Why We Laugh and Cry Simultaneously — The Essays of Montaigne

Montaigne stacks histories where victors weep for defeated enemies and warns against calling every mixed face a mask. Caesar turned from Pompey's head because long public partnership still lived in him; Lucan may suspect performance, but souls often hold several passions at once, one ruling briefly while others surge back.

Children laugh and cry over the same thing, brides leave their mothers heavy-hearted, and Montaigne scolds then helps his servant without contradiction. Xerxes passes from joy at his vast army to tears at their mortality in a single look.

Victory and grief can follow one another because events have many faces, not one fixed meaning, so Timoleon may mourn his brother after justly killing a tyrant.