WIST Quotations

Thurber, James -- Interview (1959-03-24) by Edward R. Murrow, Small World, CBS-TV

Dave — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:43:12 +0000

By definition, humor is gentle. The savage, the cruel, the harsh would fall under the heading of wit and/or satire, as the lawyers say. Now, my definitions are these: The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the humorist makes fun of himself, but in so doing, he identifies himself with people — that is, people everywhere, not for the purpose of taking them apart, but simply revealing their true nature.

James Thurber (1894-1961) American humorist, cartoonist, writer
Interview (1959-03-24) by Edward R. Murrow, Small World, CBS-TV
(Source)

When Siobhan McKenna, one of the other guests, made a comment about "cruel humor."

The transcript was printed as "That Girl in Galway" in the next (?) day's New York Post.

Thurber, James -- Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:06:51 +0000

America must learn that humor, whatever form it may take, can be one of our strongest allies, but it cannot flourish in a weather of fear and hysteria and intimidation.

James Thurber (1894-1961) American humorist, cartoonist, writer
Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine
(Source)

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1871-07 (1871 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:23:13 +0000

Every time a man laffs he takes a kink out ov the chain ov life, and thus lengthens it.

[Every time a man laughs he takes a kink out of the chain of life, and thus lengthens it.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1871-07 (1871 ed.)
(Source)

Thurber, James -- Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:08:39 +0000

The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.

James Thurber (1894-1961) American humorist, cartoonist, writer
Essay (1958-12-07), “State of the Nation’s Humor: ‘On the Brink of Was,'” New York Times Magazine
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-12), “The Hero as Poet,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 22:00:23 +0000

But his [Shakespeare’s] laughter seems to pour from him in floods; he heaps all manner of ridiculous nicknames on the butt he is bantering, tumbles and tosses him in all sorts of horse-play; you would say, with his whole heart laughs. And then, if not always the finest, it is always a genial laughter. Not at mere weakness, at misery or poverty; never. No man who can laugh, what we call laughing, will laugh at these things. It is some poor character only desiring to laugh, and have the credit of wit, that does so. Laughter means sympathy; good laughter is not “the crackling of thorns under the pot.” Even at stupidity and pretension this Shakspeare does not laugh otherwise than genially. Dogberry and Verges tickle our very hearts; and we dismiss them covered with explosions of laughter: but we like the poor fellows only the better for our laughing; and hope they will get on well there, and continue Presidents of the City-watch. Such laughter, like sunshine on the deep sea, is very beautiful to me.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-12), “The Hero as Poet,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

The spelling of Shakespeare's name is as used by Carlyle (and is one of the variants Shakespeare actually used).

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 3 (1841).

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1991-03-03)

Dave — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:45:32 +0000

CALVIN: Isn’t it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor? When you think about it, it’s weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it’s funny. Don’t you think it’s odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us?

HOBBES: I suppose if we couldn’t laugh at things that don’t make sense, we couldn’t react to a lot of life.

CALVIN: (after a pause) I can’t tell if that’s funny or really scary.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1991-03-03)
(Source)

See Dr. Seuss (1983), Ricky Gervais (2013).

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1966)

Dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:24:50 +0000

Tough and funny and a little bit kind: that is as near to perfection as a human being can be.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913-1983) American journalist and author
The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 4 (1966)
(Source)

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1875-04 “Fun” (1875 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:29:20 +0000

Fun is the cheapest fisick that haz bin diskovered yet, and the eazyest to take. Fun pills are sugar coated, and no change ov diet iz necessary while taking them. A little fun will sumtimes go a grate ways, i hav known men to liv to a good old age on one joke, which they managed to tell az often az once a day, and do all the laffing themselves besides that waz done.

[Fun is the cheapest physic that has been discovered yet, and the easiest to take. Fun pills are sugar coated, and no change of diet is necessary while taking them. A little fun will sometimes go a great ways; I have known men to live to a good old age on one joke, which they managed to tell as often as once a day, and do all the laughing themselves besides that was done.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1875-04 “Fun” (1875 ed.)
(Source)

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1876-08), “Virginibus Puerisque, Part 1,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 34

Dave — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 15:28:15 +0000

You could read Kant by yourself, if you wanted; but you must share a joke with someone else.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1876-08), “Virginibus Puerisque, Part 1,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 34
(Source)

Collected in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, ch. 1, part 1 (1881).

Billings, Josh -- Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1875-04 “Fun” (1875 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 19:02:33 +0000

But thare iz lots ov pholks who kant see enny phun in enny thing, yu couldn’t fire a joke into them with a double barrell gun, 10 paces off, they go thru life az sollum az a cow. Menny people think it iz beneath their dignity to relish a joke, sutch people are simply fools, and dont seem to kno it.

[But there are lots of folks who can’t see any fun in anything; you couldn’t fire a joke into them with a double-barrel gun, ten paces off; they go through life as solemn as a cow. May people think it is beneath their dignity to relish a joke; such people are simply fools, and don’t seem to know it.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1875-04 “Fun” (1875 ed.)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1941-09), “The Art of Donald McGill,” Horizon Magazine

Dave — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 15:07:36 +0000

A dirty joke is not, of course, a serious attack upon morality, but it is a sort of mental rebellion, a momentary wish that things were otherwise. So also with all other jokes, which always centre round cowardice, laziness, dishonesty or some other quality which society cannot afford to encourage.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1941-09), “The Art of Donald McGill,” Horizon Magazine
(Source)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 2, ch. 16 / sec. 39 (2.16/2.39) (44-10-24 BC) [tr. Grant (1960)]

Dave — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 16:30:01 +0000

Yet however grim circumstances are, human beings, if they really are human, occasionally relax.

[Homines quamvis in turbidis rebus sint, tamen, si modo homines sunt, interdum animis rexantur.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Philippics [Philippicae; Antonian Orations], No. 2, ch. 16 / sec. 39 (2.16/2.39) (44-10-24 BC) [tr. Grant (1960)]
(Source)

To Antony's accusations of his inappropriately telling jokes while in camp with Pompey's army.

(Source (Latin)). Other translations:

Men, so long as they are men, relax at times even amid the heaviest perplexities.
[tr. King (1877)]

Men, in whatever anxiety they may be, if they are men, sometimes indulge in relaxation.
[ed. Hoyt (1896)]

But men, in however troublous times -- if only they are human -- sometimes relax their minds.
[tr. Ker (Loeb) (1926)]

Although men are in great difficulties, still, provided they are men, they sometimes relax their minds.
[tr. Yonge (1903)]

In whatever trouble men may be, yet so long as they are men, they must occasionally have their moments of cheerfulness.
[ed. Harbottle (1906)]

Human beings, even in times of crisis, do sometimes unwind, if they are human at all.
[tr. Berry (2006)]

Even when they are in troubled situations, men, if they are human, still relax their minds from time to time.
[tr. McElduff (2011)]

Horace -- Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 1 “Qui fit, Mæcenas,” l. 24ff (1.1.24-26) (35 BC) [tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]

Dave — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:35 +0000

And yet what harm can there be
in presenting the truth with a laugh, as teachers sometimes give
their children biscuits to coax them into learning their ABC?

