This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.
Lin YutangArt is both creation and recreation. Of the two ideas, I think art as recreation or as sheer play of the human spirit is more important.
Lin YutangWhat threatens civilization today is not war, but the changing conception of life values entailed by certain political doctrines. Only by recapturing the dream of human freedom and restoring the importance of the common man's liberties can that undermining threat to modern civilization be averted
Lin Yutang