Notes

Some Thoughts on Laughter Laughter, too, falls into this sense of taste and not to another, and must be avoided, especially violent laughter that is so uncontrolled and loud that it often produces tears. Such excited laughter causes the gums and the teeth to show in those who laugh loudly just as they do with horses when they neigh. St. Basil has strict rules against loud laughter. "To be overcome by uncontrolled and meaningless laughter is a sign of intem- perance and the lack of modesty in our behavior; it is also a sign that the foolishness of the soul is not controlled by precise reason. also said: "Loud laughter and violent reactions of the body are not proper to one who is contrite of heart, mature, and self-controlled." This is why this form of laughter is discouraged in the Bible as some- thing especially harmful to the stability of the soul: "I said of laughter, 'It is mad' " (Eccl 2:2). Solomon was right in pointing out that the laughter of the foolish is similar to the sound of thorn bushes being burned. "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools" (Eccl 7:6). St. Gregory the Theologian in his Iambic Poetry wrote: "All laughter deserves the laughter (contempt) of wise people, especially the sinful laughter; but disorderly laughter brings about tears." St. Basil has set a boundary to acceptable laughter: "The mirth of the soul may