Laughter

Does one ever know oneself why one laughs?
-Samuel Beckett

Laughter is forbearance, laughter is philosophy. 

-Francois Rabelais

There are many ways of laughing
but the greatest is that which comes from the joy of seeing
disproportion restored to proportion.
-Laurens van der Post

Laughter is man’s most distinctive emotional expression.
-Margaret Mead

Laughter is one the the very privileges of reason,
being confined to the human species.
-Leigh Hunt

Man is the only creature endowed with the power of laughter; 

is he not also the only one that deserves to be laughed at?

-Fulke Greville

The attitudes, gestures and movements of the human body are laughable
in exact proportion as that body reminds us of a mere machine.
-Henri Bergson

Incongruity is the mainspring of laughter.
-Max Beerbohm

Laughter springs from the lawless part of our nature.
-Agnes Repplier

Real laughter is spontaneous.
Like water from the spring it bubbles forth a creation
of mingled action and spontaneity -
two magic potions in themselves -
the very essence of laughter -
the unrestrained emotion within us!
-Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.

Laughter relieves us of superfluous energy.
-George Gurdjieff

Laughter may be characterized
as a contagious explosive release of tension
affecting everyone exposed to it.
-Joost A. M. Meerloo

Laughter has the quality of provoking laughter. 

-Georges Bataille

The sense of humor has other things to do

that to make itself conspicuous in the act of laughter.

-Alice Meynen

Laughter is higher than all pain.
-Elbert Hubbard

Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain.
-Charlie Chaplin

To truly laugh, 

you must be able to take your pain, and play with it!
-Charlie Chaplin

We are able to laugh 

when we achieve detachment,
if only for a moment.
-May Sarton

It is of immense importance
to learn to laugh at ourselves.
-Katherine Mansfield

The person who knows how to laugh at himself
will never cease to be amused.
-Shirley MacLaine

I laugh at him who cannot laugh at himself.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice.
Wake up in the morning...
look in the mirror,
and laugh at yourself.
-Bernie Glassman

You grow up the day
you have your first real laugh - at yourself.
-Ethel Barrymore

For me, a hearty "belly laugh"
is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.
-Bennet Cerf

There is one kind of laugh that I always did recommend;
it looks out of the eye first with a merry twinkle,
then it creeps down on its hands and knees
and plays around the mouth like a pretty moth around the blaze of a candle,
then it steals over into the dimples of the cheeks
and rides around in those whirlpools for a while,
then it lights up the whole face like the mellow bloom on a damask rose,
then it swims up on the air,
with a peal as clear and as happy as a dinner-bell,
then it goes back again on gold tiptoes like an angel out for an airing,
and it lies down on its little bed of violets in the heart where it came from.
-Josh Billings

In case you ever run out of gift ideas,
here's a little tip: give me your laugh.
Whether it's mischievous, tender, loud, or quiet,
simply give me a laugh from your heart.
Your laughter brings me never-ending joy.
-Helmut Walch

Laughter is the closest distance
between two people.
-Victor Borg

It seems that laughter needs an echo.
-Henri Bergson

Laughter is the best communion of all.
-Robert Fulghum

A good laugh is sunshine in a house.
-William Makepeace Thackeray

Laughter is the brush
that sweeps away cobwebs of the heart.
-Mort Walker

What soap is to the body,
laughter is to the soul.
-Yiddish Proverb

Always laugh when you can.
It is cheap medicine.
-George Gordon Noel Byron

Laughter is the sun
that drives winter from the human face.
-Victor Hugo

Laughter is an instant vacation.
-Milton Berle

Seven days without laughter
make one weak.
-Mort Walker

Don't forget the recipe
of making three people laugh every day.
-Edgar Cayce

A day without laughter
is like a day wasted.
-Charlie Chaplin

The most wasted day
is that in which we have not laughed.
-Nicolas Chamfort

Laughter is the language of the soul.
-Pablo Neruda

Laughter is wine for the soul.
-Sean O'Casey

Time spent laughing
is time spent with the gods.
-Japanese Proverb

The sound of laughter
is like the vaulted dome
of a temple of happiness.
-Milan Kundera

I live to laugh
and I laugh to live.
-Milton Berle

Laughing deeply is living deeply.
-Milan Kundera

He who laughs, lasts.
-Norwegian Proverb

Let there be more joy and laughter
in your living.
-Eileen Caddy