QuoteProject
The wisest and the best of men, nay, the wisest and best of their actions, may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke.
Jane Austen
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Even the most intelligent people and their serious actions can be made to seem foolish by someone who prioritizes humor.

This quote by Jane Austen highlights the power of humor and jest in life. It suggests that no matter how wise or well-intentioned a person or their actions may be, they can be undermined or ridiculed by the lightheartedness of a jokester, emphasizing the sometimes absurd contrast between seriousness and humor in human interactions.

Themes

HumorWisdomActionsJokeRidiculous

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be shared in a speech about the importance of balancing seriousness and humor in life.

More from Jane Austen

I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.
Jane AustenRead
Nobody could catch cold by the sea; nobody wanted appetite by the sea; nobody wanted spirits; nobody wanted strength. Sea air was healing, softening, relaxing - fortifying and bracing - seemingly just as was wanted - sometimes one, sometimes the other. If the sea breeze failed, the seabath was the certain corrective; and where bathing disagreed, the sea air alone was evidently designed by nature for the cure.
Jane AustenRead
He certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.
Jane AustenRead
A person who is knowingly bent on bad behavior, gets upset when better behavior is expected of them.
Jane AustenRead
You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.
Jane AustenRead
She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! Alas! She must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.
Jane AustenRead

Similar quotes

If I blow my nose, it gets written all over the world.
Audrey HepburnRead
I don't approve of political jokes; I have seen too many of them get elected.
Jon StewartRead
It is a very inconvenient habit of kittens (Alice had once made the remark) that whatever you say to them, they always purr.
Lewis CarrollRead
A cat's got her own opinion of human beings. She don't say much, but you can tell enough to make you anxious not to hear the whole of it.
Jerome K. JeromeRead
My first words, as I was being born [...] I looked up at my mother and said, 'that's the last time I'm going up one of those.
Stephen FryRead
I'm not here to affect you politically or socially. I'm here to make you laugh. I use the news as the palette for my jokes.
Stephen ColbertRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.