Jest Thinking

"Are you tidding me?" ~ Jack





On this, the eve of the first day of April, I let my thoughts turn toward the topic of fools, foolishness . . . and eventually toward that of jesting.

Joseph Roux said, “A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool.“ As I write, I hope I am holding a handful of diamonds and not a bunch of pebbles!

Being one who enjoys wit and gentle jesting, and who also wrestles to curb verbosity, I read the following with a good dose of self-examination. (Oh, did I mention that I also tend to be introspective?)

My considerations included . . .

• the perceptions of the listener:

Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.
~ Proverbs 17:28

• the motives behind various open mouths:

Wise men speak because they have something to say;
Fools because they have to say something. ~ Plato

• the truth and the malice often cloaked in jest:

Listen closely as those around you speak;
great truths are revealed in jest. ~ Ali Javan

Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
Is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “I was only joking!” ~ Proverbs 26:18-19

A man renowned for repartee
will seldom scruple to make free
with friendship's finest feeling,
will thrust a dagger at your breast,
and say he wounded you in jest,
by way of balm for healing. ~ William Cowper

• the dangers of jesting:

He makes a foe who makes a jest. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Never injure a friend, even in jest. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

• the relationship between thoughts and words in general:

Guard your roving thoughts with a jealous care,
for speech is but the dialer of thoughts,
and every fool can plainly read in your words
what is the hour of your thoughts. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
~ Matthew 12:34

• the revelation of character in jesting:

Nor is it always in the most distinguished achievements
that men's virtues or vices may be best discovered;
but very often an action of small note, a short saying, or a jest,
shall distinguish a person's real character
more than the greatest sieges. ~ Plutarch

Don’t hear me saying that I am abandoning all repartee and all bantering – or that I want any of my friends and acquaintances to do the same. I am not. Yet, my own words have a history that is not unscarred by the misuse of both, and those memories often haunt me. These little diamonds I quote to myself as my reminder to guard the thin line between words that build up and words that tear down. I need it.

~ End Quote