“Bore, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.”
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Source: The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
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Ambrose Bierce 204
American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabu… 1842–1914Related quotes
“An actor's a guy, who if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening.”
The Observer (1956)
“He talked on for ever; and you wished him to talk on for ever.”
Lectures on the English Poets http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16209/16209.txt (1818), Lecture VIII, "On the Living Poets"
Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker (2001) by Clifford Mead and Thomas Hager.
1990s
Context: When an old and distinguished person speaks to you, listen to him carefully and with respect — but do not believe him. Never put your trust into anything but your own intellect. Your elder, no matter whether he has gray hair or has lost his hair, no matter whether he is a Nobel laureate — may be wrong. The world progresses, year by year, century by century, as the members of the younger generation find out what was wrong among the things that their elders said. So you must always be skeptical — always think for yourself.
“I find people only listen to you when they ask you to talk to them.”
From 1980s onwards, Only Integrity is Going to Count (1983)
Source: Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), Chapter 2, Verse 19
“When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes”
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”