Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes was the name of two prominent men, father and son:...
class criticism mediocrity
There is one gratification an old author can afford a certain class of critics; that namely, of comparing him as he is with what he was. It is a pleasure to mediocrity to have its superiors brought within range.
men drunk devil
There is in all men a demand for the superlative, so much so that the poor devil that has no other way of reaching it attains it by getting drunk.
death doors people
Most people have died before they expire; died to all earthly longings, so that the last breath is only, as it were, the locking of the door of the already deserted mansion.
death mean dying
To rest upon a formula is a slumber that, prolonged, means death.
father believe son
It is mere childishness to expect men to believe as their fathers did; that is, if they have any minds of their own. The world is a whole generation older and wiser than when the father was of his son's age.
failure sleep men
To be forgotten is to sleep in peace with the undisturbed myriads, no longer subject to the chills and heats, the blasts, the sleet, the dust, which assail in endless succession that shadow of a man which we call his reputation.
kissing men want-something
Men are idolaters, and want something to look at and kiss and hug, or throw themselves down before; they always did, they always will; and if you don't make it of wood, you must make it of words.
adversity trouble capacity
If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it around. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it.
character genius talent
A person of genius should marry a person of character.
stupid men ideas
There was never an idea started that woke up men out of their stupid indifference but its originator was spoken of as a crank.
necks vices virtue
It is very grand to die in harness, but it is very pleasant to have the tight straps unbuckled and the heavy collar lifted from the neck and shoulders.
god spiritual life-and-love
Every calling is great when greatly pursued.
life color skins
A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.
giving 60th-birthday seventies
What I wouldn't give to be seventy again!