WIST Quotations

Milne, A. A. -- Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 8 “Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition” (1926)

Dave — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:48:57 +0000

Owl was telling Kanga an Interesting Anecdote full of long words like Encyclopædia and Rhododendron to which Kanga wasn’t listening.

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 8 “Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition” (1926)
(Source)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Loquacity,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Dave — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 18:59:11 +0000

LOQUACITY, n. A disorder which renders the sufferer unable to curb his tongue when you wish to talk.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Loquacity,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
(Source)

Originally published in the "Cynic's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Examiner (1888-04-29).

Swift, Jonathan -- “Hints Towards an Essay on Conversation” (c. 1710)

Dave — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 21:39:09 +0000

It is not a Fault in Company to talk much; but to continue it long, is certainly one; for, if the Majority of those who are got together be naturally silent or cautious, the Conversation will flag, unless it be often renewed by one among them, who can start new Subjects, provided he doth not dwell upon them, but leaveth Room for Answers and Replies.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman
“Hints Towards an Essay on Conversation” (c. 1710)
(Source)

Della Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 24 (1558) [tr. Einsenbichler/Bartlett (1986)]

Dave — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:30:59 +0000

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, author, diplomat, bishop
Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 24 (1558) [tr. Einsenbichler/Bartlett (1986)]
(Source)

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

Nor can I guess at the cause, (though it is certainly fact) why he that knows the least, should always talk the most.
[tr. Graves (1774)]

I cannot divine how it happens that the man who knows the least is the most argumentative.
[Source]

Gracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 27 (1647) [tr. Fischer (1937)]

Dave — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 17:10:22 +0000

Some judge books by their thickness, as though they had been written to exercise the arms, instead of the mind.

[Estiman algunos los libros por la corpulencia, como si se escriviessen para exercitar antes los braços que los ingenios.]

Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 27 (1647) [tr. Fischer (1937)]
(Source)

(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:

Some value Books for their bulk, as if they were made rather to load the Arms than to exercise the mind.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]

Some reckon books by the thickness, as if they were written to try the brawn more than the brain.
[tr. Jacobs (1892)]

Some praise books for their girth, as if they were written to exercise our arms, not our wits.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]

La Rochefoucauld, Francois -- Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶142 (1665-1678) [tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

Dave — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 21:09:46 +0000

As great minds can express much in a few words, so small minds have the contrary talent of talking a great deal without saying anything at all.

[Comme c’est le caractère des grands esprits de faire entendre en peu de paroles beaucoup de choses, les petits esprits, au contraire, ont le don de beaucoup parler, et de ne rien dire.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶142 (1665-1678) [tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]
(Source)

Present in the 1st (1665) ed. A 1665 variant:

[Comme c’est le caractère des grands esprits de faire entendre avec peu de paroles beaucoup de choses, les petits esprits, en revanche, ont le don de beaucoup parler, et de ne dire rien.]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

As great Wits have a peculiar Faculty of saying a great deal in a little; so half witted Fellows have a Talent of talking much, and yet saying nothing.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶143]

As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶414; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶137]

It is the characteristic of great wits to say much in a few words; small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶419]

As it is the characteristic of great wits; to convey a great deal in a few words, so, on the contrary, small wits have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶145]

As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say nothing.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶142]

As it is a trait of powerful intellects to express much in a few words; inversely, small minds talk much and say little.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶142]

It is a mark of great minds to say much in a few words. On the other hand, small minds possess the gift of talking much and saying nothing.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶142]

As it is the mark of great minds to convey much in few words, so small minds are skilled at talking at length and saying little.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶142]

As the stamp of great minds is to suggest much in a few words, so, contrariwise, little minds have the gift of talking a great deal and saying nothing.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶142]

As it is the character of great minds to make many things understood in few words; so small minds, on the contrary, have the gift of speaking much, and saying nothing.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Just as great spirits make much understood with few words, small ones have the gift of speaking very much without saying anything.
[tr. Whichello (2016)]