A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.

Quote by Herman Melville

Topics: Herman Melville Quotes

There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life...

There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life...

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men;...

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men;...

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.

Truth is in things, and not in words.

Truth is in things, and not in words.

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...

Old age is always wakeful; as if, the longer linked with life, the less man...

Old age is always wakeful; as if, the longer linked with life, the less man...

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...

Know, thou, that the lines that live are turned out of a furrowed brow.

Know, thou, that the lines that live are turned out of a furrowed brow.

A whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.

A whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.

Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence...

Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence...

It is not down in any map; true places never are.

It is not down in any map; true places never are.

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...

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...

Yet habit - strange thing! what cannot habit accomplish?

Yet habit - strange thing! what cannot habit accomplish?

To be called one thing, is oftentimes to be another.

To be called one thing, is oftentimes to be another.

There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.

There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.

There are times when even the most potent governor must wink at transgression, in order...

There are times when even the most potent governor must wink at transgression, in order...

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

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

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...

Where do murderers go, man! Who's to doom, when the judge himself is dragged to...

Where do murderers go, man! Who's to doom, when the judge himself is dragged to...