[Quamquam ridentem dicere verum
quid vetat? ut pueris olim dant crustula blandi
doctores, elementa velint ut discere prima.]

Horace (65–8 BC) Roman poet, satirist, soldier, politician [Quintus Horatius Flaccus]
Satires [Saturae, Sermones], Book 1, # 1 “Qui fit, Mæcenas,” l. 24ff (1.1.24-26) (35 BC) [tr. Rudd (2005 ed.)]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Toyes may kepe and staye
Sumtimes the reeder very well, as those that teache in schooles,
With buttred bread, or featusse knacks will lewre the little fooles,
To learne a pace theyr A. B. C.
[tr. Drant (1567)]

Though to blurt out a truth has never been
(In way of merriment) esteem'd a sin.
The flattering Master thus his Boys presents
With Cakes, to make them learn their Rudiments.
[tr. A. B.; ed. Brome (1666)]

And mirth commends, and makes our Precepts take,
Thus Teachers bribe their Boys with Figs and Cake
To mind their books.
[tr. Creech (1684)]

Yet may not truth in laughing guise be drest?
As masters fondly sooth their boys to read
With cakes and sweetmeats.
[tr. Francis (1747)]

Albeit why may not truth in smiles be drest,
As gentle teachers lure the child to come
And learn his horn-book, with a sugar plum?
[tr. Howes (1845)]

Though what hinders one being merry, while telling the truth? as good-natured teachers at first give cakes to their boys, that they may be willing to learn their first rudiments.
[tr. Smart/Buckley (1853)]

Although what does prevent one telling truth in playful mood, as often tutors give their pupils cakes caressingly, to make them care to learn their ABC?
[tr. Millington (1870)]

Though, for me,
Why truth may not be gay, I cannot see:
Just as, we know, judicious teachers coax
With sugar-plum or cake their little folks
To learn their alphabet.
[tr. Conington (1874)]

What is to prevent one from telling truth as he laughs, even as teachers sometimes give cookies to children to coax them into learning their A B C?
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1926)]

And yet -- there’s no law against telling the truth with a smile.
Smart teachers, for instance, give crunchy sweets to children
To make them learn their letters.
[tr. Palmer Bovie (1959)]

But tell me what law is violated if someone laughs
while speaking truth? You know how teachers sometimes give
their pupils little cakes, to help them learn their ABC’s.
[tr. Fuchs (1977)]

Though why can’t one tell the truth
With a smile? Teachers coax children to love
Learning by giving them cookies.
[tr. Raffel (1983)]

Although what's there to forbid one who is laughing,
from telling the truth? As loving teachers sometimes
hand out sweets to their pupils
so that they'll want to learn their ABC's.
[tr. Alexander (1999)]

Though what bars us
from telling truths with a laugh, the way teachers
sow cookies and reap memorized alphabets?
[tr. Matthews (2002)]

Though what stops one telling the truth
While smiling, as teachers often give children biscuits
To try and tempt them to learn their alphabet?
[tr. Kline (2015)]

Antrim, Minna -- Naked Truth and Veiled Allusions (1902)

Dave — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:45:39 +0000

It takes not only humor, but sense, to enjoy a satirical story directed toward one’s self.

Minna Antrim (1861-1950) American epigrammatist, writer
Naked Truth and Veiled Allusions (1902)
(Source)

Dante Alighieri -- The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 2 “Purgatorio,” Canto 21, l. 105ff (21.105-108) (1314) [tr. Musa (1981)]

Dave — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 19:24:25 +0000

But the power
of a man’s will is often powerless:
laughter and tears follow so close upon
the passions that provoke them that the more
sincere the man, the less they obey his will.

[Ma non può tutto la virtù che vuole;
ché riso e pianto son tanto seguaci
a la passion di che ciascun si spicca,
che men seguon voler ne’ più veraci.]

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 2 “Purgatorio,” Canto 21, l. 105ff (21.105-108) (1314) [tr. Musa (1981)]
(Source)

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

As each alternate Passion leaves a trace
On the still-varying muscles of the face,
Fictitious oft; but, by the candid mind,
Conceal'd with pain, the dawn of dubious joy
My features wore.
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 20]

But the power which wills,
Bears not supreme control: laughter and tears
Follow so closely on the passion prompts them,
They wait not for the motions of the will
In natures most sincere.
[tr. Cary (1814)]

But will is not with power entire endued.
Laughter and tears pursue so much the trace
The passion dictates that imprints them there,
Nor follow will in natures most sincere.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]

But yet the power that wills cannot do all things;
For tears and laughter are such pursuivants
Unto the passion from which each springs forth,
In the most truthful least the will they follow.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]

But virtue cannot all it would; for laughter and tears follow so much the passion from which each springs, that they least obey will in the most truthful men.
[tr. Butler (1885)]

But all it wishes, will cannot forbear:
For smiles and tears to diverse passion wed,
Upon that passion follow so instinct.
In open natures, will is quite outsped.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]

But the power that wills cannot do everything; for smiles and tears are such followers on the emotion from which each springs, that in the most truthful they least follow the will.
[tr. Norton (1892)]

But the virtue which wills is not all powerful;
for laughter and tears follow so closely the passion from which each springs, that they least obey the will in the most truthful.
[tr. Okey (1901)]

But the power to will cannot do all, for laughter and tears are so close followers on the passions from which they spring that they least follow the will in the most truthful.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]

But all is not done by the will's decree;
For on the passion wherefrom each is bred
Laughter and tears follow so close that least
In the most truthful is the will obeyed.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]

But will with us is not made one with power;
Tears, laughter, tread so hard upon the heel
Of their evoking passions, that in those
Who're most sincere they least obey the will.
[tr. Sayers (1955)]

But man's will
is not supreme in every circumstance:
for tears and laughter come so close behind
the passions they arise from, that they least
obey the will of the most honest mind.
[tr. Ciardi (1961)]

But the power that wills cannot do everything; for smiles and tears are such close followers on the emotion from which each springs, that in the most truthful they least follow the will.
[tr. Singleton (1973)]

But virtue cannot do everything that it will;
For laughter and tears follow so closely on
The passions from which they respectively proceed,
That they follow the will least in the most truthful.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]

And yet the power of the will cannot do all,
for tears and smiles are both so faithful to
the feelings that have prompted them that true
feeling escapes the will that would subdue.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1982)]

But the power of the will cannot do everything,
for laughter and weeping follow so closely on the passion from which each springs that they follow the will least in those who are most truthful.
[tr. Durling (2003)]

But the virtue that wills is not all-powerful, since laughter and tears follow the passion, from which they spring, so closely, that, in the most truthful, they obey the will least.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

But will power can't do everything it wills.
For tears and laughter follow on so close
to those emotions from which each act springs
that these least follow will in those most true.
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2007)]

But the power that wills cannot do all it wills,
for laughter and tears so closely follow feelings
from which they spring, they least can be controlled
in those who are most truthful.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]

But will alone won't stop a human being,
Since laughter and tears are deeply interwoven,
Following hard on emotions which spring them forth,
And when they're truthful have little to do with the will.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]

Wolcot, John -- Expostulatory Odes to a Great Duke and a Little Lord, Ode 15, ll. 5-6 (1789)

Dave — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 19:59:40 +0000

Care to our coffin adds a nail, no doubt;
And every grin, so merry, draws one out.

