ble way, when a mode of spending it more conformably to the will of God, and more usefully to himself and others, is within his reach, will appear to such an one quite as criminal as many of what are called gross sins, and quite as sacredly to be avoided.

The design of recreation,-I mean the design of it in the view of the Christian, or even of the sober minded votary of mere natural religion, is not to kill time; but to refresh the boy and mind, and to prepare them for the more vigorous and comfortable performance of duty. It follows, therefore, that recreations are lawful only so far as they are necessary and suitable for this purpose; of course, when they are either carried to such a length as to consume more time than we need to employ in this manner; or when they are of such a nature as to have no tendency to prepare either the body or the mind for the more easy, comfortable, and perfect discharge of the sober duties of life, but the contrary, they become wholly unjustifiable. They are a criminal waste of time; and to indulge in them is utterly unsuitable to the character of rational and accountable beings.

Let us apply these principles to an attendance on the theatre as an amusement. Can any of the patrons of this amusement lay their hands on their hearts, and say, in the presence of God, that they attend upon it merely, or even chiefly, for the purpose of preparing their minds and bodies for a more suitable discharge of their du ties as moral and accountable beings? Can they say that it is better calculated, than any other within their reach, to prepare them for the conscientious discharge

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of those duties? And can they appeal to the Searcher of hearts, and declare, that four, five, or six hours in an evening, devoted to preparation for this amusement and attendance upon it, is no more time than is necessary to refresh and invigorate them for the sober and all-important work for which they were sent into the world? The most determined advocate of the theatre that lives, will not dare to answer these questions in the affirmative. He would blush at the thought of applying such principles to his practice. Either then the scriptural precept to redeem time, and the scriptural rules for disposing of time, must be utterly rejected; or theatrical amusements must be pronounced criminal. Either men are not accountable for the manner in which they spend their time; or it is a sin to squan der precious hours in amusements, of which the lightest censure that can be passed upon them is, that they are unprofitable and vain.

2. But we may go further; theatrical entertainments are not merely unprofitable; not merely a waste of time, which, if nothing more could be said, would be sufficient to condemn them; but they have also a direct and unavoidable tendency to DISSIPATE THE MIND, AND TO LESSEN, IF NOT DESTROY, ALL TASTE FOR SERIOUS AND SPIRITUAL EMPLOY

MENTS. Let me appeal to every one who has been in the habit of attending on them, whether they are not directly hostile to the spirit of prayer, aud to a life of communion with God? Is there not something

Is peak now of the most decent plays-is there not something in the sentiments uttered in the theatre;

in the scenery displayed; in the dress, attitudes, and deportment of the performers; and in the licentious appearance, and libertine conduct of many of the au dience, which is calculated, to say the least, to expeb seriousness from the mind; to drive away all thoughts of God, of eternity, and of a judgment to come; and to extinguish all taste for spiritual services? Did ever an attendant on the theatre feel a cordial relish for the devotions of the closet, or of the family, immediately after his return from that place of amusement? I need not wait for an answer. There is no one who ever beheld the assemblage of " dazzling vanities" there displayed, who is not perfectly ready to pronounce, that few things have a more direct tendency to give the mind a vain and frivolous cast; to impair a taste for devotion; and to lessen, if not entirely ban ish, that spirituality which is at once the duty and the glory of the Christian.

Here I might rest the weight of the argument: for that which has a tendency to make the mind vain and frivolous must be criminal. That which has a tendency to draw off the heart from the sober, the solid, the useful, and the pious; and to inspire it with a ruling passion for the gay, the airy, the - romantic, and the extravagant, cannot fail of being deeply pernicious. What a late eloquent writer says on another subject, is strictly applicable to this. The theatre "does not instruct a man to act, to en"joy, and to suffer, as a being that may to-morrow "have finally abandoned this orb. Every thing is "done to beguile the feeling of his being a stranger

"and a pilgrim on the earth." The great end of all its art is "to raise the groves of an earthly para"dise, to shade from sight that vista which opens " into eternity." But this is not all: for,

3. The theatre is now, and ever has been, A SCHOOL OF FALSE SENTIMENT, AND OF LI CENTIOUS PRACTICE. While even the few plays which may be called decent have a tendency to impart to the mind a vain and dissipating influence; a much larger number produce a more deep and extensive mischief. By far the greater part of the most popular dramas are profane, obscene, and calculated to pollute the imagination, to inflame the passions, and to recommend principles the most pernicious, and practices the most corrupt. How common is it to find in the language of the theatre, the most unqualified profaneness, and even blasphemy! How often are mock prayers, and irreverent appeals to the Majesty of heaven, exhibited on the most trivial occasions! How often is the dialogue interspersed with terms and allusions which pain the ear of modesty; and these pronounced and exhibited in a way calculated to give additional force to the evil !†

* Foster's Essays. Essay iv. On Polite Literature.

"It is amazing," says Dr. Witherspoon," It is amazing "to think that women who pretend to decency and reputation, "whose brightest ornament ought to be modesty, should con"tinue to abet, by their presence, so much unchastity, as is to "be found in Theatre! How few plays are acted which a mo. "dest woman can see, consistently with decency, in every "part? And even when the plays are more reserved them"selves, they are sure to be seasoned with something of this' "kind in the prologue or epilogue, the music between the acts, ❝ or in some scandalous farce with which the diversion is con

and are such exhibitions innocent? Are they such as a disciple of Christ can witness with safety, or countenance with a good conscience? If they aré, then it is difficult to say what is criminal, or what may not be justified.

But in a large number even of those plays which are not chargeable with open profaneness, or indelicacy of language, the moral is such as no friend of religion, or of human happiness, can approve. Piety and virtue are made to appear contemptible; and vice, in the person of some favourite hero, is exhibited as attractive, honourable, and triumphant. Folly and crime have palliative, and even commendatory names bestowed upon them; and the extravagance of sinful passion is represented as amiable sensibility. The good man of the stage is a character as opposite to the good man of the Bible, as light

"cluded. The power of custom and fashion is very great in મંદ making people blind to the most manifest qualities and ten"dencies of things. There are ladies who frequently attend "the stage, who, if they were but once entertained with the "same images in a private family, with which they are often "presented there, would rise with indignation, and reckon their "reputation ruined, if they ever should return. No Woman "of reputation, much less of piety, who has been ten times in "a play house, durst repeat in company all that she has heard "there. With what consistency they gravely return to the same school of lewdness, they themselves best know." Essay on the Stage. Works, vol. iii. p. 84.

It is a notorious fact, however, that in the actual exhibition of many plays, the language of which, as published from the press, is tolerably pure, the performers, especially the more popular of them, are in the habit of adding, on their own responsibility, expressions and allusions of the most exceptionable kind. This is continually done; and seldom fails to receive testimonies of approbation from the audience! so that no one can be sure that even a decent play will be exhibited as the author left it, and as he is accustomed to read it.

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