Excerpt from The Yale Literary Magazine, Vol. 24: August, 1859 Our Saviour, it is said, though on what authority I have never dis covered, was not ever known to laugh. But are we prepared to believe, that he who wept for, and felt, and knew, all the sorrows and sufferings of others, could not also laugh and rejoice outwardly with their pleasures and happiness? Both are sympathetic emotions, and can we suppose, that he who was the embodiment of a perfect humanity, possessed the one, without the other? No, laughter is God-given; the safety-valve of pent-up griefs, and suppressed sorrow.
The causes of laughter are, of course, as many, as its occurrence is frequent. But we fear that the greatest cause of all, is, - nothing How many times, my dear Sir, or Madame, have you laughed at nothing? I know you can't tell. And yet there's a presumption in favor of your being a sensible man or woman. I don't mean to say that you, particularly, have sinned in this respect. It is almost a universal weakness.
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