The Sperm Whale’s Head — Contrasted View

           Here,now,aretwogreatwhales,layingtheirheadstogether;letusjointhem,andlaytogetherourown.

           Ofthegrandorderoffolioleviathans,theSpermWhaleandtheRightWhalearebyfarthemostnoteworthy.Theyaretheonlywhalesregularlyhuntedbyman.TotheNantucketer,theypresentthetwoextremesofalltheknownvarietiesofthewhale.Astheexternaldifferencebetweenthemismainlyobservableintheirheads;andasaheadofeachisthismomenthangingfromthePequod’sside;andaswemayfreelygofromonetotheother,bymerelysteppingacrossthedeck:—where,Ishouldliketoknow,willyouobtainabetterchancetostudypracticalcetologythanhere?

           Inthefirstplace,youarestruckbythegeneralcontrastbetweentheseheads.Botharemassiveenoughinallconscience;but,thereisacertainmathematicalsymmetryintheSpermWhale’swhichtheRightWhale’ssadlylacks.ThereismorecharacterintheSpermWhale’shead.Asyoubeholdit,youinvoluntarilyyieldtheimmensesuperioritytohim,inpointofpervadingdignity.Inthepresentinstance,too,thisdignityisheightenedbythepepperandsaltcolorofhisheadatthesummit,givingtokenofadvancedageandlargeexperience.Inshort,heiswhatthefishermentechnicallycalla"grey-headedwhale."

           Letusnownotewhatisleastdissimilarintheseheadsnamely,thetwomostimportantorgans,theeyeandtheear.

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