If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.
Bio: Abul ʿAla Al-Maʿarri was a blind Arab philosopher, poet, and writer. Born in modern day Maarrat al-Nuʿman, Syria, he studied at Aleppo, Tripoli and Antioch. Producing popular poems in Baghdad, he nevertheless refused to sell his texts.