The Background for Good Conversation : Page 90

"Knowledge is a form of life," says St. Thomas Aquinas; "it is a process of becoming, of becoming alive." An interesting talker must be alive, he must know things. The difference between a conversationalist and a chatterer is that the one has something to say — he talks facts, sentiments, ideas, whereas the chatterer thinks he has to say something — he talks mere words. The conversationalist is interesting because one always gets something from him, either new facts or ideas, or a deeper appreciation of old ones. Good conversation satisfies the deep, eternal, but little recognized thirst for knowledge in man. .The Parable of the Talents requires this search for "more light." The writer, the teacher, the good conversationalist are all part of the vast campaign to inform the human race and bring it nearer to divine Truth. All further "the end of learning," which John Milton writes, "is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright" (Tractate on Education). It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that the most essential ingredient of good talking is the contribution of some new or worth-while information or insight. If some persons seem to be interesting conversationalists but yet seem to contribute no noticeable infor-