--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some certain significance lurk in all…" description: "\"“Some certain significance lurk in all things, else all things are little worth, and the round world itself but an empty cipher except to sell by the c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg" --- # Some certain significance lurk in all things, else all… ![“Some certain significance lurk in all things, else all things are little worth, and the round world itself but an empty cipher except to sell by the cartload, as they do hills about Boston, to fill up some morass in the Milky Way.” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg) > ““Some certain significance lurk in all things, else all things are little worth, and the round world itself but an empty cipher except to sell by the cartload, as they do hills about Boston, to fill up some morass in the Milky Way.”” [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everything holds hidden meaning; without it, the world feels empty and meaningless. **In simple terms:** All things have hidden meaning. Key Takeaway Seek deeper significance. Themes meaning existence search Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - daily life - art appreciation - science inquiry Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - Do you look for hidden meaning? - What gives your life purpose? A Different Perspective Not all seek meaning; some find comfort in simplicity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Milky way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milky-way/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) ## Related quotes > [Everything you do has certain significance, a certain weight. I think there is a film in everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-schell/everything-you-do-has-certain-significance-a-certain-weight-i-think/) [Maximilian Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-schell/) > [The life, beauty and meaning of the whole created order, from the tomtit to the Milky Way, refers back to the Absolute Life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/the-life-beauty-and-meaning-of-the-whole-created-order-from-the/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids-2/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [As a man-of-war that sails through the sea, so this earth that sails through the air. We mortals are all on board a fast-sailing,never-sinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/as-a-man-of-war-that-sails-through-the-sea-so-this-earth-that-sails/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [The little things? The little moments? They aren't little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/the-little-things-the-little-moments-they-aren-t-little/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-no-real-elevation-of-mind-in-a-contempt-of-little-things-it/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [Some of the most beautiful and fulfilling things in life are often things that we have very little understanding of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-of-the-most-beautiful-and-fulfilling-things-in-life-are-often/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only things that are a little bit newer are the CD burners, but we hid them under the table, so basically we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-white/the-only-things-that-are-a-little-bit-newer-are-the-cd-burners-but-we/) [Meg White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-white/) > [We try to stress the little things because little things lead to big things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-alford/we-try-to-stress-the-little-things-because-little-things-lead-to-big/) [Steve Alford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-alford/) > [There are no little things. "Little things," so called, are the hinges of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-fern/there-are-no-little-things-little-things-so-called-are-the-hinges-of/) [Fanny Fern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-fern/) > [Things seem more when you’re little. They seem bigger, and distances seem farther.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/things-seem-more-when-you-re-little-they-seem-bigger-and-distances/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Never Get Tired Of Doing Little Good Things For Others. Sometimes, Those Little Good Things Occupy The Biggest Part Of Their Hearts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/never-get-tired-of-doing-little-good-things-for-others-sometimes/) Pacifiersucker > [Never stop doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-stop-doing-little-things-for-others-sometimes-those-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've said some things that are a little bit off the wall, but I don't run away and hide from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-boeheim/i-ve-said-some-things-that-are-a-little-bit-off-the-wall-but-i-don-t/) [Jim Boeheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-boeheim/) ## More by Herman Melville > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“But were the coming narrative to reveal in any instance, the complete abasement of poor Starbuck's fortitude, scarce might I have the heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/but-were-the-coming-narrative-to-reveal-in-any-instance-the-complete/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“(On Ralph Waldo Emerson)I love all men who dive. Any fish can swim near the surface, but it takes a great whale to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/on-ralph-waldo-emerson-i-love-all-men-who-dive-any-fish-can-swim-near/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“So seemed it to me, as I stood at her helm, and for long hours silently guided the way of this fire-ship on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/so-seemed-it-to-me-as-i-stood-at-her-helm-and-for-long-hours-silently/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“the only real owner of anything is its commander;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-only-real-owner-of-anything-is-its-commander/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/consider-the-subtleness-of-the-sea-how-its-most-dreaded-creatures/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Now, as I before hinted, I have no objection to any person's religion, be it what it may, so long as that person does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/now-as-i-before-hinted-i-have-no-objection-to-any-person-s-religion/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Let