Slow Havamal: 22

In the 22nd verse, to laugh at everything is the way of a stupid, undisciplined man. He needs to learn the valuable lesson that he, too, has flaws.

There are a few different ways to read this one. The first few lines give me the image of one of those somewhat-likable idiots who just think everything is funny. Some things are, and maybe they just see the humor in the marginal things in a way that we can appreciate. But they also seem to laugh at every slip, every misfortune, and a few things that just don’t seem funny to anyone. Laughter, whether appropriate or not, is to take joy in a perceived absurdity. The same situation may not be funny to two different people, because one may find it sensible, and the other ridiculous. Often, it’s the one who is able to see the folly in things who has the sharper eye. But it could also be that it takes a wiser person to make sense of something that doesn’t add up—to see the deeper order.( Read more... )