BY B. VENKATARAMANI
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.