John Wolcot (1738-1819) English satirist (pseud. Peter Pindar)
Expostulatory Odes to a Great Duke and a Little Lord, Ode 15, ll. 5-6 (1789)
(Source)

Austen, Jane -- Pride and Prejudice, ch. 57 [Mr. Bennet] (1813)

Dave — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 16:43:53 +0000

For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?

Jane Austen (1775-1817) English author
Pride and Prejudice, ch. 57 [Mr. Bennet] (1813)
(Source)

Milton, John -- “L’Allegro,” l. 25ff (1645)

Dave — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 14:54:04 +0000

Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee
Jest, and youthful Jollity,
Quips, and Cranks, and wanton Wiles,
Nods, and Becks, and wreathed Smiles,
Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek,
And love to live in dimple sleek;
Sport that wrinkled Care derides,
And Laughter holding both his sides.

John Milton (1608-1674) English poet
“L’Allegro,” l. 25ff (1645)
(Source)

Martin, George R. R. -- A Game of Thrones, “Catelyn” 8 [Catelyn Stark] (1996)

Dave — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 22:54:26 +0000

Laughter is poison to fear.

George R. R. Martin (b. 1948) American author and screenwriter [George Raymond Richard Martin]
A Game of Thrones, “Catelyn” 8 [Catelyn Stark] (1996)
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1923-08-19), “Weekly Article: Let’s Treat Our Presidents Like Human Beings” [No. 36]

Dave — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 15:47:54 +0000

I don’t think I ever hurt any man’s feelings by my little gags. I know I never willfully did it. When I have to do that to make a living I will quit.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1923-08-19), “Weekly Article: Let’s Treat Our Presidents Like Human Beings” [No. 36]
(Source)

Collected in The Illiterate Digest (1924).

Wittgenstein, Ludwig -- Quoted in Norman Malcolm, Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir (1958)

Dave — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 00:03:47 +0000

A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Austrian-English philosopher
Quoted in Norman Malcolm, Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir (1958)
(Source)

This is usually presented as a direct quotation, but is perhaps a paraphrase. The full passage from Malcolm:

It is worth noting that Wittgenstein once said that a serious and good philosophical work could be written that would consist entirely of jokes (without being facetious).

Saintsbury, George -- In Revival: A Last Vintage (1950)

Dave — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 18:12:07 +0000

Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that Humour excites in those who lack it.

George Saintsbury (1845-1933) English literary critic, scholar, historian, journalist
In Revival: A Last Vintage (1950)
(Source)

Lennon, John -- Interview, Bed-Ins for Peace, Montreal, Canada (1 Jun 1969)

Dave — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:26:50 +0000

When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you — pull your beard, flick your face — to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.

John Lennon (1940-1980) English rock musician, singer, songwriter
Interview, Bed-Ins for Peace, Montreal, Canada (1 Jun 1969)
(Source)

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith -- “Spiritualism,” All Things Considered (1908)

Dave — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 17:52:01 +0000

Unless a thing is dignified, it cannot be undignified. Why is it funny that a man should sit down suddenly in the street? There is only one possible or intelligent reason: that man is the image of God. It is not funny that anything else should fall down; only that a man should fall down. No one sees anything funny in a tree falling down. No one sees a delicate absurdity in a stone falling down. No man stops in the road and roars with laughter at the sight of the snow coming down. The fall of thunderbolts is treated with some gravity. The fall of roofs and high buildings is taken seriously. It is only when a man tumbles down that we laugh. Why do we laugh? Because it is a grave religious matter: it is the Fall of Man. Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) English journalist and writer
“Spiritualism,” All Things Considered (1908)
(Source)

Della Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 30 (1558) [tr. Graves (1774)]

Dave — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 13:56:35 +0000

Nor ought you ever to laugh at any joke or smart saying of your own; for you will be thought to applaud your own wit. It belongs to the company, and not to him who says a good thing, to express their approbation by a laugh.

[Né de’ tuoi medesimi motti voglio che tu ti rida, che è un lodarti da te stesso: egli tocca di ridere a chi ode, e non a chi dice.]

Giovanni della Casa (1503-1556) Florentine poet, author, diplomat, bishop
Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 30 (1558) [tr. Graves (1774)]
(Source)

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

But a man must beware he doe not laughe at his owne gestes, and his doings. For that makes men weene hee woulde faine praise him selfe. It is for other men to laughe that heare, and not for him that telles the tale.
[tr. Peterson (1576)]

And I do not want you to laugh at your own jokes, for it is a type of self-praise. It is the hearer who should laugh, not the speaker.
[tr. Eisenbichler/Bartlett (1986)]

The question of laughter lies with the hearer, not with the narrator.
[Source]

Dyson, Freeman -- Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 15:06:09 +0000

It is characteristic of all deep human problems that they are not to be approached without some humor and some bewilderment.

Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist
Disturbing the Universe, ch. 1 (1979)
(Source)

Serling, Rod -- Paraphrase of Rod Serling in Anne Serling, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, Epilogue (2013)

Dave — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 21:09:33 +0000

The gifts and the lessons my father left me will last forever: Never take yourself too seriously, never miss a chance to laugh long and hard, speak out about political and social issues you believe in, use the written word as often as you can to make yourself and the world a better place, and love your children with all you’ve got.

Rod Serling (1924-1975) American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, narrator
Paraphrase of Rod Serling in Anne Serling, As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, Epilogue (2013)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “Goodness and Gayety,” Americans and Others (1912)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:09:08 +0000

We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“Goodness and Gayety,” Americans and Others (1912)
(Source)

Note: Though this is usually attributed to Repplier, she precedes the phrase with "It has been wisely said that ..."

Cerf, Bennett -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 15:07:26 +0000

The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.

Bennett Cerf (1898-1971) American publisher, humorist
(Attributed)

Frazier, Ian -- “A Strangely Funny Russian Genius,” New York Review of Books (7 May 2015)

Dave — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 21:13:30 +0000

Given the disaster Russian history has been more or less continuously for the last five centuries, its humor is of the darkest, most extreme kind. Russian humor is to ordinary humor what backwoods fundamentalist poisonous snake handling is to a petting zoo. Russian humor is slapstick, only you actually die.

Ian Frazier (b. 1951) American writer and humorist
“A Strangely Funny Russian Genius,” New York Review of Books (7 May 2015)
(Source)

Reviewing books by Russian writer Daniil Kharms.

Schulz, Charles -- “On Staying Power,” My Life with Charlie Brown (2010) [ed. Inge]

Dave — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 22:08:45 +0000

If you are a person who looks at the funny side of things, then sometimes when you are lowest, when everything seems totally hopeless, you will come up with some of your best ideas. Happiness does not create humor. There’s nothing funny about being happy. Sadness creates humor.

