It was Samuel Johnson, or rather his interlocutor Edward Edwards (Boswell 1778).
Edwards. "You are a philosopher, Dr. Johnson. I have tried too in my time to be a philosopher; but, I don't know how, cheerfulness was always breaking in." - Mr. Burke, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. Courtenay, Mr. Malone, and, indeed, all the eminent men to whom I have mentioned this, have thought it an exquisite trait of character. The truth is, that philosophy, like religion, is too generally supposed to be hard and severe, at least so grave as to exclude all gaiety.
Leonard Cohen has used this quotation several times in interviews, sometimes crediting it to Ben and sometimes to Samuel.
http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26854
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