Comment by kergonath

That’s something I can get behind. A man living in somewhat similar times said something along the lines of "I hasten to laugh at all, lest I have to cry instead".

(If you want a rabbit hole, Beaumarchais is a nice one. He bankrolled the American war of independence and was instrumental in getting support from the King of France. As an enlightenment philosopher he contributed to the ideology of the Revolution, and then died in 1799. He was instrumental in establishing copyright law in France and founded the first rights management association. He was also a spy and a writer).