We call those poets who are first to mark, Through earth's dull mist the coming of the dawn, Who see in twilight's gloom the first pale spark, While others only note that day is gone.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.Read
Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Truth is resilient and enduring, not easily shattered by external forces.
This quote emphasizes the strength and durability of truth, suggesting that, unlike fragile things that can be easily destroyed, truth remains intact and unchanged despite being challenged or misrepresented. It compares truth to a football, which can be kicked and tossed around but retains its shape and consistency, highlighting the idea that no matter how much one may try to distort or undermine it, the essence of truth remains strong and unyielding.
Themes
TruthResilienceStrengthPhilosophyEndurance
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a philosophical discussion about the nature of truth in academia.
More from Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
All quotes →Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other.
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The very aim and end of our institutions is just this: that we may think what we like and say what we think.
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Don't you stay at home of evenings? Don't you love a cushioned seat in a corner, by the fireside, with your slippers on your feet?
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Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.Read
Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by. Life is like that - one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.Read
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