The Colorado statesman., 1907-06-22
VERY SOUL OF Wit
FAMOUS. REToRTs CHARACTER.
lied BY BREvITY.
Stories of Noted Men Who Wers
Quick to Seize UP an opportu-
nifty to Make a
Joke.

Brevity has been the marked cha,
acteristic of many happy retorts. What
could be more crushing, more grimly
witty, than the reply attributed to Tai.
lyrand on an occasion when a certain
notorious parsonage, i'll and in great
pain, said that he was suffering the
torments of the lost. Swiftly came
the wicked retort: "Deja"-already?
OF different complexion, but equal.
ly exemplifying the soul of wit, was
the reply, which has been attributed to
various painters, to a questioner who
wished to know the vehicle with which
the painter mixed his colors DR..
John Brown tells the story of Opie.
"'Pray, Mr.. Opie, may l ask what
you mix your colors with?' said a
brisk dilettante student to the great
painter With brains, SIR was the
gruff reply-and the right one"
Single word replies, more or less
witty, says the London Globe, are fair.
ly common. a patient whom the ia.
nous Dr. Abernethy had advised to
take walk on an empty stomach
calmly replied: "Whose?"
"A recent example was the answer OF
the late Dean Hole to boring Cock.
ney fellow travelling on the Great
Northern railway. What comes after
Itchin?'" asked the bore. "Scratchin.'
came the swift retort, and thereafter
the conversation tagged.
Many brief and telling replies are
laid to the account of Douglas Jer.
rold. Il will suffice to recall one.
whats going on?'' said a bore, stop
ping Jerrold in the street. 81 am"
and the speaker suited the action to
the word.
Akin to this was the answer of
John Wesley to the clustering swag.
gerer who pushed against him on the
path, with the insulting remark: 81
never make way for fool" 81 al.
ways do" said Wesley, quietly STEP
ping aside, and then placidly pursuing
his way.
Brief and witty was the reply of
Catholic cleric to an opponent in ar.
gument who had declared his disbe.
lief in purgatory. You might go far.
ther and fare worse" was the eccles.
iastic's parting shot.
Johnson's crushing retorts was en-.
HANGED by brevity, but examples are
to familiar to be quoted johnson
came down like sledge hammer on
Scotland and things Scottish. Less ia.
miliar, perhaps, is the retort in which
a Scotchman scored. An Englshman
in Scotland was abusing the country,
complaining of the state of the lard.
er and wondering where he could get
less to eat
81 could tell ye place whaur We
wad get less" said the Scot, who was
listening to the TRADE. "Where's
that?" asked the other
"Oh, just whaur an Englishman's
been!" said the Scotsman dryly.
Brevity as the soul of wit is exem-
plified in many popular sayings. Wit
is by no means an inevitable ingre-
dent in proverbs. Many of them are
of doubtful sense, and some are fool
ish, yet there is certain spice. The
definition of proverbs by Howell as
Sayings which combine sense. short
ness and salt" is in the main true.
Though truth may be altogether abb
sent and wit barely perceptiblei yet
there must be a certain salt" which
gives life and SAVIOR to the saying.
it would be difficult to find say
ings more telling than some of the
for instance, as Fore
warned, forearmed," Extremes meet"
or the ancient Inter malleum ct in.
cudem" (Between the hammer and the
anviD. Many sayings which in Eng
ish are short were briefer still in
their original classical form.
That the soul of wit was exempli.
fed most strikingly among the Greeks
is only what we should expect. 1t is
curious to remember that our word
laconic" preserves the memory of
the reputation for conciseness OF
speech borne by the people of one part
of Greece-the Laconians or Spartans.
When Philip of Macedon threatened
them, IF l enter Laconia 1 will level
your city to the DUST" they made the
famous reply: IF"