“AN Unworthy Man who had laughed at the woes of a Woman whom he loved, was bewailing his indiscretion in sack-cloth-of-gold and ashes-of-roses, when the Angel of Compassion looked down upon him, saying:

‘Poor mortal! — how can I help you?’

Help me, the Man replied, ‘to understand the nature of my offense.’

‘That,’ said the Angel, ‘is easy: you laughed at a Woman who was in love with you.’

‘But,’ said the Man, ‘that is what I am bewailing. Why is that an offense?’

‘Because,’ the Angel replied, ‘it was a missed opportunity to laugh at a Woman who was not.’”

#devilsdictionary (1899)