America first praise mediocrity even, in her children, before she praises... the best excellence in the children of any other land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/let-america-first-praise-mediocrity-even-in-her-children-before-she/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Only the man who says no is free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/only-the-man-who-says-no-is-free/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Beneath those stars is a universe of gliding monsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/beneath-those-stars-is-a-universe-of-gliding-monsters/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Yet this is life. For hardly have we mortals by long toilings extracted from this world's vast bulk its small but valuable sperm; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/yet-this-is-life-for-hardly-have-we-mortals-by-long-toilings/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I never fancied broiling fowls; - though once broiled, judiciously buttered, and judgmatically salted and peppered, there is no one who will speak more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/i-never-fancied-broiling-fowls-though-once-broiled-judiciously/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [War should be carried on like a monsoon; one changeless determination of every particle towards the one unalterable aim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/war-should-be-carried-on-like-a-monsoon-one-changeless-determination/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Genius is full of trash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/genius-is-full-of-trash/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Explore all 1,009 Herman Melville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## More Milky way quotes > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Is it that by its indefiniteness it shadows forth the heartless voids and immensities of the universe, and thus stabs us from behind with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/is-it-that-by-its-indefiniteness-it-shadows-forth-the-heartless-voids/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [It shows you exactly how a star is formed; nothing else can be so pretty! A cluster of vapor, the cream of the milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-shows-you-exactly-how-a-star-is-formed-nothing-else-can-be-so/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/when-a-person-dies-they-cross-over-from-the-realm-of-freedom-to-the/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Your brain… weighs three pounds and has one hundred thousand miles of blood vessels. contains more connections than there are stars in the Milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/your-brain-weighs-three-pounds-and-has-one-hundred-thousand-miles-of/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Now, almost one hundred years later, it is difficult to fully appreciate how much our picture of the universe has changed in the span…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/now-almost-one-hundred-years-later-it-is-difficult-to-fully/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [“And the Milky Way, like a great aurora, flowed through his body to stand at the edges of the earth. There was a quiet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/and-the-milky-way-like-a-great-aurora-flowed-through-his-body-to/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [All of Japan once a year will get up on their rooftops, because that's the night that the shepherd boy from one side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/all-of-japan-once-a-year-will-get-up-on-their-rooftops-because-that-s/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Filled with rapture, his soul yearned for freedom, space, vastness. Over him the heavenly dome, full of quiet, shining stars, hung boundlessly. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/filled-with-rapture-his-soul-yearned-for-freedom-space-vastness-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It isn't for us that cows' milk comes forth, but we drink it. Flowers weren't made for us to look at or for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/it-isn-t-for-us-that-cows-milk-comes-forth-but-we-drink-it-flowers/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“If you were a hapless cosmic hitchhiker stranded between the stars of the Milky Way, your body would represent a concentration of matter a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-scharf/if-you-were-a-hapless-cosmic-hitchhiker-stranded-between-the-stars-of/) [Caleb Scharf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-scharf/) > [“This Voyager spacecraft was constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human beings among the more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/this-voyager-spacecraft-was-constructed-by-the-united-states-of/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Why should I feel lonely? is not our planet in the Milky Way?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/why-should-i-feel-lonely-is-not-our-planet-in-the-milky-way/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 261 Milky way quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/milky-way/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some certain significance lurk in all things, else all things are little worth, and the round world itself but an empty cipher except to sell by the cartload, as they do hills about Boston, to fill up some morass in the Milky Way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-things-else-all-things-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Milky way" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-things-else-all-things-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/herman-melville-162_milky-way_some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-th_2010720.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some certain significance lurk in all things, else all things are little worth, and the round world itself…” — Herman Melville", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Herman Melville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Some certain significance lurk in all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-things-else-all-things-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/some-certain-significance-lurk-in-all-things-else-all-things-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```