I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilised music in the world.

Ustinov frames laughter not as a trivial reaction but as a lifelong commitment—an “irrevocable betrothal”—suggesting vocation and fidelity rather than momentary amusement. By calling laughter “the most civilised music,” he elevates it to an art form and a social achievement: a sound that implies perspective, resilience, and a shared human bond. The line also hints at his identity as a performer and wit, for whom comedy is both craft and moral stance. In this view, laughter becomes a marker of humane culture—an antidote to cruelty, pomposity, and despair, and a way of keeping life’s absurdities in proportion.