Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes was the name of two prominent men, father and son:...
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.
action judged life man passion peril required share
Life is action and passion; therefore, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of the time, at peril of being judged not to have lived.
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.
passion equality envy
I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy - I don't disparage envy, but I don't accept it as legitimately my master.
aim
The very aim and end of our institutions is just this: that we may thing what we like and say what we think.
fools men wise
Controversy equalizes fools and wise men - and the fools know it
conversation dreadful pathway stick
And when you stick on conversation's burrs, don't strew your pathway with those dreadful urs.
honest telling truth
Pretty much all the honest truth telling in the world is done by children.
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?
beware hope human
Beware how you take away hope from any human being.
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.
courtesy flatter friendship nearer necessary relation tact
Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become.
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.
enthusiasm faith life looking quote-of-the-day worth
It is faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth looking at.