Moby Dick Quotes
Ishmael: [in voiceover, about Starbuck] His courage was one of the great staples of the ship, like beef or flour. There, when required, and not to be foolishly wasted.
Movie: Moby Dick
Peter Coffin: You a commadore, then, or a cook?
Ishmael: No, a simple sailor, jumping from spar to spar like a grasshopper in a May meadow. Very much like a slave. But who isn't a slave? Tell me that.
Peter Coffin: I suppose you're going whaling, then?
Ishmael: Aye. Would you be having a room for a simple sailor, Mr. Coffin?
Peter Coffin: Aye, if you've no objection to sharing a blanket with a simple harpooner.
Ishmael: No, a simple sailor, jumping from spar to spar like a grasshopper in a May meadow. Very much like a slave. But who isn't a slave? Tell me that.
Peter Coffin: I suppose you're going whaling, then?
Ishmael: Aye. Would you be having a room for a simple sailor, Mr. Coffin?
Peter Coffin: Aye, if you've no objection to sharing a blanket with a simple harpooner.
Movie: Moby Dick
Queequeg: Ishmael, what is soul?
Ishmael: Soul? Well, that's a difficult question. Do you believe in God? Like a big chief over all men?
Queequeg: Like Ojo?
Ishmael: Well, I reckon so, but bigger than that, like a captain of the sun.
Ishmael: Soul? Well, that's a difficult question. Do you believe in God? Like a big chief over all men?
Queequeg: Like Ojo?
Ishmael: Well, I reckon so, but bigger than that, like a captain of the sun.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck, first mate: [to Stubb and Flask] It is an evil voyage, I tell thee. If Ahab has his way, neither thee nor me, nor any member of this ship's company will ever see home again.
Stubb: Aw, come on, Mr. Starbuck, you're just plain gloomy. Moby Dick may be big, but he ain't THAT big.
Starbuck, first mate: I do not fear Moby Dick - I fear the wrath of God.
Stubb: Aw, come on, Mr. Starbuck, you're just plain gloomy. Moby Dick may be big, but he ain't THAT big.
Starbuck, first mate: I do not fear Moby Dick - I fear the wrath of God.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck, first mate: It is our task in life to kill whales, to furnish oil for the lamps of the world. If we perform that task well and faithfully, we do a service to mankind that pleases Almighty God. Ahab would deny all that. He has taken us from the rich harvest we were reaping to satisfy his lust for vengeance. He is twisting that which is holy into something dark and purposeless. He is a Champion of Darkness. Ahab's red flag challenges the heavens.
Stubb: Well, sir, if it's like that, I don't wonder that you, a religious man, might be a bit downcast. But I don't much see what you can do about it.
Starbuck, first mate: Listen to this.
[He goes over to a bookshelf, picks up a heavy book, opens it, and reads aloud from it]
Starbuck, first mate: A captain who, from private motives, employs his vessel for another purpose from that intended by the owners, is answerable to the charge of usurpation, and his crew is morally and legally entitled to employ forceful means in wresting his command from him.
Stubb: Well, sir, if it's like that, I don't wonder that you, a religious man, might be a bit downcast. But I don't much see what you can do about it.
Starbuck, first mate: Listen to this.
[He goes over to a bookshelf, picks up a heavy book, opens it, and reads aloud from it]
Starbuck, first mate: A captain who, from private motives, employs his vessel for another purpose from that intended by the owners, is answerable to the charge of usurpation, and his crew is morally and legally entitled to employ forceful means in wresting his command from him.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck, first mate: To be enraged with a dumb brute that acted out of blind instinct is blasphemous.
Captain Ahab: Speak not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me. Look ye, Starbuck, all visible objects are but as pasteboard masks. Some inscrutable yet reasoning thing puts forth the molding of their features. The white whale tasks me; he heaps me. Yet he is but a mask. 'Tis the thing behind the mask I chiefly hate; the malignant thing that has plagued mankind since time began; the thing that maws and mutilates our race, not killing us outright but letting us live on, with half a heart and half a lung.
Captain Ahab: Speak not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me. Look ye, Starbuck, all visible objects are but as pasteboard masks. Some inscrutable yet reasoning thing puts forth the molding of their features. The white whale tasks me; he heaps me. Yet he is but a mask. 'Tis the thing behind the mask I chiefly hate; the malignant thing that has plagued mankind since time began; the thing that maws and mutilates our race, not killing us outright but letting us live on, with half a heart and half a lung.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck: Sir, I must request that you put your foreign boys to work. Them sitting idle is affecting the morale. Did you not hear me, Captain?
Captain Ahab: They are not here as shipkeepers, Mr. Starbuck, or for any other purpose. They are here to find and slay the white whale.
Captain Ahab: They are not here as shipkeepers, Mr. Starbuck, or for any other purpose. They are here to find and slay the white whale.
Movie: Moby Dick
Captain Ahab: So you crossed his wake again?
Capt. Boomer: Aye. Twice.
