§ 5. On Dances

411. - 1. Dances in themselves are neither evil nor acts of lust, but of gladness. Cf. St. Thomas on chapter 3 of Isaiah.

2. In the concrete, however, they are dangerous and cannot be praised.

Therefore, for a just cause, such as custom, the decorum of one's own state, or the command of parents, to lead them or attend them, unless there is a probable danger of sin, will not be unlawful. Cf. Palmieri, Opus theologicum, vol. 2, treatise 6, no. 995.

Nevertheless, care must be taken that those dances in which the impure signification is sufficiently manifest not be participated in. We would speak more severely of these than of certain dances, such as the waltz, which some rigorously prohibit. For although in these women are, as it were, excessively in the hands of men, custom, and also the necessity of attending to rhythmic movements, diminish the force of exciting lust, so that they can be exercised honorably. Cf. what was said above, no. 203.

3. Dances which are proposed indiscriminately to all are more to be disapproved than those which are reserved for selected persons. But whether more sins are committed at the "popular" dances of the public squares than at the dances of the rich can be doubted. The clothing of the people is more modest; the license of words and actions is more audacious.

Indeed, in the country annual dances are sometimes conducted sufficiently innocently; and where there is such a custom, it is to be feared that, if they are suppressed, graver excesses will be committed on that day. Wherefore Berardi in no way disapproves of them in his region.

4. In masked dances, the occasion of ruin is easier. Nevertheless, even here the circumstances and the condition of the person must be weighed. Cf. Palmieri, vol. 2, treatise 6, no. 995.

Berardi treats this argument extensively, De occasionariis, nos. 165-170.

5. In certain places dances of children

of both sexes are instituted. These are not to be praised. For they are foreign to a genuine education, and, although venereal concupiscence may be presumed absent from them, they serve only to foster the worldly spirit of vanity.

But concerning what is to be counseled, cf. above, no. 203.