197 Quotes by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

There is nothing earthly that lasts so well, as money. A man’s learning dies with him, as does his virtues fade out of remembrance, but the dividends on the stocks he bequeaths to his children live and keep his memory green.

The very minute a thought is threatened with publicity it seems to shrink towards mediocrity.

To rest upon a formula is a slumber that, prolonged, means death.

Apologizing – a very desperate habit – one that is rarely cured. Apology is only egotism wrong side out.

For my part I think it is a less evil that some criminals should escape, than that the government should play an ignoble part.

One of the eternal conflicts out of which life is made up is that between the effort of every man to get the most he can for his services, and that of society, disguised under the name of capital, to get his services for the least possible return.

Research and writing are lonely occupations. It is easy to become discouraged in solitary confinement.

To think great thoughts you must be heroes as well as idealists.

It is very grand to die in harness, but it is very pleasant to have the tight straps unbuckled and the heavy collar lifted from the neck and shoulders.