466 
MOBY DICK; OR 
my fiery father ; my sweet mother, I know not. Oh, cruel ! what hast 
thou done with her? There lies my puzzle; but thine is greater. 
Thou knowest not how came ye, hence callest thyself unbegotten ; I cer- 
tainly knowest not thy beginning, hence callest thyself unbegun. I 
know that of me, which thou knowest not of thyself, oh, thou omnis- 
cient ! There is some unsuffusing thing beyond thee, thou clear spirit, 
to whom all thy eternity is but time, all thy creativeness mechanical. 
Through thee, thy flaming self, my scorched eyes do dimly see it. Oh, 
thou foundling fire, thou hermit immemorial, thou too hast thy incom- 
municable riddle, thy unparticipated grief. Here again with haughty 
agony, I read my sire. Leap ! leap up, and lick the sky ! I leap with 
thee; I burn with thee; would fain be welded with thee; defyingly 
I worship thee!” 
“The boat! the boat!” cried Starbuck; “look at thy boat, old man!” 
Ahab’s harpoon, the one forged at Perth’s fire, remained firmly 
lashed in its conspicuous crotch, so that it projected beyond his whale 
boat’s bow; but the sea that stove its bottom had caused the loose 
leather sheath to drop off ; and from the keen steel barb there now came 
a levelled flame of pale, forked fire. As the silent harpoon burned 
there like a serpent’s tongue, Starbuck grasped Ahab by the arm — “God, 
God is against thee, old man ; forbear ! ’tis an ill voyage ! ill begun, ill 
continued; let me square the yards, while we may, old man, and 
make a fair wind of it homeward, to go on a better voyage than this.” 
Overhearing Starbuck, the panic-striken crew instantly ran to the 
braces — though not a sail was left aloft. Por the moment all the 
aghast mate’s thoughts seemed theirs; they raised a half mutinous 
cry. But dashing the rattling lightning links to the deck, and snatch- 
ing the burning harpoon, Ahab waved it like a torch among them; 
swearing to transfix with it the first sailor that but cast loose a rope’s 
end. Petrified by his aspect, and still more shrinking from the fiery 
dart that he held, the men fell back in dismay, and Ahab again spoke — 
“All your oaths to hunt the White Whale are as binding as mine; 
and heart, soul, and body, lungs and life, old Ahab is bound. And 
that ye may know to what tune this heart beats ; look ye here ; thus I 
blow out the last fear!” And with one blast of his breath he ex- 
tinguished the flame. 
