"
Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena
It doesn’t suprise me that people are bored when they find themselves alone;
they cannot laugh when they are alone; it even seems foolish to them.
Is laughter, then, only a signal for others and a mere sign, like a word?
Lack of imagination and of general liveliness of the mind, is what prevents them from laughing when they are by themselves.
Lower animals neither laugh alone nor in company.
Myson, the misanthrope, while laughing to himself, was once surprised by one of those men. He was then asked why he was laughing, since he was alone.
‘That is the very reason I am laughing’ was the reply.
