A reliable writer, whose criticism my 
 personal examination sustains, says : “ I have 
 consulted every passage in the Bible which 
 speaks of dancing, from all which it appears 
 —1. That dancing was a religious act, both 
 in true and also in idol-worship. 2. That 
 it was practiced exclusively on joyful occa¬ 
 sions, such as national festivals or great vie- 
 
DANCING. 
 
 5 
 
 tories. 3. That it was performed on such 
 great occasions by one only of the sexes, 
 4. That it was performed usually in the day¬ 
 time in the open air—in the highways, fields 
 and groves. 5. That men who perverted 
 dancing from a sacred use to purposes of 
 amusement were deemed infamous. 6. That 
 no instances of dancing are found upon rec¬ 
 ord in the Bible in which the two sexes unit¬ 
 ed in the exercise either as an act of worship 
 or amusement. 7. That there are no instances 
 on record in the Bible of social dancing for 
 amusement, except that of the i vain fellows 9 
 void of shame alluded to by Michal, of the 
 irreligious families described by Job, which 
 produced increased impiety and ended in de¬ 
 struction, and of Herod ias’ daughter, which 
 terminated in the rash vow of Herod and the 
 murder of John the Baptist/’ The sum of 
 this biblical testimony is that the dancing ap¬ 
 proved was in every respect very different 
 from the modern amusement bearing the 
 name, that it was performed on great na¬ 
 tional and religious occasions by the sexes 
 separately as a spiritual exercise, that its per¬ 
 version to amusement was regarded as a sac- 
 
6 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 rilege, and that in every case where it is men¬ 
 tioned as a social amusement it is associated 
 w T ith condemnation or circumstances of hor¬ 
 ror. Pastors will find the study of these 
 passages repaid by a full, interesting and in¬ 
 structive line of argument different from that 
 which follows in this essay. 
 
 2. It is urged that dancing is a healthful 
 
 exercise. I shall deny this of fashionable 
 dancing. But even if it were admitted, 
 would it be a sufficient justification of a 
 practice which many weighty objections make 
 at least of questionable propriety ? “ Bodily 
 
 exercise ” (ascetic or otherwise) “ profiteth a 
 little,” but that little would be sadly pur¬ 
 chased by the price of “ godliness, which is 
 profitable unto all things, having the promise 
 of the life that now is, and of that which is 
 to come.” The pursuit of physical health by 
 many innocent and delightful ways accessible 
 to all needs not the addition of an exercise 
 seriously objectionable on moral and religious 
 grounds. 
 
 3. It is said that dancing promotes grace¬ 
 ful movement and polite manners. These are 
 attainments which we ought to seek, for they 
 
DANCING. 
 
 7 
 
 are important elements of personal attraction 
 and usefulness, alike desirable in society and 
 in the Church. They should be taught and 
 sought by all means that do not entail conse¬ 
 quences dangerous to health, beauty and pur¬ 
 ity. It is admitted that instruction and prac¬ 
 tice in dancing do contribute to ease and grace 
 of movement, but, as shall be seen, at the risk 
 of bodily, mental and moral injury. Early 
 instruction, judicious labor and regular out¬ 
 door exercise, as in play, walking, riding and 
 gymnastics, will produce far greater ease and 
 dignity, strength and grace of movement. 
 This is proven by innumerable instances all 
 around us of persons who never set foot in 
 the dance, and thus were never exposed to 
 the wanton freedom of attitude and manner 
 so commonly inculcated in the dancing-school 
 and encouraged in the ball-room. It is fair 
 to remark here that some calisthenic exercises 
 in our mixed schools are open to the objec¬ 
 tions which lie against promiscuous dancing. 
 
 4. In favor of dancing is urged that it is 
 fashionable. True, and many would not dance 
 or allow dancing if it were not fashionable; 
 they yield to the fashion with a secret protest 
 
8 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 of their moral sense. Many other enormous 
 evils which burden society are fashionable. 
 Fashion is often a most dangerous enemy to 
 grace. It has lured unnumbered souls to 
 ruin, and its testimony in favor of any prac¬ 
 tice should at once awaken suspicion. Yet 
 fashion has its legitimate place and is entitled 
 to a large share of respect; but when it ap¬ 
 proves and advocates any custom or amuse¬ 
 ment objectionable on physical or moral 
 grounds, it should be rejected by all, espe¬ 
 cially by those who are “ not to be conformed 
 to the world.” 
 
