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Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.
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“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.

Source
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
Date
1858
Local voice
Authorial persona / framed maxim · The Autocrat
Meaning

Meaning of “Every now and then a man’s mind is…”

The Autocrat persona pictures significant ideas and experiences as permanently enlarging the range through which a person can think.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, represented by Project Gutenberg #751. The line is spoken in Holmes’s table-talk authorial persona and followed by an Alpine image; it is a literary metaphor for intellectual expansion, not a neurological claim.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. Holmes speaks through the recurring table-talk Autocrat persona; the image is literary reflection, not a neurological claim.

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Change and GrowthDeepGrowthGrowth MindsetInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLearning Quotes About Curiosity, Study & ExperienceLifeLife AdviceLife LessonsMindMindsetMotivation For LifePersonal GrowthThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionExperience
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Source details

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Intellectual confidence can be improved by beginning with questions rather than pretending certainty too early.

Source details

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Pater values philosophy for sharpening attention: its practical intellectual service is to make perception more alert rather than allowing experience to pass unnoticed through habit.

Source details

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Source details

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Meaning & context

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Source details

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“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”

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Meaning & context

Circumstances can expose habits of thought and character that were already present, turning difficulty into information about what needs attention or change.

Source details

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