“Oh, lonely death on lonely life! Oh, now I feel my topmost greatness lies in my topmost grief. Now then from all your furthest bounds, pour ye now in, ye bold billows of my whole foregone life, and top this one piled wave of my death!Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then row to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear.”

The harpoon was darted; the stricken whale flew forward; with igniting velocity the line ran through the groove; - ran foul. Ahab stooped to clear it; he did clear it; but the flying turn caught him round the neck, and silently as Turkish assassins kill their victims, Ahab was shot out of the boat before the crew knew he was gone. Next instant, the heavy anchor on the rope's final end flew out of the boat, knocked down an oarsman, and hitting the sea, disappeared in its depths.

+ + +

Tá aí. Próximo livro que vou ler.
Moby-Dick
by Herman Melville