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destroyed a society that was more
slowly destroying itself" (Davis,
The
lnjluence of Wea/th in Imperial
Rome,
pp. 317, 330). ls the 20th cen–
tury Westem world following in
Rome's footsteps?
Are modero Epicureans, with
their abundance of leisure time, des–
tined to repeat the mistakes and
reap the same harvest as the Epicu–
reans of Rome and Greece?
The Right Use of Leisure
Dr. James C. Charlesworth re–
marked several years ago that lei–
sure is "growing much faster than
our capacity to use
it
wisely."
How should leisure time be used?
How can the affiuent Western world
avoid the mistakes of the ancient
Romans?
There is surely nothing wrong
with good, clean fun.
It
is, and
should be, enjoyable. Leisure time
can be spent in a manner which is
fultilling and enjoyable. However, if
the long-range effects of a person's
use of leisure are detrimental to the
weU being, health, or future happi–
ness of himself or others, then such
activities should be discarded.
Many of the leisure activities
available today can be fine forms of
recreation and add spice and bal–
ance to life. There is nothing wrong,
for example, with enjoying a game
of chess, water skiing, scuba diving,
or vacationing in sorne far away ro–
mantic spot- as long as the individ–
ual can afford the expense, has
given due concem for others, and as
long as the particular form of plea–
sure doesn't have a boomerang ef–
fect.
Attending concerts, wholesome
stage plays, or a few special motion
pictures which uplift, inspire, and
strengthen one's appreciation for
life, nature or beauty are excellent
forms of recreation. Leisure activi–
ties which add to one's understand–
ing and enjoyment of life can also
provide an added dimension to
one's entire character development,
help round out one's personality
and teach appreciation for the tal–
ents of other people.
But when leisure becomes an end
in itself, when millions begin put–
ting fun and games before the seri–
ous business of life, when leisure
activities become a form of escap–
ism from reality, when the sote pur–
pose for leisure activities becomes
hedonism and the gratification of
the senses - then a whole society is
in trouble.
A Danger for Today
Human nature has not changed.
Our modero affiuent world was,
amazingly enough, foretold by the
apostle Paul. He wrote: "But under–
stand this, that in the last days there
wiU come times of stress. For men
wiU be lovers of self, lovers of
money, proud, arrogant, abusive,
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