Yes,
humour is a moisture which rusts everything except gold. As a
nation the Jews have the greatest sense of humour, and they have
been the greatest disintegrating force in the history of mankind.
The Scotch are reputed to have no sense of humour, and they are
morally the most impressive nation in the world. What humour is
allowed them is known as dry humour. The corroding moisture has
been eliminated. They are still capable of laughter, but never so
as to interfere with their seriousness in the great things of life.
I remember I once heard a tiresome woman, who was striving to be
clever, say that Our Lord could not have had much sense of humour
or He would not have hung so long on the Cross. At the time I was
indignant with the silly blasphemy, but thinking it over since I
believe that she was right, and that, while her only thought had
been to make a remark that would create a sensation in the room,
she had actually hit on the explanation of some of Our Lord's human
actions. And his lack of humour is the more conspicuous because he
was a Jew. I was reading the other day a book of essays by one of
our leading young latitudinarian divines, in which he was most
anxious to prove that Our Lord had all the graces of a well-bred
young man about town, including a pretty wit.
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