We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people - the Israel of our time; we bear the ark of the liberties of the world.
Herman MelvilleIf you are poor, avoid wine as a costly luxury; if you are rich, shun it as a fatal indulgence. Stick to plain water.
Herman MelvilleOut of the trunk, the branches grow; out of them, the twigs. So, in productive subjects, grow the chapters.
Herman MelvilleBooks, gentlemen, are a species of men, and introduced to them you circulate in the "very best society" that this world can furnish, without the intolerable infliction of "dressing" to go into it. In your shabbiest coat and cosiest slippers you may socially chat even with the fastidious Earl of Chesterfield, and lounging under a tree enjoy the divinest intimacy with my late lord of Verulam.
Herman Melville