The Marquesan girls dance all over; not only do their feet dance, but their arms, hands, fingers, ay, their very eyes seem to dance in their heads.
Herman MelvilleRead
A good laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce a good thing; the more's the pity. So, if any one man, in his own proper person, afford stuff for a good joke to anybody, let him not be backward, but let him cheerfully allow himself to spend and be spent in that way. And the man that has anything bountifully laughable about him, be sure there is more in that man than you perhaps think for.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Laughter is valuable and often lacking; those who can bring joy through humor should share it generously.
This quote by Herman Melville emphasizes the importance of laughter in life and suggests that it is a rare and precious quality. He encourages individuals who possess a sense of humor to share it openly, as those who can make others laugh often have deeper qualities that may not be immediately apparent. Melville highlights that humor can enrich our lives and help us connect with one another, making it a vital part of human experience.
Themes
LaughterHumorJoyConnectionSharing
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of community, one could include this quote to highlight how laughter strengthens bonds.
More from Herman Melville
All quotes →Dream tonight of peacock tails, Diamond fields and spouter whales. Ills are many, blessing few, But dreams tonight will shelter you.
Herman MelvilleRead
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. And still deeper the meaning of that story of Narcissus, who because he could not grasp the tormenting mild image he saw in the fountain, plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all.
Herman MelvilleRead
If some books are deemed most baneful and their sale forbid, how then with deadlier facts, not dreams of doting men? Those whom books will hurt will not be proof against events. Events, not books should be forbid.
Herman MelvilleRead
You cannot spill a drop of American blood without spilling the blood of the whole world.... We are not a nation, so much as a world.
Herman MelvilleRead
Dollars damn me; and the malicious Devil is forever grinning in upon me, holding the door ajar. ... What I feel most moved to write, that is banned - it will not pay. Yet, altogether, write the other way I cannot. So the product is a final hash, and all my books are botches.
Herman MelvilleRead
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