The Art of Rhetoric, Book 2 · Part 1 · Section 12
¶Of de…ityng the hearers, and stirryng them to laughter.
COnsideryng the dulnesse of mannes nature,Laughter m…uyng. that neither it can be attentiue to heare, nor yet st…red to like or allowe, any tale long tolde, except it be ref…eshed, or finde some swete delite: the learned hauehave by wit…e and labor deuised muche varietee. Therefore sometymes in tellyng a weightie matter, thei bryng in some heuy …, & moue thē to be right sory, wherby the hearers are more attentiue. But after when thei are weried, either with …diousnesse of the matter, or heuines of the report: some pleasant matter is inuēted both to quicken them again, & also to kepe th…im frō sacietie. But surely fewe there be, that hauehave this gift in due tyme to chere men. Neither can any do it, whom nature h…th not framed, & geuen an aptnes therunto. Some mannes coū tenaūce will make pastyme, though he speake neuer a worde Yea, a foolishe worde, vttered by an apte manne, or a gesture straungely vsed by some pleasant body, set…es men ful oft vponupon a laughter. And whereas some thinke it a trifle, to hauehave this gift, & so easy, that eueryevery varlet or common iesture is able to matche with the best: yet it appereth that thei, whiche wittely can be pleasant, & when time serueth, can geue a mery answere, or vse a nippyng taunte, shalbee able to abashe a righte worthy man, & make hym at his wittes ende, through the sodein quip & vnloked frsipe geuen. I hauehave knowen some so hit of the thūbes, that thei could not tell in y• world whether it were beste to fighte, chide, or to go their waie. And no meruaile: for wher ye iest is aptly applied, the hearers laugh immediatly, & who would glad…y be laughed to scorne? some can pretely by a word spoken, take occasiō to be right mery. Other can iest at iarge, & tel a round tale pleasantly, though thei hauehave none occasion at that tyme geuen. But assuredly that mirth is more worth, whiche is moued by a word newly spoken, then if a long tale should pleasauntly be told. For asmuche as bothe it cometh vnlooked for, and also declares a quickenesse of witt…, worthy commendacion. There are fiue thynges, whiche Tullie note…h, concernyng pleasaunt talke.
i. What it is to delite the hearers.
ij. Whereof it cometh.
iij Whether an orator may moue laughter
iiij. How largely he maie go, and what measure he must vse.
v. What are the kyndes of sportyng, or mouyng to laughter.
Now to tell you in plain woordes, what laughter is, how it stirreth and occupieth the whole body, how it altereth the countenance, and sodainly brasteth out, that we cannot kepe it in: Let some mery man on Goddes name, take this matter in hande. For it passeth my cunnyng, and I thynke euen thei that can best moue laughter, would rather laugh merily whē suche a question is put furthe, then geue answere earnestly, what, and how laughter is in deede.
The occasion of laughter, and the meane that maketh vsus merie (whiche is the second obseruacion) is the fondnes, the filth nes, the deformitee, and all suche euill behauior, as we se to bee in other. For wee laugh alwaies at those thynges, whiche either onelyonly or chiefly touche handsomely, and wittely some especiall fault, or fonde behauior in some one body, or some one thing. Sometymes we iest as a mānes body that is not well proporcioned, and laugh at his countenaunce, if either it be not comely by nature or els he through foly, cannot wel set it. For if his talke be fond, a mery man can want no matter to hit hym home, ye maie be assured. Some iest is made, when it toucheth no man at al, neither the demaunder neither the stāders by, nor yet any other, and yet deliteth as muche the hearers, as any the other can do. Now when wee would abashe a man, for some woordes that he hath spoken, and can ta…e none adu…untage of his persone, or makyng of his body, wee either doulte hym at the firste, and make hym …eleue, that he is no wiser then a Goose: or …ls wee confute wholy his saiynges, with some pleasaunt iest, or els we extenua…e and diminishe his doynges, by some pretie meanes, or els we cast the like in his dishe, and with some other deuise, dashe hym out of countenance: or last of all, we laugh him to skorne out right, and sometymes speake almost neuer a word but onelyonly in countenaunce shewe our selfes pleasaunt.Mirthe howe many waies … is moued. But how soeuer we make sport, either the delite is vttered by coū tenaunce, or by poynctyng to some thyng, or els shewed at large by some tale, or els occasiō taken by some word spoken
The .iij question is, whether it standeth with an Orators professiō, to delite the hearers with pleasaunt reportes, and wittie saiynges, or no. Assuredly it behoueth a mā, that must talke muche, euermore to hauehave regard to his audience, & not onelyonly to speake so muche as is nedefull, but also to speake no longer then thei be willyng to heare Euen in this our tyme, some offende muche in tediousnesse, whose parte it were to cōfort all men with cherefulnes. Yea, the preachers of God,Prea…he…s▪ mynd so muche edefiyng of soules, that thei often forget, we hauehave any bodies. And therefore, some doo not so muche good with tellyng the truthe, as thei doe harme with dullyng the hearers, beyng so farre gone in their matters, that oftentymes thei cannot tell when to make an ende.… Pla…o therefore, the father of learnyng, and the well of all wisedome, when he hard Antisthenes make suche a long oraciō, that he starke weried all his hearers, phy for shame man (ꝙ he) doest thou not knowe, that the measuryng of an oracion, standeth not in the speaker, but in the hearers. But some perha…ps wil saie vntounto me pascite quantum in uobis est, to whom I answere, estote prudentes. …. Peter .v. Math .x.And now bicaus… our senses be suche, that in hearyng a right wholsome matter, wee either fall a sl…pe, whē we should moste harken, or els are weried with stil hearyng one thyng, without any change, and thinke that the best part of his tale, resteth in ma…yng an ende: the wittie & learned hauehave vsed delitefull saiynges, and quicke sentences euer …mong their weightie causes, cōsideryng that not onelyonly good wil is got therby (for what is he that loueth not mirth?) but also men wounder at suche a head, as hath mennes hartes at his commaundement, beyng able to make theim merie when he list, and that by one worde speakyng, either in answeryng some thyng spoken before, or els oftentymes, in geuyng the onset, beyng not prouoked thereunto. Again, we se that men are full oft abashed, and putte out of countenaunce, by suche tauntyng meanes, and those that hauehave so dooen, are compted to be fine men, and pleasaunt felowes, suche, as fewe dare set foote with them.
Thus knowyng, that to moue s…orte, is lawfull for an orator, or any one that shall talke, in any open assembly: good it were to knowe, what compasse he should kepe, that should thus be merie. For feare he take to muche ground, and go beyonde his boundes.Iestyng when it should bee spaced. Therfore, no suche shou…d be taunted, or iested with all, that either are notable euill liuers, and heynous offendours: or els are pit…full caitifes, & wretched beggers. For eueryevery one thinketh it a better and a meter deede, to punishe naughtie packes, then to shoffe at their euill demeanoure: and as for wretched soules, or poore bodies, none can beare to hauehave thē mocked, but thinke rather, that thei should be pitied, except thei foolishely vaunt thēselfes. Again, none suche should be made any laughy…g stockes, y• either are honest of behauiour, or els are generally welbeloued. As for other, we maie be bold to talke with them, & make suche game and pastime, as their good wittes shal geue good cause. But yet this one thyng, we had nede euer to take with vsus, that in all our iestyng we kepe ameane, wherin not onelyonly it is mete to auoyde al grosse bourdyng, and alehouse iestyng, but also to eschue al folishe talke, & ruffin maners, such as no honest eares can ones abide, nor yet any wittie man can like well, or allowe.