Euripides -- Antiope [Αντιοπη], frag. 189 (TGF, Kannicht) [Chorus] (c. 410 BC)
A clever speaker can speak on any subject, either for or against. [ἐκ παντὸς ἄν τις πράγµατος δισσῶν λόγων ἀγῶνα θεῖτ᾽ἄν, εἰ λέγειν εἴη σοφός.] Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatistAntiope...
View ArticleDella Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of...
I cannot guess why it is so, but those who know the least speak the most. [E non so io indovinare donde ciò proceda, che chi meno sa più ragioni.] Giovanni della Casa (1503-1556) Florentine poet,...
View ArticleBurke, Edmund -- Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
The arguments of tyranny are as contemptible as its force is dreadful. Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopherReflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
View ArticleDyson, Freeman -- “Progress in Religion,” Templeton Prize acceptance speech,...
Sharing the food is to me more important than arguing about beliefs. Jesus, according to the gospels, thought so too. Freeman Dyson (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician,...
View ArticleDella Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of...
By a pompous parade of words, some learned men have so managed it, that an unjust cause has often gained the victory, and reason submitted to sophistry and chicane. [Gli uomini letterati, per pompa di...
View ArticleThe Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 5 “Of Society and Conversation [De la...
The delight of social relations between friends is fostered by a shared attitude to life, together with certain differences of opinion on intellectual matters, through which either one is confirmed in...
View ArticleElective Affinities [Die Wahlverwandtschaften], Part 2, ch. 4, “From...
Argument and flattery are but poor elements out of which to form a conversation. [Widerspruch und Schmeichelei machen beide ein schlechtes Gespräch.] (Source (German)). Alternate translation:...
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A polite man is one who listens with interest to things he knows all about, when they are told him by a person who knows nothing about them. Earliest reference found here (1872).
View ArticleBulwer-Lytton, Edward George -- The Student, Vol. 2, “The New Phaedo,”...
The true spirit of conversation consists in building on another man’s observation, not overturning it. Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) English novelist and politicianThe Student, Vol. 2, “The...
View ArticleEverybody’s Friend, Or; Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy...
I never diskuss politiks nor sektarianism; i beleave in letting every man fight hiz rooster hiz own way. [I never discuss politics nor [religious] sectarianism; I believe in letting every man fight...
View Article“Trefusis on Any Questions,” Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4 (c. 1987)
It is astonishing how articulate one can become when alone and raving at a radio. Arguments and counter arguments, rhetoric and bombast flow from one’s lips like scurf from the hair of a bank manager....
View ArticleByron, George Gordon, Lord -- “Beppo,” st. 27 (1818)
For most men (till by losing rendered sager) Will back their own opinions by a wager. George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet“Beppo,” st. 27 (1818)
View ArticleGinott, Haim -- Between Parent and Teenager, ch. 2 “Rebellion and Response”...
A bitter-tongued parent cannot teach respect for facts. Truth for its own sake can be a deadly weapon in family relations. Truth without compassion can destroy love. Some parents try too hard to prove...
View ArticleAugustine of Hippo -- City of God [De Civitate Dei], Book 2, ch. 1 (2.1) (AD...
You can see how infinitely laborious and fruitless it would be to try to refute every objection they offer, when they have resolved never to think before they speak provided that somehow or other they...
View ArticleLa Bruyere, Jean de -- The Characters [Les Caractères], ch. 1 “Of Works of...
There is this disadvantage to be endured in reading books by members of some party or faction, that they do not always give us the truth. Facts are distorted, opposing points of view are not stated...
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