--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wonderfullest things are ever the…" description: "\"“Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep memories yield no epitaphs”\" — Herman Melville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg" --- # Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep… ![“Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep memories yield no epitaphs” quote by Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg) > ““Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep memories yield no epitaphs”” [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. Some profound experiences are indescribable, and deep memories lack concise summaries. **In simple terms:** Deep memories resist simple description. Key Takeaway Embrace the mystery of profound experiences. Themes memory ineffability depth Mood reflective poetic melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapy - artistic expression Key Concepts philosophical reflection emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - What moments in your life feel unmentionable? - How do you honor memories that cannot be fully expressed? A Different Perspective Attempting to label the ineffable may diminish its impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deep Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-memories-4666738/) [Memories Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories-yield-1068146/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Things Unmentionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-unmentionable-5302337/) [Unmentionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unmentionable-303711/) [Unmentionable Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unmentionable-deep-5302336/) ## Related quotes > [No matter how long we exist, we have our memories. Points in time which time itself cannot erase. Suffering may distort my backward glances,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/no-matter-how-long-we-exist-we-have-our-memories-points-in-time-which/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Art is the act of triggering deep memories, of what it means to be fully human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/art-is-the-act-of-triggering-deep-memories-of-what-it-means-to-be/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [“And among adults, adultery is an unmentionable thing, which only occurs in the Bible and in Mobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcdowell/and-among-adults-adultery-is-an-unmentionable-thing-which-only-occurs/) [Michael McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcdowell/) > [Stupidity is a fact of life, but unmentionable. The new Prudery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/stupidity-is-a-fact-of-life-but-unmentionable-the-new-prudery/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [God has replaced sex as the unmentionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/god-has-replaced-sex-as-the-unmentionable/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“This is all a figurative way of speaking about what is unmentionable. What is unmentionable is pure fuck and pure cunt; it must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/this-is-all-a-figurative-way-of-speaking-about-what-is-unmentionable/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“the nasty thing which no polite person nowadays will talk about in public. But death, even when unmentionable, remains inescapable. The one sure fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer-2/the-nasty-thing-which-no-polite-person-nowadays-will-talk-about-in/) [J.I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer-2/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## 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 Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep memories yield no epitaphs”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herman Melville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unmentionable-deep-memories-yield/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Memory" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unmentionable-deep-memories-yield/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/herman-melville-162_memory_wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unment_3088962.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable; deep memories yield no epitaphs” — 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": "“Wonderfullest things are ever the unmentionable;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unmentionable-deep-memories-yield/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/wonderfullest-things-are-ever-the-unmentionable-deep-memories-yield/#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 } } ] } ```