Moby Dick

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stalk of a lily. The most direful blow from the elephant's trunk were as
the playful tap of a fan, compared with the measureless crush and crash
of the sperm whale's ponderous flukes, which in repeated instances have
one after the other hurled entire boats with all their oars and crews
into the air, very much as an Indian juggler tosses his balls.*


*Though all comparison in the way of general bulk between the whale
and the elephant is preposterous, inasmuch as in that particular the
elephant stands in much the same respect to the whale that a dog does to
the elephant; nevertheless, there are not wanting some points of curious
similitude; among these is the spout. It is well known that the elephant
will often draw up water or dust in his trunk, and then elevating it,
jet it forth in a stream.


The more I consider this mighty tail, the more do I deplore my inability