On Having a Sense of Humour

A sense of humour is a virtue, which in a greater or less degree, is present in everyone. It should not be very difficult of cultivation to a man who practices the art of impartiality and tries to divest himself of the trammels of the personal. Experience will tell one that without a sense of humour it is impossible to lead a happy life.

What a great boon it is to possess this quality can be perceived only when one watches those specimens of humanity who are the victims of frequent passionate outbursts that disturb the harmony of their lives. The person who is very sensitive and takes everything seriously is doomed to perpetual conflicts of mind. The world will seem unfair to him, if the path before him is not always strewn with roses. King Lear’s life was a tragedy because Lear was a high-strung person, quick to feel hurt and take to heart the words of his daughter who sincerely told him that she would love him next only to her husband. Lears there are many in this world. Such men know not happiness. For they forget the wholesome maxim that “life is a tragedy to one who eels. while it is a comedy to one who thinks.”

A sense of humour helps one to attain a balance of mind and prevents prejudices and personal predilections from clouding one’s vision. It helps the person to see himself through another’s eyes, in a detached manner: he is not therefore cut to the quick when his weaknesses are laughed at by others. How many times do we not fret and fume unnecessarily and make ourselves miserable when, if only we had humour, we could have overcome such moods of irritation or resentment!

A great lawyer was once heatedly arguing a very important case in Court. He quoted several passages from legal reports in support of his points. Perhaps unusually some of them turned out to be erroneous. For the Judge grew rather impatient and remarked to the surprise of some in Court and to the secret delight of certain others, “If that is the law, I should burn my law books.” “Why not read them my Lord?” was the sharp reply, which diverted the laughter of the Court against the presiding Judge himself. The Judge’s remarks wounded the lawyer’s prestige indeed; but his ready sense of humour stood him in good stead and saved him.

Only those who do not take a retort too much to heart and begin nursing it, are capable of fitting and brilliant repartees. One recalls a famous anecdote from the life of the Earl of Birkenhead which, though familiar, bears repetition. He was a reputed lawyer, renowned for his pointed wit and startling repartees. Once a Judge after having bandied words with him for a good deal of time, lost his patience and decided to finish the impudent lawyer with a decisive retort. “Mr. Smith,” he said “have you ever heard of a saying by Bacon–the great Bacon–that youth and discretion are ill-wedded companions?”

“Yes, I have,” came the instant rejoinder,” and have you ever heard of a saying by Bacon–the great Bacon–that a much-talking Judge is like an ill-tuned cymbal?”

“You are extremely offensive, young man,” exclaimed the Judge. “As a matter of fact,” said Smith “We both are; but I am trying to be and you can’t help it.”

“What do you think I am on the Bench for?” cried the Judge boiling all over.

“It is not for me, your Honour, to attempt to fathom the inscrutable workings of Providence,” came the calm and smiling reply.

If a sense of humour, which implies a sense of proportion, would result in the owner cultivating mental equipoise under stress and strain it becomes a blessing indeed. We often hear people saying of certain persons that they are not much affected by sorrow. We suppose, in such instances, that the persons spoken of possess great mental balance. It is not that they are incapable of fine emotions and are merely callous to suffering; they realize the proper values of life, that our existence is but a fleeting drama and there is no use weeping ourselves sore over what is beyond remedy. To them life itself is a huge comedy of errors and man a ‘playboy’.

This does not mean that a person with humour should be insensitive to suffering; for sensitiveness is the quality that differentiates man from the brute, the cultured man from the barbarian. But oversensitiveness and sentimentalism he abjures and has the happy blending of other qualities that make him take life as it is with good cheer. His mental poise is perfect and his views are generally free from passion. He does not worry himself about a thing quite out of proportion to the importance of the occasion. It is his sense of humour that helps him out of many awkward situations and soothes him in many afflicted moments.

If one is asked wherein resides the most characteristic virtue of humanity, the answer should be that it is not so much in good works or in the creation of beautiful objects as in possessing a sense of humour.