I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Only the foolish and the dead refuse to change their views or opinions.
This quote suggests that change is an inherent part of life and intellectual growth. Those who are alive and wise are open to learning and shifting their perspectives, while only those who are foolish or no longer alive remain unyielding in their beliefs.
Themes
ChangeOpinionsGrowthWisdomLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of adaptability in business.
More from James Russell Lowell
All quotes βNot failure, but low aim, is crime.
James Russell LowellRead
Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
James Russell LowellRead
Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
James Russell LowellRead
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
James Russell LowellRead
Old events have modern meanings; only that survives of past history which finds kindred in all hearts and lives.
James Russell LowellRead
Similar quotes
I am not shy. I am for an open society. I am for a progressive world. I do not propose to reform France; I propose to transform it at its deepest level.
Emmanuel MacronRead
Through Black Lives Matter and social media, we've been able to have a really challenging discussion with America about police and how much it is investing in policing.
Patrisse CullorsRead
Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Alfred Lord TennysonRead
We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.
Hermann HesseRead
There is no power in the world like that of women ... this most potent constituency we seek to represent, and for their suffrages we sue.
Louisa LawsonRead
In this age of growing interconnectedness, we understand that turning our backs on the world is simply not an option.
Douglas AlexanderRead