It may seem strange that of all men sailors should be tinkering at their last wills and testaments, but there are no people in the world more fond of that diversion.
Herman Melville
Sailors, Death, Wills, Life’s Uncertainties, Irony, Reflection
Herman Melville’s Quotes On Topics
Infinite | Hell Idea | Painted Sign | Ugly Passions | Floods | Sailor Compassion | Experience | Aging | Bodies | Poverty Truth | Humor | Earthly Misery | True Test | Animal Folly | Fate’s Path | Human Facade | Warmth | Liberty | Class Habits | Joy Sorrow | More
More Herman Melville Quotes
“From beneath his slouched hat Ahab dropped a tear into the sea; nor did all the Pacific contain such wealth as that one wee drop.” Herman Melville
Ahab’s Grief, Personal Loss, Emotional Depth, Tragedy, Sea, Wealth
Herman Melville Ahab’s Grief, Personal Loss, Emotional Depth, Tragedy, Sea, Wealth“He pressed his forehead against mine, clasped me around my waist, and said henceforth we were married.” Herman Melville
Marriage, Love, Commitment, Relationships, Intimacy, Connection
Herman Melville Marriage, Love, Commitment, Relationships, Intimacy, Connection“There is nothing namable but that some men will, or undertake to, do it for pay.” Herman Melville
Namable Things, Pay Undertaking, Human Efforts, Namable, Pay, Efforts
Herman Melville Namable Things, Pay Undertaking, Human Efforts, Namable, Pay, Efforts“Soldier or sailor, the fighting man is but a fiend; and the staff and body-guard of the Devil musters many a baton.” Herman Melville
Fighting Man, Devil Fiend, Soldier, Sailor, Fiend, Staff
Herman Melville Fighting Man, Devil Fiend, Soldier, Sailor, Fiend, Staff“In a multitude of acquaintances is less security, than in one faithful friend.” Herman Melville
Faithful Friend, True Friendship, Security In Relationships, Friendship, Trust, Loyalty
Herman Melville Faithful Friend, True Friendship, Security In Relationships, Friendship, Trust, Loyalty“For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half-known life.” Herman Melville
Soul Depths, Half Known, Ocean, Tahiti, Peace, Horrors
Herman Melville Soul Depths, Half Known, Ocean, Tahiti, Peace, Horrors“There is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of man.” Herman Melville
Human Madness, Animal Folly, Madness Of Man, Humanity, Folly, Madness
Herman Melville Human Madness, Animal Folly, Madness Of Man, Humanity, Folly, Madness“Benevolent desires, after passing a certain point, can not undertake their own fulfillment without incurring the risk of evils beyond those sought to be remedied.” Herman Melville
Benevolent Risks, Fulfillment Evils, Desire Consequences, Risks, Fulfillment, Desire
Herman Melville Benevolent Risks, Fulfillment Evils, Desire Consequences, Risks, Fulfillment, Desire“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” Herman Melville
Human Connection, Sympathy, Life Actions, Community, Effects, Cause
Herman Melville Human Connection, Sympathy, Life Actions, Community, Effects, Cause“He saw God’s foot upon the treadle of the loom, and spoke it; and therefore his shipmates called him mad.” Herman Melville
God’s Loom, Mad Speech, Divine Vision, Loom, Speech, Vision
Herman Melville God’s Loom, Mad Speech, Divine Vision, Loom, Speech, Vision“In this particular Billy was a striking instance that the arch interferer, the envious marplot of Eden, still has more or less to do with every human consignment to this planet of Earth. In every case, one way or another he is sure to slip in his little card, as much as to remind us – I too have a hand here.” Herman Melville
Interference, Envy, Humanity, Life’s Struggles, Morality, Fate
Herman Melville Interference, Envy, Humanity, Life’s Struggles, Morality, Fate“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
Broiled Fowl, Culinary Reverence, Food Respect, Fowl, Broiled, Culinary
Herman Melville Broiled Fowl, Culinary Reverence, Food Respect, Fowl, Broiled, Culinary“A good laugh is a mighty good thing, a rather too scarce a good thing.” Herman Melville
Good Laugh, Scarce Laughter, Laughter’s Value, Rare Humor, Mighty Good, Laughter’s Rarity
Herman Melville Good Laugh, Scarce Laughter, Laughter’s Value, Rare Humor, Mighty Good, Laughter’s Rarity“He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it.” Herman Melville
Ahab’s Rage, Whale’s Hump, Emotional Explosion, Rage, Heart, Ahab
Herman Melville Ahab’s Rage, Whale’s Hump, Emotional Explosion, Rage, Heart, Ahab“Wag the world how it will, Leaves must be green in Spring.” Herman Melville
Natural Cycles, Seasonal Truths, Spring Renewal, Wag, Leaves, Spring
Herman Melville Natural Cycles, Seasonal Truths, Spring Renewal, Wag, Leaves, Spring“If you begin the day with a laugh, you may, nevertheless, end it with a sob and a sigh.” Herman Melville
Laughter, Irony, Life’s Paradoxes, Emotions, Mood, Reflection
Herman Melville Laughter, Irony, Life’s Paradoxes, Emotions, Mood, Reflection“I have no objection to any person’s religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does not kill or insult any other person, because that other person don’t believe it also.” Herman Melville
Religious Tolerance, Respect For Beliefs, Personal Freedom, Moral Code, Diversity, Peace
Herman Melville Religious Tolerance, Respect For Beliefs, Personal Freedom, Moral Code, Diversity, Peace“No fear; I like a good grip; I like to feel something in this slippery world that can hold, man.” Herman Melville
Confidence, Strength, Trust, Stability, Courage, Self-assurance
Herman Melville Confidence, Strength, Trust, Stability, Courage, Self-assurance“There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself.” Herman Melville
Contrast, Existence, Philosophy, Perception, Reality, Duality
Herman Melville Contrast, Existence, Philosophy, Perception, Reality, Duality“While thus employed, the heavy pewter lamp suspended in chains over his head, continually rocked with the motion of the ship, and for ever threw shifting gleams and shadows of lines upon his wrinkled brow, till it almost seemed that while he himself was marking out lines and courses on the wrinkled charts, some invisible pencil was also tracing lines and courses upon the deeply marked chart of his forehead.” Herman Melville
Work, Experience, Symbolism, Life’s Path, Reflection, Ship’s Motion
Herman Melville Work, Experience, Symbolism, Life’s Path, Reflection, Ship’s Motion