Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Quotes

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Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Beware how you take away hope from any human being. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Speech in Harvard University, 1858)

Be polite and generous, but don't undervalue yourself.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Elsie Venner, 1859)

Man has his will, but woman has her way!

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used, till they are seasoned.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

He must be a poor creature that does not often repeat himself.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Life is a fatal complaint, and an eminently contagious one.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Poet at the Breakfast Table, 1872)

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Medical Essays)

How many people live on the reputation of the reputation they might have made!

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Professor at the Breakfast Table, 1859)

Stupidity often saves a man from going mad.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Death tugs at my ear and says, 'Live. I am coming.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a deal longer.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Professor at the Breakfast Table, 1859)

It is by little things that we know ourselves.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Without wearing any mask we are conscious of, we have a special face for each friend. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Professor at the Breakfast Table, 1859)

Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Professor at the Breakfast Table, 1859)

There are many things which we can afford to forget which it is yet well to learn.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Medical Essays)

When in doubt, do it.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Stillness of person and steadiness of features are signal marks of good breeding. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Professor at the Breakfast Table, 1859)

A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Professor at the Breakfast Table, 1859)

Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Quoted in The Poems of Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1863)

Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Treat bad men exactly as if they were insane.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Elsie Venner, 1859)

Every calling is great when greatly pursued.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (Speech - The Law, 1885)

It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Poet at the Breakfast Table, 1872)

Truth, when not sought after, rarely comes to light. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Nothing is so common-place as to wish to be remarkable.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Though fortune scowl, though prudence interfere,
One thing is certain: Love will triumph here!

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

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Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Biography

Born: August 29, 1809
Died: October 7, 1894

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor and author. He was well known and revered by his contemporary peers and he quickly gained international fame.

Top 10 Quotes

Notable Works

Old Ironsides (1830)
The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table
(1858)
Elsie Venner (1859)
The Professor at the Breakfast Table (1859)
The Poet at the Breakfast Table (1872)

Picture Quotes


Related Authors
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Son)