The Fountain:
“And so, through all the thick mists of the dim doubts in my mind, divine intuitions now and then shoot, enkindling my fog with a heavenly ray. And for this I thank God; for all have doubts; many deny; but doubts or denials, few along with them, have intuitions. Doubts of all things earthly, and intuitions of some things heavenly; this combination makes neither believer nor infidel, but makes a man who regards them both with equal eye.”
Musing:
This is one of my favorite passages in all of Moby-Dick - one of them – there are others. In the middle of belief and nonbelief is where many of us reside and Melville seems to be saying it’s okay. I can squint and sometimes see the beauty in belief while I also gravitate easily to doubting the world.
But I see them both. I try to.
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