There are many things which we can afford to forget which it is yet well to learn.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Recognizing our limitations and acknowledging a higher power is a fundamental act of faith.
The quote highlights the importance of humility and the understanding that humans are not omnipotent or omniscient. By acknowledging our limitations and the existence of a higher power or purpose, we can achieve a deeper sense of faith and clarity in our lives.
Themes
FaithHumilityAcknowledgmentExistenceHigher Power
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of humility.
More from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
All quotes →On the whole, I am on the side of the unregenerate who affirms the worth of life as an end in itself, as against the saints who deny it.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
If you don't know what you want, you will probably never get it.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
Why should you row a boat race? Why endure the long months of pain in preparation for a fierce half hour that will leave you all but dead? Does anyone ask the question? Is there anyone who would not go through all the costs, and more, for the moment when anguish breaks into triumph or even for the glory of having nobly lost? Is life less than a boat race? If a man will give the blood in his body to win the one, will he spend all the might of his soul to prevail in the other?
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts, but learning how to make facts live.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
Beware how you take away hope from another human being.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
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