Moby Dick Chapter 22-25

In which the Pequod sets sail amid the frosty bite of a Christmas day, with the sturdy yet somewhat cantankerous pilots Peleg and Bildad tending to departing duties while the crew braces against the wintry Atlantic’s icy embrace, their voyage begun under a chorus partly secular, partly sacred. And in the ensuing discourse, a thoughtful meditation is offered upon the noble, far-reaching influence of whaling—its historical significance, its grandeur masked beneath a rugged profession, and its unexpected hand in shaping the wider world, even lending its precious oil to royal coronations.