اندلعت في مسرح نارٌ خلف الكواليس، فخرج المهرّج ليُخبر الجمهور. ظنّوا ذلك مزحة فصفّقوا، فأعاد التحذير فازدادوا ضحكاً. وهكذا، فيما أظن، سيفنى العالم وسط ضحك عامّ من الظرفاء والمتهكّمين الذين يحسبون الأمر كلّه نكتة.

“In a theatre it happened that a fire started off stage. The clown came out to tell the audience. They thought it was a joke and applauded. He told them again, and they became still more hilarious. This is the way, I suppose, that the world will be destroyed-amid the universal hilarity of wits and wags who think it is all a joke.”Soren Kierkegaard