Quotes from Blue at the Mizzen

Patrick O'Brian ·  262 pages

Rating: (5.4K votes)


“Go and see whether the Doctor is about,’ said Jack, ‘and if he is, ask him to look in, when he has a moment.’
Which he is in the fish-market, turning over some old-fashioned lobsters. No. I tell a lie. That is him, falling down the companion-way and cursing in foreign.”
― Patrick O'Brian, quote from Blue at the Mizzen


“No man born of woman has ever understood spoken Portuguese.”
― Patrick O'Brian, quote from Blue at the Mizzen


“Touch and away, Jack?’ asked Stephen. ‘Touch and away? Do you not recall that I have important business there? Enquiries of the very first interest?’

To do with our enterprise? To do with this voyage?’

Perhaps not quite directly.”
― Patrick O'Brian, quote from Blue at the Mizzen


“It’s all along of the unicorn’s horn – it’s all along of the glorious hand. Huzzay, three times huzzay for the doctor!’

Lord, how they cheered their surgeon! It was he who had brought the narwhal’s tusk aboard: and the severed hand, the Hand of Glory, was his property: both symbolized (and practically guaranteed) immense good fortune, virility, safety from poison or any disease you chose to name: and both had proved their worth.”
― Patrick O'Brian, quote from Blue at the Mizzen


“He reflected on his hitherto reflection that soldiers and sailors were, upon the whole, quite different creatures. ‘And perhaps they are, too: yet perhaps drink, in very large quantities, may make the difference less evident.”
― Patrick O'Brian, quote from Blue at the Mizzen



“Almost all voyages, from that of Noah’s Ark to the sending of the ships to Troy, have been marked by interminable delays, with false starts and turning wind and tide; perhaps the schooner Ringle was too slim and slight to count as a worthy adversary, because she gently sailed her anchor out of the ground and then bore away a little east of north with a wind that allowed her to spread every sail she possessed, other than those reserved for foul or very foul weather.”
― Patrick O'Brian, quote from Blue at the Mizzen


About the author

Patrick O'Brian
Born place: in Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire, The United Kingdom
Born date December 12, 1914
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Roe Deer, when your spirit returns to the Great Earth Mother, thank Her for giving us one of your kind, that we may eat,” Jondalar said quietly.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Plains of Passage


“And books, they offer one hope -- that a whole universe might open up from between the covers, and falling into that universe, one is saved.”
― Anne Rice, quote from Blackwood Farm


“Living, there is no happiness in that. Living: carrying one’s painful self through the world.
But being, being is happiness. Being: Becoming a fountain, a fountain on which the universe falls like warm rain.”
― Milan Kundera, quote from Immortality


“What are you and Henry going to do tonight anyway?"
"My secret," I said, and when I walked around to see the look on her face, I rolled my eyes. "Not that. What are you and Xander going to do?"
"That." She gave me an impish look, and I scowled. "What? I'm dead. It's not like it matters anymore.”
― Aimee Carter, quote from The Goddess Test


“My life was over; my life had just begun.”
― Alice Sebold, quote from Lucky


Interesting books

The Wind Through the Keyhole
(51.9K)
The Wind Through the...
by Stephen King
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
(29.1K)
Fourth Grave Beneath...
by Darynda Jones
The Dark Hills Divide
(20.2K)
The Dark Hills Divid...
by Patrick Carman
Surfacing
(18K)
Surfacing
by Margaret Atwood
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
(8.5K)
The Protestant Ethic...
by Max Weber
The Doll
(6K)
The Doll
by Bolesław Prus

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.