 5. It is said that dancing is not sinful in 
 itself. Just so, but then the plea implies that 
 it may be sinful. This plea should always 
 awaken close inquiry as to the propriety of 
 any recreation in defence of which it is em¬ 
 ployed, although it is often lawfully and unan¬ 
 swerably used. Its admission will not weaken 
 our position if the real, not the ideal, dance of 
 modern fashionable society is proven sinful 
 and improper. The plea is made mainly to 
 justify family and non-promiscuous dancing. 
 What are we to understand by non-promis- 
 cuous dancing? Is it dancing by one sex 
 
DANCING. 
 
 9 
 
 alone, or only by members of the family or 
 kindred or neighbors? Or does it include 
 all of a given social circle and the strangers 
 who may be introduced by them ? And may 
 any lady or gentleman exclude any other one 
 who, though belonging to the family or social 
 circle, ought for good reasons be excluded 
 from the familiarities of the dance? How 
 difficult to define non-promiscuous dancing! 
 How hard to get up dancing-parties that are 
 not promiscuous ! How can you restrict dan¬ 
 cing to select company? How can you restrain 
 within prescribed bounds the passion you have 
 educated ? In this, too, we perceive the sub¬ 
 tlety of Satan, and that “ the beginning of 
 sin is like the letting out of water.” Indulge 
 your children in the occasional and abstemious 
 usg of intoxicating drinks at the family board 
 or evening-party, and you create an appetite 
 that may be satisfied only with the indulgence 
 of the bar and the inebriate. Gather them 
 round the card-table, and you invite them to 
 the doors and experience of the gambling- 
 saloon. Provide private theatricals, and you 
 may arouse an appetite which will seek gratifi¬ 
 cation amid the corrupt surroundings and im- 
 
10 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 pure teachings of the public drama. Private 
 dancing supplies the ball-room as does the 
 nursery the orchard or the school the college. 
 It is urged that liability to perversion or ex¬ 
 cess cannot be conclusive against a practice or 
 indulgence, as in the case of eating, drinking; 
 sleeping, and the like. Admitted, but these 
 are necessities of nature, duties of life, in the 
 use or non-use of which we have no choice, 
 and it is denied that they are necessarily or 
 generally liable to abuse; whereas dancing is 
 not a necessity of nature or duty of life, and 
 is generally productive of some form *and 
 measure of bodily, mental and moral injury. 
 Besides, so long as family and square dances 
 are vindicated, you protest almost in vain 
 again the ball-room and round dances. But 
 the objections I shall urge against dancing as 
 it is apply to it as an amusement under any 
 and all circumstances. 
 
 6. It has been argued that dancing is not 
 expressly forbidden in the Bible. I think 
 that is true: and yet even if it be true, of 
 what force is the argument? Must we have 
 an express declaration of the Bible to know 
 the moral nature and lawfulness of every ac- 
 
DANCING. 
 
 11 
 
 fion, sentiment or custom? Have we any 
 such declaration as to the* slave-trade or 
 arson or gambling or the theatre or obscene 
 literature? And yet what mind enlightened 
 by Scripture can hesitate to believe that these 
 things are as forcibly forbidden by the spirit 
 and implications of the Bible as they could 
 be by direct declaration? Now, if dancing 
 is hostile to the spirit of the Bible and to 
 that life which the Bible enjoins, then it is 
 forbidden by the Bible. 
 
 7. It is charged in palliation of dancing 
 that those who object to it amuse themselves 
 in ways as objectionable, or more so. This is 
 assertion, not argument, but it is so often 
 made that with many it has the force of 
 argument. But the intelligent and really 
 pious people who object to dancing are not 
 given to those kinds of amusement. Besides, 
 the choice is not left us which of objection¬ 
 able amusements we shall select: all are alike 
 forbidden. Rather than apologize for the 
 dancing of some by the card-playing, or 
 even the evil gossip, of others, it would be 
 safer to suspect that the entire atmosphere of 
 such society was tainted. Must the alterna- 
 
12 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 tive be dancing or gossip? Are these the 
 boundaries of rational and moral capacities 
 in the matter of social recreation? I pity 
 the individual or company whose culture is 
 so limited. Besides, on reflection, I am per¬ 
 suaded that gossip is less dangerous than 
 dancing, and I think it can be shown that 
 dancers have not a monopoly of intelligent 
 and virtuous conversation. It must be imbe¬ 
 cile society indeed that cannot find pastimes at 
 once’pleasant, proper and profitable. 
 
