Aphorism #79 : A Genial Disposition

"If with moderation tis an accomplishment, not a defect. A grain of gaiety seasons all. The greatest men join in the fun at times, and it makes them liked by all. But they should always on such occasions preserve their dignity, not go beyond the bounds of decorum. Others, again, get themselves out of difficulty quickest by a joke. For there are things you must take in fun, though others perhaps mean them in earnest. You show a sense of placability, which acts as a magnet on all hearts." - Balthasar Gracian's "The Art of Worldly Wisdom."

As with unsociability, so with indefatigable gaiety, one earns disrepute. So, one must find the golden mean, discern when and where he may make merry at once insouciantly and judiciously. For that is the time and place for wholesome jollies and lightheartedness and the time and place when gaiety achieves what seriousness cannot.