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Article THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE, OR GENERAL AND COMPLETE LIBRARY. ← Page 5 of 5 Article THOUGHTS ON MODERN WIT. Page 1 of 1
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The Freemasons' Magazine, Or General And Complete Library.
Her shape , to BEAUTY ' nice proportion true , The marble , cold , inanimate , retains ; Eat of that radiant smile which round her threw Joys that beguil'd my soul of mortal pains , And each divine expression ' s varying hue , A little senseless dust alone remains .
Thoughts On Modern Wit.
THOUGHTS ON MODERN WIT .
" Life is a jest , and all things shew it , " I thought so once , and now I know it . '' . ' AND really , Mr . Editor , we are the wittiest people on earth . — Every thing serious and sacred is made-a jest of . —To come to an untimely endis onl" to off at the drop" —and to die in
, y go one ' s bed , is " to kick the bucket . " To be on the verge of bankruptcy , a situation , not the most desirable , is only to be dished—and there are above fifty pretty , witty , genteel , and soft , expressions , to denote that imitation of brutality , drunkenness . A man is affronted if you tell him that he was drunk on such a day ; - but he takes it as a compliment , if you insinuate that he was " a little groggy" —or
" how came you so ? " To accuse a gentleman of adultery would probably produce a challenge ; but to whisper that he has had " an affair of gallantry ' - ' with Lad y ' ¦ — , is the most pleasing flattery . Should you be so very dull , and stupid , as to accuse another of murder , it is ten to one but he brings you into a . court of King ' s-Bench ; whereas , if you praise him for behaving as a man of honour when he pinked the fellow whose wife or daughter he had debauched , he will shake hands with you most cordially .
Indeed , sir , this is carrying things too far . It is being witty overmuch , when by such fine and polite expressions we familiarize ourselves to crimes , which never ought to be mentioned without abhorrence . The proper subjects for the exercise of wit seem to be exhausted , and proper places are changed fpr others not quite so proper . Hence we hear of a roar of laughter in the Senate—a general smile on the
face of the whole congregation in a church ; and a good joke , which makes even the judges laugh , in a Court of Justice !—While our playhouses are as dull as conventicles , and our plays contain every thing except that which provokes mirth . To modern tragedies , indeed , T allow a certain portion of the vis comica : but no thanks to the author , for it is the audience who-make their own entertainment here .
Your ' s , PROPRIETY .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemasons' Magazine, Or General And Complete Library.
Her shape , to BEAUTY ' nice proportion true , The marble , cold , inanimate , retains ; Eat of that radiant smile which round her threw Joys that beguil'd my soul of mortal pains , And each divine expression ' s varying hue , A little senseless dust alone remains .
Thoughts On Modern Wit.
THOUGHTS ON MODERN WIT .
" Life is a jest , and all things shew it , " I thought so once , and now I know it . '' . ' AND really , Mr . Editor , we are the wittiest people on earth . — Every thing serious and sacred is made-a jest of . —To come to an untimely endis onl" to off at the drop" —and to die in
, y go one ' s bed , is " to kick the bucket . " To be on the verge of bankruptcy , a situation , not the most desirable , is only to be dished—and there are above fifty pretty , witty , genteel , and soft , expressions , to denote that imitation of brutality , drunkenness . A man is affronted if you tell him that he was drunk on such a day ; - but he takes it as a compliment , if you insinuate that he was " a little groggy" —or
" how came you so ? " To accuse a gentleman of adultery would probably produce a challenge ; but to whisper that he has had " an affair of gallantry ' - ' with Lad y ' ¦ — , is the most pleasing flattery . Should you be so very dull , and stupid , as to accuse another of murder , it is ten to one but he brings you into a . court of King ' s-Bench ; whereas , if you praise him for behaving as a man of honour when he pinked the fellow whose wife or daughter he had debauched , he will shake hands with you most cordially .
Indeed , sir , this is carrying things too far . It is being witty overmuch , when by such fine and polite expressions we familiarize ourselves to crimes , which never ought to be mentioned without abhorrence . The proper subjects for the exercise of wit seem to be exhausted , and proper places are changed fpr others not quite so proper . Hence we hear of a roar of laughter in the Senate—a general smile on the
face of the whole congregation in a church ; and a good joke , which makes even the judges laugh , in a Court of Justice !—While our playhouses are as dull as conventicles , and our plays contain every thing except that which provokes mirth . To modern tragedies , indeed , T allow a certain portion of the vis comica : but no thanks to the author , for it is the audience who-make their own entertainment here .
Your ' s , PROPRIETY .