The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-01-28
"a TIME TO LAUGH"
ny HENRY WARD .BEEcHER.


It Is hard to believe that a good
laugh is either orpol or deoeitful.--
Asmile, a sniff, short, and as IL were
mouosyllabio and staceato laugh, may
all be consistent with guile. But deep.
meiodious, rolling laughter, that ri
sos and falls like a wave, can that be-
long to an artful nature2
POSSIBLY it may. We have never
known but a single instance iu which
good, swet and wholesome laugher
was insincore; aud in this case il was
we suspect, more a habit contracted
in society than a real faint Of dispo-
sition.
There may be silly laughter and
much Of it, but there is full as much
silly sobriety. A boy that laughs at
nothing shows q kind Of exuberaucy
Of nature. But man who will not
laugh upon just cause manifests a
lean anl barren nature. 1t is what
musicians call ciphriu9--as when
one touches n key on tho organ and
tho pipe does not SOUND,
Mirth and morrimont have a bad
name among sober folks, but so do
sober people among tho merry
Each pities the other because he does
not laugh. We take sides with
we'll, for the time being, we take
sides with the fraternity Of the
Laugh.
Ii there DO sin, IL must inhere in
the manner Of doing it, and not in
the quality ofmirth. That il is tho
inspiration Of tho mind aud not a
mere muscular aud animal chucklo,
is shown by the fact, that animals
below man do not laugh. They are
not highly enough endowed. They
have so soul, no moral sentiment, lit
tie complexity of mind, out Of which
arise those curious jLncturos, or
crossings of ideas, which awaken
laughter.
An animal is not immortal, (wo
are told and cannot laugh. A man
is immortal, and can laugh. As
long as the flesh predominates laugh
ing is impossible; add soul, and
the creature begins to laugh 1t is
"A superior attribute. 1t comes along
with Conscience, Hope, and Faith,
aud if it will only keep in their com
pany, laughing will always provo a
means of grace.
We are disploascd with tho low
and unworthy functions sometimes
apologotically assigned TO it. 1t is
good for digestion, it is sand; il is n
moderate oxerciso,-as il, like a
sncozo, it was a purely physical phe
uomonou. But a laugh is born of
thought; a sneezo of only tickle
Sneezing is an affection Of the nose
and parts adjacent. But laughter is
tho child Of tho soul, IL springs
from the immortal part, and the
whole body is but an organ Of OK
preston, Every truo laugher knows
that, when he has laughed till he
coughs, till tears run down his
checks, till his sides ache with shak =
ing, till no is deNf--in short, till the
body has exhausted all its means OF
expressing delight that the idea
which caused all this tumult, has
not exhausted itself, nor has il been
satisfied with the inarticulate ex-
preston of laughter, 1t is the soul
that laughs FIRST aud most, aud the
body but reverberatos the echoes, :.
Laughing is good for Digestion
But this is the least and lowest .oi
its good Offices.
1t is soul cleaning, 1t cannot en-.
dure shams, 1t loves good. humorcd
ways among the thoughts; and when
conceits have slowly turned to dc
ceits, aud partial and unfair notions
are choking up the soul, and unwo r.
thy feelings are depositing sool
along tho souls passages, a genuine
laugh is like FIRE in foul-chimuey
Certain sorts Of shocks, explosions
connagrations seem to be needed
from time to time, inthe mind. Tn,
faculties grow numb aud becom,
stiff. The soul like we'll, collect
mephitic gas, aud needs burnin,
straw to bo thrown down till it i
driven out, la boyhood, a soun,
whipping has a wonderfully stirring
effect. We never enjoyed II; but ai
ter it was over. We took hold Of lif
with new EeSt, IL was transien
cuticular regeneration; rousin
piece Of news, tho ecstacy of grea
Joy, or the shock of an excessive sor
row, giving to tho miud lift up
ward, aud il one has the stamina Q
= good health. these rude revolution
0 aud shakings prove to be admirabl
ulicrdtires. But they are not goo
for daily use, Tho mind needs TO b
reused and shaken every day, with
: out too severe a blow. LaughtC
does it. II topples down a man
o sham dignity, 1t makes his FOOLS
pride sivS way, at least for the m,
meut, II sweeps away all pretcnc,
: aud make believes, and pi,itUl soci,
distinctions, In an unexpected ul
e roar of laughter at genuine wit,
humor, every man in the room is 0
a level aud a flush of good fclloy