The basis of tragedy is man's helplessness against disease, war and death; the basis of comedy is man's helplessness against vanity (the vanity of love, greed, lust, power).
Bio: Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym HaGra or Elijah Ben Solomon,, was a Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of mitnagdic Jewry of the past few centuries.