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Editorial
June 18, 1789
The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
What is this article about?
An editorial reflection asserting that humans are distinguished by laughter and mirth, which virtue and religion regulate rather than eliminate, providing perpetual serenity and cheerfulness instead of levity or vice.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
THE MONITOR.
If we can give credit to lovers of truth and good reasoning, Man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter. He has an heart capable of mirth, naturally disposed to it. It is not the business of virtue to extirpate the affections of the mind, but to regulate them. It may moderate and restrain, but was not designed to banish gladness from the heart of man. Religion contracts the circle of our pleasures, but leaves it wide enough for her votaries to expatiate in. The contemplation of the Divine Being, and the exercise of virtue, are, in their nature. So far from excluding all gladness of heart, that they are perpetual sources of it. In a word, the true spirit of religion cheers, as well as composes the soul; it banishes indeed, all levity of behaviour, all vicious and dissolute mirth, but in exchange, fills the mind, with a perpetual serenity, uninterrupted cheerfulness, and an habitual inclination to please others, as well as to be pleased in itself.
If we can give credit to lovers of truth and good reasoning, Man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter. He has an heart capable of mirth, naturally disposed to it. It is not the business of virtue to extirpate the affections of the mind, but to regulate them. It may moderate and restrain, but was not designed to banish gladness from the heart of man. Religion contracts the circle of our pleasures, but leaves it wide enough for her votaries to expatiate in. The contemplation of the Divine Being, and the exercise of virtue, are, in their nature. So far from excluding all gladness of heart, that they are perpetual sources of it. In a word, the true spirit of religion cheers, as well as composes the soul; it banishes indeed, all levity of behaviour, all vicious and dissolute mirth, but in exchange, fills the mind, with a perpetual serenity, uninterrupted cheerfulness, and an habitual inclination to please others, as well as to be pleased in itself.
What sub-type of article is it?
Moral Or Religious
What keywords are associated?
Laughter
Mirth
Virtue
Religion
Cheerfulness
Serenity
Gladness
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Compatibility Of Religion And Human Mirth
Stance / Tone
Affirmative Philosophical Defense
Key Arguments
Man Is Distinguished By The Faculty Of Laughter And Natural Mirth
Virtue Regulates Rather Than Extirpates Mental Affections
Religion Narrows Pleasures But Provides Ample Space For Votaries
Contemplation Of The Divine And Virtue Are Sources Of Gladness
True Religion Banishes Levity And Vice But Instills Serenity And Cheerfulness