Think not, is my eleventh commandment; and sleep when you can, is my twelfth.
Interpretation
The quote suggests prioritizing rest and reflection over excessive overthinking.
Herman Melville's quote conveys the importance of rest and the value of not overthinking things. By stating 'Think not,' Melville implies that too much contemplation can lead to unnecessary stress, while 'sleep when you can' highlights the rejuvenating power of rest. Together, these commands encourage a balanced approach to life where one can recharge and find clarity without being overwhelmed by thoughts.
In practice
In a motivational speech about work-life balance, one could quote Melville to emphasize the importance of taking breaks.
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.
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.
Dream tonight of peacock tails, Diamond fields and spouter whales. Ills are many, blessing few, But dreams tonight will shelter you.
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.
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.
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.
Man is almost mad-mad because he is seeking something which he has already got; mad because he's not aware of who he is; mad because he hopes, desires and then ultimately, feels frustrated. Frustration is bound to be there because you cannot find yourself by seeking; you are already there. The seeking has to stop, the search has to drop.
Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.
Whatever happens, do not lose hold of the two main ropes of life - hope and faith.
Some people simply bury their heads in the sand and refuse to think about the sorrow of the world, but this is an unwise course, because, if we are entirely unprepared, the tragedy of life can be devastating.
Turn your melodrama into a mellow drama.
We're all given something to do. And when we don't follow what we're supposed to do, we always know when we're off track.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.