Charles Schulz (1922-2000) American cartoonist
“On Staying Power,” My Life with Charlie Brown (2010) [ed. Inge]
(Source)

Pratchett, Terry -- Nation, ch. 4 “Bargains, Covenants and Promises” (2009)

Dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 17:27:55 +0000

Sometimes you laugh because you’ve got no more room for crying. Sometimes you laugh because table manners on a beach are funny. And sometimes you laugh because you’re alive, when you really shouldn’t be.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Nation, ch. 4 “Bargains, Covenants and Promises” (2009)
(Source)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #167 (29 Oct 1748)

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 18:29:41 +0000

Remember, that the wit, humor, and jokes of most mixed companies are local. They thrive in that particular soil, but will not often bear transplanting. Every company is differently circumstanced, has its particular cant, and jargon; which may give occasion to wit and mirth, within that circle, but would seem flat and insipid in any other, and therefore will not bear repeating.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #167 (29 Oct 1748)
(Source)

Allen, Steve -- Funny People, Introduction (1981)

Dave — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:21:48 +0000

Without laughter life on our planet would be intolerable. So important is laughter to us that humanity highly rewards members of one of the most unusual professions on earth, those who make a living by inducing laughter in others. This is very strange if you stop to think of it: that otherwise sane and responsible citizens should devote their professional energies to causing others to make sharp, explosive, barking-like exhalations.

Steve Allen (1922-2000) American composer, entertainer, and wit.
Funny People, Introduction (1981)
(Source)

Orben, Robert -- In “A Little Night Humor,” Washington Post (28 Jan 1982)

Dave — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 21:23:17 +0000

Humor is the most honest of emotions. Applause for a speech can be insincere, but with humor, if the audience doesn’t like it there’s no faking it.

Robert Orben (1927-2023) American comedy writer, magician, speechwriter
In “A Little Night Humor,” Washington Post (28 Jan 1982)
(Source)

Franklin, Benjamin -- Poor Richard (1739 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:31:55 +0000

Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may’st a Friend into an Enemy.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1739 ed.)
(Source)

Nash, Ogden -- “The Hippopotamus”

Dave — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 18:31:40 +0000

Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim,
I wonder how we look to him.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet
“The Hippopotamus”
(Source)

Nash, Ogden -- Commencement address at his daughter Linell’s boarding school

Dave — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:35:19 +0000

Among other things I think humor is a shield, a weapon, a survival kit. Not only has this brief span of ours been threatened by such perils not of our making such as fire and flood, Tyrannosaurus Rex, the black death, and hurricanes named after chorus girls, but we have been most ingenious in devising means for destroying each other, a habit we haven’t yet learned how to kick.

So here we are several billion of us, crowded into our global concentration camp for the duration. How are we to survive? Solemnity is not the answer, any more than witless and irresponsible frivolity is. I think our best chance lies in humor, which in this case means a wry acceptance of our predicament. We don’t have to like it but we can at least recognize its ridiculous aspects, one of which is ourselves.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet
Commencement address at his daughter Linell’s boarding school
(Source)

Quoted in Douglas M. Parker, Dana Giaoia, Ogden Nash: The Life and Work of America's Laureate of Light (2005).

Franklin, Benjamin -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 23:28:48 +0000

Fake quotes will ruin the Internet.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
(Attributed)

Menen, Aubrey -- Rama Retold, Book 3, ch. 7 [Valmiki] (1954)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 22:43:00 +0000

There are three things which are real: God, human folly, and laughter. Since the first two pass our comprehension, we must do what we can with the third.

Aubrey Menen (1912-1989) British writer, novelist, satirist, theatre critic
Rama Retold, Book 3, ch. 7 [Valmiki] (1954)
(Source)

This book is a modern retelling of part of the Ramayana.

A variant of this was inscribed on a silver beer mug given on a gift that President John F Kennedy gave to David Powers:

There are three things which are real:
God, human folly and laughter.
The first two are beyond our comprehension
So we must do what we can with the third.

Palahniuk, Chuck -- Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories, “Consolation Prizes” (2004)

Dave — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 17:47:35 +0000

Everything is funnier in retrospect, funnier and prettier and cooler. You can laugh at anything from far enough away.

Chuck Palahniuk (b. 1962) American novelist and freelance journalist
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories, “Consolation Prizes” (2004)
(Source)

Billings, Josh -- Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Mollassis Kandy” (1874)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 15:45:53 +0000

Thare would be a grate supply ov wit and humor in this world, if we would only giv others the same credit for being witty that we claim for ourselfs.

[There would be a great supply of wit and humor in this world, if we would only give others the same credit for being witty that we claim for ourselves.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Everybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor, “Mollassis Kandy” (1874)
(Source)

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley -- The School for Scandal, Act 1 (1777)

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 21:14:42 +0000

There is no possibility of being witty without a little ill-nature; the malice in a good thing is the barb that makes it stick.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) Irish dramatist, satirist, politician
The School for Scandal, Act 1 (1777)
(Source)

Aristophanes -- Acharnians, ll. 500-501 (425 BC) [tr. Athenian Society (1912)]

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:42:04 +0000

DICAEPOLIS: Comedy too can sometimes discern what is right. I shall not please, but I shall say what is true.

Aristophanes (c. 450-c. 388 BC) Athenian comedic playwright
Acharnians, ll. 500-501 (425 BC) [tr. Athenian Society (1912)]
(Source)

Forster, E. M. -- “What I Believe,” The Nation (1938-07-16)

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:39:03 +0000

I believe in aristocracy, though — if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power, based upon rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the ages, and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. They represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory of our queer race over cruelty and chaos. Thousands of them perish in obscurity, a few are great names. They are sensitive for others as well as for themselves, they are considerate without being fussy, their pluck is not swankiness but the power to endure, and they can take a joke.

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) English novelist, essayist, critic, librettist [Edward Morgan Forster]
“What I Believe,” The Nation (1938-07-16)
(Source)

Collected in Two Cheers for Democracy (1951).

Hepburn, Audrey -- “Hepburn Heart,” Interview with Dominick Dunne, Vanity Fair (May 1991)

Dave — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 18:48:28 +0000

I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.

Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) Belgian-English actress
“Hepburn Heart,” Interview with Dominick Dunne, Vanity Fair (May 1991)
(Source)

Mull, Martin -- “20 Questions with Martin Mull,” Playboy (Apr 1984)

Dave — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 18:06:12 +0000

I believe there’s an intrinsic irreverence in the American psyche, and when something comes along that offers even an echo of that irreverence, people respond to it.

Martin Mull (b. 1943) American actor, comedian
“20 Questions with Martin Mull,” Playboy (Apr 1984)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 4, Mort (1987)

Dave — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:07:37 +0000

A faint smile hovered around the man’s lips. It was the sort of smile that lies on sandbanks waiting for incautious swimmers.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 4, Mort (1987)
(Source)

Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 2, epigram 41 (2.41.1) (AD 86) [tr. Ker (1919)]

Dave — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 23:14:49 +0000

Laugh if you are wise, O girl, laugh.

