Contents.
Sample Text:
On the Difference Between Wit and Humor.
I am not sure that I can draw an exact line between wit and humor. Perhaps
the distinction is so subtle that only those persons can decide who have long
white beards. But even an ignorant man, so long as he is clear of Bedlam, may
have an opinion.
I am quite positive that of the two, humor is the more comfortable and more
livable quality. Humorous persons, if their gift is genuine and not a mere shine
upon the surface, are always agreeable companions and they sit through the
evening best. They have pleasant mouths turned up at the corners. To these
corners the great Master of marionettes has fixed the strings and he holds them
in his nimblest fingers to twitch them at the slightest jest. But the mouth of a
merely witty man is hard and sour until the moment of its discharge. Nor is the
flash from a witty man always comforting, whereas a humorous man radiates a
general pleasure and is like another candle in the room.
I admire wit, but I have no real liking for it. It has been too often
employed against me, whereas humor is always an ally. It never points an
impertinent finger into my defects. Humorous persons do not sit like explosives
on a fuse. They are safe and easy comrades. But a wit's tongue is as sharp as a
donkey driver's stick. I may gallop the faster for its prodding, yet the touch
behind is too persuasive for any comfort.
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