Quotation by Herman Melville

He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes.
Herman Melville (1819–1891), U.S. author. Letter, April 16, 1851, to Hawthorne. The Letters of Herman Melville, eds. Merrell R. Davis and William H Gilman (1960).

Melville added, "For all men who say yes, lie; and all men who say no,—why, they are in the happy condition of judicious, unencumbered travelers in Europe; they cross the frontiers into Eternity with nothing but a carpet bag."
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