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About this quote

What does it mean?
Talking and eloquence differ; speaking well is a skill, while mere talk can be foolish.
In plain terms
Talking is not the same as speaking well; a fool can talk, a wise person speaks.
What can you take from it?
Effective communication requires skill, not just words.

Where it applies

  • public speaking
  • teaching

Putting it to work

  • practicing concise speech
  • learning rhetorical techniques

Questions to consider

  • What makes speech eloquent?
  • How can we differentiate talk from meaningful speech?

Another view

Some contexts value quantity over quality of speech.

More from Heinrich Heine

  1. Every man, either to his terror or consolation, has some sense of religion.

    Permalink to quote #36
  2. True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing but what is necessary.

    Permalink to quote #38
  3. You cannot feed the hungry on statistics.

    Permalink to quote #35

Related quotes

  1. His words ... like so many nimble and airy servitors trip about him at command.

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  2. In an easy matter, anybody can be eloquent.

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  3. Speech is human, silence is divine, yet also brutish and dead: therefore we must learn both arts.

    Thomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle quote #1