WIST Quotations

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)]

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).

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."

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."