“But I shall follow the endless, winding way, — the flowing river in the cave of man; careless whither I be led, reckless where I land.”

—  Herman Melville , book Pierre: or, The Ambiguities

Bk. V, ch. 7
Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "But I shall follow the endless, winding way, — the flowing river in the cave of man; careless whither I be led, reckles…" by Herman Melville?
Herman Melville photo
Herman Melville 144
American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet 1818–1891

Related quotes

Omar Khayyám photo

“Into this Universe, and Why not knowing
Nor Whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not Whither, willy-nilly blowing.”

Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer

The Rubaiyat (1120)

Stephen Baxter photo

“The river of time flowed unmarked, towards the endless seas of timelike infinity.”

Stephen Baxter book Ring

Source: Ring (1994), Chapter 35 (p. 891; closing words)

Woody Guthrie photo

“As I go walking this ribbon of highway
I see above me the endless skyway
And all around me the wind keeps saying:
This land is made for you and me.”

Woody Guthrie (1912–1967) American singer-songwriter and folk musician

This Land Is Your Land (1940; 1944)

Roy Campbell (poet) photo

“We shall not meet again: over the wave
Our ways divide, and yours is straight and endless –
But mine is short and crooked to the grave:
Yet what of these dark crowds, amid whose flow
I battle like a rock, aloof and friendless –
Are not their generations, vague and endless,
The waves, the strides, the feet on which I go?”

Roy Campbell (poet) (1901–1957) South African poet

"Tristan da Cunha," lines 97-103
Adamastor (1930)

Rainer Maria Rilke photo

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.”

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian poet and writer
Richard Henry Stoddard photo

“It beckons, I follow.
Good-by to the light,
I am going, O whither?
Out into the night.”

Richard Henry Stoddard (1825–1903) American poet

The Messenger at Night.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Garth Brooks photo

“You know a dream is like a river,
Ever changin' as it flows.
And a dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes.
Trying to learn from what's behind you,
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores...andI will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry.
Like a bird upon the wind,
These waters are my sky.
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try.
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry.”

Garth Brooks (1962) American country music artist

The River, written by Victoria Shaw and G. Brooks.
Song lyrics, Ropin' the Wind (1991)

Nick Drake photo

“Going to see the river man,
Going to tell him all I can
About the plan
For lilac time.
If he tells me all he knows
'Bout the way his river flows,
And all night shows
In summertime.”

Nick Drake (1948–1974) British singer-songwriter

River Man
Song lyrics, Five Leaves Left (1969)
Variant: Going to see the river man.
Going to tell him all I can
About the ban
On feeling free.If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows,
I don't suppose
It's meant for me.

“I still don’t see why we couldn’t sleep in that cave,” Mari said as MacRieve led her out into the night.
“Because my cave’s better than their cave.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night

Elizabeth Drew Stoddard photo

“I hail the seasons as they go,
I woo the sunshine, brave the wind,
I scan the lily and the rose,
I nod to every nodding tree,
I follow every stream that flows,
And wait beside the steadfast sea.”

Elizabeth Drew Stoddard (1823–1902) United States poet and novelist

From The Poet's Secret 1895 edition in Poems kindle ebook ASIN B0084BS0QSASIN

Related topics