“His conversation does not show the minute-hand, but he strikes the hour very correctly.”
Kearsley, 604
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Johnsoniana
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Samuel Johnson 362
English writer 1709–1784Related quotes
“Yanking his inner manwhore back to the land of polite conversating, he forced his hands to stop”
Source: Lover Unleashed

Le dîner fut médiocre et la conversation impatientante C'est la table d'un mauvais livre, pensait Julien. Tous les plus grands sujets des pensées des hommes y sont fièrement abordés. Ecoute-t-on trois minutes, on se demande ce qui l'emporte de l'emphase du parleur ou de son abominable ignorance.
Vol. II, ch. XXVII
Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black) (1830)

“No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.”

The Conferences V.2 ( online http://books.google.com/books?id=k3CrvJJZkqEC&pg=PA44)

“Show me the man who keeps his house in hand,
He's fit for public authority.”
Source: Antigone, Line 660