There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags; and hell is a democracy of devils, where all are equals.

Quote by Herman Melville

Topics: Herman Melville Quotes

He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and...

He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and...

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 are hardly five critics in America; and several of them are asleep.

There are hardly five critics in America; and several of them are asleep.

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.

Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.

Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.

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...

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;...

Truth is the silliest thing under the sun. Try to get a living by the...

Truth is the silliest thing under the sun. Try to get a living by the...

Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried; it is but...

Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried; it is but...

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...

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...

A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.

A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.

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

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

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...

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.

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...

To be hated cordially, is only a left-handed compliment.

To be hated cordially, is only a left-handed compliment.

Art is the objectification of feeling.

Art is the objectification of feeling.

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...

A whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.

A whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard.