The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1860-11-16

in personality. His thoughts are parasi-
tes, cff1ging to othermen's ideas and opin-
ions. He is so fond of being agreeable
that if he finds himself crossing person
views, at the smallest angle, he will slip
back, as quickly as he can, into parallel
of soft and cycophantic suavity. There
is the affected talked, whose vocal organs
are always artifcially strained, like the
strings of a fiddle, before they arc trusted
in company. There is the churlish talker.
| You have often, met one of this class, in
the form of stifnecled official and:
sometimes in that Of railroad agent.
There is finally, the profane and obscene
talker, for whom some wise man OF Asia
| left the words: "Men, because Of speech,
have the advantage over beasts; but
brutes are preferable to men whose Ian
guage is indecent
Now, in contrast with the foregoing list
af disagreeable takers, as rellef from
the languor which the consideration OF
them may have caused you to experience,
permit me to place before your mind the
oeuial talker. To this social STAR how
much do you owe of the luster and the
beauty of your memory's world I! By his
chaste and kindly utterances, how often
has hemade hours which would have been
dull to you, the most delightful in all your
life Does he not soothe you, when you
are weary, to a repose in which your lost
vigor comes back? Does he not kindle
your blood, when it is cold? Does he not
cause you to complain less and rejoice
more? Does he not instruct you, raise
the tone of your thoughts, and make You
better to live and better to die
How does this person talk? From a
large loving soul, his words come. They
always mean something They rarely re-
fer to himself. They exhibit a manly
modcsty, a cheerful spirit, much prudence,
much wisdom, and the beauty of simplic-
ity.
Who has been the best pattern in con-
versation l do not find such one
among the philosophers Of the past or OF
present. For, though these, as an able
writer says of Descartes, "receivc their in
tellectural wealth from nature in solid
bars rather than in current coin, yet it
must be admitted that no philosopher has
ever lived, whose love Of solitary employ
ment did not cause him to be either in
sufficiently ineligible or little too silent
in mixed company. do find such one
among the poets; for, though some of the
most interesting of all men have been
bards, vet no one Of this class has been
worthy to bo called the best pattern
in conversation. Nor do 1 find a such q
ono among statesmen. Burke, who was
one of the greatest and worthiest of states
men, said, with beautiful figure, that
''the perfection of conversation is not tc
play regular sonata, but, like the lEolian
harp, to await the inspiration of the pass
ing breeze" Burke, however, was not
| pre-eminently pattern conversatlcnist
1 do not find such a one among those
whose names history has celebrated and
consecrated, as the names of wise men
for, though Socrates was, undoubtedly, the
wisest man Of his time, and was certainly
delightful talkcr, yet he should be con
sidered a.master in conversation, rather
than the best pattern. find such {. one
only among small company Of men who,
from obscurity, went forth into public life,
the pioneer proclaimers of the religion OF
the Gospel. Yes, as the great exemplar
in conversation, as In everything else per-
tanning to human expression, l would
point to Jesus-the Master! Never man
spoke like this man How free from
harshness, from inappropriate merrimcnt,
and from everything bordering on vul-
garity When did Jesus speak amiss !?
What instance can you mention, in which
he INDUCED, either in fippant loquacity or
in idle gossip? What occasion can you
name, on which he exhibited, in converse
ton, either the fire of malevolent passion
or the weakness Of a prejudiced mind ?
Are you young, and would you know
how to converse with learned men? Read
of the discourse which transpircd in the
Jerusalem temple, between the young Je-
sus and the Jewish doctors. Would you
know how to conversion manhood?ssLearn
how the Master talked, with friends and
foes, with good men and bad men, with
the wise and the foolish, while reclining