Much of the humor of _Don Juan_ is due to the varied employment of many forms of verbal wit: puns, plays upon words, and odd repetitions and turns of expression. The puns are not always commendable for their brilliance, though they serve often to burlesque a serious subject. In at least one stanza Byron uses a foreign language in punning.[348] In general it is noticeable that puns become more common in the later cantos of the poem.[349] There are also many curious turns of expression, comparable only to some of the quips of Hood and Praed.[350] Frequently, they are exceedingly clever in the suddenness with which they shift the thought and give the reader an unexpected surprise, _e.g._: “Lambo presented, and one instant more Had stopped this canto and Don Juan’s breath.”[351] Repetitions of words or sounds often convey the effect of a pun, _e.g._: “They either missed, or they were never missed, And added greatly to the missing list.”[352] The witty line, “But Tom’s no more--and so no more of Tom,”[353] is an excellent example of Byron’s verbal artistry. It should be added here, also, that Byron displayed a singular capacity for coining maxims and compressing much worldly wisdom into a compact form. Some of his sayings have so far passed into common speech that they are almost platitudes, _e.g._: “There is no sterner moralist than pleasure.”[354] As has been pointed out, this kind of sententious utterance in the form of a proverb or an epigram was very common with the Italian burlesque writers, especially with Pulci. Something of the universality of Don Juan, of its appeal, not only to particular countries and peoples, but also to the world at large, may be indicated by the number of translations of it which exist.[355] It appeared in French in 1827, in Spanish in 1829, in Swedish in 1838, in German in 1839, in Russian in 1846, in Roumanian in 1847, in Italian in 1853, in Danish in 1854, in Polish in 1863, and in Servian in 1888. Since these first versions appeared, other and more satisfactory ones have been published in most of the countries named. It was chiefly through _Don Juan_ that Byron became, what Saintsbury calls him, “the sole master of young Russia, young Italy, young Spain, in poetry.” In these days when Byron’s defence of the rights of the people is less necessary, when his opposition to despotism would find few tyrants to oppose, and when his condemnation of war has developed into a widespread movement for universal peace, the powerful impetus which his satire gave to the progress of democracy is likely to be overlooked. His attitude of defiance furnished an illustrious example to struggling nations, and gave them hope of better things.[356]