Not P but Moby-Dick (110)

[Mike Jing]

I get it. He first reached for the line, not cutting it or doing anything
else with the knife. All the previous translations interpreted it as
cutting first and then cut again, which doesn't make sense.


On Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 12:54 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> From Chapter 134:
>
> Caught and twisted—corkscrewed in the mazes of the line, loose harpoons
> and lances, with all their bristling barbs and points, came flashing and
> dripping up to the chocks in the bows of Ahab’s boat. Only one thing could
> be done. Seizing the boat-knife, he critically reached within—through—and
> then, without—the rays of steel; dragged in the line beyond, passed it,
> inboard, to the bowsman, and then, twice sundering the rope near the
> chocks—dropped the intercepted fagot of steel into the sea; and was all
> fast again.
>
> What exactly is happening when it says "he critically reached
> within—through—and then, without—the rays of steel"? Is it the same motion
> as "twice sundering the rope near the chocks", or is it something else?
>
> Also, does "was all fast again" mean the cut line was retied together?
>
>