“ Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other. ”
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 | reality thought wind subject |
| Date | 1858 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/751/751-h/751-h.htm |
Context
“Then shall beauty—Divinity taking outlines and color—light upon the souls of men as the butterfly, image of the beatified spirit rising from the dust, soars from the shell that held a poor grub, which would never have found wings, had not the stone been lifted.
You never need think you can turn over any old falsehood without a terrible squirming and scattering of the horrid little population that dwells under it. —Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other. As soon as his breath comes back, he very probably begins to expend it in hard words. These are the best evidence a man can have that he has said something it was time to say. Dr. Johnson was disappointed in the effect of one of his pamphlets.” source
You never need think you can turn over any old falsehood without a terrible squirming and scattering of the horrid little population that dwells under it. —Every real thought on every real subject knocks the wind out of somebody or other. As soon as his breath comes back, he very probably begins to expend it in hard words. These are the best evidence a man can have that he has said something it was time to say. Dr. Johnson was disappointed in the effect of one of his pamphlets.” source
Meaning and analysis
