Quotation by Herman Melville

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"A Thought on Book-Binding" (1850) The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces 1839-1860, The Writings of Herman Melville, vol. 9, eds. Harrison Hayford, Alma A. MacDougall, and G. Thomas Tanselle (1987)"At the Hostelry" (posthumous) Poems, The Works of Herman Melville, vol. 16, ed. Raymond M. Weaver (1924)Babbalanja, in Mardi: and a Voyage Thither (1849)"Bartleby" (1853) The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces 1839-1860, The Writings of Herman Melville, vol. 9, eds. Harrison Hayford, Alma A. MacDougall, and G. Thomas Tanselle (1987)"Bartleby" (1853) The Piazza Tales and Other Prose Pieces 1839-1860, The Writings of Herman Melville, vol. 9eds. Harrison Hayford, Alma A. MacDougall, and G. Thomas Tanselle (1987)

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civilization (10) thinking (8) thoughtful (8) life (8) self (7) passion (7) character (7) love (6) evil (6) truth (5)

I will frankly declare, that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Marquesas, I formed a higher estimate of human nature than I had ever before entertained. But alas! since then I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly overturned all my previous theories.

Herman Melville

Herman Melville (1819–1891), U.S. author. Typee (1846), ch. 27, The Writings of Herman Melville, vol. 1, eds. Harrison Hayford, Hershel Parker, and G. Thomas Tanselle (1968).

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