There are many things which we can afford to forget which it is yet well to learn.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the intrinsic value of life over ascetic or saintly views that may see life as a means to a higher purpose.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. argues for the appreciation of life as a valuable experience in its own right. He contrasts the perspective of those who view life merely as a way to reach a spiritual or higher goal with those who embrace life's inherent worth, suggesting that the affirmation of life's value, regardless of external judgments or ideals, is a more fulfilling stance.
Themes
LifeWorthValueExperienceExistentialism
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about celebrating life at a community event.
More from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
All quotes βIf 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
If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought, not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.Read
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