I do not believe that it was said ironically or
epigrammatically. The man who bestowed that praise knew how rare a merit
silence is.'
'May we not owe that merit,' I asked, 'to our bad French? We shine most
when we listen.'
'A great talker,' I continued, 'Montalembert, is to breakfast with us.
Whom shall I ask to meet him?'
'Not me,' said Tocqueville, 'unless you will accept me as one of the
chorus. I will not take a _premier role_, or any prominent _role_, in a
piece in which he is to act. I like his society; that is, I like to sit
silent and hear him talk, and I admire his talents; and we have the
strong bond of common hatreds, though perhaps we hate on different, or
even opposite grounds, and I do not wish for a dispute with him, of
which, if I say anything, I shall be in danger. If we differed on only
one subject, instead of differing, as we do, on all but one, he would
pick out that single subject to attack me on. I am not sure that even as
host you will be safe. He is more acute in detecting points of opposition
than most men are in finding subjects of agreement. He avoids meeting you
on friendly or even on neutral ground.
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