That a wise man is knowne by much laughinge
Ride si sapis o puella ride; if thou beest wise laugh.
for since yethe the power of discourse, & reason, & laughter, be equally
proper to only man, why shall not he be most wise wchwhich hath
most vse of laughing, as well as he wchwhich hath most of reasoning
& discoursing. I allwayes did & shall vnderstand that Adage
per risum multūmultum possis cognoscese stultūstultum, ytthat by much laugh
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ing thou mayst know ther is a foole, not ytthat the laughers are fooles
but ytthat amongst them ther is some foole at whome wise men laugh
wchwhich mov'dmoved Erasmus to put this as the first argumt in the mouthe
of his folly, ytthat she made beholders laughe. for fooles are the
most laughd at, and laugh least themselues of any. And nature
saw this faculty to be so necessary in man, ytthat she hath beene
content. tthat by more causes we should be importun'd to laughe then
by the exercise of any other power. for things in themselues
vtterly contrary begett this effect. for we laugh both at witty
and absurd things. At both wchwhich sorts I haue seene men laugh so
long & so ernestly, ytthat at last they haue wept ytthat they could laugh
no more. And therfore the poet hauing discrib'd the quietnes of a
wise retired man, sayth in one what we before had sayd before
in many lines, Quid facit Canius tuus? ridet. We haue
receaued ytthat even the extremity of laughing, yea of weeping
allso hath beene accoumpted wisdome: and Democritus and
Heraclitus yethe lovers of these extremes haue beene called lovers
of wisdome; now amongst our wise men, I doubt not, but many
would be found, who would laughe at Heraclitus his weepinge
none wchwhich would weepe at Democritus laughing. At the hearing of
Comedies or other witty reports, I haue noted some, wchwhich not understan
-
ding of ieasts, have yet chosen this as the best meanes to seeme
wise and vnderstanding, to laugh when their companions laughe
and I haue presumd them ignorant when I haue seene vnmovd.
A foole if he come into a Princes Court and see a gay man
leaning as the wall so glistering & so painted q in many colors
ytthat he is hardly discernd frōfrom one of the pictures in the Arras
hangings, his body like an Ironbound chest girt in and thicke
ribd wtwith broad gold laces, may & cōmonlycommonly doth envy him
but alas shall a wise man, wchwhich may not only not envy this fellow
but not pity him, do nothing at this monster? yes: let him laugh.
And if one of these hott colerique firebrands, wchwhich nourish them
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selues by guarding and kindling others spitt vpon a foole but one
sparke of disgrace, he like a thatckd house quickly burning,
may be angry. But the wise man as cold as the Salamander,
may not only not be angry wtwith him, but not be sory for him.
Therfore let him laughe. So shall he be knowne a man, because
he can laughe: a wiseman for he knowes what to laughe; and a
valiant, ytthat he dares laughe. for who laughs is iustly reputed
more wise then at whome it is laughd. And hence I thinke
proceeds that wchwhich in the later formall times I haue much
noted. ytthat now when orour superstitious ciuility of manners is
become but a mutuall tickling flattery of one another,
all most every man affects an humor of ieasting, & is content
to deiect, and to deforme himselfe, yea to become foole, to
none other end wchwhich I can spy, but to giue his wise companions
occasion to laughe, & show themselues wise. wchwhich promptnes
of laughing is so great in wise men, ytthat I thinke all wise men
(if any wise men do read this paradox) will laugh both at it & me