Captain Ahab: But you could not fast him?
Capt. Boomer: Why would I want him? Isn't one limb enough? My wants a profitable home. No thank you, sir. No more white whales for me. He's best left alone.
Captain Ahab: Aye, but he'll be hunted nonetheless! What's best left alone, Captain, isn't always least to fight. When did you last see him?
Capt. Boomer: Upon my soul, sir, your blood's at boiling point!
Captain Ahab: Which way was he headed?
Capt. Boomer: Good God! East, I think!
Captain Ahab: East! Mr. Starbuck, prepare to set sail! We've wasted enough to time. Good day to you, Captain!
Capt. Boomer: What the devil is wrong with him? Has he lost his senses?
Starbuck: My apologies, Captain Boomer. No offense meant, I'm sure, sir. 'Tis the pain in his stump.
Capt. Boomer: The man's mad!
Capt. Boomer: Aye. Twice.
Captain Ahab: But you could not fast him?
Capt. Boomer: Why would I want him? Isn't one limb enough? My wants a profitable home. No thank you, sir. No more white whales for me. He's best left alone.
Captain Ahab: Aye, but he'll be hunted nonetheless! What's best left alone, Captain, isn't always least to fight. When did you last see him?
Capt. Boomer: Upon my soul, sir, your blood's at boiling point!
Captain Ahab: Which way was he headed?
Capt. Boomer: Good God! East, I think!
Captain Ahab: East! Mr. Starbuck, prepare to set sail! We've wasted enough to time. Good day to you, Captain!
Capt. Boomer: What the devil is wrong with him? Has he lost his senses?
Starbuck: My apologies, Captain Boomer. No offense meant, I'm sure, sir. 'Tis the pain in his stump.
Capt. Boomer: The man's mad!
TV Show: Moby Dick
Captain Ahab: Aye, harpoons do like stuck in him like so many corkscrews. Aye, his spout is big, like Nantucket wheat. Aye, by death and devils, the white whale is Moby-Dick, if Moby-Dick you see!
Starbuck: Captain Ahab, was it not Moby-Dick that cut off thy leg?
Captain Ahab: Aye, Mr. Starbuck. Aye, my hearties all. It was Moby-Dick that dismantled me, that reaped off my leg like a mower a blade of grass and left me with this dead stump I stand on. For forever and a day I shall chase that white whale.
Starbuck: Captain Ahab, was it not Moby-Dick that cut off thy leg?
Captain Ahab: Aye, Mr. Starbuck. Aye, my hearties all. It was Moby-Dick that dismantled me, that reaped off my leg like a mower a blade of grass and left me with this dead stump I stand on. For forever and a day I shall chase that white whale.
Movie: Moby Dick
Captain Ahab: Captain Gardner, I seek the white whale, your own son's murderer. I am losing time... Goodbye, and fare thee well, I say. God help you, Captain Gardiner.
Captain Gardiner: God forgive you, Captain Ahab.
Captain Gardiner: God forgive you, Captain Ahab.
Movie: Moby Dick
Captain Ahab: From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned whale.
Movie: Moby Dick
Captain Ahab: By heavens man, we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and fate is the handspike.
Movie: Moby Dick
Ishmael: [seeing Moby Dick for the first time] Is it real? Do you see it, too?
The Manxman, a sailor: We all see it. That don't make it real.
The Manxman, a sailor: We all see it. That don't make it real.
Movie: Moby Dick
Ishmael: Queequeg, such behavior isn't Christian. In fact, it's downright pagan and heathenish.
Movie: Moby Dick
Ishmael: What the devil's the matter with you?
Queequeg: Ishmael no want go on ship with Queequeg?
Ishmael: No. I mean, yes, of course I do. But you would be better suited to pick out a whaler that's suited for both of us, not I, and I shall certainly not take your money. Queequeg, I fear I must make a confession. I used to be a schoolteacher. Do you know what that is?
Queequeg: Aye. Missionary.
Ishmael: No. Well, not exactly. What I'm trying to say is that I've never jumped a spar in my life.
Queequeg: Ishmael no sailor?
Ishmael: Aye. Me no sailor. It's just that I have this burning desire to go to sea.
Queequeg: Me Ojo savvy. Ishmael pick ship. Ishmael pick ship.
Queequeg: Ishmael no want go on ship with Queequeg?
Ishmael: No. I mean, yes, of course I do. But you would be better suited to pick out a whaler that's suited for both of us, not I, and I shall certainly not take your money. Queequeg, I fear I must make a confession. I used to be a schoolteacher. Do you know what that is?
Queequeg: Aye. Missionary.
Ishmael: No. Well, not exactly. What I'm trying to say is that I've never jumped a spar in my life.
Queequeg: Ishmael no sailor?
Ishmael: Aye. Me no sailor. It's just that I have this burning desire to go to sea.
Queequeg: Me Ojo savvy. Ishmael pick ship. Ishmael pick ship.
Movie: Moby Dick
Ishmael: Ehhhh, you can't fool us; it's the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he's got a great secret in him.
