“"Anger is better than laughter, for through a sad face the heart is improved. "Laughter weakens the mind, anger reproves and corrects it. Both let us become angry with ourselves when we sin, and let us get angry with others. Through the sadness of the face, even the spirit becomes better, as Symmachus saw it. And ther…”
Jerome, 5th c. — Commentary on Ecclesiastes
Original
4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Modern
Preparing…
Teens
Preparing…
Kids
Preparing…
In context
2It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
— Ecclesiastes 7:4 —
5It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.