 8. Lastly, with a painful insensibility to 
 parental obligation, it has been pressed apol¬ 
 ogetically for dancing that “young people will 
 be amused, and if you restrain them in one 
 thing they will indulge in another.” Now, 
 to the first point I reply that we want young 
 people, and old too, to be amused; whilst the 
 second I deny, and assert that the young, re¬ 
 strained in wrong-doing, are apt to keep from 
 wrong-doing, and those indulged in one wrong 
 thing will indulge in other wrong things. In 
 fact, the assertion is a devil’s blow at all pa¬ 
 rental restraint and responsibility. It contra¬ 
 dicts God and affronts his government of man¬ 
 hood. To admit it either as a principle of 
 
DANCING. 
 
 13 
 
 action or an excuse for neglect is to remove 
 all restraint upon or in anything and every¬ 
 thing. It is a parent’s duty to forbid all im¬ 
 proper associations and practices; and if, in 
 spite of parental fidelity, a child succeeds in .* 
 the gratification of evil propensities, then the 
 guilt rests upon the child, and the blood of 
 betrayed trust will not fall upon the parent.. 
 
 Another sophistry of parental indolence 
 and devilish malignity is, “ Let a child learn 
 the evil for itself.” Then grant it the largest' 
 license, indulgence in everything! But no. 
 Experience of evil is not necessary to the 
 knowledge of evil, nor does such experience,, 
 as does the want of it, swell the sum of our 
 moral force; nor does the experience of evil, 
 as does the gracious absence of it, intensify 
 abhorrence and rejection of evil. Nor is it 
 necessary that the experience of moral evil,, 
 any more than of physical evil, should be 
 individual and universal in order to the pre¬ 
 vention or cure of evil, general or particular.. 
 Parental knowledge, whether earned by expe¬ 
 rience or observation, should be employed for 
 the protection of the child, and, as to dancing,, 
 is as valuable and should wield as strong au- 
 
 2 
 
14 
 
 DANCING, 
 
 thority as in anything else as injurious. Let 
 your children suffer by your example or cul¬ 
 pable neglect, and they will thank you in 
 neither time nor eternity, nor will you es¬ 
 cape the displeasure of the almighty Father 
 of the children, 
 
 I have made an honest endeavor to cover 
 the ground generally and plausibly occupied 
 lin favor of dancing as a social amusement, 
 jlf any point in its favor has been omitted,, 
 it is because I am ignorant of it, and not 
 from any desire to avoid it. Nor do I de¬ 
 sire to diminish, but to increase, lawful amuse¬ 
 ments. I myself like to be amused, and I am 
 easily amused. The man who invents an in¬ 
 nocent amusement, or who, without vulgarity 
 or impurity, makes mankind laugh, is a public 
 benefactor, as well as the man who makes two* 
 blades of grass grow where but one could 
 grow before. We owe a large debt to our 
 pure humorists. If I were a heathen like 
 Socrates, I would, for sanitary reasons, offer 
 a cock to JEsculapius for every one of them; 
 but as I am not a heathen, nor a Socrates either, 
 I thank God for them. But I cannot commend 
 or encourage an amusement which constantly 
 
DANCING. 
 
 U 
 
 needs to be defended, and by defences so weak, 
 against the large majority of the best people 
 of all religious sects, and against the judg¬ 
 ment of so many of the best and wisest peor 
 pie of the world. , 
 
 It already appears that social dancing is at 
 least a very questionable amusement, and that 
 ought to be enough—it is enough—for serious 
 Christians or thoughtful parents. It also ap¬ 
 pears that the defences of social dancing are 
 really weak, and must yield to the pressure 
 of substantial objections. To such I now 
 address myself, I ask permission to press 
 upon your candid consideration some reasons 
 why, as a father, a Christian and a minister, 
 I must enter my protest against this social 
 amusement. I will try to do this kindly, 
 truthfully, and with an earnestness that yet 
 deprecates resentment, for I cannot afford to 
 lose, nor can any man afford to lose, friend¬ 
 ships, except in the path of duty. 
 
 I. Effect of Dancing on Bodily 
 
 Health. 
 
 As this presents perhaps the strongest and 
 most plausible defence of this amusement, it 
 
16 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 may seem hazardous to assail it, and safer, in 
 the strength of other objections, to let this 
 point pass. Yet I must unhesitatingly de¬ 
 clare dancing in its most popular forms an 
 eminently dangerous exercise. We must take 
 the custom, not under conceived conditions, 
 but as we find it in ordinary social practice. 
 With much assurance and poetry w r e are fre¬ 
 quently referred to the healthful dancing of 
 European peasantry as illustrative of its ben¬ 
 eficial effect upon bodily health and grace. 
 Yet certain areas of Europe and European 
 society are not the best sources from which to 
 import customs and amusements for Ameri¬ 
 can youth and the Christian home. If we 
 do, we must also take their morals, for the 
 manners and morals of a people are insepa¬ 
 rable. The peasant-dances of sunny France 
 and Spain and Italy are performed upon the 
 green sward and under the pure, exhilarating 
 atmosphere of heaven, while the moralities 
 of that peasantry are never recommended for 
 adoption in the homes of this land. 
 
