A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.

Quote by Herman Melville

Topics: Herman Melville Quotes

There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags; and hell is a...

There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags; and hell is a...

There is nothing namable but that some men will, or undertake to, do it for...

There is nothing namable but that some men will, or undertake to, do it for...

God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he...

God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he...

A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things.

A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things.

Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she...

Faith, like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she...

All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but...

All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but...

Friendship at first sight, like love at first sight, is said to be the only...

Friendship at first sight, like love at first sight, is said to be the only...

There is something wrong about the man who wants help. There is somewhere a deep...

There is something wrong about the man who wants help. There is somewhere a deep...

He pressed his forehead against mine, clasped me round the waist, and said that henceforth...

He pressed his forehead against mine, clasped me round the waist, and said that henceforth...

It is impossible to talk or to write without apparently throwing oneself helplessly open.

It is impossible to talk or to write without apparently throwing oneself helplessly open.

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring...

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring...

Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are...

Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are...

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

There is all of the difference in the world between paying and being paid.

There is all of the difference in the world between paying and being paid.

Let us speak, though we show all our faults and weaknesses, - for it is...

Let us speak, though we show all our faults and weaknesses, - for it is...

There is one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings...

There is one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings...

Toil is man's allotment; toil of brain, or toil of hands, or a grief that's...

Toil is man's allotment; toil of brain, or toil of hands, or a grief that's...

He who has never failed somewhere, that man can not be great.

He who has never failed somewhere, that man can not be great.

There are some persons in this world, who, unable to give better proof of being...

There are some persons in this world, who, unable to give better proof of being...

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.