台湾学者沈谦教授在《林语堂的“风流”与“诙谐”》一文中记载了幽默大师林语堂的一则幽默精言: 犹记得1961年,林语堂返台,定居于阳明山,有一回应邀至文化大学参观,事先与文大创办人张其昀约定,没有充分准备,不能演讲。但是当幽默大师出现在学校餐厅午餐时,师生蜂拥而至,争睹风采,并一再要亲聆“幽默”,林氏难违众意,只好说了一个故事: “古罗马时代,有一个人犯法,依例被送到斗兽场,他的下场不外两种,第一是被猛兽吃掉,第二是斗胜则免罪。罗马皇帝和大臣都在壁上静 Prof. Shen Qian, a Taiwanese scholar, wrote in Lin Yutang’s “Merry” and “Justice” a humorous essay by Humor Master Lin Yutang: I remember when Lin Yutang returned to Taiwan in 1961 and settled in Yangmingshan. The Cultural University visited and agreed in advance with Zhang Qichen, the founder of Wenda University. It was not fully prepared to speak. But when the master of humor appeared at the lunch in the school cafeteria, the teachers and students flocked to quarrel with each other, and had to listen to “humor” again and again. The Linshi was uncontested and had to tell a story: “In Roman times, there was a man. He was guilty of breaking the law and was sent to the Colosseum on a case-by-case basis, but he ended up playing only two types, the first was eaten by beasts, and the second was inviolability. The Roman emperors and ministers were all quiet on the wall.