 With us the dance is generally performed 
 on dusty carpets and floors,* in heated, con¬ 
 fined, often crowded rooms, whose atmosphere 
 
DANCING. 
 
 17 
 
 is poisoned by the rapid, increased respiration 
 of the company. The movement is unnatural, 
 violent, especially for women, producing un¬ 
 healthful nervous excitement, quick inhala¬ 
 tion of impure air surcharged with the dust 
 of the floor and fine loosened j^rticles of car¬ 
 pets. The body becomes heated to that de¬ 
 gree that the temptation to seek a colder at¬ 
 mosphere is seldom resisted, while frequently 
 such exposure from open doors and windows 
 is unavoidable. The hours of dancing are 
 generally those which Nature and science de¬ 
 clare unfitted for exercise, permitting only 
 gentle exertion and soon calling for entire 
 repose. 
 
 The physical effects of dancing, then, are 
 great bodily debility, undue excitement and 
 reactive prostration of the nervous system, 
 poisoning and obstruction of the lungs and 
 throat, often resulting in hemorrhages and 
 consumption, palpitation and other diseases 
 of the heart, frequent headaches, with their 
 train of evils, and internal injuries of various 
 kinds. This is a strong indictment of dancing* 
 but I am sure it is not exaggerated. Within 
 six months of the writing of this tract, I be- 
 2 * 
 
18 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 came cognizant of six cases of sudden death 
 by dancing. In addition to these, while 
 preaching on this subject recently at Han¬ 
 over, a funeral-procession passed the church, 
 following the remains of a young woman who 
 died of rapid disease caused by dancing. Could 
 the truth be ascertained, I doubt not we all 
 would be startled by the amount of sickness, 
 infirmity and death which wouId find its chief 
 or only source in this popular social amuse¬ 
 ment. Should any one reply, “Confine dan¬ 
 cing to a gentle bodily movement, remove it to 
 the open lawn or bare floor, and limit it to a 
 brief time,” I answer, “ You conceive a mode 
 of dancing seldom or never found in social 
 life, which lovers of this pleasure would ridi¬ 
 cule and refuse, and which, therefore, I am not 
 called upon to discuss now. I am now to con¬ 
 sider dancing, not as a calisthenic exercise or 
 pastime for children under possible regula¬ 
 tions, but as a social amusement, as it actu¬ 
 ally exists in present society, with its usual 
 circumstances and prevailing tendencies.” 
 
DANCING. 
 
 19 
 
 II. Moral or Religious Considerations 
 
 INVOLVED IN THIS AMUSEMENT. 
 
 Of course these are the most serious, and 
 require intelligent, prayerful and honest dis¬ 
 cussion, for we wish to determine our proper 
 attitude as Christians to this custom. 
 
 1. Its Criminal Waste of Time and Money . 
 —This commences with the dancing-school, 
 and terminates only with the close of fash¬ 
 ionable life. I do not object to spending 
 time and money for amusement — it is a 
 happy necessity of our nature, and, in proper 
 indulgence, may demand its share of expend¬ 
 iture—but the time and money consumed on 
 the dancing-school I deem extravagant and 
 criminal, because, if bodily health and grace 
 are the objects, that expenditure is unneces¬ 
 sary, since these results can be better secured 
 by easier means, in better places, without phys¬ 
 ical and moral exposure. In these schools the 
 young acquire a taste for this amusement 
 which parental pride and the weak ambition 
 to be esteemed fashionable are not slack to 
 gratify. A vanity is aroused and cultivated 
 which imperiously craves indulgence. Times 
 
20 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 and places are set apart for dancing. Clubs 
 are formed; and when parents have retired, 
 young people of both sexes prolong the 
 dance into the “ wee sma’ hours,” or under 
 the silent darkness find their way home. As 
 the ball-room and assembly, of all places, are 
 those selected for the exhibition of personal 
 charms and rich attire, much time and money 
 as well as thought and feeling is expended 
 in prolonged preparation and upon costly 
 dress and ornament. The love of admira¬ 
 tion and display is innate; and once fairly 
 aroused and stimulated by envy and jealous 
 rivalry, it is never satisfied, being alike in¬ 
 sensible to the wreck of fortune, the ruin of 
 souls and the unrelieved suffering of the poor. 
 
