Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes was the name of two prominent men, father and son:...
Oliver Wendell Holmes quotes about
beware hope human
Beware how you take away hope from any human being.
adding chief form general man science worth
I hate facts. I always say the chief end of man is to form general propositions - adding that no general proposition is worth a damn.
ancestry features good limbs marks persons signal sit stillness vulgar work
Stillness and steadiness of features are signal marks of good breeding. Vulgar persons can't sit still, or at least must always work their limbs and features.
respect
I like children; I like 'em, and I respect 'em. Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by them.
ideas mind original stretched
A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.
artist colors employ glorify handling himself man marble materials thoughts verse works
An artist that works in marble or colors has them all to himself and his tribe, but the man who molds his thoughts in verse has to employ the materials vulgarized by everybody's use, and glorify them by his handling
fig life side simplicity
I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.
ahead divided humankind people sit
People can be divided into two classes: those who go ahead and do something, and those who sit still and inquire, why wasn't it done the other way?
original stretched
Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
awful begins bid brothers chorus dead death destinies glory good great joy lent life note orchestra passion powers seen sound unseen youth
Our dead brothers still live for us and bid us think of life, not death / of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and glory of Spring. As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil, our trumpets, sound once more a note of daring, hope, and will.
history history-and-historians page pound worth
A page of history is worth a pound of logic.
author constantly earlier himself less older writers-and-writing
The older author is constantly rediscovering himself in the more or less fossilized productions of his earlier years.
action actions claims commit man men power required sin special utilize within
You commit a sin of omission if you do not utilize all the power that is within you. All men have claims on man, and to the man with special talents, this is a very special claim. It is required that a man take part in the actions and clashes of his
common common-sense furniture ground piece science
Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man's upper chamber, if it has common sense on the ground floor.