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

“different ways. Some to Spain, others to”
― Bernard Cornwell, quote from Heretic


“Please!" I stop my pacing, glare at him. "Is that all you can think about at a time like this?"
Gabriel rolls up on one elbow and smiles at me. "I'm a guy. It's what I think about all the time.”
― Carolyn MacCullough, quote from Once a Witch


“I‘ve said it once and I will say it again, why can‘t everyone just speak English? The Americans give it a bit of a go — why can‘t
other nations?”
― Louise Rennison, quote from Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?


“But Danny’s feelings for Hinestroza were too complicated for such single-minded emotion. Rage stewed in a melting-pot mix with respect and fear and the humiliating, aching need to be loved.”
― quote from Shades of Gray


“This is unfair. You can save my life, assault me in an alleyway-"
"Assault, was it?"
"Just look at you! It's a wonder you are even sitting upright."
"How odd. My definition of 'assault' must be in error."
"You are not made of iron, you know. You should have alerted me of your injury at once. You could have bled to death! What were you thinking?"

His mouth twitched. "I'm going to assume that was a rhetorical question."

Heat burned her cheeks.”
― Kristen Callihan, quote from Firelight


Interesting books

Ordinary Beauty
(1K)
Ordinary Beauty
by Laura Wiess
Confessions of a Bronx Bookie
(28)
Confessions of a Bro...
by Billy O'Connor
The Manifesto on How to be Interesting
(4.9K)
The Manifesto on How...
by Holly Bourne
Razing Kayne
(3.2K)
Razing Kayne
by Julieanne Reeves
Weapon of Choice
(12)
Weapon of Choice
by Aaron D'Este
Slow Down
(13)
Slow Down
by Lee Matthew Goldberg

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.