 2. The Evil Associations of Dancing .— 
 These commence in the dancing-school. So¬ 
 ciety looks with contempt upon the employ¬ 
 ment of a dancing-master. All think they 
 know his social position and character. As a 
 class, dancing-masters are excluded from the 
 intimacies of refined society—are indolent, 
 dissolute and bankrupt in fortune or morals. 
 Possibly this opinion does injustice to some 
 exceptional cases. I pity them, but I cannot 
 
DANCING. 
 
 21 
 
 alter this popular verdict. Yet to such teach¬ 
 ers, invariably of marked inferiority of some 
 kind, in the privacy and familiarity of the 
 dancing-school, fashionable or would-be fash¬ 
 ionable parents commit what they strive to 
 think is only the physical training of sons 
 and daughters, of whose bodies and souls 
 they must render account at God’s awful 
 assize. In these schools children encounter 
 companions of various social culture and po¬ 
 sition as classmates and partners in the dance. 
 Though out of school-hours this acquaintance 
 may be ignored, the dangerous moral impres¬ 
 sions of this brief intimacy by touch, look or 
 word may never be effaced. But generally 
 the school-acquaintance is not ignored. It 
 has involved many families in unhappiness 
 and dishonor—enough, at least, to warn those 
 parents who are apt to forget that they are 
 appointed to select the companions of their 
 children. 
 
 These evil associations are attendant on the 
 whole life of the dancer. Women must take 
 such partners as the accident of the dance 
 brings them, even though it throws them 
 into the hands and arms or under the gloat- 
 
22 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 ing, sensual gaze of the dissipated and licen¬ 
 tious; for Fashion—child of Sin and Death 
 —will embrace incarnate corruption, though 
 reeking with the filth of bar-room, theatre or 
 brothel, if only it comes with gold and "gay 
 attire or respectable social connections. The 
 rules of this social amusement will allow a 
 man guilty of every crime which should 
 make women loathe him and banish him 
 from all respectable company to take liberties 
 with the person of wife and sister and daugh¬ 
 ter which under no other circumstances than 
 marriage would be permitted to the man of 
 purest morals or closest friendship. 
 
 Nor ought we lose sight of those too frequent 
 adjuncts to the dancing-party—viz.,- win .=5 
 cards, immodest dress and the masquerade, 
 with their demoralizing consequences. Some 
 may say I am confounding things essentially 
 distinct—that these evils are not necessary to 
 dancing. Once more you compel me to reply 
 that we must take things as they are; and I 
 ask, Are not these evils generally as inevita¬ 
 ble upon dancing as are others upon horse¬ 
 racing, wine-drinking, card-playing and the¬ 
 atre-going? We must not only resolve things 
 
DANCING. 
 
 23 
 
 into their essential elements, but also regard 
 them in their affinities, attractions and tend¬ 
 encies. 
 
 3. The Injurious Effects of Dancing upon 
 Mind and Heart —Few passions take a 
 stronger hold or exercise a more imperious 
 sway. This amusement awakens and in¬ 
 dulges some of the worst propensities of the 
 unrenewed nature, and interferes with intel¬ 
 lectual and moral improvement. It appeals 
 to vanity by the opportunity it affords for the 
 display of costly dress and personal charms; 
 and this with such force as to induce immod¬ 
 est exposure, risk of health, waste of time 
 and cruel extravagance, a hardened selfish¬ 
 ness deaf to the rights and feelings of others, 
 to the appeals of suffering and to the duties 
 of benevolence. It cultivates pride in per¬ 
 sonal beauty and grace, fashionable appear¬ 
 ance and triumph over others, or else envy 
 dark and mean at the superior accomplish¬ 
 ments, impressions and success of others. 
 
 But the most objectionable feature of this 
 amusement is its tendency to sensuality. 
 The movements, attitudes and exposures of 
 the body, the nervous, passionate excitement, 
 
24 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 and the undue license allowed, awaken im¬ 
 pure thoughts and feelings in which the filthy 
 and passionate revel, and which hold the pure 
 with a fascination the nature of >vhich they 
 never analyse but to blush. Very few es¬ 
 cape this dangerous state of feeling. Hence 
 the impure are always eager for the dance. 
 Hence dancing is one of the propelling forces 
 which plunge men and women down to prof- 
 ligacy, ruin and death; while many others 
 who escape these lower depths of the pit in 
 secrecy of mind and heart learn to revel in 
 forbidden thoughts and scenes. Some lovely 
 and virtuous, and others cold and passionless, 
 may mingle without such injury in the volup¬ 
 tuous mazes of the dance, but oh how painful 
 to see loveliness and innocence in such fellow¬ 
 ship with most hideous vice, breathing this 
 tainted air and embracing pleasure along these 
 precipices of moral death ! 
 
