“ Only a clever human can make a real Joke about virtue, or indeed about anything else; any of them can be trained to talk as if virtue were funny. ”
C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (1942). copy citation
| Author | C. S. Lewis |
|---|---|
| Source | The Screwtape Letters |
| Topic | joke virtue |
| Date | 1942 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.truechristianity.info/en/the_screwtape_letters.php |
Context
“Any suggestion that there might be too much of it can be represented to him as "Puritanical" or as betraying a "lack of humour".
But flippancy is the best of all. In the first place it is very economical. Only a clever human can make a real Joke about virtue, or indeed about anything else; any of them can be trained to talk as if virtue were funny. Among flippant people the Joke is always assumed to have been made. No one actually makes it; but every serious subject is discussed in a manner which implies that they have already found a ridiculous side to it.”
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