As quoted in Reader's Digest Quotable Quotes (1997), p. 87
“Of all the Griefs that harrass the Distrest,
Sure the most bitter is a scornful Jest”
London: A Poem (1738) http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Texts/london2.html, lines 166–167
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Samuel Johnson 362
English writer 1709–1784Related quotes
In a letter to his son, Lucien; as quoted in: Brother Thomas (O.S.B.), Rosemary Williams (1999) Creation Out of Clay: The Ceramic Art and Writings of Brother Thomas. p. 45
undated quotes
“And thus she helps the Maid to check her grief
Which, being vented, is less bitter now.”
Così fa ch'ella un poco il duol raffrena;
Ch'avendo ove sfogarlo, è meno acerbo.
Canto XLII, stanza 28 (tr. B. Reynolds)
Orlando Furioso (1532)
Part 2, section 6.
The Cunning Man (1994)
Context: The ironist is not bitter, he does not seek to undercut everything that seems worthy or serious, he scorns the cheap scoring-off of the wisecracker. He stands, so to speak, somewhat at one side, observes and speaks with a moderation which is occasionally embellished with a flash of controlled exaggeration. He speaks from a certain depth, and thus he is not of the same nature as the wit, who so often speaks from the tongue and no deeper. The wit's desire is to be funny; the ironist is only funny as a secondary achievement.