Eric Idle At Whitman College Commencement Jokes About Guns, Declares Irony Dead (VIDEO)

WATCH: 'Monty Python' Star's Second Amendment Joke

British comedian Eric Idle took a swipe at former President George W. Bush and the Second Amendment as he counseled graduates in his commencement address at Whitman College on Sunday.

"No body gets irony anymore, as we are now living in the post-ironic age," Idle said in his speech. "Once George Bush gets a library, our irony is dead."

Idle, best known for his role in "Monty Python's Flying Circus," spoke at Whitman partly because his daughter, Lily, was graduating from the private college in Walla Walla, Wash., this year.

"I don't want to be too controversial today because I know you Americans are a bit sensitive, plus you have a lot of guns," Idle said to rounds of laughter. "A quick word on the Second Amendment, which I understand, but I think I can promise you, we Brits are not coming back. So you don't need that many muskets."

Idle did mock the British as well, joking about their dedication to saluting the royal family. He also spoke about his career, from Monty Python to the Broadway hit "Spamalot," in a talk on campus Saturday.

At the outset of his commencement speech, Idle said he hoped to identify something grads could can take away as they embark on their adult life. "Or, as the rest of us know, go down hill from here," Idle said.

Idle recited a poem in which he encouraged graduates to be unafraid of uncertainty and to "waste time" on what excites them.

"Life took over 4 billion years to evolve into you, and you've about 70 more years to enjoy it," Idle said, later adding, "Don't just pursue happiness, catch it. And maybe [they'll] even have a cure for it."

Watch a clip from Eric Idle's commencement address in the video above.

And now for something completely different, watch a clip of Eric Idle leading Whitman College graduates in a rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the 1979 film "Monty Python's Life of Brian":

Before You Go

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