The facetie, as a literary form, has an ancient lineage, while, if we regard it merely as a humorous tale or jocular anecdote, its history must be almost as old as the first laughs and smiles of prehistoric man. To go back no further, we may trace it in a direct line through Latin literature, to the Greek apopthegm. Facetiae, in the literary sense, are also to be found in Oriental literature, espeically the Persian and the Arabian.
The Greek apopthegm and its Roman successor had a different character from the Florentine facetia, but the difference is one rather of matter than form....
The facetie, as a literary form, has an ancient lineage, while, if we regard it merely as a humorous tale or jocular anecdote, its history must be ...
