Ay, Ay, Said Stubb, Who Is Not Afraid of a Whale

An utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward. Starbuck was no crusader after perils. In him, courage was not a sentiment, but a thing simply useful to him and always at hand upon all mortally practical occasions. Besides, he thought, perhaps that in this business of whaling, cour ge was one of the great staple outfits of the ship, like her beef and her bread,. Wherefore he had no fancy for lowering for whales after sundown, nor for persisting in fighting a fish that too much persisted in fighting him.