“ Every now and then a man's mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions. ”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858). copy citation
| Author | Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. |
|---|---|
| Source | The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table |
| Topic | mind thought development evolution sensation |
| Date | 1858 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/751/751-h/751-h.htm |
Context
“He often recognizes these as manifestly concentric with his own, but of less radius. On the other hand, when we find a portion of an are on the outside of our own, we say it intersects ours, but are very slow to confess or to see that it circumscribes it. Every now and then a man's mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions. After looking at the Alps, I felt that my mind had been stretched beyond the limits of its elasticity, and fitted so loosely on my old ideas of space that I had to spread these to fit it.
—If I thought I should ever see the Alps!—said the schoolmistress.” source
—If I thought I should ever see the Alps!—said the schoolmistress.” source
Meaning and analysis
