THE CHURCH AND STAGE.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 2177, 24 June 1890, Page 4

THE CHURCH AND STAGE.

The relations of the Church and S Hg« have at all times lieeu a, mutter of fruitful controversy- In this progressive Hge prejudice is f v-fc waning aw»y, and while ia bye-gone days the antagonism against the stage proved a bulwtrk of spiritual tyranny, in later yens many leading members of the clergy have HCtually assisted m dispelling unfavorable bias against theatres which have proved a source of instruction, re fineruent, and imellecu «l p ea-sUre. The mission of the Chinch is the proiunlgation of the G >sp«r, calculated 10 iuspir. mankind to lofty deeds ; in the portray a I of saiais and virtuous examplemaa is spurrwd on 10 le>d a life of rectitude and honor. Turning to the Si-age we iiehold v the dramatic wo Id an epitome of all others. T.'iere tne con uptiou.s of lature, the jealousies, me mercenary habits of raea are di played in a condensed sphere. 1 here we see depicted the uncertainty of human greatness; we sen exposed the singularities of haughtiness and fancy, falsehood and foily its made contemptible, and vice isdihcounteianced and exposed. In example, Faust, the hero of the masterpiece of Geiinan drama, wheu deviating from the simp'e f-iith of the Church i«» the depth of despair, was imbued tiy new b ipe and coinage when li>teuing to the Etsier chorus While the Church hah exeicist-d a paramount and steady influence in the his'ory of civ,lisation, the St <ge has likewise pioved a medium ot education, for in the latter we behold an epitome of human life and minners, for plays and players ''hold the miiror up to natii'-e." Yec while admitting that there is still a wide gulf between Church and Stage, and while the noil -us of cl^r^ymau and actor mny widely diffr-r they agree on the point of their physic-*' welfare. We quote subj 'int-d the opinions of a leading repte->entarive of the Church and a member of the Si-age. The one is the Key. J. Stanley Low, for ove> 20 years mini-aer of the Cluist- Chnrch, St Ki'da, Melbourne; the other, Mr Alfred Dampier, the well-known actor, at present lessee of th* Alexandra Theatre, Melbourne. The Rev J. Stanley JLjow, undr-rdaie Much 15, 1890, speaks as follows : — ll I have used Warner's Safe Cum in conjunction with the Site Pdis for functional derangement of the iver I abored uuder. I experienced a sense of weight «s weil as great p tins >n the legion of the liver, while the kidneys were sympathetic tlly affected, causing general ill-health ; but on recourse to W.ruer's Safe Cure I found my complaint speedily checked. I can thus h«»riily endorse its efficacy." Mr Alfred Dimpier, fche aoioi 1 , says: — " I have used Warner's S.<fe Cure on various occasions with the must beneficial results to my health in general, and found it particul nly relieved headache of the worst dehcription, and J fV el assured that if taken in time there would be little or no necessity for h physician." Thus Church and Stage go baud-in>hand in promulgating the merits and virtjys of this sterling np> cifio as widely :heir opinions may diverge on other aibj c<p.