[Ride, si sapis, o puella, ride.]

Martial (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]
Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book 2, epigram 41 (2.41.1) (AD 86) [tr. Ker (1919)]
(Source)

"To Maximina." (Source (Latin)).

Martial says he thinks he's quoting Ovid, but it aligns with nothing known or still extant from that poet. As the phrase is hendecasyllabic, and Ovid is not known to have published anything in that meter, it is at the very least believed a paraphrase. It is still usually credited as a fragment for Ovid. It's ironic, since it is the point of this Martial epigram, that in Ars Amatoria 3.279ff, Ovid warns against laughing if one's teeth are bad; see Williams for more discussion.

Alternate translations:

Laugh, my girl, laugh, if you bee wise.
[16th C Manuscript]

Laugh, lovely maid, laugh oft, if thou art wise.
[tr. Killigrew (1695)]

Laugh, my pretty damsel, laugh;
If thou'rt cunning, but by half.
[tr. Elphinston (1782), Book 6, Part 3, ep. 8]

Smile, O damsel, if you are wise, smile.
[tr. Amos (1858), ch. 3, ep. 101]

Laugh if thou art wise, girl, laugh.
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1859)]

Laugh if you are wise, girl, laugh
[tr. Bohn's Classical (1871)]

Laugh, if thou be wise.
[ed. Harbottle (1897)]

Laugh, maiden, laugh, if thou be wise.
[tr. Pott & Wright (1921)]

Smile, maiden, smile.
[tr. Francis & Tatum (1924), ep. 86]

Laugh, girl, laugh if you're sensible.
[tr. Bovie (1970)]

Laugh if you have any sense, girl, laugh.
[tr. Shackleton Bailey (1993)]

Laugh, girl; if you're clever, laugh!
[tr. Williams (2004)]

Lichtenberg, Georg C. -- Aphorisms, Notebook K, #46 (1793-96) [tr. Hollingdale (1990)]

Dave — Tue, 09 May 2017 23:09:32 +0000

I have found throughout my life that, if all else fails, the character of a man can be recognized by nothing so surely as by a jest which he takes badly.

Georg C. Lichtenberg (1742-1799) German physicist, writer
Aphorisms, Notebook K, #46 (1793-96) [tr. Hollingdale (1990)]
(Source)

See also Goethe. Alternate translation: "A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents."

Parker, Robert -- Looking for Rachel Wallace (1980)

Dave — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 16:12:23 +0000

“John has warned me that you are a jokester. Well, I am not. If we are to have any kind of successful association, you’d best understand right now that I do not enjoy humor. Whether or not successful.”

“Okay if now and then I enjoy a wry, inward smile if struck by one of life’s vagaries?”

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) American writer
Looking for Rachel Wallace (1980)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Letter (1968-11-09) to the Smothers Brothers

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 01:59:43 +0000

It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Letter (1968-11-09) to the Smothers Brothers

Replying to a letter from them apologizing for making him the target of so much of their humor. More info here and here.

Parker, Robert -- Promised Land (1976)

Dave — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 01:50:52 +0000

“It’s not funny.”

“No, it isn’t, no more than everything else. Laughing is better than crying, though. When you can.”

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) American writer
Promised Land (1976)

Bolingbroke, Henry (Lord) -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 04:04:11 +0000

I have observed that in comedies the best actor plays the droll, while some scrub rogue is made the fine gentleman or hero. Thus it is in the farce of life. Wise men spend their time in mirth, ’tis only fools who are serious.

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-1751) English politician, government official, political philosopher [Lord Bolingbroke]
(Attributed)

Quoted in Gleason's Pictorial (Boston) (3 Dec 1853).

King, Stephen -- Pet Sematary (1983)

Dave — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 23:54:56 +0000

It’s probably wrong to believe there can be any limit to the horror which the human mind can experience. On the contrary, it seems that some exponential effect begins to obtain as deeper and deeper darkness falls — as little as one may like to support the idea that when the nightmare grows black enough, horror spawns horror, one coincidental evil begets other, often more deliberate evils, until finally blackness seems to cover everything.

And the most terrifying question of all may be just how much horror the human mind can stand and still maintain a wakeful, staring, unrelenting sanity. That such events have their own Rube Goldberg absurdity goes almost without saying. At some point, it all starts to become rather funny. That may be the point at which sanity begins either to save itself or to buckle and break down; that point at which one’s sense of humor begins to reassert itself.

Stephen King (b. 1947) American author
Pet Sematary (1983)

Gervais, Ricky -- Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)

Dave — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:53:25 +0000

If you can’t joke about the most horrendous things in the world, what’s the point of jokes? What’s the point in having humor? Humor is to get us over terrible things. That’s all it’s for. That’s why you should laugh at funerals. Of course it’s the wrong thing to say. That’s why it’s funny.

Ricky Gervais (b. 1961) English comedian, actor, director, writer
Interview with Chris Heath, GQ (15 May 2013)
(Source)

Boileau-Despréaux, Nicolas -- The Art of Poetry [L’Art Poétique], Canto 3 (1674)

Dave — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:48:23 +0000

Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (1636-1711) French poet and critic
The Art of Poetry [L’Art Poétique], Canto 3 (1674)

Shakespeare, William -- Hamlet, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 97 (2.2.97) (c. 1600)

Dave — Fri, 20 May 2016 15:10:00 +0000

POLONIUS: Brevity is the soul of wit.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Hamlet, Act 2, sc. 2, l. 97 (2.2.97) (c. 1600)
(Source)

In full, from the least brief-speaking character in the play:

Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief ...."

De Stael, Germaine -- Germany [De l’Allemagne], Part 3, ch. 8 (1813)

Dave — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 16:14:47 +0000

Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike.

[L’esprit consiste à connaître la ressemblance des choses diverses et la différence des choses semblables.]

Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) Swiss-French writer, woman of letters, critic, salonist [Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, Madame de Staël, Madame Necker]
Germany [De l’Allemagne], Part 3, ch. 8 (1813)

Sterne, Laurence -- Tristam Shandy, Book 1, ch. 12 (1760-1767)

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:54:25 +0000

For every ten jokes, thou hast got a hundred enemies.

Laurence Sterne (1713-1786) Anglo-Irish novelist, Anglican clergyman
Tristam Shandy, Book 1, ch. 12 (1760-1767)

Lehrer, Tom -- Rhino Records online chat (17 Jun 1997)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:58:54 +0000

Alas, irreverence has been subsumed by mere grossness, at least in the so-called mass media. What we have now — to quote myself at my most pretentious — is a nimiety of scurrility with a concomitant exiguity of taste. For example, the freedom (hooray!) to say almost anything you want on television about society’s problems has been co-opted (alas!) by the freedom to talk instead about flatulence, orgasms, genitalia, masturbation, etc., etc., and to replace real comment with pop-culture references and so-called “adult” language. Irreverence is easy — what’s hard is wit.

