I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
Ver. 2. I said of mirth, It is mad,] q.d., Thou mad fool, what dost thou? Yet is not mirth amiss, so it be moderate; nor laughter unlawful - as some Anabaptists in Calvin's time held - so that it be well limited. Carnal mirth, and abuse of lawful things, doth mightily weaken, intenerate, and emasculate the spirit; yea, it draws out the very vigour and vivacity of it, and is therefore to be avoided. Some are so afraid of sadness that they banish all seriousness; they affect mirth as the eel doth mud, or the toad ditches. These are those that dance to the timbrel and harp, but suddenly turn into hell. Job 21:12-13