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.

Quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Topics: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr Quotes

Carve every word before you let it fall.

Carve every word before you let it fall.

The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light...

The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light...

Every event that a man would master must be mounted on the run, and no...

Every event that a man would master must be mounted on the run, and no...

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a...

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a...

The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in...

The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in...

Life is an end in itself, and the only question as to whether it is...

Life is an end in itself, and the only question as to whether it is...

There is no friend like an old friend who has shared our morning days, no...

There is no friend like an old friend who has shared our morning days, no...

Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours.

Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours.

A man is usually more careful of his money than of his principles.

A man is usually more careful of his money than of his principles.

We should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we...

We should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we...

Don't be 'consistent,' but be simply true.

Don't be 'consistent,' but be simply true.

I despise making the most of one's time. Half of the pleasures of life consist...

I despise making the most of one's time. Half of the pleasures of life consist...

A new and valid idea is worth more than a regiment and fewer men can...

A new and valid idea is worth more than a regiment and fewer men can...

This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.

This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.

People talk fundamentals and superlatives and then make some changes of detail.

People talk fundamentals and superlatives and then make some changes of detail.

Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that...

Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that...

Lawyers spend a great deal of their time shoveling smoke.

Lawyers spend a great deal of their time shoveling smoke.

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

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

I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing...

I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing...

Young man, the secret of my success is that an early age I discovered that...

Young man, the secret of my success is that an early age I discovered that...