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

Quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

Topics: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr Quotes

Life is action and passion; therefore, it is required of a man that he should...

Life is action and passion; therefore, it is required of a man that he should...

To have doubted one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man.

To have doubted one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man.

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...

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 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...

The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God.

The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God.

Carve every word before you let it fall.

Carve every word before you let it fall.

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...

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...

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...

Man's mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.

Man's mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.

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...

The rule of joy and the law of duty seem to me all one.

The rule of joy and the law of duty seem to me all one.

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...

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...

As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should...

As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should...

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...

The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.

The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.

Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.

Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.

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...