“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 Bierce204
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.”
Marlon Brando (1924–2004) American screen and stage actor
The Observer (1956)
“He talked on for ever; and you wished him to talk on for ever.”
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
Lectures on the English Poets http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16209/16209.txt (1818), Lecture VIII, "On the Living Poets"
“Be careful what you wish for. You never know who will be listening.”
Terry Pratchett book Soul Music
Source: Soul Music
Linus Pauling (1901–1994) American scientist
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.”
Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist
From 1980s onwards, Only Integrity is Going to Count (1983)
Martin Luther (1483–1546) seminal figure in Protestant Reformation
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”
Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French poet, novelist, and dramatist
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist