Mr. Chesterton and the Soliloquy

"I often talk to myself," says Mr. G. K. Chesterton, speaking in defense of the stage soliloquy. "If a man does not talk to himself it is because he is not worth talking to."

The deduction is obvious, but it is based upon false premises. If Mr. Chesterton is worth talking to, it is certainly not because he talks to himself. It is impossible to imagine a more foolish waste of energy than that expended in talking to one's self. The man who talks to himself is twice damned (as a fool). First, for wasting speech on an auditor who knows in advance every word he will utter. Second, for listening to a speaker whose every word he can foretell before it is uttered.