The daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 190?-1908, 1907-07-01
VERY SOUL OF WIT
FAMOUS REToRTs CHARACTER.
IzEo eY eREVITY.
Stories Of Noted Men Who Were
oui.k to seize Up an ooportu.
nifty to Make
Joke.

s.evity has been the marked char
actedstic of many happy retorts. What
could he more crushing. more grimly
witty. than the reply attributed to Tai
lyrand on an occasion when a certain
notorious parsonage, III and in great |
pain. said that he was suffering the |
torments OF the lost. Swiftly cave |
the wicked retort: "Deia'-already ,
OF a different complexion, but equal. !
ly exempllfying 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 BrowH tells the story of Opie.
PRAY. Mr.. Opie, may | ask what
you mix your colors WITH said a
brisk dilettante student 20 the great
painter. with brains. sir was the
gruff reply--and the rig'' one
Single word replies lore 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 a boring Cock
| ney fellow travelling on the Great
Northern railway. What comes after
ItchinG'" 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. It will suffice to recall one.
whats going on?" said a bore, stop
ping Jerrold in the street. Il am
and the speaker suited the action to
che 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: Il
never make way for a fool" II al.
ways do said Wesley quietly step
ping aside and then placidly pursuing
his way.
Brief and witty was the reply Of a
Catholic cleric to an opponent in ar
gument who had declared his disbe-
lief in purgatory you might go far
J ther and fare worse" was the eccles-
iastic's parting shot.
! The wit of more than one of DR..
Johnson's crushing retorts was en-
= HANGED by brevity, but examples are
TO familiar to be quoted. Johnson
came down like a sledge hammer on
Scotland and things Scottish. Less IA
miliar, perhaps, is the retort in which
a Scotchman scored. An Englishman
, in Scotland was abusing the country,
complaining of the state of the lard
er and wondering where he could get
! less to eat
Il could tell ye a place whaur ye
wad get less" said the Scot, who was
2 listening to the TRADE. Where S
3 that?' asked the other.
= "Oh, just whaur an Englishmans
) been" said the Scotsman dryly.
Breyity as the soul of wit is exem.
5 pliiied in many popular sayings Wit
l is by no means an inevitable ingre.
5 dent in proverbs. Many Of them are
a of doubtful sense, and some are fool.
+ ish, yet there is a certain spice. The
p definition of proverbs by Howell as
Sayings which combine sense, short
e ness and salt" is in the main true
Il Though truth may be altogether alb
T. sent and wit barely perceptible, yet
h there must be a certain salt" which
/ gives life and SAVIOR TO the saying
s 1t would be difficult to find say
i ings more telling than some of the
i shortest-such, for instance as Fore
l. warned forearmed," Extremes meet,
y or the ancient Inter maleum ct in
3 cudem" (Between the hammer and tn,
l. anvil. Many sayings which in Eng
II lish are short were briefer still II
N their original classical form.
. That the soul of wit was exempli
, fed most strikingly among the Greek
is only what we should expect. 1t II
= curious to remember that our wore
!, 'laconic" preserves the memory o
y the reputation for conciseness o
u speech borne by the people of one par
3 of Greece-the Laconians or Spartans
y When Philip of Macedon threatened
them, III ! enter Laconia | will leve
. your city to the dust" they made tn,
% famous reply: "If."