While there have been many other good lines, these two are the most recent additions to my list of favorites of all time (and now, with the blog, I get to actually create said list), the first for its euphony, the second its analogy:
- "...however it was, Flask, alas! was a butterless man!" (chapter 34).
- "...my one cogged circle fits into all their various wheels, and they revolve. Or, if you will, like so many ant-hills of powder, they all stand before me; and I their match. Oh, hard! that to fire others, the match itself must needs be wasting!" (chapter 37).
Glad to see that you're enjoying it! Melville has a habit of coming up with great quotes. "At present, I'd prefer not to be a little reasonable," from "Bartleby the Scrivener" is one of my all-time favorites. Also, the last line of "Moby-Dick" is pure art, but you'll get there.
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