[26]
On
the other hand the joke may lie in some remark
about a ridiculous look or gesture; such jests are
very attractive, more especially when delivered with
every appearance of seriousness; for there are no
jests so insipid as those which parade the fact that
they are intended to be witty. Still, although the
gravity with which a jest is uttered increases its
attraction, and the mere fact that the speaker does
not laugh himself makes his words laughable, there
is also such a thing as a humorous look, manner or
[p. 453]
gesture, provided always that they observe the happy
mean. Further, a jest will either be free and lively,
like the majority of those uttered by Aulus Galba,
or abusive, like those with which Junius Bassus
recently made us familiar, or bitter, like those of
Cassius Severus, or gentle, like those of Domitius
Afer.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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