RIRE POUR RAJEUNIR: À PROPOS DE GIACOMO FERRARI, DIALOGUE DU RIRE,1627

The “Lucianic” dialogue (according to the author, an academician from Pavia) elaborates the subject in variations, opening new perspectives for the inventive joy of the speakers in the dialogue, one academician and the other, philosopher. Indeed, what is more entertaining than delving what is obscure in man, this irresistible force of laughter which shakes him? First, ancient psycho-physiological knowledge serves as a framework for a definition that is being sought. Then, the additions of post-Vesalius medicine enrich the research. Then, the erudite developments in Italian flesh out the various species of laughter, jovial, but also loving, disdainful, and even sardonic. Finally, ancient philosophy nourishes the exchange without forgetting the “Ciceronian” dialectical formalization, However, it is physiology that brings about the dazzling conclusion of rejuvenation through laughter thanks to the circulation of vital spirits.