9 famous lines from Herman Melville, word for word from the original text
Herman Melville's 1851 epic follows Ishmael aboard the Pequod as Captain Ahab hunts the white whale that took his leg. Its lines range from the famous opening to Ahab's furious defiance.
“Call me Ishmael.”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 1. Loomings · about 2% into the book
“Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 3. The Spouter-Inn · about 6% into the book
“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, Chapter 135. The Chase.—Third Day · about 100% into the book
“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 39. First Night-Watch · about 31% into the book
“There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 96. The Try-Works · about 76% into the book
“Talk not to me of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me.”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 36. The Quarter-Deck · about 30% into the book
“It is not down in any map; true places never are.”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 12. Biographical · about 12% into the book
“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 1. Loomings · about 2% into the book
“Consider the subtleness of the sea”
— Moby Dick, Chapter 58. Brit · about 50% into the book
Chapters follow the Project Gutenberg edition. Page numbers differ between printed editions — that's why Eqtepas records the page of your copy when you save a quote.
One of the best-known lines from Moby Dick is: “Call me Ishmael.” (Chapter 1. Loomings).
Yes. Every quote on this page is copied word for word from the public-domain text of Moby Dick on Project Gutenberg, with the chapter it appears in — so you can find it in your own copy.
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