Voluble Quotes & Sayings

I had come at last, in the course of this rambling, to the shelves which hold books by the living; by women and by men; for there are almost as many books written by women now as by men. Or if that is not yet quite true, if the male is still the voluble sex, it is certainly true that women no longer write novels solely. There are Jane Harrison's books on Greek archaeology; Vernon Lee's books on aesthetics; Gertrude Bell's books on Persia. — Virginia Woolf

Bowie talks in great, voluble torrents, darting from one topic to the next, parenthesizing and then parenthesizing the parentheses, as if he has too many ideas for one conversation. — Sean Egan

The reply is, that one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two has to be wanting. For it may be said of men in general that they are ungrateful, voluble, dissemblers, anxious to avoid danger, and covetous of gain as long as you benefit them, they are entirely yours; they offer you their blood, their goods, their life, and their children, as I have before said, when the necessity is remote; but when it approaches, they revolt. — Niccolo Machiavelli

The elderly man, flushed with pleasure, was recounting in voluble fashion his experiences and impressions. His wife joined in periodically, with meticulous corrections involving completely unimportant points; these being given and taken in the best of humor. — Isaac Asimov

I try to only work on the screenplays for a few hours a day when I'm in my most voluble mood, just sort of writing whatever comes into my head. It's a very freeing thing. — Daniel Clowes

To set out for rehearsals in that quivering quarter-hour is to engage conclusions, not beginnings, for one walks past the guilded hallucinations of poverty with a corrupt resignation touched by details, as if the destitute, in their orange-tinted back yards, under their dusty trees, or climbing into their favelas, were all natural scene designers and poverty were not a condition but an art. Deprivation is made lyrical, and twilight, with the patience of alchemy, almost transmutes despair into virtue. In the tropics nothing is lovelier than the allotments of the poor, no theater is as vivid, voluble, and cheap. — Derek Walcott

A woman of haughty and fierce carriage, of a nimble wit and active spirit, a very voluble tongue, more bold than a man. — John Winthrop

Reproach is infinite, and knows no end
So voluble a weapon is the tongue;
Wounded, we wound; and neither side can fail
For every man has equal strength to rail. — Homer

He presented himself in the manner of a discreet and quick-minded butler, and as a consequence was often drawn into the confidence of the least voluble of men, or invited to broker relations between people he had only lately met. He had, in short, an appearance that betrayed very little about his own character, and an appearance that others were immediately inclined to trust. — Eleanor Catton

One of the things I find about getting older is that I seem to get louder, more voluble; that I constantly have to walk around repressing my vitality. — David Hare

It is a common error to imagine that to be stirring and voluble in a worthy cause is to be good and to do good. — John Lancaster Spalding

Brisk talkers are usually slow thinkers. There is, indeed, no wild beast more to be dreaded than a communicative man having nothing to communicate. If you are civil to the voluble they will abuse your patience; if brusque, your character. — Jonathan Swift

Delivers in such apt and gracious words that aged ears play truant at his tales; And younger hearings are quite ravished; So sweet and voluble is his discourse. — William Shakespeare

But the best, in my opinion, was the home life in the little flat
the ardent, voluble chats after the day's study; the cozy dinners and fresh, light breakfasts; the interchange of ambitions
ambitions interwoven each with the other's or else inconsiderable
the mutual help and inspiration; and
overlook my artlessness
stuffed olives and cheese sandwiches at 11 p.m. — O. Henry

Trouble of all kinds is voluble, and has plenty of words, but happiness was never written down. — Amelia Barr