Seriousness is not a virtue

Sage advice from ertandberni at Tremendous Trifles, to whose many insightful posts I don't link nearly often enough. I suspect the Tolkien anecdote is apocryphal, but the point stands. I do have to quibble with one trivial detail, however: blue hair. You gotta have blue hair.

Seriousness is not a virtue. It would be a heresy, but a much more sensible heresy, to say that seriousness is a vice. It is really a natural trend or lapse into taking one's self gravely, because it is the easiest thing to do. It is much easier to write a good TIMES leading article than a good joke in PUNCH. For solemnity flows out of men naturally; but laughter is a leap.

Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Though, just to confuse the issue, Robert Frost is credited with the claim "I am never so serious as when I am joking." An intriguing thought. I think I need to reread The Napoleon of Notting Hill.