Sunday, July 31, 2011

Taste and Corruption

"The search for humor should not be regarded...simply as an evasion of or escape from the realities of life; it [is] also a positive attempt to create joy & pleasure around everyday events, as well as a rebellion against the restrictions of morality & prudence. As such, it deserves to have its achievements recorded quite as much as the more long-term efforts of the legislators & educators, whose success was perhaps not as great."

~Theodor Zeldin
From Taste & Corruption as quoted in David Kunzle's The History of the Comic Strip

1 comments:

Mike Smith said...

De gustibus non est disputandum. I need to track down more stuff from this Zeldin character. Dennis, have you read Rabelais' "Gargantua & Pantagruel?" Absolutely crucial stuff for a cerebral chucklehead such as yerself and a shining example of French Renaissance low-brow literature. Captures the same spirit of this quotation. Let me know if you want me to shoot you a copy. There is always more room in the gutter, sir.