--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever I find myself growing grim about…" description: "\"“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/herman-melville-162_integrity_whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-abou_1633497.jpg" --- # Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth… ![“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially when my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it…” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/herman-melville-162_integrity_whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-abou_1633497.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/herman-melville-162_integrity_whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-abou_1633497.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/herman-melville-162_integrity_whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-abou_1633497.jpg) > ““Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially when my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off- then, I account it high time to get to a bookstore as soon as I can. That is my substitute for the pistol and ball.”” [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. When despair overwhelms, the narrator seeks refuge in books, using reading as a healthier outlet than self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** He prefers a bookstore to a gun when depressed. Key Takeaway Turn to literature in dark moments. Themes despair coping literature mental health Mood hopeful introspective Type self‑help literary When to use this quote - midnight loneliness - creative crisis - seeking solace Key Concepts self‑medication creative escape Questions to Reflect On - What other healthy habits can replace harmful urges? - How does reading change your mood? A Different Perspective Books cannot solve all problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Modified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modified/) [This](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this/) [Upper hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upper-hand/) ## Related quotes > [Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-about-the-mouth-whenever-it-is-a-3/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-about-the-mouth-whenever-it-is-a-2/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever i find myself involuntarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/whenever-i-find-myself-growing-grim-about-the-mouth-whenever-it-is-a-4/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“These mods made significant improvements to the cars – enough so that I changed my mind (another procedure altogether) every time I thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/these-mods-made-significant-improvements-to-the-cars-enough-so-that-i/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [“She loves him so but he didn't stay. The wind can't blow this storm away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/she-loves-him-so-but-he-didn-t-stay-the-wind-can-t-blow-this-storm/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/whenever-it-is-a-damp-drizzly-november-in-my-soul-whenever-i-find/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/call-me-ishmael-some-years-ago-never-mind-how-long-precisely-having-2/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [It is time that we dispensed with the myth that the market is a force of nature that should not be meddled with. Markets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-joon-chang/it-is-time-that-we-dispensed-with-the-myth-that-the-market-is-a-force/) [Ha-Joon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-joon-chang/) > ['Filk' is the folk music of the science fiction and fantasy community - you get parodies, you get traditional music that's had the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/filk-is-the-folk-music-of-the-science-fiction-and-fantasy-community/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [Fridges can be modified to nudge their internal thermostats up and down just a little in response to the main's frequency in such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-c-mackay/fridges-can-be-modified-to-nudge-their-internal-thermostats-up-and/) [David J. C. MacKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-c-mackay/) > [“She thinks of Stanley's colored pencil drawings of theoretical businesses: a cafe, a bookshop, and, always, a grocery store. When she was ten and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-abu-jaber/she-thinks-of-stanley-s-colored-pencil-drawings-of-theoretical/) [Diana Abu-Jaber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-abu-jaber/) > [I bought a Lamborghini, SV Aventador, one of 600. Modified. There's other 'Lambos' out there, but that one I have is unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-bought-a-lamborghini-sv-aventador-one-of-600-modified-there-s-other/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [What we were striving for was a kind of modified form of communism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-l-ickes/what-we-were-striving-for-was-a-kind-of-modified-form-of-communism/) Harold L. Ickes > [Whatever may be the merits of a religious system, its effects upon the mass of mankind must depend in an important degree upon its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/whatever-may-be-the-merits-of-a-religious-system-its-effects-upon-the/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [Progress is always relative: to the oppressed, it can only be viewed as an all or nothing deal - if oppression continues, even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/progress-is-always-relative-to-the-oppressed-it-can-only-be-viewed-as/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) ## 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 Coffin quotes > [“I decided to get my butt up out of the coffin, just like Jesus Christ, and come and chitchat with all my beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/i-decided-to-get-my-butt-up-out-of-the-coffin-just-like-jesus-christ/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [Marriage is like a coffin and each kid is like another nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-simpson/marriage-is-like-a-coffin-and-each-kid-is-like-another-nail/) [Homer Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-simpson/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Lies made it arduous to find a coffin that fit”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carl-evans/lies-made-it-arduous-to-find-a-coffin-that-fit/) Richard Carl Evans > [His smile is like the silver plate on a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/his-smile-is-like-the-silver-plate-on-a-coffin/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [At my funeral, if one said, 'Nick was a generous person,' trust me I won't be doing cartwheels in my coffin. Recognition from people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/at-my-funeral-if-one-said-nick-was-a-generous-person-trust-me-i-won-t/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [Well, I guess I am about the livest dead man you ever saw; although I was once asked to accept a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rice/well-i-guess-i-am-about-the-livest-dead-man-you-ever-saw-although-i/) Dan Rice > [She wanted to be buried in a coffin filled with used paperbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/she-wanted-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin-filled-with-used-paperbacks/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Death is only attractive in a fashionable dress, with lilies and an open coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-l-sullivan/death-is-only-attractive-in-a-fashionable-dress-with-lilies-and-an/) [Laura L. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-l-sullivan/) > [“An expensive coffin does not decrease the deceased’s chances of going to hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/an-expensive-coffin-does-not-decrease-the-deceased-s-chances-of-going/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I never change, I'm like a corpse in a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/i-never-change-i-m-like-a-corpse-in-a-coffin/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [“This is the most uncomfortable coffin I've ever been in. You are wasting my time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi-ed-wood/this-is-the-most-uncomfortable-coffin-i-ve-ever-been-in-you-are/) Bela Lugosi (Ed Wood > [“It's daylight. Shouldn't you have burned to a crisp, or something? Don't you have to crawl into a coffin? Where do you keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/it-s-daylight-shouldn-t-you-have-burned-to-a-crisp-or-something-don-t/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [For me, curiosity is life. If you are not curious, you are in your coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-boulez/for-me-curiosity-is-life-if-you-are-not-curious-you-are-in-your-coffin/) [Pierre Boulez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-boulez/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) Browse all 215 Coffin quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially when my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off- then, I account it high time to get to a bookstore as soon as I can. 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