The way taxes are, you might as well marry for love.

“The way taxes are, you might as well marry for love.” Thus quipped Joe E. Lewis, the great American comedian and singer whose humor, like that of the ancient jesters, concealed within it the deep wisdom of lived truth. Beneath his laughter lies a philosophy both practical and eternal — that in a world bound by burdens, systems, and the endless pursuit of advantage, love remains the only true profit. His words may sound light, but they echo with the weight of centuries, reminding us that while wealth fades and fortunes falter, love — freely given and freely received — endures beyond all calculations.

In the ancient days, before banks and bureaucracies, people still weighed their unions with reason and advantage. Dynasties were forged not by passion, but by policy; kings married queens to join empires, not hearts. Yet even in those halls of power, poets whispered that love was the only wealth worth seeking. Lewis’s jest, born in the modern age of taxes and laws, revives that old truth: when every worldly system seeks to measure and take, let the heart choose what cannot be counted. To “marry for love,” he implies, is not just romance — it is rebellion against the tyranny of materialism.

Lewis, who knew both fame and hardship, spoke from a life that had seen the emptiness of worldly success. He was a man of the stage — adored by crowds, yet haunted by solitude. In his humor, there was always the ache of experience, the laughter of one who understood how fragile joy can be when built on money alone. His joke about taxes — those inevitable burdens that take from every gain — is a mirror to the human condition. He tells us, with a smile, that since the world will find a way to claim its share of your fortune, you must claim something that no authority can touch: love.

History offers countless examples of this wisdom. Consider Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome and philosopher of the soul. Surrounded by gold, armies, and absolute power, he wrote in his private meditations not of conquest, but of humility and virtue. He knew that every worldly possession was taxed by fate, that all gains would one day be reclaimed by time. Yet he found peace in affection, in duty, in the quiet loyalty of those he loved. Like Lewis’s jest, his philosophy reminds us that the only riches worth keeping are the ones not subject to decay — the treasures of the heart.

And still, Lewis’s humor bears another lesson: that wisdom wears the mask of laughter. The cynic might hear only complaint in his line — that taxes are too high, that the system is unfair. But the philosopher hears something deeper: that life itself is a kind of tax upon existence. We pay for every joy with effort, for every gift with responsibility. And so, if all things exact their cost, let love be the thing we choose to pay for gladly. For love, unlike wealth, repays us in meaning — a currency untouched by inflation or decay.

To the modern listener, Lewis’s words also speak of freedom from illusion. Too often do people enter into unions, careers, or dreams for convenience, for gain, for safety. But the world changes, and what once seemed secure can vanish in a day. Love, however — though unpredictable — gives purpose when all else fails. It is the one investment that yields even in loss, for even a love that ends teaches the heart what it means to live. Thus, Lewis’s jest becomes both an economic truth and a spiritual one: if all else must be taxed, let the heart at least be free.

So, dear reader, remember this: do not measure your life in profits, but in passions. Pay your dues to the world as you must — your taxes, your labors, your obligations — but never let the pursuit of comfort rob you of joy. Marry for love, not for gain; work for meaning, not for gold. For all that is material will one day be claimed by time or law, but what is born of the heart remains eternal.

Thus, from the laughter of Joe E. Lewis rises a timeless wisdom: the world will always take its share — of wealth, of work, of worry — but it cannot take what is freely given. Love is beyond taxation, beyond loss, beyond measure. In a life filled with burdens, it is the only fortune that grows richer the more you give it away.