Horace - Walter Ralegh - Proverbs - William Shakespeare - Samuel Johnson - Henry David Thoreau - Dorothy Parker -
Jesting decides great things
Stronglier, and better oft than earnest can. Horace, Satires
Why should truth not be impress’d
Beneath the cover of a jest. ibid.
Only we die in earnest, that’s no jest. Walter Ralegh, c.1552-1618, On the Life of Man
Many a true word is spoken in jest. Late 14th century proverb
A jest’s prosperity lies in the ear
Of him that hears it, never in the tongue
Of him that makes it. William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost V ii 869
Jesters do oft prove prophets. William Shakespeare, The History of King Lear V iii 69, Regan
Of all the griefs that harass the distressed,
Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest;
Fate never wounds more deep the gen’rous heart,
Than when a blockhead’s insult points the dart. Samuel Johnson, London 1738
I lose my respect for the man who can make the mystery of sex the subject of a coarse jest, yet when you speak earnestly and seriously on the subject, is silent. Henry David Thoreau
There’s a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words. Dorothy Parker