The theater, as conducted today, is one of the rottenest institutions
outside of hell.
It is upon the charred souls of women that most of the men who are a power
in the theatrical world have climbed to their height.
The theater is corrupting, educationally, commercially and morally.
It is almost impossible to find in the theater decency and purity.
The church and the theater have nothing in common.
The only way to reform the theater is to turn it into something else.
The rogue and scoundrelism and man’s infidelity form the groundwork of
most plays.
The day is long past when any number of serious-minded citizens look to
the theater for inspiration or instruction.
If it were not for the leg shows the theater would go bankrupt.
Booth and Garrick would not allow their own children to go to the theater.
Smiling religion—that’s what we want.
The devil can’t laugh—poor devil.
God enjoys a little fun. He made the parrot, donkey, monkey and some of
you folks.
The Lord wants the best; why can’t he have it?
Some men are so rotten and vile they ought to be disinfected and take a
bath in carbolic acid and formaldehyde every five minutes.
To see some people you would think that the essentials of Christianity is
to have a face so long you could eat oatmeal out of a gas pipe. Religion
is not cramp colic.
I want to lift the burden tonight from the heads of unoffending womanhood
and hurl it at the heads of offending manhood.
Some people have just enough religion to give them goosepimples. Get in
the game. Some of you have just enough religion to get to the edge of life
but not faith enough to plunge in.
Don’t find fault with your physician until after you have tried his
remedy; don’t find fault with God until you have tried him.
I know some fellows here who are afraid to come to the Tabernacle and do
one thing decent before going to Hell. I despise a religious coward.
Society takes no notice of sin at first; it waits for the mute evidences
of that sin.