Laughter Quotes IV

Twenty years ago, ten years ago, I should have laughed, and have professed to you that I had merely smiled. A very young man is not content to be very young, nor even a young man to be young: he wants to share the dignity of his elders. There is no dignity in laughter, there is much of it in smiles. Laughter is but a joyous surrender, smiles give token of mature criticism. It may be that in the early ages of this world there was far more laughter than is to be heard now, and that aeons hence laughter will be obsolete, and smiles universal--every one, always, mildly, slightly, smiling. But it is less useful to speculate as to mankind's past and future than to observe men. And you will have observed with me in the club-room that young men at most times look solemn, whereas old men or men of middle age mostly smile; and also that those young men do often laugh loud and long among themselves, while we others--the gayest and best of us in the most favourable circumstances--seldom achieve more than our habitual act of smiling. Does the sound of that laughter jar on us? Do we liken it to the crackling of thorns under a pot? Let us do so. There is no cheerier sound. But let us not assume it to be the laughter of fools because we sit quiet. It is absurd to disapprove of what one envies, or to wish a good thing were no more because it has passed out of our possession.

MAX BEERBOHM

"Laughter", And Even Now

Source

Only in this world do we laugh: in hell, it won't be possible; and in heaven, it won't be proper.

JULES RENARD

attributed, The Comic Encyclopedia

Source

Laugh, and be fat, sir, your penance is known.
They that love mirth, let them heartily drink,
'Tis the only receipt to make sorrow sink.

BEN JONSON

"The Penates", Masques and Entertainments

Source

Tags: Ben Jonson

Laugh at your friends, and if your friends are sore;
So much the better, you may laugh the more.

ALEXANDER POPE

Epilogue to Satire

Source

Tags: Alexander Pope

It's almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you're just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.

JOHN CLEESE

The Human Face

Source

In regard to health care, we've all heard that laughter is the best medicine. Laughter is also our least costly healthcare option.

DANNY MURPHY

"If elected president, I promise a laugh in every belly!", The Florida Times-Union, April 1, 2016

Source

A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.

WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD

Woman's Day Magazine, Jun. 1, 2007

Source

Tags: William Arthur Ward

Laughter is free, free your laughter.

ANONYMOUS

Source

Casting for a comedy is not that difficult because laughing is an involuntary thing. They make you laugh? That's the person you should cast.

DAVID CASPE

"The Oral History of 'Happy Endings'", Complex, April 5, 2016

Source

Laughter isn't only about expressing joy. Sometimes we laugh out of embarrassment, sometimes from confusion, sometimes out of courtesy, and sometimes from nervousness. In the evil laugh, we celebrate the misfortune of others. Laughter can also express our personality -- the frivolous laugh, or the laugh of the loud and in-your-face extrovert versus the shy, withdrawn laugh of the introvert. Some people have a particular skill for the superior laugh. Does he who laughs last, laugh loudest?

STEVE ELLEN

"The lowdown on laughter: from boosting immunity to releasing tension", The Conversation, March 22, 2016

Source

Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.

BOB NEWHART

attributed, Standup Comedian: The Secret and Beyond

Source

Tags: Bob Newhart

A hearty laugh lengthens your life.

SWEDISH PROVERB

Source

I prefer that laughter shall take me unawares. Only so can it master and dissolve me.