# The Old Man and the Sea

- Author: [Ernest Hemingway](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway.md)
- Quotes: 14
- Book page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea

## Quotes

> He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/he-was-an-old.md)

> 'But man is not made for defeat,' he said. 'A man can be destroyed but not defeated.'

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/but-man-is-not.md)

> “Age is my alarm clock,” the old man said. “Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?”
>
> “I don’t know,” the boy said. “All I know is that young boys sleep late and hard.”

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/age-is-my-alarm.md)

> Every day above earth is a good day.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/every-day-above.md)

> It is easy when you are beaten, he thought. I never knew how easy it was. And what beat you, he thought.
>
> “Nothing,” he said aloud. “I went out too far.”

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/it-is-easy.md)

> You did not do so badly for something that is worthless. But there was a time when I could not find you.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/you-did-not.md)

> He always thought of the sea as la mar, which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her, but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fisherman, those who used buoys as floats for their lines or had motorboats bought when the shark lovers had much money, spoke of her as el mar, which is masculine, they spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine, as something that gave or withheld great favors. If she did wild or wicked things, it is because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/he-always-thought.md)

> Anyone who goes on the sea the year around in a small power boat does not seek danger. You may be absolutely sure that in a year you will have it without seeking, so you try always to avoid it all you can.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/anyone-who-goes.md)

> Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/now-is-no-time.md)

> “Fish,” he said, “I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/fish-he-said.md)

> Let him think I am more man than I am and I will be so.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/let-him-think.md)

> Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/every-day-is-a-new.md)

> 'Ay,' he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/ay-he-said.md)

> Keep your head clear and know how to suffer like a man. Or a fish, he thought.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/ernest-hemingway/the-old-man-and-the-sea/keep-your-head.md)