Authors:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Herman Melville Quotes about Heart

All Herman Melville Quotes Adversity Age Art Atheism Beauty Character Charity Children Christianity Cooking Country Courage Creativity Death Democracy Devil Doubt Earth Ego Evil Failure Fame Fate Fear Feelings Fighting Food Genius Giving God Greatness Greek Grief Happiness Hate Heart quotes Heaven Home Honor Horror Human Nature Humanity Inspirational Joy Judging Knowledge Laughter Life Literature Love Lying Madness Memories Money Morning Mountain Nature Pain Past Prayer Prejudice Purpose Quality Reality Religion Running Sailing Silence Sin Skins Slavery Sleep Smoking Son Sorrow Soul Spring Success Suffering Summer Terror Travel Truth Virtue War Water Wife Wine Wisdom Work Writing Youth

Youth is the time when hearts are large.

Youth is the time when hearts are large.

Herman Melville

Heart, Youth

Herman Melville (1991). “Selected Poems of Herman Melville”, p.50, Fordham Univ Press

Truth is ever incoherent, and when the big hearts strike together, the concussion is a little stunning.

Herman Melville

Heart, Together, Littles

Herman Melville (2003). “Moby-Dick”, p.604, Bantam Classics

Swerve me? The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents' beds, unerringly I rush! Naught's an obstacle, naught's an angle to the iron way!

Herman Melville

Running, Heart, Iron

Herman Melville (1892). “Moby Dick”, p.161

So, cutting the lashing of the waterproof match keg, after many failures Starbuck contrived to ignite the lamp in the lantern; then stretching it on a waif pole, handed it to Queequeg as the standard-bearer of this forlorn hope. There, then, he sat, holding up that imbecile candle in the heart of that almighty forlornness. There, then, he sat, the sign and symbol of a man without faith, hopelessly holding up hope in the midst of despair.

Herman Melville

Hope, Heart, Cutting

Herman Melville, General Press (2016). “Moby Dick”, p.242, GENERAL PRESS

But are sailors, frequenters of fiddlers' greens, without vices? No; but less often than with landsmen do their vices, so called, partake of crookedness of heart, seeming less to proceed from viciousness than exuberance of vitality after long constraint: frank manifestations in accordance with natural law.

Herman Melville

Heart, Law, Long

Herman Melville (2009). “Billy Budd, Sailor and Selected Tales”, p.259, OUP Oxford

From without, no wonderful effect is wrought within ourselves, unless some interior, responding wonder meets it. That the starry vault shall surcharge the heart with all rapturous marvelings, is only because we ourselves are greater miracles, and superber trophies than all the stars in universal space.

Herman Melville

Stars, Heart, Space

Herman Melville (1852). “Pierre; Or, The Ambiguities”, p.67

Thinking is, or ought to be, a coolness and a calmness; and our poor hearts throb, and our poor brains beat too much for that.

Herman Melville

Heart, Thinking, Brain

Herman Melville (2008). “Moby-Dick”, p.622, Velvet Element Books

Is Ahab, Ahab? Is it I, God, or who, that lifts this arm? But if the great sun move not of himself; but is an errand-boy in heaven; nor one single star can revolve, but by some invisible power; how then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts; unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I.

Herman Melville

Stars, Moving, Heart

Herman Melville (2016). “Moby Dick (World Classics, Unabridged)”, p.370, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd

Nothing can lift the heart of man like manhood in a fellow man.

Herman Melville

Heart, Men, Fellow Man

Herman Melville, Robert C. Ryan, Hershel Parker (2009). “Published Poems: The Writings of Herman Melville”, p.77, Northwestern University Press

In our own hearts, we mold the whole world's hereafters; and in our own hearts we fashion our own gods.

Herman Melville

God, Fashion, Heart

Herman Melville (1850). “White-jacket; Or, The World in the Man-of-war”, p.374

When a companion's heart of itself overflows, the best one can do is to do nothing.

Herman Melville

Heart, Emotion, Companionship

Herman Melville, Harrison Hayford, G. Thomas Tanselle (1987). “Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces, 1839-1860: Volume Nine, Scholarly Edition”, p.295, Northwestern University Press

To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

Herman Melville

Life And Love, Hate, Heart

Moby Dick ch. 135 (1851)

He who is ready to despair in solitary peril, plucks up a heart in the presence of another. In a plurality of comrades is much countenance and consolation.