Tom Lehrer (b. 1928) American mathematician, satirist, songwriter
Rhino Records online chat (17 Jun 1997)

Swift, Jonathan -- “Thoughts on Various Subjects” (1706)

Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 14:07:17 +0000

Men are contented to be laughed at for their wit, but not for their folly.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman
“Thoughts on Various Subjects” (1706)
(Source)

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 29, Night Watch (2002)

Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:22:01 +0000

We who think we are about to die will laugh at anything.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 29, Night Watch (2002)
(Source)

Internal monologue of Sam Vimes. Vimes is riffing off of the anecdotal gladiator salute to the Roman emperor, "We who are about to die salute you [morituri te salutamus]."

Eisenhower, Dwight David -- Commencement Address, US Naval Academy (4 Jun 1958)

Dave — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:44:59 +0000

But finally, there is one other quality I would mention among these that I believe will fit you for difficult and important posts. This is a healthy and lively sense of humor.

Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Commencement Address, US Naval Academy (4 Jun 1958)

Atkinson, Rowan -- Letter to The Times of London (Oct 2001)

Dave — Fri, 08 May 2015 13:49:40 +0000

For telling a good and incisive religious joke, you should be praised. For telling a bad one, you should be ridiculed and reviled. The idea that you could be prosecuted for the telling of either is quite fantastic.

Rowan Atkinson (b. 1955) English actor, comedian, and screenwriter
Letter to The Times of London (Oct 2001)
(Source)

Regarding proposed legislation outlaw "incitement to religious hatred."

White, E. B. -- “The Preaching Humorist,” The Saturday Review of Literature (1941-10-18) [with Katherine White]

Dave — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 14:45:05 +0000

Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the purely scientific mind.

E. B. White (1899-1985) American author, critic, humorist [Elwyn Brooks White]
“The Preaching Humorist,” The Saturday Review of Literature (1941-10-18) [with Katherine White]
(Source)

The apparent origin of "Analyzing humor is a bit like dissecting a frog: You learn how it works but you end up with a dead frog" (and variants).

Also attributed to Mark Twain (not found in his writing) and André Maurois (who said something similar in 1960). See here for more discussion.

Keillor, Garrison -- Happy to be Here (1983)

Dave — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 12:41:40 +0000

God writes a lot of comedy, Donna; the trouble is, he’s stuck with so many bad actors who don’t know how to play funny.

Garrison Keillor (b. 1942) American entertainer, author
Happy to be Here (1983)

Burgh, James -- The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)

Dave — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 12:50:19 +0000

As nothing is more provoking to some tempers than raillery, a prudent person will not always be satirically witty where he can, but only where he may without offence. For he will consider the that the finest stroke of raillery is but a witticism; and that there is hardly any person so mean, whose good will is not preferable to the pleasure of a horse-laugh.

James Burgh (1714-1775) British politician and writer
The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)
(Source)

Thackeray, William Makepeace -- Sketches and Travels in London, “On Tailoring — and Toilets in General” (1856)

Dave — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 16:36:03 +0000

Good humor may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) English novelist
Sketches and Travels in London, “On Tailoring — and Toilets in General” (1856)

Butler, Samuel -- The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1, “Life” (1912)

Dave — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 12:41:12 +0000

A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those that are worth committing.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, ch. 1, “Life” (1912)

Burgh, James -- The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)

Dave — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:01:45 +0000

Wit without humanity degenerates into bitterness. Learning without prudence into pedantry.

James Burgh (1714-1775) British politician and writer
The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)
(Source)

De Vries, Peter -- Interview (May 1964) in Roy Newquist, Counterpoint (1964)

Dave — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:01:13 +0000

The difference between a satirist and a humorist is that the satirist shoots to kill while the humorist brings his prey back alive.

Peter De Vries (1910-1993) American editor, novelist, satirist
Interview (May 1964) in Roy Newquist, Counterpoint (1964)

Butcher, Jim -- Changes, ch. 33 [Sanya] (2010)

Dave — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 12:55:29 +0000

Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing yourself when things are bad. That and vodka.

Jim Butcher (b. 1971) American author
Changes, ch. 33 [Sanya] (2010)

Johnson, Samuel -- Comment (4 Jun 1781)

Dave — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 14:23:15 +0000

A jest breaks no bones.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment (4 Jun 1781)

In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

Kant, Immanuel -- Lecture, Königsberg (1775)

Dave — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:27:55 +0000

Religion is too important a matter to its devotees to be a subject of ridicule. If they indulge in absurdities, they are to be pitied rather than ridiculed.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) German philosopher
Lecture, Königsberg (1775)

Quoted in H. L. Mencken, A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Modern Sources (1946).

Bovee, Christian Nestell -- Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 2 (1862)

Dave — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:00:36 +0000

At all events, the next best thing to being witty one’s self, is to be able to quote another’s wit.

Christian Nestell Bovee (1820-1904) American epigrammatist, writer, publisher
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought, Vol. 2 (1862)

Johnson, Samuel -- Essay (1759-05-26), The Idler, No. 58

Dave — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:36:51 +0000

Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1759-05-26), The Idler, No. 58
(Source)

Jerome, Jerome K. -- Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, “On Being Hard Up” (1886)

Dave — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:59:27 +0000

There have been a good many funny things said and written about hardupishness, but the reality is not funny, for all that. It is not funny to have to haggle over pennies. It isn’t funny to be thought mean and stingy. It isn’t funny to be shabby and to be ashamed of your address. No, there is nothing at all funny in poverty — to the poor.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, “On Being Hard Up” (1886)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- “What Must We Do To Be Saved?” Sec. 11 (1880)

Dave — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:03:01 +0000

We have had too many of these solemn people. Whenever I see an exceedingly solemn man, I know he is an exceedingly stupid man. No man of any humor ever founded a religion — never. Humor sees both sides. While reason is the holy light, humor carries the lantern, and the man with a keen sense of humor is preserved from the solemn stupidities of superstition.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
“What Must We Do To Be Saved?” Sec. 11 (1880)
(Source)

Orwell, George -- Essay (1945-07-28), “Funny, But Not Vulgar,” Leader Magazine

Dave — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:21:40 +0000

A thing is funny when — in some way that is not actually offensive or frightening — it upsets the established order. Every joke is a tiny revolution. If you had to define humour in a single phrase, you might define it as dignity sitting on a tin-tack. Whatever destroys dignity, and brings down the mighty from their seats, preferably with a bump, is funny. And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at a curate.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1945-07-28), “Funny, But Not Vulgar,” Leader Magazine
(Source)

Written in December 1944. More discussion of this quotation: Every Joke Is a Tiny Revolution – Quote Investigator®.

Stewart, Jon -- “No News Is Good News,” interview by Adam Bulger, The Hartford Advocate (2008-06-12)

Dave — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:49:18 +0000

I think the metric by which television is considered liberal is literally based on the metric of liberalism in each person’s soul. Peoples’ senses of humor tend to go about as far as their ideology.

Jon Stewart (b. 1962) American satirist, comedian, and television host. [b. Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz]
“No News Is Good News,” interview by Adam Bulger, The Hartford Advocate (2008-06-12)
(Source)

On whether The Daily Show is liberal.

