Great wits are sure to madness near allied
And thin partitions do their bounds divide.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Wit consists in assembling, and putting together with quickness, ideas in which can be found resemblance and congruity, by which to make up pleasant pictures and agreeable visions in the fancy.
—John Locke (1632–1704) English Philosopher, Physician
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Sometimes we are inclined to class those who are once-and-a-half witted with the half-witted, because we appreciate only a third part of their wit.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Repartee is what you wish you’d said.
—Heywood Broun (1888–1939) American Journalist
Impropriety is the soul of wit.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Witticisms please as long as we keep them within boundaries, but pushed to excess they cause offense.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
There’s a helluva distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American Humorist, Journalist
New Year’s resolution: To refrain from saying witty, unkind things, unless they are really witty and irreparably damaging.
—James Agate (1877–1947) English Critic, Diarist
Far less envy in America than in France, and far less wit.
—Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) (1783–1842) French Writer
Avoid witicisms at the expense of others.
—Horace Mann (1796–1859) American Educator, Politician, Educationalist
He that would pun would pink a pocket.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Wit is educated insolence.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
People who can’t be witty exert themselves to be devout and affectionate.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
Humor does not include sarcasm, invalid irony, sardonicism, innuendo, or any other form of cruelty. When these things are raised to a high point they can become wit, but unlike the French and the English, we have not been much good at wit since the days of Benjamin Franklin.
—James Thurber
At twenty years of age the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
But assuming the same premises, to wit, that all men are equal by the law of nature and of nations, the right of property in slaves falls to the ground; for one who is equal to another cannot be the owner or property of that other.
—William H. Seward (1801–72) American Secretary of State, Governor of New York
Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher
As empty vessels make the loudest sound, so they that have least wit are the greatest babblers.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
Wit is a treacherous dart. It is perhaps the only weapon with which it is possible to stab oneself in one’s own back.
—Geoffrey Bocca (1924–83) British Journalist, Biographer
Brevity is the body and soul of wit.
—Jean Paul (1763–1825) German Novelist, Philosopher
For those whose wit becomes the mother of villainy, those it educates to be evil in all things.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Perpetual aiming at wit is a very bad part of conversation. It is done to support a character; it generally fails; it is a sort of insult to the company, and a restraint upon the speaker.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which, before their union, were not perceived to have any relation.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
I don’t like jokes in speeches. I do like wit and humor. A joke is to humor what pornography is to erotic language in a good novel.
—James C. Humes (1934–2021) American Author, Historian, Speechwriter
To be witty is not enough. One must possess sufficient wit to avoid having too much of it.
—Andre Maurois (1885–1967) French Novelist, Biographer
Wit should be used as a shield for defence rather than as a sword to wound others.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Generally speaking, there is more wit than talent in the world. Society swarms with witty people who lack talent.
—Antoine de Rivarol (1753–1801) French Writer, Epigrammatist
If you have wit, use it to please and not to hurt: you may shine like the sun in the temperate zones without scorching.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
Leave a Reply