Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.

Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.

I am a fool, I know it; and yet, Heaven help me, I'm poor enough
to be a wit.

I am a fool, I know it; and yet, Heaven help me, I'm poor enough
to be a wit.

Wit will shine
Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.

Wit will shine
Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line.

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.

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.

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.

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.]

Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.

Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.

Don't put too fine a point to your wit for fear it should get
blunted.

Don't put too fine a point to your wit for fear it should get
blunted.