Amusements.
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Every young man should enter upon life with an earnest purpose. He will have need of patience, fortitude, energy, and intense thought, in overcoming the difficulties that must be encountered before his day of trial is over. Life has been called a warfare — and is truly so called. It is a warfare with enemies both within and without — enemies of the flesh and enemies of the spirit. He has to contend, in the world, against the selfishness that would crush every man's interest in the attainment of its own ends; and to contend with the same spirit of selfishness in his own heart, that is ever prompting him to seek an advantage at the sacrifice of others' good. Happy for him if, when he falls into temptation, he stand fast by his integrity.
"If life, then, be so grave a matter — what has man to do with amusements?" we hear asked. "In these conflicts with foes within and without, one would think the heart could never heave up with a glad emotion, the eye never brighten, nor the lip smile."
And such could never be the case, if the strife were incessant — if, after a fierce conflict, there did not come a season of repose, in which both mind and body could rest, and berefreshed and invigorated for new combats. It has been assumed — and it is evidently a true position — that inaction is not the rest that re-invigorates the exhausted energies of either the mind or body — but a new direction of effort, by which new muscles of the body, or new faculties of the mind, are brought into activity. The true repose, then, which should follow every life-conflict — and they are of almost daily occurrence — is an entire diversion of the thoughts and feelings into some new channel. If this is not done, there can be no rest; for the current of thought will flow on unchecked, until the mind becomes diseased, and loses half its power.
And herein we see the use of amusements, or those innocent employments that divert the mind, and fill it with pleasing emotions. After the business of the day is over, these come in their natural order, to refresh and strengthen for new efforts; and it is more in accordance with the dictates of right reason to seek for re-invigoration in these than is dull inaction. To play a game of cards or chess will do a man more good, after a day of labor and care, than to spend his evening is lounging on the sofa. And he will find the mirthful doings of a social party of far more benefit to him, if he enters into the spirit of that party — than he will to sit out his evening, brooding over the disappointments and crosses of today, or sadly contemplating the trials of tomorrow.
Amusements, therefore, we hold to be essential to the health of both body and mind. But, like every other good, they are liable to be abused and perverted; and the young are more in danger of perverting them than those who have passed the prime of life. Nearly all the various amusements, public and private, that are entered into at this day, are innocent and useful in themselves, although some of them are sadly perverted to evil ends. Dancing, games, concerts, the opera, scenic representations, etc., are all good in themselves, and may be enjoyed innocently and beneficially by all. In cards, for instance, there is no evil abstractly, nor in a game of cards; but gambling is a great evil — one from which every honest mind shrinks with horror.
When made a school of morals, the theater is a powerful teacher, because it shows us vice or virtue in living personifications; but as it now is, we are compelled to acknowledge that it is a poor place of resort for the strengthening of virtuous principles.
At all suitable times, young men will find it useful to seek for recreations and innocent amusements. It will give their minds a healthier tone, and bring them into associations different from business associations, by which they will be able to see new phases of character, and judge more kindly of their fellows. In business, each one seeks his own interest; there is no generous deference to the interests of others, and men grow daily more and more selfish; but in social fellowship, one defers to another; there is the form of self-sacrifice for the good of others, at least.
From this brief presentation of the subject, every one must see that the views taken by those who rail against amusements, as either sinful or entirely useless, are erroneous, and founded upon false notions of man's moral nature. Our life here is for the development and perfection of our characters as immortal beings, created originally in true order, and now afforded all possible means for a return to true order. In true order, every affection of the mind, when it comes into activity, produces delight; and as a love of good is the vital principle of true order, when man is restored to what he has lost, his highest and purest delight will be in doing good. Delight or pleasure, then, is not evil, but good, provided it does not flow from the consummation of an evil purpose. It is the healthy reaction of the mind upon orderly effort, and strengthens and prepares it for new and higher efforts. Take away all delight as the reward of effort — and see how quickly the cheek fades and the eye grows dim.
If, then, delight or pleasure is not wrong in abstract, the seeking of amusements, as recreation, after the mind is over wearied by long and oft-repeated efforts, cannot be wrong; and this every mind not sadly warped by false views, must see. But to seek amusements as a means of "killing time," as some do, or as the occupations instead of the occasionalrecreations of life, is to pervert them from their true object, and to make them highly injurious, instead of beneficial. To engage, night after night, in a trial of skill in games — to spend two or three evenings every week at balls and parties, or attending theatric or operatic performances — must enervate instead of strengthening the mind, and will inevitably hinder any young man from rising into distinguished positions of usefulness in society. After the business of the day, the mind will ordinarily find a means of healthy reaction in intellectual pursuits, which form a part of some leading purpose by which a man's life is governed; amusements come in as occasional means of restoring the wasted energies, and should be entered into at intervals, as absolutely essential to the continued healthy activity of our minds.
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