--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To anybody who can hold the Present at…" description: "\"To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without being inappreciative of the Past, it may be forgiven, if to such an one the solitary old hulk ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg" --- # To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without… ![“To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without being inappreciative of the Past, it may be forgiven, if to such an one the solitary old hulk at Portsmouth, Nelson's Victory, seems to float there, not alone as the decaying monument of a fame incorruptible, but also as a poetic approach…” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg) > “To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without being inappreciative of the Past, it may be forgiven, if to such an one the solitary old hulk at Portsmouth, Nelson's Victory, seems to float there, not alone as the decaying monument of a fame incorruptible, but also as a poetic approach, softened by its picturesqueness, to the Monitors and yet mightier hulls of the European ironclads.” [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. The old warship stands as a poetic reminder of past glory, contrasting with modern ironclads, showing how history and progress coexist. **In simple terms:** Old ships symbolize past greatness amid new technology. Key Takeaway Value heritage while embracing innovation. Themes heritage progress technology Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary historical When to use this quote - museum exhibits - educational tours - architectural preservation Key Concepts nostalgia industrial revolution maritime history Questions to Reflect On - What lessons does the old ship teach today? - How should we integrate tradition with modernity? A Different Perspective Romanticizing the past can hinder critical assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Floats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floats/) [Forgiven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven/) [Hulk Portsmouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hulk-portsmouth-886389/) [Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hull/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ironclads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ironclads/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mightier Hulls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mightier-hulls-886390/) [Monument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monument/) [Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nelson/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Not alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-alone/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Picturesqueness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picturesqueness-886387/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Portsmouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portsmouth/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Softened Picturesqueness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/softened-picturesqueness-886385/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) [Worth Inappreciative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-inappreciative-886392/) ## Related quotes > [Picturesqueness is a lost art. We may expect at anytime to hear that a collar ad is blazing its electric lights atop of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dunbar-nelson/picturesqueness-is-a-lost-art-we-may-expect-at-anytime-to-hear-that-a/) [Alice Dunbar Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dunbar-nelson/) > [“Just where she had paused, the brook chanced to form a pool so smooth and quiet that it reflected a perfect image of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/just-where-she-had-paused-the-brook-chanced-to-form-a-pool-so-smooth/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“I think that's the point of view of an outsider, a tourist who puts picturesqueness above everything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/i-think-that-s-the-point-of-view-of-an-outsider-a-tourist-who-puts/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [David Nugent tore up the Championship but he’s gone to Portsmouth and he’s a fish up a tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/david-nugent-tore-up-the-championship-but-he-s-gone-to-portsmouth-and/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [I never saw Portsmouth by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-never-saw-portsmouth-by-day/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [When I left Portsmouth, I was happy. I'd had a great two years there, but I wanted a break. I needed a break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-redknapp/when-i-left-portsmouth-i-was-happy-i-d-had-a-great-two-years-there/) [Harry Redknapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-redknapp/) > [Growing up a lot of my friends were Portsmouth fans, but that's the way football goes and that's the career path that I chose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ward-prowse/growing-up-a-lot-of-my-friends-were-portsmouth-fans-but-that-s-the/) [James Ward-Prowse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ward-prowse/) > [Younes Kaboul is a vital clog in the Portsmouth engine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-gould/younes-kaboul-is-a-vital-clog-in-the-portsmouth-engine/) [Bobby Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-gould/) > [I don't want to go to Portsmouth or any other club that has no ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benni-mccarthy/i-don-t-want-to-go-to-portsmouth-or-any-other-club-that-has-no/) [Benni McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benni-mccarthy/) > [To live in Portsmouth without possessing a family portrait done by Copley is like living in Boston without having an ancestor in the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/to-live-in-portsmouth-without-possessing-a-family-portrait-done-by/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [Portsmouth are at Huddersfield, which is always away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-greaves/portsmouth-are-at-huddersfield-which-is-always-away/) [Jimmy Greaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-greaves/) > [I was chancellor of Portsmouth University.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-hancock/i-was-chancellor-of-portsmouth-university/) [Sheila Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-hancock/) > [If you chance to live in a town where the authorities cannot rest until they have destroyed every precious tree within their blighting reach,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/if-you-chance-to-live-in-a-town-where-the-authorities-cannot-rest/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [When I left Portsmouth, I vowed to only work for people I liked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-adams/when-i-left-portsmouth-i-vowed-to-only-work-for-people-i-liked/) [Tony Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-adams/) > [Portsmouth has the honor, I believe, of establishing the first recorded pauper workhouse - though not in connection with her poets, as might naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/portsmouth-has-the-honor-i-believe-of-establishing-the-first-recorded/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) ## 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 Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. 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Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [The only two good words that can be said for a hurricane are that it gives sufficient warning of its approach, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/the-only-two-good-words-that-can-be-said-for-a-hurricane-are-that-it/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) [Browse all 3,949 Approach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without being inappreciative of the Past, it may be forgiven, if to such an one the solitary old hulk at Portsmouth, Nelson's Victory, seems to float there, not alone as the decaying monument of a fame incorruptible, but also as a poetic approach, softened by its picturesqueness, to the Monitors and yet mightier hulls of the European ironclads.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-its-worth-without-being/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Approach" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-its-worth-without-being/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/herman-melville-162_approach_to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-i_1673713.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To anybody who can hold the Present at its worth without being inappreciative of the Past, it may be…” — 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": "To anybody who can hold the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-its-worth-without-being/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/to-anybody-who-can-hold-the-present-at-its-worth-without-being/#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 } } ] } ```