Check out the best Moby Dick quotes that capture obsession, fate, revenge, and the timeless struggle between man and nature.
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a classic American novel written by Herman Melville and first published in 1851.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature, the book is both a thrilling sea adventure and a deep philosophical exploration of human nature.
The story follows Ishmael, a sailor who joins the whaling ship Pequod, commanded by the determined and mysterious Captain Ahab.
Ahab is obsessed with hunting the legendary white whale, Moby Dick, a powerful creature that represents fate, power, and the unknown.
His endless chase of the whale turns into a dark story of revenge, obsession, and the battle between man and nature.
Over the years, Moby Dick has been celebrated for its rich language, layered symbolism, and unforgettable characters.
It remains a cornerstone of American literature and a timeless story about courage, obsession, and the search for meaning.
Here are the most famous Moby Dick quotes that reflect its adventure, philosophy, and enduring power.
Top 10 Moby Dick Quotes By Herman Melville
- “Call me Ishmael.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Ignorance is the parent of fear.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “I try all things, I achieve what I can.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “It is not down on any map; true places never are.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Better to sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunk Christian.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “An utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “See how elastic our prejudices grow when once love comes to bend them.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “From hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.” ― Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
Best Moby Dick Quotes
- “All my means are sane, my motive and my object mad.” ― Moby Dick
- “There is all the difference in the world between paying and being paid.” ― Moby Dick
- “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” ― Moby Dick
- “Think not, is my eleventh commandment; and sleep when you can, is my twelfth.” ― Moby Dick
- “It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him.” ― Moby Dick
- “A noble craft, but somehow a most melancholy! All noble things are touched with that.” ― Moby Dick
- “There is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of man.” ― Moby Dick
- “As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.” ― Moby Dick
- “Our souls are like those orphans whose unwedded mothers die in bearing them: the secret of our paternity lies in their grave, and we must there to learn it.” ― Moby Dick
- “Human madness is often times a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form.” ― Moby Dick
Famous Quotes From Moby Dick
- “It’s only his outside; a man can be honest in any sort of skin.” ― Moby Dick
- “Thought he, it’s a wicked world in all meridians; I’ll die a pagan.” ― Moby Dick
- “For we are all killers, on land and on sea; Bonapartes and Sharks included.” ― Moby Dick
- “I promise nothing complete; because any human thing supposed to be complete, must for that very reason infallibly be faulty.” ― Moby Dick
- “In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely and without a passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers.” ― Moby Dick
- “Why did the old Persians hold the sea holy? Why did the Greeks give it a separate deity, and own brother Jove? Surely all this is not without meaning.” ― Moby Dick
- “Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic.” ― Moby Dick
- “For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half-known life.” ― Moby Dick
- “Because no man can ever feel his own identity aright except his eyes be closed; as if darkness were indeed the proper element of our essences, though light be more congenial to our clayey part.” ― Moby Dick
- “God help thee, old man, thy thoughts have created a creature in thee; and he whose intense thinking thus makes him a Prometheus; a vulture feeds upon that heart forever; the vulture the very creature he creates.” ― Moby Dick
Moby-Dick or, The Whale Quotes
- “It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Top-heavy was the ship as a dinnerless student with all Aristotle in his head.” ―Herman Melville, Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “But what’s this long face about, Mr. Starbuck; wilt thou not chase the white whale! art not game for Moby Dick?” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Is he mad? Anyway there’s something on his mind, as sure as there must be something on a deck when it cracks.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Vengeance on a dumb brute that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing … seems blasphemous.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Human madness is often times a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but become transfigured into some still subtler form.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; 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.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
- “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.” ― Moby Dick or, The Whale
Conclusion
What are your favorite Moby Dick quotes and Moby Dick lines listed above? If there is a quote that we’ve missed, then let us know in the comments section what your thoughts are.
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