Wit is the lowest form of humor.

Wit is the lowest form of humor.

Ev'n wit's a burthen, when it talks too long.

Ev'n wit's a burthen, when it talks too long.

Great wits and valours, like great states,
Do sometimes sink with their own weights.

Great wits and valours, like great states,
Do sometimes sink with their own weights.

It is by such encounters that wits come to know each other.
[Ger., Les beaux esprits lernen einander durch read more

It is by such encounters that wits come to know each other.
[Ger., Les beaux esprits lernen einander durch dergleichen
recontre erkennen.]

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.]

At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30, the wit; at 40, the judgment.

At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30, the wit; at 40, the judgment.

He who has provoked the shaft of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it.

He who has provoked the shaft of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it.

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.

Instead of working for the survival of the fittest, we should be working for the survival of the wittiest -- read more

Instead of working for the survival of the fittest, we should be working for the survival of the wittiest -- then we can all die laughing.