Explore "Mardi, Volume II" by Herman Melville on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
West, West! West, West! Whitherward point Hope and prophet-fingers; whitherward, at sun-set, kneel all worshipers of fire; whitherward in mid-ocean, the great whales turn to die; whitherward face all the Moslem dead in Persia; whitherward lie Heaven and Hell! -West, West! Whitherward mankind and empires-flocks, caravans, armies, navies; worlds, suns, and stars all wend! -West, West! -Oh boundless boundary! Eternal goal! Whitherward rush, in thousand worlds, ten thousand thousand keels! Beacon, by which the universe is steered! -Like the north-star, attracting all needles! Unattainable forever; but forever leading to great things this side thyself! -Hive of all sunsets! - Gabriel's pinions may not overtake thee!
Over balmy waves, still westward sailing! From dawn till eve, the bright, bright days sped on, chased by the gloomy nights; and, in glory dying, lent their luster to the starry skies. So, long the radiant dolphins fly before the sable sharks but seized, and torn in flames-die, burning: -their last splendor left, in sparkling scales that float along the sea.