[10]
A proof of this is
given by the story of the young men of Tarentum,
who had made a number of scurrilous criticisms of
Pyrrhus over the dinner table: they were called
upon to answer for their statements, and, since the
charge was one that admitted neither of denial nor
of excuse, they succeeded in escaping, thanks to a
happy jest which made the king laugh: for one of
the accused said, “Yes, and if the bottle hadn't
been empty, we should have killed you!” a jest
which succeeded in dissipating the animosity which
the charge had aroused.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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