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The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, with Illustr. by H.M. Brock
The Autocrat of the BreakfastTable with Illustr by HM Brock Author:Oliver Wendell Holmes General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1891 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: optcait2. The old gentleman who sits opposite got his hand up, as a pointer lifts his forefoot, at the expression, " his relations with truth, as I understand truth," and when I had done, sniffed audibly, and said I talked like a transcendentalism For his part, common sense was good enough for him. Precisely so, my dear sir, I replied ; common sense, as you understand it. We all have to assume a standard of judgment in our own minds, either of things or persons. A man who is willing to take another's opinion has to exercise his judgment in the choice of whom to follow, which is often as nice a matter as to judge of things for one's self. On the whole, I had rather judge men's minds by comparing their thoughts with my own, than judge of thoughts by knowing who utter them. I must do one orthe other. It does not follow, of course, that I may not recognise another man's thoughts as broader and deeper than my own ; but that does not necessarily change my opinion, otherwise this would be at the mercy of every superior mind that held a different one. How many of our most cherished beliefs are like those drinking-glasses of the ancient pattern, that serve us well so long as we keep them in our hand, but spill all if we attempt to set them down ! I have sometimes compared conversation to the Italian game of morn, in which one player lifts his hand with so many fingers extended, and the other gives the number if he can. I show my thought, another his ; if they agree, well ; if they differ, we find the largest common factor, if we can, but at any rate avoid disputing about remainders and fractions, which is ...« less