quotations about conversation
Conversation should be like juggling; up go the balls and plates, up and over, in and out, good solid objects that glitter in the footlights and fall with a bang if you miss them.
EVELYN WAUGH
attributed, English Phrasal Verbs
Conversation is the laboratory and workshop of the student.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Society and Solitude
Conversation is imperative if gaps are to be filled, and old age, it is the last gap but one.
PATRICK WHITE
The Tree of Man
The more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm of conversation.
PLATO
The Republic
Please don't turn the light out
I don't think the conversation's over
Don't just shut your eyes closed
Not until I get it off my chest
THE VACCINES
"Denial", English Graffiti
Two people together often feel compelled to speak. There is sometimes a discomfort and the conversation is like pulling teeth. One person says something useless just for the sake of speaking, and then the other feels it necessary to respond.
GARY PATELLA
Diary of an Evil Genius
That silence is one of the great arts of conversation is allowed by Cicero himself, who says, there is not only an art, but even an eloquence in it.
HANNAH MORE
Essays on Various Subjects
His conversation does not show the minute hand; but he strikes the hour very correctly.
SAMUEL JOHNSON
Johnsoniana
A good conversation always involves a certain amount of complaining. I like to bond over mutual hatreds and petty grievances.
LISA KLEYPAS
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Conversation is a game of circles.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
"Circles", Essays
Galinda didn't often stop to consider whether she believed in what she said or not; the whole point of conversations was flow.
GREGORY MAGUIRE
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Conversation is the image of the mind; as the man, so is his speech.
PUBLILIUS SYRUS
Maxims
It was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in, not about what you were interested in.
HARPER LEE
To Kill a Mockingbird
Surely she had endured enough for one evening without having to listen to intelligent conversation?
STELLA GIBBONS
Cold Comfort Farm
For some, conversation is like a dance, with the conversational partners coordinating their movements smoothly. For others it's like traffic crossing an intersection, involving lots of alternating movement without any crashes.
GEORGE YULE
Pragmatics
I don't know what he means by that, but I nod and smile at him. You'd be surprised at how far that response can get you in a conversation where you are completely confused.
JODI PICOULT
House Rules
A philosopher who is not taking part in discussions is like a boxer who never goes into the ring.
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
Personal Recollections
The most fruitful and natural exercise for our minds is, in my opinion, conversation.
MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE
Essays
A conversation is like having a catch with someone. A good partner tosses the ball directly into your glove, making it almost impossible for you to miss it; when he is on the receiving end, he catches everything sent his way, even the most errant and incompetent throws.
PAUL AUSTER
Moon Palace
A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.
TRUMAN CAPOTE
Portraits and Observations