Cassius doesn't smile
You don't have to be a Shakespeare specialist to know that he must have been a great observer of men because in his plays he entered into the depths of so many diverse hearts. And he did it with such convincing power and sensitivity that his name continues to live despite the centuries that have passed. He has Julius Caesar say to Mark Antony:
"Let me have about me men that are fat,
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep at nights.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look!
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.
He reads much; he is a great observer and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays…he hears no music;
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mock'd himself and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything
Such men as he be never at heart's ease."
Is there not too little joy, even where there is good reason to believe that joy should be? Are we not too solemn? Is gloominess really the same as depth of character and thought? Cannot a grinning, life-and-soul-of-the-party type not also be a deep thinker and a sensitive soul?
Must the awful hurt of this world paralyse us so that we can't be thankful for our comfort? Must their hunger make us feel guilty for having good food sitting there before us? Must we hate ourselves for having loving families because so many poor souls are abandoned? Is it true that the only way we can prove our sadness at their poverty is to be miserable because we are richly blessed?
There is a gospel for the sad and those in misery; is there no gospel for the happy? Must we despise happy endings? Must we hear no music, love no plays and must we scorn the spirit that could be moved to smile at anything?
Men like Cassius are dangerous, especially if they are Christians.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.