About Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet, best known for his epic masterpiece “Moby-Dick”. His works often delve into profound themes such as the complexities of human nature, the struggle between good and evil, and the dangers of obsession and power. Melville’s writing is characterized by its depth, philosophical exploration, and vivid depictions of isolation, madness, and the sea. His ability to weave allegory into his narratives has earned him a significant place in American literature.
505 Powerful Herman Melville Quotes to Inspire You
Here are 505 Powerful quotes by Herman Melville on various topics to inspire you.
4. “The fact is, that among his hunters at least, the whale would by all hands be considered a noble dish, were there not so much of him; but when you come to sit down before a meat-pie nearly one hundred feet long, it takes away your appetite.”
Herman Melville
Whale Dish, Noble Feast, Hunters, Appetite, Whale, Meal
12. “One trembles to think of that mysterious thing in the soul, which seems to acknowledge no human jurisdiction, but in spite of the individual’s own innocence self, will still dream horrid dreams, and mutter unmentionable thoughts.”
Herman Melville Soul Secrets, Mysterious Depths, Soul, Dreams, Thoughts, Mystery
14. “Methinks that what they call my shadow here on earth is my true substance. Methinks that in looking at things spiritual, we are too much like oysters observing the sun through the water, and thinking that thick water the thinnest of air.”
Herman Melville Spiritual Substance, Earthly Shadow, Shadow, Substance, Spiritual, Perception
15. “A hermitage in the forest is the refuge of the narrow-minded misanthrope; a hammock on the ocean is the asylum for the generous distressed. The ocean brims with natural griefs and tragedies; and into that watery immensity of terror, man’s private grief is lost like a drop.”
Herman Melville Ocean Asylum, Private Grief, Ocean, Grief, Hermitage, Refuge
21. “Ignorance is the parent of fear, and being completely nonplussed and confounded about the stranger, I confess I was now as much afraid of him as if it was the devil himself who had thus broken into my room at the dead of night.”
Herman Melville Fear Ignorance, Devil Stranger, Ignorance, Fear, Stranger, Devil
24. “It was while gliding through these latter waters that one serene and moonlight night, when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude; on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of the white bubbles at the bow.”
Herman Melville Moonlight Waves, Silvery Silence, Waves, Moonlight, Silence, Jet
35. “All deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea, while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore.”
Herman Melville Earnest Thinking, Soul Independence, Thinking, Soul, Independence, Effort
42. “In a continuous line from that peninsula stretch the long islands of Sumatra, Java, Bally, and Timor; which, with many others, form a vast mole, or rampart, lengthwise connecting Asia with Australia, and dividing the long unbroken Indian ocean from the thickly studded oriental archipelagoes.”
Herman Melville Asian Geography, Ocean Division, Long Islands, Geography, Asia, Islands
45. “Better and better, man. Would now St. Paul would come along that way, and to my breezelessness bring his breeze! O Nature, and O soul of man! how far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies; not the smallest atom stirs or lives on matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind.”
Herman Melville Human Spirit, Nature Analogy, Soul Connection, Nature, Soul, Mind
46. “And as for going as cook, – though I confess there is considerable glory in that, a cook being a sort of officer on shipboard – yet, somehow, I never fancied broiling fowls; – though once broiled, judiciously buttered, and judgmatically salted and peppered, there is no one who will speak more respectfully, not to say reverentially, of a broiled fowl than I will.”
Herman Melville Shipboard Cook, Culinary Glory, Broiled Fowls, Cooking, Glory, Food
