Happy in the time of Jesus were those who wept! Happy, now, are those who can laugh, because laughter is the attribute of man, as the great prophet of the Renaissance, Rabelais, said. Laughter is forbearance; laughter is philosophy. The heavens clear when they laugh, and the great secret of divine omnipotence resides in an eternal smile!

Book Two: The Royal Mystery or the Art of Subduing the Powers, Chapter V: The Outer Darkness - The Great Secret: or Occultism Unveiled