WIST Quotations

Lessing, Gotthold -- Minna von Barnhelm, Act 4, sc. 6 [Minna] (1763) [tr. Holroyd/Bell (1888)]

Dave — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:07:41 +0000

What have you to say against laughing? Cannot one be very serious even whilst laughing? Dear Major, laughter keeps us more rational than vexation.

[Was haben Sie denn gegen das Lachen? Kann man denn auch nicht lachend sehr ernsthast sein? Lieber Major, das Lachen erhält uns vernünftiger als der Verdruss.]

Gotthold Lessing (1729-1781) German playwright, philosopher, dramaturg, writer
Minna von Barnhelm, Act 4, sc. 6 [Minna] (1763) [tr. Holroyd/Bell (1888)]
(Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translation:

What have you to say against laughing? Can we not while laughing be very serious? Laughing keeps us more rational than sadness caused by vexation.
[Source (1884)]

Meir, Golda -- Interview (1972-11) by Oriana Fallaci, Ms. (1973-04)

Dave — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 23:43:46 +0000

I’ve always felt sorry for people afraid of feeling, of sentimentality, of emotion, who conceal what they feel and are unable to weep with their whole heart. Because those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either.

Golda Meir (1898-1978) Russian-American-Israeli politician, teacher; Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974)
Interview (1972-11) by Oriana Fallaci, Ms. (1973-04)
(Source)

Answering to the charge that she is hard and inflexible, countering that she is very sensitive and feeling in most matters.

The full interview was reprinted in Fallaci, Interview with History, ch. 4 "Golda Meir" (1974) [tr. Shepley (1976)], but slightly rephrased:

I’ve always felt sorry for people who are afraid of their feelings, of their emotions, and who hide what they feel and can’t cry wholeheartedly. Because anyone who can’t cry wholeheartedly can’t laugh wholeheartedly either.

Was this re-edited (and in which instance?), or is it a matter of different translation? It's unclear in what language the interview was conducted, but the original edition of the book (Intervista con la Storia) was in Italian, Fallaci's native language, which gave the passage as follow:

A me ha sempre fatto pena la gente che ha paura dei sentimenti, delle emozioni, e nasconde quello che prova e non sa piangere con tutto il cuore. Perché chi non sa piangere con tutto il cuore non sa nemmeno ridere a gola spiegata.

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Laughter,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 21:03:28 +0000

LAUGHTER, n. An interior convulsion, producing a distortion of the features and accompanied by inarticulate noises. It is infectious and, though intermittent, incurable. Liability to attacks of laughter is one of the characteristics distinguishing man from the animals — these being not only inaccessible to the provocation of his example, but impregnable to the microbes having original jurisdiction in bestowal of the disease. Whether laughter could be imparted to animals by inoculation from the human patient is a question that has not been answered by experimentation. Dr. Meir Witchell holds that the infection character of laughter is due to the instantaneous fermentation of sputa diffused in a spray. From this peculiarity he names the disorder Convulsio spargens.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Laughter,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1886-05-01).

La Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 4 “Of the Heart [Du Coeur],” § 63 (4.63) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]

Dave — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 20:45:33 +0000

We should laugh before being happy, for fear of dying without having laughed.

[Il faut rire avant que d’être heureux, de peur de mourir sans avoir ri.]

Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) French essayist, moralist
The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 4 “Of the Heart [Du Coeur],” § 63 (4.63) (1688) [tr. Stewart (1970)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

We must laugh before we are happy, or else we may die before we have cause to laugh.
[Bullord ed. (1696)]

We must laugh before we are happy, for fear we die before we laugh at all.
[Curll ed. (1713)]

We must laugh before we are happy, or else we may die before we ever laugh at all.
[Browne ed. (1752)]

We must laugh before we are happy, or else we may die before ever having laughed at all.
[tr. Van Laun (1885)]

We must laugh before we are happy, for fear of dying before we have laughed.
[tr. Lee (1903), "Brief Reflections on Men and Things"]

Bukowski, Charles -- “a pleasant afternoon in bed,” It Catches My Heart In Its Hands (1963)

Dave — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 13:44:38 +0000

… and we are in bed
together
laughing
and we don’t care
about anything …

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) German-American author, poet
“a pleasant afternoon in bed,” It Catches My Heart In Its Hands (1963)

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)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 1, ¶ 80 (1795) [tr. Morley (1887)]

Dave — Thu, 19 May 2011 12:01:35 +0000

The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.

[La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l’on n’a pas ri.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 1, ¶ 80 (1795) [tr. Morley (1887)]
(Source)

Often attributed to a more contemporary comedian (Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin) or writers such as Ben Burroughs, Grigori Alexandrov. It is arguably a clear enough sentiment that others might reinvent it.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The most lost of all days, is that in which we have not laughed.
[Source (1803)]

The most completely lost of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
[Source (1891)]

The worst wasted of all days is that during which one has not laughed.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902), "The Cynic's Breviary"]

Of all days, the day on which one has not laughed is the one most surely wasted.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

That of all days is the most completely wasted in which one did not once laugh.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]

The day that we have most lost is the one on which we have not laughed.
[Siniscalchi (1994)]

Other versions:

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." [attr. to Chaplin]
"The most lost of all days is that in which one has not laughed."
"The most wasted day of all is that in which we have not laughed."

More history of the quotation: A Day Without Laughter is a Day Wasted – Quote Investigator®.

Hugo, Victor -- Les Misérables, Part 2 “Cosette,” Book 8 “Cemeteries Take What Is Given Them,” ch. 9 (2.8.9) (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]

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

Laughter is sunshine; it chases winter from the human face.

[Le rire, c’est le soleil; il chasse l’hiver du visage humain.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer
Les Misérables, Part 2 “Cosette,” Book 8 “Cemeteries Take What Is Given Them,” ch. 9 (2.8.9) (1862) [tr. Wilbour (1862)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

For laughter is the sun which drives winter from the human face.
[tr. Wraxall (1862)]

A smile is the same as sunshine; it banishes winter from the human countenance.
[tr. Hapgood (1887)]

Laughter is a sun that drives out winter from the human face.
[tr. Denny (1976)]

Laughter is sunshine; it chases winter from the human face.
[tr. Wilbour/Fahnestock/MacAfee (1987)]

Laughter is sunshine. It banishes winter from the human countenance.
[tr. Donougher (2013)]