 Those who have any considerable experi¬ 
 ence or observation know that these state¬ 
 ments are substantially right, whether or not 
 they have candor to make the admission. 
 By the gentle, patient, firm restraints and in¬ 
 struction of parental piety I have been pre- 
 
DANCING. 
 
 25 
 
 served from the indulgence of this amuse¬ 
 ment, for which my manhood and maturer 
 judgment give a devout mother sincere and 
 loving gratitude. Though without personal 
 experience, I am sure these statements are 
 right. I judge from personal observation, 
 from frequent remarks and comments on the 
 dance, and from a long array of facts. I know 
 it from confessions made to me. I believe it 
 from my knowledge of our poor, passionate na¬ 
 ture, ever sensitive to temptation in this direc¬ 
 tion. I infer it from my knowledge of those 
 who love the dance as they love nothing that 
 does not minister to sensuality. I know it 
 from remarks made and eyes feeding upon 
 the forms of those in the dance whom we 
 would never have looked upon but with pur¬ 
 ity, respect and honor. I know it from the 
 dislike we feel in seeing those we love and 
 cherish mingling in the dance with those 
 whose lives or nature we abhor, and from 
 the shrinking which pure men feel on watch¬ 
 ing wives and daughters in the promiscuous 
 dance. I know it from the reason many 
 have given, and which more could give, for 
 the intense love they have for the dance. 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 Christian parents and friends, I am con¬ 
 scious of the delicacy of this subject, that I 
 am treading ground that needs cautious steps, 
 that I may be accused of a pharisaic prudery, 
 and that I may be risking friendships which 
 I have no desire to lose. I deprecate your 
 displeasure. But neither for peace nor friend¬ 
 ship, nor from false, ill-timed delicacy, can I 
 keep back convictions that have grown upon 
 my mind, not without resistance, which are 
 the growth of much observation and thought 
 and discussion with good and bad, wise and 
 foolish—convictions which the corruptions of 
 fashionable life have long ago provoked and 
 justified. I regard promiscuous dancing as 
 a great moral whirlpool; and when I see any 
 I love within the charmed circle, I dread the 
 shock their moral nature must sustain, the 
 lifelong struggle with forbidden feeling they 
 are calling into activity; I tremble lest some 
 of them by successive steps be drawn down to 
 shame and death. How can we otherwise re¬ 
 gard an amusement which finds its eager vo¬ 
 taries and conveys its pleasures in the tavern, 
 the gambling-hell, the theatre and the brothel, 
 as well as in the parlor and drawing-room ? 
 
DANCING. 
 
 27 
 
 How can we otherwise regard an amusement 
 which the passionate and profligate so much 
 love, which furnishes so much food and op¬ 
 portunity to vice, and which leads to so much 
 mental dissipation ai^ physical and moral 
 harm ? How can we otherwise regard a cus¬ 
 tom which proffers to strangers, and invites 
 from them, liberties which should be confined 
 to the nearest relations and domestic privacy ? 
 
 4 . Dancing is Unfriendly to the Purity and 
 Growth of Religious Life .—(1.) Dancing leads 
 to neglect of religion. It prevents religious 
 impressions where they do not exist. It is 
 a noticeable fact that a revival of religion 
 which leaves innocent amusements untouched 
 breaks up all dancing-clubs and parties with¬ 
 in its sphere, and that revivals rarely occur in 
 those persons and communities where dancing 
 is a prevailing custom. All ministers regard 
 this amusement as more or less hostile to re¬ 
 ligious conviction and inquiry, and the awak¬ 
 ening of a soul hopeless while under its fasci¬ 
 nation. There is nothing in any of the forms 
 of dancing friendly to the power of truth or 
 to the spirit of holiness, while it is in entire 
 harmony with worldly-mindedness and im- 
 
28 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 penitency. Nor is this merely a negative* In¬ 
 fluence. The spirit of the amusement is one 
 of positive hostility to pure religion. When 
 the world desires to secularize the Church or 
 defeat its evangelical purposes, dancing is 
 sure to be prominent and effective among the 
 means employed. Worldly people, alarmed 
 at the religious thoughtfulness or consistency 
 of children or companions, will seek to en¬ 
 gage them in the dance, well appreciating its 
 antagonism to a Christian life. In those in¬ 
 fidel schemes which deride and denounce the 
 Bible and the present structure of society 
 dancing is introduced because of its hostility 
 to serious reflection, to religious thought and 
 to social purity. 
 
