His talk was like a stream which runs
With rapid change from rock to roses;
It slipped read more

His talk was like a stream which runs
With rapid change from rock to roses;
It slipped from politics to puns;
It passed from Mahomet to Moses;
Beginning with the laws that keep
The planets in the radiant courses,
And ending with some precept deep
For dressing eels or shoeing horses.

Persuasion tips his tongue whene'er he talks.

Persuasion tips his tongue whene'er he talks.

In general those who nothing have to say
Contrive to spend the longest time in doing it.

In general those who nothing have to say
Contrive to spend the longest time in doing it.

Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converse,
Not more read more

Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converse,
Not more distinct from harmony divine
The constant creaking of a country sign.

Stop not, unthinking, every friend you meet
To spin your wordy fabric in the street;
While you read more

Stop not, unthinking, every friend you meet
To spin your wordy fabric in the street;
While you are emptying your colloquial pack,
The fiend Lumbago jumps upon his back.

My tongue within my lips I rein:
For who talks much must talk in vain.

My tongue within my lips I rein:
For who talks much must talk in vain.

Whose talk is of bullocks.

Whose talk is of bullocks.

If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me;
I had it from my father.

If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me;
I had it from my father.

But far more numerous was the herd of such,
Who think too little, and who talk too much.

But far more numerous was the herd of such,
Who think too little, and who talk too much.