If the reader has met with passages which have excited his risibility, he must ascribe this to the subjects themselves. There are many things which deserve to be held up in this way to ridicule and mockery, lest, by a serious refutation, we should attach a weight to them which they do not deserve. Nothing is more due to vanity than laughter; and it is the Truth properly that has a right to laugh, because she is cheerful, and to make sport of her enemies, because she is sure of the victory. Care must be taken, indeed, that the raillery is not too low, and unworthy of the truth; but, keeping this in view, when ridicule may be employed with effect, it is a duty to avail ourselves of it.To treat them seriously would be to sanction them.
From the same letter: "according to St. Augustine, "charity may sometimes oblige us to ridicule the errors of men, that they may be induced to laugh at them in their turn, and renounce them"
But.. "the same charity may also, at other times, bind us to repel them with indignation"
Yes. I'm afraid so.
Worthy of contemplation, for we come from a culture, and especially a Christian Gospel of Niceness, that says that ridicule is always cruelty and gentleness always kindness. Because we are so often tempted in ways that our ridicule is cruelty, and being kind by being gentle is a stern requirement we have trouble managing, we can fall into the trap of thinking that these are equivalents. It is not so. We should pray to be wise and judicious, not Nice.
ReplyDeleteIf the rain relents enough, this shall be my topic on my walk today. The two sides shall argue in my head.
ReplyDelete"But since you refuse to listen when I [Wisdom] call/And no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand/Since you disregard all my advice/And do not accept my rebuke/I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you/I will mock when calamity overtakes you" -- Proverbs 1:24-26
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's just a natural reaction to the absurdity of fools, as in the link below:
https://funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/1274688/Chuck/