Herman Melville

Courage, Heart, Despair

Herman Melville (1849). “Mardi: And a Voyage Thither”, p.132

How feeble is all language to describe the horrors we inflict upon these wretches, whom we mason up in the cells of our prisons, and condemn to perpetual solitude in the very heart of our population.

Herman Melville

Heart, Cells, Punishment

Herman Melville (1968). “Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life”, p.125, Northwestern University Press

All men live enveloped in whale-lines. All are born with halters round their necks; but it is only when caught in the swift, sudden turn of death, that mortals realize the silent, subtle, ever-present perils of life. And if you be a philosopher, though seated in the whale-boat, you would not at heart feel one whit more of terror, than though seated before your evening fire with a poker, and not a harpoon, by your side.

Herman Melville

Heart, Men, Your Side

Herman Melville (2015). “Moby-Dick: World Classics”, p.327, World Classic

When beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean’s skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.

Herman Melville

Beauty, Ocean, Heart

Herman Melville (1892). “Moby Dick”, p.459

The pleasure of leaving home, care-free, with no concern but to enjoy, has also as a pendant the pleasure of coming back to the old hearthstone, the home to which, however traveled, the heart still fondly turns, ignoring the burden of its anxieties and cares.

Herman Melville

Travel, Home, Heart

Herman Melville, Harrison Hayford, G. Thomas Tanselle (1987). “Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces, 1839-1860: Volume Nine, Scholarly Edition”, p.422, Northwestern University Press

The American, who up to the present day, has evinced, in Literature, the largest brain with the largest heart, that man is Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Herman Melville

Heart, Men, Brain

Herman Melville (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Herman Melville (Illustrated)”, p.5137, Delphi Classics

Twelve o'clock! It is the natural centre, key-stone, and very heart of the day. At that hour, the sun has arrived at the top of his hill; and as he seems to hang poised there a while, before coming down on the other side, it is but reasonable to suppose that he is then stopping to dine; setting an eminent example to all mankind.

Herman Melville

Heart, Keys, Stopping

Herman Melville (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Herman Melville (Illustrated)”, p.1428, Delphi Classics

The reason the mass of men fear God, and at bottom dislike Him, is because they rather distrust His heart, and fancy Him all brain like a watch. (You perceive I employ a capital initial in the pronoun referring to the Deity; don't you think there is a slight dash of flunkeyism in that usage?).

Herman Melville

Heart, Men, Thinking

Herman Melville (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Herman Melville (Illustrated)”, p.4894, Delphi Classics

For my part I love sleepy fellows, and the more ignorant the better. Damn your wide-awake and knowing chaps. As for sleepiness, itis one of the noblest qualities of humanity. There is something sociable about it, too. Think of those sensible & sociable millions of good fellows all taking a good long friendly snooze together, under the sod--no quarrels, no imaginary grievances, no envies, heart-burnings, & thinking how much better that other chap is off--none of this: but all equally free-&-easy, they sleep away & reel off their nine knots an hour, in perfect amity.

Herman Melville

Death, Heart, Sleep

Standing navies, as well as standing armies, serve to keep alive the spirit of war even in the meek heart of peace. In its very embers and smoulderings, they nourish that fatal fire, and half-pay officers, as the priests of Mars, yet guard the temple, though no god be there.

Herman Melville

War, Heart, Army

Herman Melville (1850). “White-jacket; Or, The World in the Man-of-war”, p.247

The only ugliness is that of the heart, seen through the face. And though beauty be obvious, the only loveliness is invisible.

Herman Melville

Beauty, Heart, Faces

Herman Melville (1849). “Mardi: And a Voyage Thither”, p.120

He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it.

Herman Melville

Hate, Heart, Race

Moby Dick ch. 41 (1851)

Youth is the time when hearts are large, And stirring wars Appeal to the spirit which appeals in turn To the blade it draws.

Herman Melville

War, Heart, Spirit

Herman Melville (2006). “Selected Poems (Melville, Herman)”, p.97, Penguin

You May Also Like: