CHAPTER V

RIDICULE AND SOCIAL DECADENCE

        Old worn-out ideals, beliefs, and decrepit institutions meet with ridicule. Thus Lucian jibes at the worn-out ancient deities and myths; the Humanists in various pamphlets such as the "Epistolae Virorum Obscurum" ridicule the Catholic church; Voltaire makes merry over the supposed glories and optimistic views of the philosophers of the eighteenth century; Bernard de Mandeville ridicule the optimistic ethic of Shaftsbury and of the Cambridge idealists.

        Perhaps a few examples taken from the writings of Lucian and Aristophanes may best illustrate our point of view.

        In his "Icaro-Menippus" Lucian directs his shafts of poignant ridicule against the metaphysical and philosophical speculations, as well as against the whole fabric of ancient tradition and religious beliefs. He jeers at the philosopher, and hobnobs with the once mighty Zeus.

        "I engaged them (the philosophers)," Menippus tells his friend, "to teach me the perfect knowledge of the universe; but so far were they from removing my ignorance, that they only threw me into greater doubt and uncertainty by puzzling me with atoms, vacuums, beginnings, ends, ideas, forms, and so forth. The worst of all was that though none agreed with the rest in what they advanced, but were all of contrary opinions, yet did every one of them expect that I should embrace his tenets and subscribe to his doctrine." Menippus became an aeronaut, an aetheronaut would probably be more correct, by taking an eagle's wing and that of a vulture and flew to Olympus to visit Jupiter. Lucian takes here the occasion to put the course and turmoil of human life in a ludicrous light.

        I had much to; to relate it to you is impossible. . . . The Getae at war, the Scythians traveling in their caravans, the Egyptians tilling their fields, the Phoenicians merchandising, the Cilicians robbing and plundering, the Spartans flogging their children, and the Athenians perpetually quarreling and going to law with one another.
 

        When all this was going on at the same time you may imagine what a strange scene it appeared to me. It was just as if a number of singers were met together, every one singing his own song, each striving to drown other's voice by bawling as loud as he could. You may well fancy what kind of a concert this would make.

Nothing can be more ludicrous than this jesting conversation, this patronizing familiarity and small gossip with the mighty father of gods and men. Jupiter complains that his altars are as cold and neglected as Plato's laws or the syllogisms of Chrysippus.
 

        The most ludicrous scene is the description of Jupiter attending to business and petitions.

Nothing could be more fatal to the dignity and prestige of the ancient religions than this jovial hobnobbing with the Olympic deities, the jesting and bantering with father Jove.
 

Far more powerful is Aristophanes, the greatest comic writer of all ages. In his "Clouds" Aristophanes represents Strepsiades, burdened by debts, coming to Socrates' Reflectory, or thinking shop, to be instructed in the not-paying-your-creditors argument.

        In this way does Aristophanes rail and laugh at the new ideas of the Sophists and the Socratic reforms of individual inquiry, criticism, and analysis. At the same time he lashes with his sharp raillery and mordant ridicule the Athenian assembly for its love of oratory and the introduction of ever new resolutions and bills. Aristophanes ridicules the new ways of education and the extreme, democratic changes incident to the political life of the Athenian commonwealth. He takes his stand on the old modes of life, on the old forms of education and training, on the old religious beliefs and customs that have produced the heroes of Marathon.

        In ridiculing Athenian politics Aristophanes gives directions to the Sausage-seller how to defeat Cleon, the Athenian political leader, and to manage the people:

        The contest that follows may well remind one of the American political campaign between Roosevelt and Taft for the highest office in the land.

        Compare with the new "National Hymn" made in mockery of Roosevelt and his followers, the so-called Bull Moose Progressive Party:

        Here is the prayer with which the Sausage-seller opens his campaign in the Senate:
 

        Aristophanes ridicules the Athenian politics in the same way as the modern cartoonist ridicules the presidential campaign by representing the two presidential candidates, riding to Chicago on the Monopoly Limited with the Trust as their guardian, calling each other names and almost coming to blows. As in the modern political campaign, the Sausage-seller accuses Cleon:
 

        Both Cleon and the Sausage-seller declare their intense love and affection for Demos, their supposed master:

        Who cannot read in the eternal ridicule on political campaigning carried on in the democratic countries where Demos is the master? Even a superficial glance at the quotations from Aristophanes discloses the fact that the characters, institutions, and new ideas ridiculed are regarded as defective, as wanting in the common social and moral principles of every day life. The characters represented are found to be ludicrous, because we are made to realize the inferiority of the persons, institutions, and ideas with regard to the accepted standards of life. Defects where merits should be expected, lack of adjustment where more perfect adaptation is looked for, inferiority to the ordinary level of life where superiority should be expected, all such relations constitute the main conditions under which objects, physical and ideal, are made ridiculous in the eyes of the external observer. This statement in its turn can be further reduced to the more general principle of lack of energy when an abundance of it is expected, of difficulties, awkwardness, and clumsiness where there should be ease, grace, and manifestations of energy in response to the external and internal stimuli and situations.