Of a disposition at once unsociable and talkative, desiring to see no one, yet wishing to converse with some one, he solved the difficulty by talking to himself.
[D’une complexion farouche et bavarde, ayant le désir de ne voir personne et le besoin de parler à quelqu’un, il se tirait d’affaire en se parlant à lui-même.]
Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French writer, journalist, human rights activist, politician
The Man Who Laughs [L’Homme qui rit; The Laughing Man; By Order of the King], Part 1, Preliminary, ch. 1 (1.0.1) (1869) [tr. Unknown, Authorized (1871)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Other translations:Of a disposition at once unsociable and talkative, desiring to see no one, yet longing to converse with some one, he solved the difficulty by talking to himself.
[tr. Unknown (1869)]Of a shy and loquacious disposition, desiring to see no one, yet feeling the need of talking to some one, he extricated himself from the dilemma by talking to himself.
[tr. Hapgood (1888)]Of an unsociable and talkative disposition, not wanting to see any one, and yet wanting to talk to some one, he got out of the difficulty by talking to himself.
[tr. Phillips (1894)]Of a fierce and talkative disposition, with a desire to see no one and a need to talk to someone, he got by by talking to himself.
[tr. Lavelle (2003)]
Quotations about:
loquacity
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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).
The tongue is a wild beast; once let loose it is difficult to chain.
[Es fiera la lengua, que si una vez se suelta, es muy dificultosa de poderse volver a encadenar.]
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 222 (1647) [tr. Jacobs (1892)]
(Source)
(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:
The Tongue is a wild Beast, very hard to be chained again, when once it is let loose. [Flesher ed. (1685)]The tongue is a beast, which once at large, is hard to recapture and to chain.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]The tongue is a wild animal, and once it breaks loose, it is hard to return to its cage.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]



