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tonic for the rich, a recreation
for the fatigued and a beneficient check to the strenuous. It acts as a
shield to the reformer, as an entering wedge to the recluse and as a
decoy for barter and trade.
Humor is as necessary to our mental and spiritual life as are vitamins to
our physical well-being. Ruskin has called our attention to the tendency
of rivers to lean a little to one side, to have "One shingly shore upon
which they can be shallow and foolish and childlike, and another steep
shore under which they can pause and purify themselves and get their

strength of waves fully together for due occasions," and has likened
them to great men who must have one side of their life for work and
another for play. Action and reaction must be balanced: seriousness and
lightness. "Men who work prodigously must play with equal energy,"
says one commentator. "Humor is the gift of the deeply serious man,"
remarks another. "There have been very few solemn men, but their
solemnity was evidence, not of their gifts, but of their defects; as a rule
greatness is accompanied by the overflow of the fountain of life in
play." "The richly furnished mind overflows with vitality and deals
with ideas and life freely, daringly, often audaciously."
The function of the catalyst in chemical reactions is to help other
bodies to get on together, but in doing this it only lends its presence.
CATALYST. A chemical body which by its presence, is capable of
inducing chemical changes in other bodies while itself remaining
unchanged.
In quite the same way humor, by its mere presence, serves to smooth
the way in all human relations. It contributes a socializing touch.
"Humor makes the whole world akin."
Importance of Humor
Not only the toastmaster needs to have a sense of humor and a
collection of funny stories, and not only the preacher, the public
speaker and entertainer, but everyone, as well, who must influence
others. The "voice with a smile" wins because behind the voice is a
sense of humor. We have more confidence in those who have a sense of
humor. The following is quoted from a persuasive advertisement
entitled "The Gentle Art of Telling a Humorous Story Well":
The most successful men and women are those who know how to get
along with their fellow-beings, who know how to win and hold good
will. In fact, the biggest problem in business and society today is the
human problem, the problem of making people like you and making
people feel kindly towards each other.
And nothing oils the wheels of human relationship so nicely as humor.
Abraham Lincoln understood this when he saved many a critical
situation by the introduction of one of his famous anecdotes. Humor
has its place in serious business life, and in social life it is the universal
passport to popularity.
The importance of humor in our daily life, often emphasized by

scientists and philosophers, has been well summarized by Justin
McCarthy in an article "Humor as an Element of Success":
I am strongly of the opinion that the quick and abiding sense of humour
is a great element of success in every department of life. I do not speak
merely of success in the more strictly artistic fields of human work, but
am willing to maintain that even in the prosaic and practical concerns
of human existence, the sense of humour is an exciting and sustaining
influence to carry a man successfully thru to the full development of his
capacity and the attainment of his purpose....
In the stories of great events and great enterprises we are constantly
told of some heaven-born leader who kept alive, thru the most trying
hours of what otherwise might have been utter and enfeebling
depression, the energies, the courage and the hope of his comrades and
his followers.
During thousands of years nature has developed in the human body
many "safety first" signal systems. For example, when the body
becomes chilled this signal system causes us to shiver and tickles the
throat making us cough and in this way thru exercise stimulates the
blood circulation.
Perhaps in ages to come nature will find a way to tickle our sense of
humor when we are angry, discouraged, or otherwise mentally
discomfitted and will thus help us thru laughter to throw off the soul
chill and to regain spiritual poise.

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ABSENT-MINDEDNESS
This story is told of an absent-minded professor at Drew Theological
Seminary. One evening while studying he had need of a book-mark.
Seeing nothing else handy, he used his wife's scissors, which lay on the
sewing-table. A few minutes later the wife wanted the scissors, but a
diligent search failed to reveal them.
The next day the professor appeared before