Моби Дик

The Sperm Whale’s Head — Contrasted View

           Inaword,youwouldhavetwobacks,sotospeak;but,atthesametime,also,twofronts(sidefronts):forwhatisitthatmakesthefrontofamanwhat,indeed,buthiseyes?

           Moreover,whileinmostotheranimalsthatIcannowthinkof,theeyesaresoplantedasimperceptiblytoblendtheirvisualpower,soastoproduceonepictureandnottwotothebrain;thepeculiarpositionofthewhale’seyes,effectuallydividedastheyarebymanycubicfeetofsolidhead,whichtowersbetweenthemlikeagreatmountainseparatingtwolakesinvalleys;this,ofcourse,mustwhollyseparatetheimpressionswhicheachindependentorganimparts.Thewhale,therefore,mustseeonedistinctpictureonthisside,andanotherdistinctpictureonthatside;whileallbetweenmustbeprofounddarknessandnothingnesstohim.Manmay,ineffect,besaidtolookoutontheworldfromasentry-boxwithtwojoinedsashesforhiswindow.Butwiththewhale,thesetwosashesareseparatelyinserted,makingtwodistinctwindows,butsadlyimpairingtheview.Thispeculiarityofthewhale’seyesisathingalwaystobeborneinmindinthefishery;andtoberememberedbythereaderinsomesubsequentscenes.

           AcuriousandmostpuzzlingquestionmightbestartedconcerningthisvisualmatterastouchingtheLeviathan.ButImustbecontentwithahint.Solongasaman’seyesareopeninthelight,theactofseeingisinvoluntary;thatis,hecannotthenhelpmechanicallyseeingwhateverobjectsarebeforehim.

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