We grant, although he had much wit,
H' was very shy of using it,
As being loth read more

We grant, although he had much wit,
H' was very shy of using it,
As being loth to wear it out,
And therefore bore it not about;
Unless on holy days or so,
As men their best apparel do.

The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.

The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.

To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it.

To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it.

Wit is the epitaph of an emotion

Wit is the epitaph of an emotion

Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any read more

Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.

Neither irony nor sarcasm is argument.

Neither irony nor sarcasm is argument.

Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it, but cherished by those who do

Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it, but cherished by those who do

With little wit and ease to suit them,
They whirl in narrow circling trails,
Like kittens playing read more

With little wit and ease to suit them,
They whirl in narrow circling trails,
Like kittens playing with their tails.
[Ger., Mit wenig Witz und viel Behagen
Dreht jeder sich im engen Zirkeltanz
Wie junge Katzen mit dem Schwanz.]

A play is made by sensing how the forces in life simulate ignorance-you set free the concealed irony, the deadly read more

A play is made by sensing how the forces in life simulate ignorance-you set free the concealed irony, the deadly joke.