Spectator papers 58-63 were written by Joseph Addison for Monday, May 7, through Saturday, May 12, 1711. For that week in May, he wrote about wit, comparing true wit with false wit. True wit is wit that effictively conveys the truth. False wit is wit that might sound cool or clever, but the truth is distorted or completely absent. He spoke of anagrams and acrostics and puns and allegories and rhymes and double rhymes and chronograms and lipograms. He quoted Dryden and Locke and Cowley. He spoke of Greek poets and philosophers and Shakespeare and monks and King James.
Addison spoke of truth and how it is beautiful no matter with what words it is clothed. He commended natural writing of the simply beautiful truth and cautioned against trying to be witty when the simple truth says it better. He pointed out that in order to follow a witty pattern of some kind, rather than using the word that perfectly says what is begging to be said, the writer occasionally chooses a word that only weakly conveys the truth, if it conveys the truth at all.
Eloquence is a form of beauty that is greatly appreciated and enjoyed. A beautifully spoken phrase can evoke a sense of bliss in the hearer. A cleverly woven sentence can awaken a thrilling sense of humor and joy. And then there is the beauty that is in an idea itself, beauty of meaning. This kind of beauty and truth remains just as powerful no matter how gracefully or cleverly it is said. It survives translation into other languages without losing its sense, without losing its power. It holds wisdom that can be spoken using the words of a child or the words of a pedant.
A pun or acrostic or rhyme can draw attention to a truth in a valuable way. These and other forms of wit can make truths easy to remember; they also provide an excellent vehicle for teaching truths and wisdom to children and adults in a manner that is fun for both teacher and scholar. Enjoyment increases the learning curve.
In Addison's last paper on the subject of wit, he described a dream from the night before. The dream was a terrific and imaginative allegory of the different kinds of wit. It reminded me of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, which was published over 150 years later. The dream beautifully summed up what Addison had said about wit throughout the week.
Truth always outshines what is false; what is false and manipulated fades away into nothing in the presence of truth.
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