--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They but appear a solemn People…" description: "\"“They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter, rather, as a serious, indeed holy, Force in Nature, never to be invok'd idly.”\" — Thomas Pynchon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg" --- # They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter… ![“They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter, rather, as a serious, indeed holy, Force in Nature, never to be invok'd idly.” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg) > ““They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter, rather, as a serious, indeed holy, Force in Nature, never to be invok'd idly.”” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Laughter is treated as a sacred, serious force, demanding reverence rather than casual use. **In simple terms:** Laughter is a holy, serious power. Key Takeaway Treat humor with respect and purpose. Themes humor spirituality seriousness culture Mood playful thoughtful reverent Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - rituals - performance art - social gatherings - media satire Key Concepts anthropology theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - In what ways can humor become a meaningful ritual? - How does treating laughter as sacred affect social dynamics? A Different Perspective Laughter can be misused or trivialized, losing its depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appear Solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appear-solemn-4161014/) [People Worshipping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-worshipping-4161015/) [Solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn/) [Solemn People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn-people-4161012/) [Worshipping Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worshipping-laughter-4161013/) ## Related quotes > [“In those paintings, angels clustered around the living and the dead who sit peaceably on thrones, making signs with their hands. Just outside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/in-those-paintings-angels-clustered-around-the-living-and-the-dead/) [M.T. 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As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. 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I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Solemn quotes > [Too many people confuse being serious with being solemn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/too-many-people-confuse-being-serious-with-being-solemn/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [“My solemn exasperation was to her the silence of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-solemn-exasperation-was-to-her-the-silence-of-love/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. 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His eyes were shining, his face was solemn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/emeth-came-walking-forward-into-the-open-strip-of-grass-between-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My friends, history, history calls us to this time and to this place. A solemn choice rests with us - where do we go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-friends-history-history-calls-us-to-this-time-and-to-this-place-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anxiety must go. It must be replaced by faith and solemn confidence in the outworking of the divine plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/count-of-st-germain/anxiety-must-go-it-must-be-replaced-by-faith-and-solemn-confidence-in/) [Count of St. Germain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/count-of-st-germain/) > [I would only believe in a god who could dance. And when I saw my devil I found him serious, thorough, profound, and solemn:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-would-only-believe-in-a-god-who-could-dance-and-when-i-saw-my-devil/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Deemest thou laborOnly is earnest?Grave is all beauty,Solemn is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-watson/deemest-thou-laboronly-is-earnest-grave-is-all-beauty-solemn-is-joy/) [William Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-watson/) > [This revelation of the secrets of nature, long mercifully withheld from man, should arouse the most solemn reflections in the mind and conscience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-revelation-of-the-secrets-of-nature-long-mercifully-withheld/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [But we must admit the possibility that continued investigation and experience will bring us ever nearer to that solemn moment, when the first man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-lilienthal/but-we-must-admit-the-possibility-that-continued-investigation-and/) [Otto Lilienthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-lilienthal/) > [Death sanctifies. 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Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-hunter/) [Browse all 425 Solemn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter, rather, as a serious, indeed holy, Force in Nature, never to be invok'd idly.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Pynchon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipping-laughter-rather-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Solemn" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipping-laughter-rather-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/thomas-pynchon-533_quote_they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipp_1284297.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They but appear a solemn People,— worshipping Laughter, rather, as a serious, indeed holy, Force in Nature…” — Thomas Pynchon", "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": "Thomas Pynchon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They but appear a solemn People,—...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipping-laughter-rather-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/they-but-appear-a-solemn-people-worshipping-laughter-rather-as-a/#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 } } ] } ```