"There was a time when a man was so convinced that the world was round that he was determined to prove it"
About this Quote
As a theologian of the early 20th-century New Thought milieu, Holmes specialized in making metaphysics sound actionable. The sentence is built to recruit: it frames belief as something that can and should be tested, not merely professed. That’s the subtextual bargain of his tradition - mind shapes reality, but only the person willing to act as if it’s true gets to see the results. “Determined” matters as much as “convinced”: it implies discipline, repetition, public risk.
The quote also smuggles in a modern American ethic. Proof, in this telling, isn’t the property of institutions; it’s the achievement of an individual with enough nerve. That makes the line inspirational, but also quietly contentious. It flatters the believer as pioneer and casts doubt as inertia. In an era when science and religion were renegotiating their boundaries, Holmes offers a bridge: keep the thrill of spiritual conviction, borrow the prestige of empirical validation. The point isn’t the sphere; it’s the permission to insist that an idea can be lived into fact.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Holmes, Ernest. (2026, January 18). There was a time when a man was so convinced that the world was round that he was determined to prove it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-was-a-time-when-a-man-was-so-convinced-that-9439/
Chicago Style
Holmes, Ernest. "There was a time when a man was so convinced that the world was round that he was determined to prove it." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-was-a-time-when-a-man-was-so-convinced-that-9439/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There was a time when a man was so convinced that the world was round that he was determined to prove it." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-was-a-time-when-a-man-was-so-convinced-that-9439/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.








