--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to…" description: "\"Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.\" — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png" --- # Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable. ![“Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.” quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png) > “Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.” [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that ordinary desires to be extraordinary can become a common, unremarkable pursuit, diluting true distinction. **In simple terms:** Seeking fame can make the ordinary seem special, but it often isn’t. Key Takeaway Focus on genuine merit, not superficial recognition. Themes humility authenticity ambition Mood reflective critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - social media presence - creative projects - public speaking Key Concepts self‑esteem social comparison Questions to Reflect On - What drives your desire for recognition? - How can you measure true impact? A Different Perspective It may overlook deeper values and lead to shallow achievements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commonplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonplace/) [Commonplace Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonplace-wish-4119795/) [Corny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corny/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarkable/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-remarkable-4119794/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable.(attributed to)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/nothing-is-so-common-as-the-wish-to-be-remarkable-attributed-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Nothing is so common-place as to wish to be remarkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-so-common-place-as-to-wish-to-be-remarkable/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing is more common than the wish to be remarkable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/nothing-is-more-common-than-the-wish-to-be-remarkable/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-sr/) > [Most remarks that are worth making are commonplace remarks. The things that makes them worth saying is that we really mean them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-staughton-lynd/most-remarks-that-are-worth-making-are-commonplace-remarks-the-things/) [Robert Staughton Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-staughton-lynd/) > [Another symptom of progress toward the Singularity: ideas themselves should spread ever faster, and even the most radical will quickly become commonplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/another-symptom-of-progress-toward-the-singularity-ideas-themselves/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [To the average mind popular music would mean compositions vulgarly conceived and commonplace in their treatment. That is absolutely false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philip-sousa/to-the-average-mind-popular-music-would-mean-compositions-vulgarly/) [John Philip Sousa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philip-sousa/) > [For several centuries what has passed for song in literary circles was any text that looked like the lyrics for a commonplace melodic setting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/for-several-centuries-what-has-passed-for-song-in-literary-circles/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [The concern is over what will happen as strong encryption becomes commonplace with all digital communications and stored data. Right now the use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-concern-is-over-what-will-happen-as-strong-encryption-becomes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nature is commonplace. Imitation is more interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/nature-is-commonplace-imitation-is-more-interesting/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/anything-that-excites-me-for-any-reason-i-will-photograph-not/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [The ideas of the classics, so far as living, are our commonplaces. It is the modern books that give us the latest and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/the-ideas-of-the-classics-so-far-as-living-are-our-commonplaces-it-is/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Through TV and moving pictures a child may see more violence in thirty minutes than the average adult experiences in a lifetime. What children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-wertham/through-tv-and-moving-pictures-a-child-may-see-more-violence-in/) [Fredric Wertham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-wertham/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [It was just the sort of yatch you'd expect a rock promoter to have. Mirrored ceilings, marble, Jacuzzis and leopard-skin everything, it made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-just-the-sort-of-yatch-you-d-expect-a-rock-promoter-to-have/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) ## More by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [If you don't know what you want, you will probably never get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/if-you-don-t-know-what-you-want-you-will-probably-never-get-it/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/any-two-philosophers-can-tell-each-other-all-they-know-in-two-hours/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It is mere childishness to expect men to believe as their fathers did; that is, if they have any minds of their own. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/it-is-mere-childishness-to-expect-men-to-believe-as-their-fathers-did/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Longevity is having a chronic disease - and taking care of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/longevity-is-having-a-chronic-disease-and-taking-care-of-it/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [As for the excellent little wretches who grow up in what they are taught, with never a scruple or a query, ... they signify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/as-for-the-excellent-little-wretches-who-grow-up-in-what-they-are/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/on-every-stem-on-every-leaf-and-at-the-root-of-everything-that-grew/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Three generations of imbeciles are enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/three-generations-of-imbeciles-are-enough/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [A good soldier, like a good horse, cannot be of a bad color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/a-good-soldier-like-a-good-horse-cannot-be-of-a-bad-color/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Free competition is worth more to society than it costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/free-competition-is-worth-more-to-society-than-it-costs/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Systems die; instincts remain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/systems-die-instincts-remain/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In my opinion, economists and sociologists are the people to whom we ought to turn more than we do for instruction in the grounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/in-my-opinion-economists-and-sociologists-are-the-people-to-whom-we/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [The great end of being is to harmonize man with the order of things, and the church has been a good pitch-pipe, and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/the-great-end-of-being-is-to-harmonize-man-with-the-order-of-things/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Between two groups of people who want to make inconsistent kinds of worlds, I see no remedy but force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/between-two-groups-of-people-who-want-to-make-inconsistent-kinds-of/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) [Explore all 193 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## More Commonplace quotes > [It was just the sort of yatch you'd expect a rock promoter to have. Mirrored ceilings, marble, Jacuzzis and leopard-skin everything, it made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-just-the-sort-of-yatch-you-d-expect-a-rock-promoter-to-have/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/) [Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [Ever since childhood I have scorned the commonplace limits so often set upon human ambition. Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury - to me these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/ever-since-childhood-i-have-scorned-the-commonplace-limits-so-often/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [After all, the commonplaces are the great poetic truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/after-all-the-commonplaces-are-the-great-poetic-truths/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“In a sense nothing is commonplace, for everything exists visibly by means of light and color, and light and color are the most fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parkhurst-the-painter-in-oil/in-a-sense-nothing-is-commonplace-for-everything-exists-visibly-by/) [David Parkhurst The Painter In Oil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parkhurst-the-painter-in-oil/) > [Great geniuses have the shortest biographies. Their cousins can tell you nothing about them. They lived in their writings, and sotheir house and street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/great-geniuses-have-the-shortest-biographies-their-cousins-can-tell/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The profession of music is lacking in horse sense, not only because the commonplace variety of horse is absent from its operations, but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-partch/the-profession-of-music-is-lacking-in-horse-sense-not-only-because/) [Harry Partch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-partch/) > [Lying, stealing, and cheating are commonplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/lying-stealing-and-cheating-are-commonplace/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Which are the people who have influenced us most? Not the ones who thought they did, but those who had not the remotest notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/which-are-the-people-who-have-influenced-us-most-not-the-ones-who/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [We look for visions of heaven and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-look-for-visions-of-heaven-and-we-never-dream-that-all-the-time/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Science is wonderful at destroying metaphysical answers, but incapable of providing substitute ones. Science takes away foundations without providing a replacement. Whether we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/science-is-wonderful-at-destroying-metaphysical-answers-but-incapable/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) [Browse all 344 Commonplace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonplace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-to-be-remarkable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Commonplace" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-to-be-remarkable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-1986_commonplace_nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-t_478688.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing is so commonplace has the wish to be remarkable.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing is so commonplace has the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-to-be-remarkable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/nothing-is-so-commonplace-has-the-wish-to-be-remarkable/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```