Moby-Dick; or, The Whale · Moby-Dick, Extracts · block 110

“In the free element beneath me swam,Floundered and dived, in play, in chace, in battle,Fishes of every color, form, and kind;Which language cannot paint, and marinerHad never seen; from dread LeviathanTo insect millions peopling every wave:Gather’d in shoals immense, like floating islands,Led by mysterious instincts through that wasteAnd trackless region, though on every sideAssaulted by voracious enemies,Whales, sharks, and monsters, arm’d in front or jaw,With swords, saws, spiral horns, or hooked fangs.”

Herman Melville · 1851
Project Gutenberg #15, credited to Eugene F. Irey; updated 10 June 2026. Based on the first American edition, Harper & Brothers, 1851, according to the source catalog.
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