Moby Dick - Chapter 32

Ishmael attempts to create a systematic classification of whales, which he calls “cetology.” He organizes them into categories based on size—folio (large whales), octavo (medium), and duodecimo (small)—borrowing terms from book formats, though he openly admits his system is incomplete and not fully scientific. Through this effort, Ishmael highlights how little humans truly understand about whales despite centuries of hunting them, emphasizing both the vast mystery of the natural world and the limitations of human knowledge.