Truth is the silliest thing under the sun. Try to get a living by the Truth and go to the Soup Societies. Heavens! Let any clergyman try to preach the Truth from its very stronghold, the pulpit, and they would ride him out of his church on his own pulpit bannister.
Herman Melville
Truth, Religion, Satire, Life’s Struggles, Philosophy, Criticism
Herman Melville’s Quotes On Topics
Change | Soul Visibility | Tyrants’ Teachings | Madness Comprehension | Human Nature | Drinking Effects | Meat Market | Belief System | Survival Instincts | Faith Tombs | Shared Experience | Humanity Criticisms | Expression Variability | Good Laugh | George Reference | Pay | Nature’s Vintner | Truth And Chaos | Malnourished Beliefs | Land’s Pull | More
More Herman Melville Quotes
“It is not the purpose of literature to purvey news. For news consult the Almanac de Gotha.” Herman Melville
Purpose Of Literature, News Contrast, Literary Purpose, Literature, News, Writing
Herman Melville Purpose Of Literature, News Contrast, Literary Purpose, Literature, News, Writing“But war is pain, and hate is woe.” Herman Melville
War Pain, Hate Woe, Conflict Reality, War, Pain, Hate
Herman Melville War Pain, Hate Woe, Conflict Reality, War, Pain, Hate“All truth is profound.” Herman Melville
Profound Truth, Deep Insight, Truth, Profound, Insight, Knowledge
Herman Melville Profound Truth, Deep Insight, Truth, Profound, Insight, Knowledge“Oh, God! to sail with such a heathen crew that have small touch of human mothers in them! Whelped somewhere by the sharkish sea. The white whale is their demigorgon. Hark! the infernal orgies!” Herman Melville
Heathen Crew, Sea Creatures, Obsession, Human Nature, Irony, Madness
Herman Melville Heathen Crew, Sea Creatures, Obsession, Human Nature, Irony, Madness“That unblinkingly vivid Japanese sun seems the blazing focus of the glassy ocean’s immeasurable burning-glass.” Herman Melville
Japanese Sun, Blazing Ocean, Burning Focus, Sun, Ocean, Focus
Herman Melville Japanese Sun, Blazing Ocean, Burning Focus, Sun, Ocean, Focus“The entire merit of a man can never be made known; nor the sum of his demerits, if he have them. We are only known by our names; as letters sealed up, we but read each other’s superscriptions.” Herman Melville
Identity, Reputation, Philosophy, Merit, Humanity, Perception
Herman Melville Identity, Reputation, Philosophy, Merit, Humanity, Perception“Ah, God! what trances of torments does that man endure who is consumed with one unachieved revengeful desire.” Herman Melville
Revenge, Torment, Desire, Suffering, Unforgiveness, Mental Anguish
Herman Melville Revenge, Torment, Desire, Suffering, Unforgiveness, Mental Anguish“He who is ready to despair in solitary peril, plucks up a heart in the presence of another. In a plurality of comrades is much countenance and consolation.” Herman Melville
Shared Courage, Solitary Peril, Comrade Consolation, Courage, Peril, Comrades
Herman Melville Shared Courage, Solitary Peril, Comrade Consolation, Courage, Peril, Comrades“The White Whale swam before him as the monomaniac incarnation of all those malicious agencies which some deep men feel eating them, till they are left living with half a heart and half a lung.” Herman Melville
White Whale, Obsession, Monomania, Malice, Fate, Struggle
Herman Melville White Whale, Obsession, Monomania, Malice, Fate, Struggle“Nothing can lift the heart of man like manhood in a fellow man.” Herman Melville
Human Connection, True Brotherhood, Fellow Man, Manhood, Heart, Lift
Herman Melville Human Connection, True Brotherhood, Fellow Man, Manhood, Heart, Lift“When beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean’s skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.” Herman Melville
Ocean’s Beauty, Tiger Heart, Hidden Danger, Beauty, Danger, Ocean
Herman Melville Ocean’s Beauty, Tiger Heart, Hidden Danger, Beauty, Danger, Ocean“It is plain and demonstrable, that much ale is not good for Yankee, and operates differently upon them from what it does upon a Briton; ale must be drank in a fog and a drizzle.” Herman Melville
Cultural Ale, Drinking Effects, Weather Influence, Ale, Drinking, Weather
Herman Melville Cultural Ale, Drinking Effects, Weather Influence, Ale, Drinking, Weather“Ahab was inaccessible. Though nominally included in the census of Christendom, he was still an alien to it. He lived in the world, as the last of the Grisly Bears lived in settled Missouri. And as when Spring and Summer had departed, that wild Logan of the woods, burying himself in the hollow of a tree, lived out the winter there, sucking his own paws; so, in his inclement, howling old age, Ahab’s soul, shut up in the caved trunk of his body, there fed upon the sullen paws of its gloom!” Herman Melville
Ahab’s Isolation, Winter Despair, Grisly Metaphor, Ahab, Soul, Isolation
Herman Melville Ahab’s Isolation, Winter Despair, Grisly Metaphor, Ahab, Soul, Isolation“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.” Herman Melville
Humanity Criticisms, Wealth Assumptions, Class Habits, Humanity, Wealth, Criticisms
Herman Melville Humanity Criticisms, Wealth Assumptions, Class Habits, Humanity, Wealth, Criticisms“The chief mate of the Pequod was Starbuck, a native of Nantucket, and a Quaker by descent.” Herman Melville
Ship Mate, Nantucket Origin, Quaker Heritage, Ship, Mate, Heritage
Herman Melville Ship Mate, Nantucket Origin, Quaker Heritage, Ship, Mate, Heritage“The dinner-hour is the summer of the day: full of sunshine, I grant; but not like the mellow autumn of supper.” Herman Melville
Dinner Hour, Day’s Summer, Supper Autumn, Food, Time, Seasons
Herman Melville Dinner Hour, Day’s Summer, Supper Autumn, Food, Time, Seasons“In armies, navies, cities, or families, in nature herself, nothing more relaxes good order than misery.” Herman Melville
Order Disruption, Misery Effect, Natural Chaos, Misery, Order, Chaos
Herman Melville Order Disruption, Misery Effect, Natural Chaos, Misery, Order, Chaos“I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody’s religious obligations, no matter how comical.” Herman Melville
Religious Respect, Comical Obligations, Faith Regard, Respect, Obligations, Faith
Herman Melville Religious Respect, Comical Obligations, Faith Regard, Respect, Obligations, Faith“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” Herman Melville
Adventure, Exploration, Discovery, True Places, Maps, Unknown
Herman Melville Adventure, Exploration, Discovery, True Places, Maps, Unknown“But it is a mild, mild wind, and a mild looking sky; and the air smells now, as if it blew from a far-away meadow; they have been making hay somewhere under the slopes of the Andes, Starbuck, and the mowers are sleeping among the new-mown hay. Sleeping?” Herman Melville
Mild Wind, Gentle Breeze, Sleeping Hay, Andean Air, Quiet Sky, Peaceful Winds
Herman Melville Mild Wind, Gentle Breeze, Sleeping Hay, Andean Air, Quiet Sky, Peaceful Winds