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 MELVILLEWe are only what we are; not what we would be; nor every thing we hope for. We are but a step in a scale, that reaches further above us than below.
More Herman Melville Quotes
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Heaven have mercy on us all – Presbyterians and Pagans alike – for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending.
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Only the man who says no is free
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As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Do not presume, well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed, to criticize the poor
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Tis no dishonor when he who would dishonor you, only dishonors himself.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
I do not think I have any uncharitable prejudice against the rattlesnake, still, I should not like to be one.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Art is the objectification of feeling.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
A thing may be incredible and still be true; sometimes it is incredible because it is true.
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What plays the mischief with the truth is that men will insist upon the universal application of a temporary feeling or opinion.
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There’s magic in the water that draws all men away form the land, that leads them over hills, down creeks and streams and rivers to the sea.
HERMAN MELVILLE -
Let us speak, though we show all our faults and weaknesses, – for it is a sign of strength to be weak, to know it, and out with it – not in a set way and ostentatiously, though, but incidentally and without premeditation.
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Honor lies in the mane of a horse.
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I’ll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy.
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Is there some principal of nature which states that we never know the quality of what we have until it is gone?
HERMAN MELVILLE