Sparrowdreams: Official Blog of Dr. Nyri Bakkalian

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parkersrevenge:

On his 90th Birthday, Oliver Wendell Holmes was invited to give a short speech on a national radio program, which was held in his honor. It’s a true Holmes speech in every way, down the (more English than Boston) Brahmin accent that I’ve always suspected him of having.

After a short introduction, Holmes takes the stage, and his speech begins:

^{“In this symposium my part is only to sit in silence. To express one’s feelings as the end draws near is too intimate a task.}

^{But I may mention one thought that comes to me as a listener in. The riders in a race do not stop short when they reach the goal. There is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. There is time to hear the kind voice of friends and say to oneself: ‘The race is over, but the work never is done while the power to work remains.’ The canter that brings you to a standstill need not be only coming to rest. It cannot be, while you still live. For to live is to function. That is all there is in living.}

^{And so I end with a line from a Latin poet who uttered the message more than 1,500 years ago:}

^{‘Death plucks my ear and says: “Live- I am coming,”’”}