Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood

Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood

A dearth of words a woman need not fear;
But 'tis a task indeed to learn to hear:
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A dearth of words a woman need not fear;
But 'tis a task indeed to learn to hear:
In that the skill of conversation lies;
That shows and makes you both polite and wise.

They would talk of nothing but high life and high-lived company,
with other fashionable topics, such as pictures, taste, read more

They would talk of nothing but high life and high-lived company,
with other fashionable topics, such as pictures, taste,
Shakespeare, and the musical glasses.

We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God
in company.

We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God
in company.

Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Tom Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation; but no sooner
does he take a pen in read more

Tom Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation; but no sooner
does he take a pen in his hand, than it becomes a torpedo to him,
and benumbs all his faculties.

Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing.

Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing.

Conversation is an exercise of the mind; gossip is merely an exercise of the tongue.

Conversation is an exercise of the mind; gossip is merely an exercise of the tongue.

The Holy Land needs bridges, not walls.

The Holy Land needs bridges, not walls.