[99]
Effects of mild absurdity are produced by the
simulation of folly and would, indeed, themselves,
be foolish were they not fictitious. Take as an
example the remark of the man who, when people
wondered why he had bought a stumpy candlestick,
said, “It will do for lunch.”1 There are also sayings closely resembling absurdities which derive
great point from their sheer irrelevance, like the
reply of Dolabella's slave, who, on being asked
whether his master had advertised a sale of his
property, answered, “He has sold his house.”2
[p. 495]
Sometimes you may get out of a tight comer by
giving a humorous explanation of your embarrassment,
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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