Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes was the name of two prominent men, father and son:...
knows man wisdom
The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
trying
It is very lonely sometimes, trying to play God.
certainty
Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that were not so.
fire
Every idea is an incitement...Eloquence may set fire to reason.
integrity man money
A man is usually more careful of his money than of his principles.
anxiety civilization degree marked people
The degree of civilization which a people has reached, no doubt, is marked by their anxiety to do as they would be done by
ability action life man passion peril required share
As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time, at the peril of being not to have lived.
achievement inevitable mode pass
The mode in which the inevitable comes to pass is through effort.
history history-and-historians page pound worth
A page of history is worth a pound of logic.
close knew landlord lived monarch pretended proper though
Now Landlord Porter, grave, concise, severe, Master, nay, monarch in his proper sphere, Though to belles-lettres he pretended not, Lived close to Harvard, so knew what was what
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.
court justice
This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.
common draught fair flavor genius grand mediocrity neutrality spoils weak
Unpretending mediocrity is good, and genius is glorious; but a weak flavor of genius in an essentially common person is detestable. It spoils the grand neutrality of a commonplace character, as the rinsings of an unwashed wine-glass spoil a draught of fair water.
aim beyond collectors compare fact facts intellects men reason using
There are one-story intellects, two-story intellects, and three-story intellects with skylights. All fact collectors with no aim beyond their facts are one-story men. Two-story men compare reason and generalize, using labors of the fact collectors