“ But I can't help remembering that the world's great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor its great scholars great men. ”
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 | greatness school |
| Date | 1858 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/751/751-h/751-h.htm |
Context
“I like books,—I was born and bred among them, and have the easy feeling, when I get into their presence, that a stable-boy has among horses. I don't think I undervalue them either as companions or as instructors. But I can't help remembering that the world's great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor its great scholars great men. The Hebrew patriarchs had small libraries, I think, if any; yet they represent to our imaginations a very complete idea of manhood, and, I think, if we could ask in Abraham to dine with us men of letters next Saturday, we should feel honored by his company.”
source
Meaning and analysis
