But as in landlessness alone resides highest truth, shoreless, indefinite as God- so better is it to perish in that howling infinite, than be ingloriously dashed upon the lee, even if that were safety!
Musing: This is the "Bulkington chapter." One of the crew, Bulkington, perishes just as the ship begins to sail. Bulkington had just returned from a four year journey, then joined the Pequod in a three year journey. There is a little hint in this chapter that men who cannot stay in one place may be doomed, but the sentiment seems more universal to me. Risk is greater than being stagnant regardless of the end result.