You don't tell people who disagree with you they'd be better off somewhere else. And you don't reduce them to stereotypes; you address them as fully formed people worthy of respect. You try to persuade them.
Wit penetrates; humor envelops. Wit is a function of verbal intelligence; humor is imagination operating on good nature.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wit is sharp and intelligent, while humor is more about warmth and creativity.
This quote by Peggy Noonan highlights the difference between wit and humor. Wit is characterized by its cleverness and sharpness, requiring a certain level of verbal intelligence to convey quick, insightful remarks. In contrast, humor encompasses a broader spectrum where imagination meets a disposition of goodwill, creating laughter and joy that envelops others. Essentially, while wit can be cutting or incisive, humor is more gentle and inclusive, fostering a sense of connection and positivity.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about creativity, you might say, 'Wit penetrates; humor envelops, illustrating how we can reach deeper truths while creating joy.'
More from Peggy Noonan
All quotes βYou can get so well educated in America that your thoughts become detached from common sense. You can get so complicated in your thinking that the obvious isn't real to you anymore.
If you join government, calmly make your contribution and move on. Don't go along to get along; do your best and when you have to - and you will - leave, and be something else.
Naps are nature's way of reminding you that life is nice, like a beautiful swinging hammock strung between birth and infinity.
We must try again to be alive to what the people of our country really long for in our national life: forgiveness and grace, maturity and wisdom. ...Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls.
When everyone in America knows you're in a dreadful position, admit you're in a dreadful position. Don't lie about it and make them roll their eyes, tell the truth and make them blink.
Similar quotes
The fine line between roaring with laughter and crying because it's a disaster is a very, very fine line. You see a chap slip on a banana skin in the street and you roar with laughter when he falls slap on his backside. If in doing so you suddenly see he's broken a leg, you very quickly stop laughing and it's not a joke anymore.
Calvin: Trick or treat! Adult: Where's your costume? What are you supposed to be? Calvin: I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Madison Avenue and Hollywood, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak... Am I scary, or what?
Donald Trump is the Honey Boo Boo of rich people.
Anyone who has had the experience of going through American security checks knows the purpose of these checks is not to make you safer; it's just to annoy you.
Laugh...It's the sweetest thing one can do for oneself and one's fellow human beings.
There is no such thing as fun for the whole family.