A practical, matter-of-fact man is like a wagon without springs: every single pebble on the road jolts him; but a man with imagination has springs that break the jar and jolt.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American clergyman and orator

Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit, “The Human Mind” [ed. William Drysdale (1887)]

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Frequently rendered, but unsourced in this form: "A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road."

In Royal Truths (1866) [comp.]: "A man without mirth is like a wagon without springs, in which one is caused disagreeablly to jolt by every pebble over which it runs. A man with mirth is like a chariot with springs, in which one can ride over the roughest road, and scarcely feel anything but a pleasant rocking motion."