Selected Quotes

"Give me a condor's quill! Give me Vesuvius' crater for an inkstand! "

"I have no objection to any person's religion, be in what it may, so long as that person does not kill or murder any other in its name. "

"The sea is his; he is but a copycat of the true owner. "

"To preach the Truth to him who knew it not, is but to give him a little time to run about the world in misery and desolation. "

"Heaven have mercy on us all – Presbyterians and Pagans alike – for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. "

"As for finish, that reminds me of the old Scriptural exhortation to some to pray without ceasing – but I never knew how to go about it. "

"I leave a white and turbid wake; pale waters, paler cheeks, where'er we sail. "

"Thou showest thy black side; and again, thy loveliest Isle of Love is just as- Black. "

"I'll try a pagan friend; since Christian kindness has proved so hollow-hearted. "

"Is there no middle ground between mammon and mammoth? "

"A hat without any crown! "

"And I only am escaped alone to tell thee! "

"Unbidden curses blasted him, and how, O Jane, Joan, you might have snatched back the eternity of general fancy. Now it was too late! "

"Oh, ye foolish! Throw all these thunderheads into the ocean – you are but a conservative man. "

"Yes, this was the life; saving up pennies on the damp pavement, and then I'll ruin them with dry flour and grease. "

"That root is to hit the hardest, you'd think it somewhat. "

"With fishbone ropes and bracelets they mock me; wearing my guard as an adversary. "

"So very like a woman – so very unlike a whale. "

"The mighty whale is mine! Have you seen him? "

"He was the bravest boy I ever met! "

"History doesn't repeat itself, but It often rhymes "

"If you want to make an audience laugh, you dress a man up as an old lady, then kick him down the stairs. If you want to make a comedian laugh, it has to be an actual old lady. "