 (2.) Dancing is prominent as a worldly 
 amusement. Although the world has often 
 appealed to the support of the Bible and the 
 Church, still it freely admits that this amuse¬ 
 ment is not religious—has no reference to the 
 approval, worship or honor of God. Nay ! 
 On account of its acknowledged frivolity and 
 worldliness, many persons other than religious 
 are properly excluded from it. An eminent 
 writer puts these pertinent and caustic in- 
 
DANCING. 
 
 29 
 
 quiries: ^ Do men admire a physician in the 
 giddy whirl of the voluptuous dance, or a 
 judge in the stream of the silly gallopade, a 
 presbyter exhibiting his prowess in the reel, a 
 bishop sloping his person to the quaint move¬ 
 ments of the minuet, or an archbishop labor¬ 
 ing at the agilities of a Highland fling? Yea, 
 even character is allowed to have its weight. 
 Literary or scientific men, if they only say, 
 ‘ I don’t usually attend such amusements/ or 
 ‘ I never dance/ are at once excused.” I 
 might multiply similar opinions of distin¬ 
 guished laymen from Cicero to Daniel Web¬ 
 ster. The world does not expect or approve 
 of such characters in the dance; and if it 
 ever does induce them to enter the charmed 
 circle, it regards them with a loss of respect 
 and reverence which largely detracts from 
 their professional standing and usefulness. 
 On the other hand, in heart it respects that 
 official dignity or consistent piety which re¬ 
 fuses to participate in this amusement. If it 
 seeks to entrap the Church, it is only to dis¬ 
 arm opposition to a recreation which is not de¬ 
 fended because of its moral elements, but sim¬ 
 ply on the score of its asserted innocence. 
 
30 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 (3.) Dancing is opposed to the precepts of 
 the Bible concerning our personal life. It is 
 opposed to that sobriety, dignity and earnest¬ 
 ness of life enjoined in such words as “See 
 that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but 
 as wise, redeeming th *time, because the days 
 are evil;” to that new birth and life expressed 
 thus: “ As obedient children, not fashioning 
 yourselves according to your former lusts in 
 your ignorance;” to that crucifixion to the 
 world enjoined by such counsel as “ Be not 
 conformed to the world,” “ Whatsoever is 
 born of God overcometh the world;” to that 
 elevated life suggested by such words as “ Set 
 your affection on things above, not on things 
 on earth,” “ Love not the world, neither the 
 things that are in the world;” to that re¬ 
 ligious solicitude and diligence inspired by 
 such warnings as “ Let us therefore fear lest 
 a promise being left us of entering into his 
 rest, any of you should seem to come short 
 of it;” to that loving, thoughtful example 
 and influence inculcated by such words as 
 “Avoid even the appearance of evil,” “If 
 meat make my brother to offend, I will eat 
 no more flesh while the world standeth;” 
 
DANCING. 
 
 31 
 
 and to such consecration to God as is ex¬ 
 pressed by these words: “ Let your light so 
 shine before men that they may see your 
 good works and glorify your Father which is 
 in heaven/* “ Glorify God in your body and 
 in your spirit, which are his.** Thus might 
 your memory add Scripture to Scripture, the 
 spirit and scope of each of which would con¬ 
 tain an unmistakable sentence against a social 
 amusement as questionable as this. 
 
 (4.) The habit of dancing is unfriendly to 
 Christian life and growth. It unfits body, 
 mind and soul for prayer, spiritual thought, 
 communion with God, and other private re¬ 
 ligious duties. It impairs personal consecra¬ 
 tion to the love and work of Jesus. Its ele¬ 
 ment of sensualism undermines Christian 
 virtue and chills regenerate emotion. It 
 awakens and nourishes pride, jealousy and 
 Others of the worst passions of our nature. 
 It affords food and stimulus to the worst 
 forms of gossip. If any professed Chris¬ 
 tians deny this, let them compare their pres¬ 
 ent views and feelings about dancing with 
 those they held and felt at conversion or 
 during the revival of religious principles and 
 
32 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 activities. In short, to show the completeness 
 of the antagonism between this amusement 
 and the holy religion of Christ, study with 
 candor as well as with charity those churches 
 and professors who excuse, practice and advo¬ 
 cate dancing. Are not such churches without 
 marked tokens of the presence of the Holy 
 Spirit, given to external observances, unevan- 
 gelic in spirit, with a lower standard of per¬ 
 sonal consecration, undervaluing religious 
 privileges and pleasures, extenuating many 
 other worldly amusements and questionable 
 pursuits, and ready to open the privileges 
 of the sacraments to all who desire them 
 without close scrutiny of their religious 
 principles and experience? Are not those 
 members of the Church who practice this 
 amusement generally weak or ignorant or 
 formal or worldly ? Did you ever know one 
 who was prominent for dancing also eminent 
 for piety ? Do they not generally avoid and 
 lightly esteem the more pious and earnest of 
 their fellow-Christians, and in their associa¬ 
 tions, resorts, conversation, reading, amuse¬ 
 ments and conduct of affairs show more of 
 the spirit of the world than of grace ? As a 
 
DANCING. 
 
