For the most of us, if we do not talk of ourselves, or at any rate of the individual circles of which we are the centres, we can talk of nothing. I cannot hold with those who wish to put down the insignificant chatter of the world. Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage, 1860
But far more numerous was the herd of such
Who think too little and who talk too much. John Dryden, 1631-1700, Absalom and Achitophel
‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said,
‘To talk of many things:
Of shoes – and ships – and sealing wax –
Of cabbages – and kings –
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.’ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
The present is an age of talkers, and not of doers; and the reason is, that the world is growing old. We are so far advanced in the Arts and Sciences, that we live in retrospect, and dote on past achievement. William Hazlitt, The Spirit of the Age
They never taste who always drink;
They always talk, who never think. Matthew Prior, Upon this Passage in Sealigerana, 1740
I mean don’t people talk cack, eh? Alexie Sayle, on stage
Waiter in dungeon room to American couple: Good evening. Would you care for something to talk about? Our special tonight is minorities. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life 1983 starring Graham Chapman & John Cleese & Terry Gilliam & Eric Idle & Terry Jones & Michael Palin & Carol Cleveland & Patricia Quinn & Judy Loe & Simon Jones & Matt Frewer & Jane Leeves et al, director Terry Jones
It is no time for discourse, so Christ save me. The day is hot, and the weather and the wars and the dukes. The day is hot. It is no time for discourse. William Shakespeare, Henry V III iii 49-51, MacMorris
From the moment we’re born we have language in our lives. A unique ability that defines us as human. Horizon: Why Do We Talk? BBC 2010
Honour and shame is in talk: and the tongue of man is his fall. Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 5:13
Happy talk, keep talking happy talk,
Talk about things you’d like to do,
You gotta have a dream, if you don’t have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true? Oscar Hammerstein, Happy Talk from South Pacific
Perhaps it is indeed time I began to look at this whole matter of bantering more enthusiastically. After all, when one thinks about it, it is not such a foolish thing to indulge in – particularly if it is the case that in bantering lies the key to human warmth. Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Michael Parkinson: How do you react when someone say, ‘Boss, you’re doing it wrong?’
Brian Clough: I ask him how he thinks it ought to be done, then we get down to it then we talk about it for twenty minutes, and then we decide that I was right. The Parkinson Show
I’m going to talk to her. She’s waiting for something. She’s waiting for me. Killing Eve s1e5: I Have a Thing About Bathrooms, BBC 2018
If you talk, this all goes away. Narcos Mexico s1e9: Lope de Vega, heavy torturing Kiki, Netflix 2018
To talk well and eloquently is a very great art, but that an equally great one is to know the right moment to stop. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
When a man gets talking about himself, he seldom fails to be eloquent and often reaches the sublime. Josh Billings
Talk to a fool and he will call you foolish. Euripides
A prudent silence will frequently be taken for wisdom and a sentence or two cautiously thrown in will sometimes gain the palm of knowledge, while a man well informed but indiscreet and unreserved will not uncommonly talk himself out of all consideration and weight. Alexander Hamilton
The IRA went into the talks confident and defiant. Their chief demand was a British commitment to withdraw … The talks went nowhere. The Troubles: A Secret History II, BBC 2019
We will not have any contact with the British government until they renounce the use of talks. Spitting Image s18e6, ITV 1996
Families in crisis. Parents desperate to get help for their loved ones. What can we all do to help? And why talking matters. Tonight: Can Britain Get Talking? ITV 2023
There’s something we need to make sure doesn’t get neglected. And that’s our own and our children’s mental health. ibid.