Raillery is a kind of mirth which takes possession of the imagination, and shows every object in an absurd light; wit combines more or less softness or harshness. (François de La Rochefoucauld)

Raillery is a kind of mirth which takes possession of the imagination, and shows every object in an absurd light; wit combines more or less softness or harshness.

François de La Rochefoucauld

Related topics

absurd harshness imagination kind less light mirth object possession raillery softness wit

Related quotes

Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike. View quote
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël
There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. View quote
John Constable
Wit is the appearance, the external flash of imagination. Thus its divinity, and the witty character of mysticism. View quote
Friedrich Schlegel
You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too. View quote
John Kenneth Galbraith
The pleasures of the imagination are as it were only drawings and models which are played with by poor people who cannot afford the real thing. View quote
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg