23. MIRTHFULNESS.
| No. 85. Large. | No. 86. Small. |
Intuitive perception of the absurd and ridiculous; disposition and ability to joke and make fun, and laugh at what is improper, ill-timed, or unbecoming; pleasantness; facetiousness. Adapted to the absurd, inconsistent, and laughable. Perverted, it makes fun on solemn occasions, and where there is nothing ridiculous at which to laugh.
Large.—Enjoys a hearty laugh at the expressions and absurdities of others exceedingly, and delights to make fun out of every thing not exactly proper or in good taste, and is always ready to give as good a joke as it gets; with large Amativeness, loves to joke with and about the other sex, and with large Imitation and Language added, to talk with and tell stories to and about them; with large Combativeness and Ideality added, makes fun of their imperfections in dress, expression, manners, etc., and hits them off to admiration; with large Adhesiveness, Language, and Imitation is excellent company; with large Causality, Comparison, and Combativeness, argues mainly by ridicule or by showing up the absurdity of the opposite side, and excels most in exposing the fallacy of other systems than in propounding its own; with large Ideality, shows taste and propriety in its witticisms, and with this faculty average or less, is often gross, and with large Amativeness added, vulgar in jokes; with large Combativeness and Destructiveness, makes many enemies; and with large Comparison added, compares those disliked to something mean, disgusting, and ridiculous: p. 173.
Very Large.—Shows an extraordinary disposition and capability to make fun; is always laughing and making others laugh; with large Language, Comparison, Imitation, Perceptives, and Adhesiveness, with moderate Self-Esteem and Secretiveness, is “the fiddle of the company;” with only average Ideality added, is clownish, and often says undignified and perhaps low things to raise a laugh, and with only moderate Causality, things that lack sense, etc.: p. 175.
Full.—Possesses and evinces considerable of the fun-making disposition, especially in the direction of the larger organs; with large or very large Comparison, Imitation, and Approbativeness, and moderate Self-Esteem, manifests more of the laughable and witty than is really possessed; may make much fun and be called a wit; yet it will be owing more to what may be called drollery than pure wit; with moderate Secretiveness and Self-Esteem, and an excitable temperament, lets fly witty conceptions on the spur of the moment, and thus increases their laughableness by their being well timed, sudden, etc.: p. 175.
Average.—Is generally serious and sedate, except when this faculty is excited, yet then often laughs heartily, and evinces considerable wit; with large Individuality and Language, often says many laughable things, yet they owe their wit more to argument or the criticism they embody, than to this faculty: p. 172.
Moderate.—Is generally serious, sedate, and sober, and with large Self-Esteem, stern and dignified, nor companionable except when Adhesiveness is large, and in company with intimate friends; with only average Ideality and Imitation, is very poor in joking, has to expand witticisms, and thereby spoils them; has some witty ideas, yet lacks in perceiving and expressing them; fails to please others in witticisms, and with large Approbativeness and Combativeness, is liable to become angry when joked, and should cultivate this faculty by laughing and joking more: p. 176.
Small.—Makes little fun; is slow to perceive, and still slower to turn jokes; seldom laughs, and thinks it foolish or wrong to do so; with only average Adhesiveness, is uncompanionable; with large reflectives and Language, may do well in newspaper diction, yet not in debate: p. 177
Very Small.—Has few, if any, witty ideas and conceptions: p. 177.