Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819, in New York City, USA. A well-known writer and novelist, Melville actually started as a sailor and merchant to help his family financially. He was nearly 30 years old when he published his first book called Typee. He managed to be financially secured which leads to his marriage to Elizabeth Shaw.
While most of his books are based on his experience as a sailor, he also published books about romance and adventure which didn’t take off such as Mardi, Redburn, and White Jacket.
Melville’s most popular book Moby Dick or, The Whale took him 1.5 years to write in 1850. However, once he finished writing, the book didn’t find its audience or readers who appreciate the book. Unfortunately, Melville died in 1891 and did not see his book Moby Dick became popular in the 1920s.
In 1857, he dove into poetry writing which was inspired by war. He also worked as a customs inspector for 19 years where he worked hard to fight corruption. Due to exhaustion from a demanding job, Melville’s health declined both physically and mentally. It was rumoured that he also physically abused his wife when drunk.
During his final years, income has been limited and his family was supported by relatives. In 1888, there was a little peak of popularity on his book in England which lead him to release two collections of poems.
Today, his books Moby Dick or, the Whale, Billy Budd, Mardi, White Jacket, Perre, and Typee are successful and considered classic books.
ALSO READ: Ernest Hemingway Quotes and Hans Christian Andersen quotes
HERMAN MELVILLE QUOTES COMPILATION
Enjoy this collection of Herman Melville quotes about life, sailing, war, love, adventure, and more.
“Ignorance is the parent of fear.”
“There is one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath.”
“Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me.”
“For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.”
“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.”
“Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound.”
“To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it.”
“Think not, is my eleventh commandment; and sleep when you can, is my twelfth.”
“Who in the rainbow can draw the line where the violet tint ends and the orange tint begins? Distinctly we see the difference of the colors, but where exactly does the one first blendingly enter into the other? So with sanity and insanity.”
“It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him.”
Melville died on September 28, 1891, from cardiac dilation. He is resting in Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.
I hope you found this Herman Melville quotes collection.
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