“What matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it.”

from Douglas Moore’s blog Art of Quotation

moorezart's avatarArt of Quotation

“What matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it.”

— Ezra Pound, poet, writer, editor


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4 thoughts on ““What matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it.”

  1. It sure does matters what idea a man is holding…if it’s a bad idea it is better for it to be dep-thized.The shallow people can safely pretend to have all manner of “good ideas” way down in depths covering a multitude of God knows what! Please excuse my brashness.
    (hello), by the way.

    • Of course you are right which is why I like this quote. It cuts both ways. A person’s depth of commitment to an idea demonstrated by their actions illustrates their character better than their words. We have seen throughout history examples of both good & bad people who have felt deeply enough of their ideas to affect their generation. It is also interesting to me that this is a quote from Ezra Pound who, though I admire his poetry & criticism, even quote him on my blog, was tried for treason after WWII for making radio broadcasts supporting Mussolini & Fascism and only through the intercession of his many influential friends was institutionalized for a number of years rather than face execution. So the quote for me works regardless of the person one examines with it. And hello to you, too. Hope you are well on your side of the world.

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