Havel, Vaclav -- Speech, accepting the “Open Society” Prize, Central European University (24 Jun 1999)

Dave — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:38:36 +0000

Those who have not lost the ability to recognize that which is laughable in themselves, or their own nothingness, are not arrogant, nor are they enemies of an Open Society. Its enemy is a person with a fiercely serious countenance and burning eyes.

Václav Havel (1936-2011) Czech playwright, essayist, dissident, politician
Speech, accepting the “Open Society” Prize, Central European University (24 Jun 1999)
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- “The Comic,” closing words, Letters and Social Aims (1875)

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:42:10 +0000

When Carlini was convulsing Naples with laughter, a patient waited on a physician in that city, to obtain some remedy for excessive melancholy, which was rapidly consuming his life. The physician endeavored to cheer his spirits, and advised him to go to the theater and see Carlini. He replied, “I am Carlini.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
“The Comic,” closing words, Letters and Social Aims (1875)
(Source)

This joke/anecdote has numerous variations over the last century and more. For example, see here and here.

Rogers, Will -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:50:00 +0000

There’s no credit to being a comedian, when you have the whole Government working for you. All you have to do is report the facts. I don’t even have to exaggerate.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
(Attributed)

Quoted in P. J. O'Brien, Will Rogers, Ambassador of Good Will, Prince of Wit and Wisdom, ch. 9 (1935).

Twain, Mark -- Following the Equator, ch. 52, epigraph (Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar) (1897)

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:49:49 +0000

Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Following the Equator, ch. 52, epigraph (Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar) (1897)
(Source)

Feynman, Richard -- What Do You Care What Other People Think?, “The Making of a Scientist” (1988)

Dave — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:22:42 +0000

Although my mother didn’t know anything about science, she had a great influence on me as well. In particular, she had a wonderful sense of humor, and I learned from her that the highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) American physicist
What Do You Care What Other People Think?, “The Making of a Scientist” (1988)
(Source)

Twain, Mark -- Story (1916), The Mysterious Stranger, ch. 10

Dave — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:11:51 +0000

For your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon — laughter. Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution — these can lift at a colossal humbug — push it a little — weaken it a little, century by century; but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. You are always fussing and fighting with your other weapons. Do you ever use that one? No; you leave it lying rusting. As a race, do you ever use it at all? No; you lack sense and the courage.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Story (1916), The Mysterious Stranger, ch. 10
(Source)

Satan speaking. Often paraphrased: "The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."

The novella was published posthumously (and with significant alterations by Twain's executor).

The above is taken from the Paine-Duneka text. An earlier version (of this story and passage) appear in The Chronicle of Young Satan, ch. 10 (c. 1898-12):

For your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon -- laughter. Power, Money, Persuasion, Supplication, Persecution -- these can lift at a colossal humbug, -- push it a little -- crowd it a little -- weaken it a little, century by century: but only Laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of Laughter nothing can stand. You are always fussing and fighting with your other weapons: do you ever use that one? No, you leave it lying rusting. As a race, do you ever use it at all? No -- you lack sense and the courage.

Seuss, Dr. -- “Author Isn’t Just a Cat in the Hat,” interview by Miles Corwin, Los Angeles Times (1983-11-27)

Dave — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:34:07 +0000

Nonsense wakes up the brain cells. And it helps develop a sense of humor, which is awfully important in this day and age. Humor has a tremendous place in this sordid world. It’s more than just a matter of laughing. If you can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in whack.

Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) American author, illustrator [pseud. of Theodor Geisel]
“Author Isn’t Just a Cat in the Hat,” interview by Miles Corwin, Los Angeles Times (1983-11-27)
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1924-04-20), “Weekly Article: Jokesmiths Warned to Spare Prince” [No. 71]

Dave — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:20:33 +0000

Now everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody Else, but when it happens to you, why it seems to lose some of its Humor, and if it keeps on happening, why the entire laughter kinder Fades out of it.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1924-04-20), “Weekly Article: Jokesmiths Warned to Spare Prince” [No. 71]
(Source)

Collected in The Illiterate Digest, "Warning to Jokers: Lay off the Prince" (1924)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1931-06-28), “Daily Telegram”

Dave — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:54:32 +0000

I certainly know a comedian can only last till he either takes himself serious or his audience takes him serious, and I don’t want either one of those things to happen to me till I am dead (if then).

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1931-06-28), “Daily Telegram”
(Source)

Rejecting the idea of running for President.

Rogers, Will -- Radio broadcast (1934-06-24), “Good Gulf Show”

Dave — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:46:15 +0000

Their greatest trait — the greatest thing to recommend the Democrats is optimism and humor, you know. You’ve got to be optimist to be a Democrat, and you’ve got to be a humorist to stay one.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Radio broadcast (1934-06-24), “Good Gulf Show”
(Source)

Twain, Mark -- “What Paul Bourget Thinks of Us?” (1899)

Dave — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 09:42:57 +0000

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
“What Paul Bourget Thinks of Us?” (1899)
(Source)

Byron, George Gordon, Lord -- Don Juan, Canto 4, st. 4 (1821)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

And if I laugh at any mortal thing,
‘Tis that I may not weep.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Don Juan, Canto 4, st. 4 (1821)
(Source)

Ustinov, Peter -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.

Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) English actor, author, director
(Attributed)

While I could not find a specific source for this ubiquitous attribution, it does show up in two collections of Ustinov quotations during his lifetime: The Wit of Peter Ustinov, ed. Dick Edwards (1969), and The Quotable Ustinov, no editor given (1995).

Socrates -- In Plato, Cratylus [Κρατύλος], ch. 23 / 406c [tr. Hyers (1969)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

For the name of these gods there is both a serious and a humorous explanation; the serious explanation is not to be had from me, but there is no hindrance to my offering the humorous one, for the gods too are fond of a joke.

[ἀλλὰ ἔστι γὰρ καὶ σπουδαίως εἰρημένος ὁ τρόπος τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτοις τοῖς θεοῖς καὶ παιδικῶς. τὸν μὲν οὖν σπουδαῖον ἄλλους τινὰς ἐρώτα, τὸν δὲ παιδικὸν οὐδὲν κωλύει διελθεῖν: φιλοπαίσμονες γὰρ καὶ οἱ θεοί.]

Socrates (c.470-399 BC) Greek philosopher
In Plato, Cratylus [Κρατύλος], ch. 23 / 406c [tr. Hyers (1969)]
(Source)

The final phrase, "The gods, too, are fond of a joke," is broadly misattributed to Aristotle, without any citation. It is also sometimes misattributed to Edward Albee.