 33 
 
 rule, are they not so liberal in their views and 
 habits and speech, or so silent and undemon¬ 
 strative as to religion, that strangers would 
 never suspect their profession? There are 
 dancing Christians active in certain depart¬ 
 ments of church-work and habitually attend¬ 
 ant upon religious services, but is their relig¬ 
 ious life broad and deep enough, or are their 
 numbers great enough, to negative the in¬ 
 quiries above made? I believe the concur¬ 
 rent successive testimonies of the devout chil¬ 
 dren of God are the testimony of the Holy 
 Comforter whom Jesus promised to his dis¬ 
 ciples to teach and guide them in all thir gs, 
 and the concurrent successive voice of the 
 Church has been emphatically against dan¬ 
 cing as an amusement in Christian famiiies 
 and society. 
 
 Near the time of the first writing of this 
 paper, a young lady in all the splendor and 
 prodigality of a rich ball-room dress was 
 found in her chamber in the cold embrace of 
 death by those who came to bear her to the 
 ball. About the same time in a Western city 
 another maiden, amid the merry ring of music 
 and giddy maze of the dance, fell dead upon 
 
34 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 the floor. Close to the time and place of this 
 writing a young man in the eager, exciting 
 dance from the arms of a beauty fell bleed¬ 
 ing to the floor, and was borne away to a bed 
 of sudden death. Why did the silence of the 
 sepulchre come down with dread and guilt 
 upon these gay and happy companies ? Why 
 did they hastily separate and fly to their 
 homes as if from the presence of a judg¬ 
 ment? Why did the blood chill as the eye 
 fell upon the intelligence widely scattered by 
 the press? Why do you now chill as I fee¬ 
 bly repeat these facts? W r hy do our eyes 
 follow with instinctive fear those young souls 
 in their sudden summons to the bar of God ? 
 Tell me why, if the dance be that altogether 
 innocent thing which some would make it out 
 to be. Why is death in the dance, at the 
 card-table, in the theatre or on a Sabbath 
 journey associated with peculiar sadness? A 
 bereaved parent can tell with no shrinking of 
 respect for the departed of the death of a son 
 or daughter in the street, on the thoroughfare, 
 at the table of refreshment, in some happy 
 social circle or on the field of battle, but 
 why this agonized hesitation, this uncon- 
 
DANCING. 
 
 35 
 
 trolled grief, these welling sobs and scald¬ 
 ing tears, as parental lips tell of the soul 
 of some loved child from the dance 
 
 to the tribunal of Goc^^J 
 
 Dancing, as we know it, is a questionable 
 and dangerous amusement. In such belief it 
 must not receive approval, nor, what would 
 be worse, must it receive connivance. We 
 should meet it at the threshold of our fold 
 and rebuke its presence. If any persist in 
 its practice and encouragement, when they 
 and we stand at the bar of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ they must acquit us of unfaithfulness 
 and bloodguiltHfcss in this thing. But, Chris¬ 
 tian brethren, I would not have you indifferent 
 as to this amusement. For the sake of your 
 higher life in Jesus, I entreat you, touch not 
 the unclean thing. By the sorrows of many 
 pious parents whose children have stifled con¬ 
 victions in the dance, by the death-agony of 
 many youths which this amusement has sentl 
 apparently unprepared to meet God, by the 
 grief of parents over many whom it has sent 
 to untimely graves, by the lifelong remorse 
 which many will carry to their graves, by the 
 ample testimony of the world, the Church and 
 
36 ... 
 
 3 0112 072400614 
 
 word of God against it, I Withreat you, toucn 
 not the unclean thing. Fojp t^e sake of your 
 children and frie^^^or the sake of weak and 
 wandering loverjj^^neasure, for the sake of 
 the dear Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 
 entreat you, touch not the unclean thing. 
 “ Finally, whatsoever things are true, what-j 
 soever things are honest, whatsoever things! 
 are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatso-j 
 ever things are lovely, whatsoever things are 
 of good report; if there be any virtue, and if 
 there be any praise, think on these things. 5 ' 
 Phil. iv. 8. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 MAY J i 1933 
 
 UNIVEKSlIY Uf ILLINOIS. 
 
 Presbyterian Board of 0, !bHcatlon, 1334 Chestnut St., Phili. 1