ABSTRACT
Whatistheoriginoftheprejudiceagainsthumor?Whyisitsodangerous,ifyouwouldkeepthepublicconfidence,tomakethepublic laugh?
Isitbecausehumorandsoundsenseareessentiallyantagonistic?Has humanityfoundbyexperiencethatthemanwhoseesthefunoflifeis unfittedtodealsanelywithitsproblems?Ithinknot.Nomanhad moreofthecomicspiritinhimthanWilliamShakespeare,andyethis seriousreflections,bythesheerforceoftheirsublimeobviousness,have pushedtheirwayintotherace'sarsenalofimmortalplatitudes.So,too, with}Esop,andwithLincolnandJohnson,tocomedownthescale. Allofthesemenwerehumorists,andyetallofthemperformed prodigiesofindubitablewisdom.Andcontrariwise,manyanundeniablepundithashadhisguffaw.Huxley,ifhehadnotbeenthegreatest intellectualduellistofhisage,mighthavebeenitsgreatestwit.And Beethoven,aftersoaringtotheheightsoftragedyinthefirStmovementoftheFifthSymphony,turnedtothedivinefooling,theirresistiblebull-f1ddlingofthescherzo.