Cratylus is dialogue about the nature of names. Socrates, here, has been asked about the origins of the names of the gods, Dionysus and Aphrodite. Burges (below) notes that Plato had been "partly initiated into the mysteries of Demeter and Dionysus," part of which dealt seriously with the meanings of those deities' names; his avoiding the "serious explanation" is not betray his oath of secrecy to the cult.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

But the mode of nomination, belonging to these divinities, is both serious and jocose. Ask therefore others about the serious mode; but nothing hinders us from relating the jocose; for these deities are lovers of jesting and sport.
[tr. Taylor (1804)]

But the manner of the appellations given to these divinities, has been said to be both serious and jocose. Ask therefore others about the serious manner; but nothing hinders us from relating the jocose; for these deities are lovers of jesting and sport.
[tr. Burges (1850)]

There is a serious and also a facetious explanation of both these names; the serious explanation is not to be had from me, but there is no objection to your hearing the facetious one; for the Gods too love a joke.
[tr. Jowett (1892)]

You see there is both a serious and a facetious account of the form of the name of these deities. You will have to ask others for the serious one; but there is nothing to hinder my giving you the facetious account, for the gods also have a sense of humor.
[tr. Fowler (1926)]

Brooks, Mel -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Humor is just another defense against the universe.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
(Attributed)

Brooks, Mel -- Quoted (1978-10-30) in Kenneth Tynan, “Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man,” New Yorker

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Tragedy is if I cut my finger. Comedy is if you walk into an open sewer and die.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
Quoted (1978-10-30) in Kenneth Tynan, “Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man,” New Yorker
(Source)

See Hazlitt (1829).

Barry, Dave -- “25 Things I Have Learned In 50 Years,” #22 (1997)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

Dave Barry (b. 1947) American humorist, author, columnist
“25 Things I Have Learned In 50 Years,” #22 (1997)

Rabelais, Francois -- Gargantua and Pantagruel, “To the Readers” (1534-1542) [tr Urquhart/Motteux (1653)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Good friends, my Readers, who peruse this Book,
Be not offended, whilst on it you look:
Denude yourself of all depraved affection,
For it contains no badness, nor infection:
‘Tis true that it brings forth to you no birth
Of any value, but in point of mirth;
Thinking therefore how sorrow might your mind
Consume, I could no apter subject find:
One inch of joy surmounts of grief a span;
Because to laugh is proper to the man.

[Amis lecteurs qui ce livre lisez,
Despouillez vous de toute affection.
Et le lisants ne vous scandalisez,
Il ne contient mal ne infection.
Vray est qu’icy peu de perfection
Vous apprendrez, si non en cas de rire.
Aultre argument ne peut mon cueur elire.
Voiant le dueil qui vous mine & consomme,
Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escrire,
Pour ce que rire est le propre de l’homme.
VIVEZ IOYEUX]

François Rabelais (1494-1553) French writer, humanist, doctor
Gargantua and Pantagruel, “To the Readers” (1534-1542) [tr Urquhart/Motteux (1653)]
(Source)

The work was deemed obscene by the censors of the Collège de la Sorbonne.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

My kindly Readers, who this Book begin,
All Prejudice, I pray you, lay aside,
And reading it, find no Offence therein;
In it nor Hurt nor Poison doth abide.
'Tis true that small Perfection here doth hide;
Nought will you learn save only Mirth's Delight;
No other Subject can my Heart indite,
Seeing the Dole that wastes and makes you wan;
'Tis better far of Mirth than Tears to write,
For Laughter is the special Gift to Man.
LIVE MERRILY
[tr. Smith (1893)]

Kind readers, who vouchsafe to cast an eye
On what ensues, all prejudice lay by:
Let not my book your indignation raise;
It means no harm, no poison it conveys.
Except in point of laughing, it is true
Not much 'twill teach you -- it being all my view
To inspire with mirth the hearts of those that moan,
And change to laughter the afflictive groan,
FOR LAUGHTER IS MAN'S PROPERTY ALONE.
[tr. Urguhart/Motteux/Stokes (1905)]

Readers, friends, if you turn these pages
Put your prejudice aside,
For, really, there's nothing here that's outrageous,
Nothing sick, or bad -- or contagious.
Not that I sit here glowing with pride
For my book: all you'll find is laughter:
That's all the glory my heart is after,
Seeing how sorrow eats you, defeats you.
I'd rather write about laughing than crying,
For laughter makes men human, and courageous.
BE HAPPY!
[tr. Raffel (1989)]

You friends and readers of this book, take heed:
Pray put all perturbation far behind,
And do not be offended as you read:
It holds no evil to corrupt the mind;
Though here perfection may be hard to find,
Unless in point of laughter and good cheer;
No other subject can my heart hold dear,
Seeing the grief that robs you of your rest:
Better a laugh to write of than a tear,
For it is laughter that becomes man best.
[tr. Frame (1991)]

Shaftesbury, Earl of -- Sensus Communis: An Essay on the Freedom of Wit and Humour, Part 1, Sec. 5 (1709)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

‘Twas the saying of an ancient Sage, “That Humour was the only Test of Gravity, and Gravity of Humour. For a Subject which would not bear Raillery is suspicious; and a Jest which would not bear a serious Examination is certainly false Wit.”

Anthony Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713) English politician and philosopher
Sensus Communis: An Essay on the Freedom of Wit and Humour, Part 1, Sec. 5 (1709)
(Source)

Often incorrectly attributed to Aristotle. Shaftesbury, according to his footnote, is paraphrasing from Aristotle quoting Gorgias Leontinus. The Latin translation is "Seria risu, risum seriis discutere" ("In arguing one should meet serious pleading with humor, and humor with serious pleading"). Shaftesbury's second sentence is his own commentary.

In Lord Chesterfield, in a letter to his son (6 Feb 1752), rendered it, "Ridicule is the best test of truth."

Shakespeare, William -- Taming of the Shrew, Induction, sc. 2, l. 137ff (c. 1591)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

MESSENGER: Frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
Which bars a thousand harms, and lengthens life.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Taming of the Shrew, Induction, sc. 2, l. 137ff (c. 1591)
(Source)

Repplier, Agnes -- “A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their pedestals.

Agnes Repplier (1855-1950) American writer
“A Plea for Humor,” Points of View (1891)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- The Doctor’s Dilemma, Act 5 [Ridgeon] (1906)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
The Doctor’s Dilemma, Act 5 [Ridgeon] (1906)
(Source)

Goethe, Johann von -- Elective Affinities [Die Wahlverwandtschaften], Part 2, ch. 4, “From Ottilie’s Journal [Aus Ottiliens Tagebuche]” (1809) [tr. Hollingdale (1971)]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Human beings reveal their character most clearly by what they find ridiculous.

[Durch nichts bezeichnen die Menschen mehr ihren Charakter als durch das, was sie lächerlich finden.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist
Elective Affinities [Die Wahlverwandtschaften], Part 2, ch. 4, “From Ottilie’s Journal [Aus Ottiliens Tagebuche]” (1809) [tr. Hollingdale (1971)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

There is nothing in which people more betray their character than in what they find to laugh at.
[Niles ed. (1872)]

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.
[Source]

For an opposite perspective, see Lichtenberg.

Bacon, Francis -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
(Attributed)

Parker, Dorothy -- Interview (1956, Summer), “The Art of Fiction, No. 13,” by Marion Capron, The Paris Review, Issue 13

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) American writer, poet, wit
Interview (1956, Summer), “The Art of Fiction, No. 13,” by Marion Capron, The Paris Review, Issue 13

Collected in Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, First Series (1958).