There is nothing so slipperily alluring as sadness; we become sad in the first place by having nothing stirring to do; we continue in it, because we have found a snug sofa at last.
HERMAN MELVILLELadies are like creeds; if you cannot speak well of them, say nothing.
More Herman Melville Quotes
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No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses.
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Truth is in things, and not in words.
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Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails whereon my soul is grooved to run
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Better be an old maid, a woman with herself as a husband, than the wife of a fool; and Solomon more than hints that all men are fools; and every wise man knows himself to be one.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Only the man who says no is free
HERMAN MELVILLE -
If you can get nothing better out of the world, get a good dinner out of it, at least.
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The Past is the textbook of tyrants; the Future the Bible of the Free. Those who are solely governed by the Past stand like Lot’s wife, crystallized in the act of looking backward, and forever incapable of looking before.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
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 -
Art is the objectification of feeling.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
My body is but the lees of my better being.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.
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Nature is nobody’s ally.
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He who has never failed somewhere, that man can not be great.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it, and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic.
HERMAN MELVILLE