Elijah: I have, lad, I have. At sea one day, you'll smell land where there'll be no land, and on that day Ahab will go to his grave, but he'll rise again within the hour. He will rise and beckon. Then all - all save one shall follow. (Slinking away with a smile on his face) Mornin', lads... mornin'. May the heavens bless you.
Elijah: I have, lad, I have. At sea one day, you'll smell land where there'll be no land, and on that day Ahab will go to his grave, but he'll rise again within the hour. He will rise and beckon. Then all - all save one shall follow. (Slinking away with a smile on his face) Mornin', lads... mornin'. May the heavens bless you.
Movie: Moby Dick
Ishmael: [seeing Moby Dick for the first time] Is it real? Do you see it, too?
The Manxman, a sailor: We all see it. That don't make it real.
The Manxman, a sailor: We all see it. That don't make it real.
Movie: Moby Dick
Ishmael: Queequeg, such behavior isn't Christian. In fact, it's downright pagan and heathenish.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck, first mate: It's late; you should turn in.
Captain Ahab: Sleep? That bed is a coffin, and those are winding sheets. I do not sleep, I die.
Captain Ahab: Sleep? That bed is a coffin, and those are winding sheets. I do not sleep, I die.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck: Time and tide flow wide, sir. Moby-Dick has the whole round watery world to swim in.
Captain Ahab: I know his latitudes. I know his driftings, every sea-shelled ground and volcano bay.
Starbuck: Here lies Nantucket, where our wives and children will be waiting, carrying wee babes up the hill to catch first glimpse of these sails. Your wife and son will be among them, captain, and we must not disappoint them. I am no crusader after perils. My course is set to return safely home with a full hold. 'Tis the object of our endeavour.
Captain Ahab: Mr. Starbuck, until this be done, my boy's face is to me as the palm of my hand, an unfeatured blank.
Captain Ahab: I know his latitudes. I know his driftings, every sea-shelled ground and volcano bay.
Starbuck: Here lies Nantucket, where our wives and children will be waiting, carrying wee babes up the hill to catch first glimpse of these sails. Your wife and son will be among them, captain, and we must not disappoint them. I am no crusader after perils. My course is set to return safely home with a full hold. 'Tis the object of our endeavour.
Captain Ahab: Mr. Starbuck, until this be done, my boy's face is to me as the palm of my hand, an unfeatured blank.
Movie: Moby Dick
Starbuck: Time and tide flow wide, sir. Moby-Dick has the whole round watery world to swim in.
Captain Ahab: I know his latitudes. I know his driftings, every sea-shelled ground and volcano bay.
Starbuck: Here lies Nantucket, where our wives and children will be waiting, carrying wee babes up the hill to catch first glimpse of these sails. Your wife and son will be among them, captain, and we must not disappoint them. I am no crusader after perils. My course is set to return safely home with a full hold. 'Tis the object of our endeavour.
Captain Ahab: Mr. Starbuck, until this be done, my boy's face is to me as the palm of my hand, an unfeatured blank.
Captain Ahab: I know his latitudes. I know his driftings, every sea-shelled ground and volcano bay.
Starbuck: Here lies Nantucket, where our wives and children will be waiting, carrying wee babes up the hill to catch first glimpse of these sails. Your wife and son will be among them, captain, and we must not disappoint them. I am no crusader after perils. My course is set to return safely home with a full hold. 'Tis the object of our endeavour.
Captain Ahab: Mr. Starbuck, until this be done, my boy's face is to me as the palm of my hand, an unfeatured blank.
TV Show: Moby Dick
Starbuck, first mate: [to Stubb and Flask] It is an evil voyage, I tell thee. If Ahab has his way, neither thee nor me, nor any member of this ship's company will ever see home again.
Stubb: Aw, come on, Mr. Starbuck, you're just plain gloomy. Moby Dick may be big, but he ain't THAT big.
Starbuck, first mate: I do not fear Moby Dick - I fear the wrath of God.
Stubb: Aw, come on, Mr. Starbuck, you're just plain gloomy. Moby Dick may be big, but he ain't THAT big.
Starbuck, first mate: I do not fear Moby Dick - I fear the wrath of God.
Movie: Moby Dick
[Opening narration: Moby Dick]
Narrator: When a typhoon suddenly strikes, Tom and Tub are swept miles away from their uncle's vessel The Sea Explorer and find themselves in uncharted waters surrounded by menacing sharks. When all seems lost, they are rescued by the giant white whale, Moby Dick. Tom and Tub happily realize they have found a new friend who will protect them as they face the perils of the deep together.
Narrator: When a typhoon suddenly strikes, Tom and Tub are swept miles away from their uncle's vessel The Sea Explorer and find themselves in uncharted waters surrounded by menacing sharks. When all seems lost, they are rescued by the giant white whale, Moby Dick. Tom and Tub happily realize they have found a new friend who will protect them as they face the perils of the deep together.
Movie: Moby Dick