--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A laugh costs too much when bought at the…" description: "\"A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.\" — Quintilian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg" --- # A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue. ![“A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.” quote by Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg) > “A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.” [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritizing virtue over superficial pleasure; true happiness comes from moral integrity, not cheap laughter. **In simple terms:** Virtue matters more than cheap jokes. Key Takeaway Choose integrity over fleeting amusement. Themes virtue humor values Mood thoughtful serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - personal reflection - leadership decisions Key Concepts moral philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance humor and moral standards? - When does a joke become harmful? A Different Perspective Laughter can mask deeper issues if not balanced with virtue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bought Expense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bought-expense-4064312/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Costs Bought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/costs-bought-1131694/) [Expense Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expense-virtue-4064311/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Laugh Costs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh-costs-2150772/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [On Twitter, I just want to make you laugh at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-delaney/on-twitter-i-just-want-to-make-you-laugh-at-all-costs/) [Rob Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-delaney/) > [Nothing costs so much as what is bought by prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/nothing-costs-so-much-as-what-is-bought-by-prayers/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [It isn't he who laughs last, but he whose laugh lasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/it-isn-t-he-who-laughs-last-but-he-whose-laugh-lasts/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/you-can-tell-how-smart-people-are-by-what-they-laugh-at/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [Women liked me because I made them laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/women-liked-me-because-i-made-them-laugh/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [Regardless of what I do, whether I write a book or whether I act or whether I host, I'll always do stand-up comedy because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-mandel/regardless-of-what-i-do-whether-i-write-a-book-or-whether-i-act-or/) [Howie Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-mandel/) > [There comes a time in life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-comes-a-time-in-life-when-you-have-to-let-go-of-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [You didn't want to laugh, did you? It wasn't very funny, was it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-kennedy/you-didn-t-want-to-laugh-did-you-it-wasn-t-very-funny-was-it/) [Graham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-kennedy/) > [There isn't a sound better than your own child's laugh...There isn't a sight better than your own child's smile...and Nothing is better than being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/there-isn-t-a-sound-better-than-your-own-child-s-laugh-there-isn-t-a/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [Laughter is one of the great beacons in life because we don't refract it by gunning it through our intellectual prism. What makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/laughter-is-one-of-the-great-beacons-in-life-because-we-don-t-refract/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [I do love to laugh!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-giudice/i-do-love-to-laugh/) [Teresa Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-giudice/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) ## More by Quintilian > [“In writing are the roots, in writing are the foundations of eloquence; by writing resources are stored up, as it were, in a sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/in-writing-are-the-roots-in-writing-are-the-foundations-of-eloquence/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Virtue, though she gets her beginning from nature, yet receives her finishing touches from learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/virtue-though-she-gets-her-beginning-from-nature-yet-receives-her/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Vain hopes are like certain dreams of those who wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/vain-hopes-are-like-certain-dreams-of-those-who-wake/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Though ambition may be a fault in itself, it is often the mother of virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/though-ambition-may-be-a-fault-in-itself-it-is-often-the-mother-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [It is easier to do many things than to do one thing continuously for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/it-is-easier-to-do-many-things-than-to-do-one-thing-continuously-for/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/we-excuse-our-sloth-under-the-pretext-of-difficulty/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [One thing, however, I must premise, that without the assistance of natural capacity, rules and precepts are of no efficacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/one-thing-however-i-must-premise-that-without-the-assistance-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Medicine for the dead is too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/medicine-for-the-dead-is-too-late/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Our minds are like our stomaches; they are whetted by the change of their food, and variety supplies both with fresh appetite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/our-minds-are-like-our-stomaches-they-are-whetted-by-the-change-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [The soul languishing in obscurity contracts a kind of rust, or abandons itself to the chimera of presumption; for it is natural for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/the-soul-languishing-in-obscurity-contracts-a-kind-of-rust-or/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [He who speaks evil only differs from his who does evil in that he lacks opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/he-who-speaks-evil-only-differs-from-his-who-does-evil-in-that-he/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [That which offends the ear will not easily gain admission to the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/that-which-offends-the-ear-will-not-easily-gain-admission-to-the-mind/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [In almost everything, experience is more valuable than precept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/in-almost-everything-experience-is-more-valuable-than-precept/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [Though ambition itself be a vice, yet it is often times the cause of virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/though-ambition-itself-be-a-vice-yet-it-is-often-times-the-cause-of/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) > [ Too exact, and studious of similitude rather than of beauty. \[Lat., Nimis in veritate, et similitudinis quam pulchritudinis amantior.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/too-exact-and-studious-of-similitude-rather-than-of-beauty-lat-nimis/) [Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) [Explore all 92 Quintilian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Quintilian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-the-expense-of-virtue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-the-expense-of-virtue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/quintilian-7306_character_a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-th_469837.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A laugh costs too much when bought at the expense of virtue.” — Quintilian", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Quintilian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintilian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A laugh costs too much when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-the-expense-of-virtue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintilian/a-laugh-costs-too-much-when-bought-at-the-expense-of-virtue/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```