I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?”
—Book of Ecclesiastes, 225 BC
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Quotes
Laughter almost ever cometh of things most disproportioned to ourselves and nature. Laughter hath only a scornful tickling.
—Philip Sidney, 1582There is nothing sillier than a silly laugh.
—Catullus, c. 60 BCWit enables us to act rudely with impunity.
—La Rochefoucauld, 1678A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.
—George Eliot, 1876