Charles Lamb, beloved alike of the humorous and serious minded, disagrees with Sydney Smith regarding the pun.
His opinion,
“A pun is a noble thing per se. It is a sole digest of reflection; it is entire; it fills the mind; it is as perfect as a sonnet—better. It limps ashamed in the train and retinue of humour; it knows it should have an establishment of its own.”
is shown in this instance.
Lamb was reserved among strangers. A friend, about to introduce him to a circle of new faces, said, “Now will you promise, Lamb, not to be as sheepish as usual?” Charles replied, with a rustic air, “I wool.”
Such masterpieces as Lamb’s Dissertation Upon Roast Pig, and his Farewell to Tobacco are too lengthy to quote. We give some of his shorter witty allusions.
Coleridge went to Germany, and left word to Lamb that if he wished any information on any subject, he might apply to him (i.e., by letter), so Lamb sent him the following abstruse propositions, to which, however, Coleridge did not deign an answer.
Whether God loves a dying angel better than a true man?