Conversation

"There is no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to." (Michel de Montaigne)

Conversation it was once said, was not just verbal exchange but "the sociable sifting of opinion for pleasure" (Jacques Barzun) Thus, it requires not only a lively intellect, but also the willingness to listen and if occassion serves, to be persuaded. Openess to ideas is what filled the commonplaces of the past. 

I welcome your ideas, comments, and thoughts here . . .