George Cotkin

“Starbuck identifies, in contrast, with land-based concerns; he has no truck with airy ideals or morbid fantasies that stand in the way of assured profits. His is a voice of reason—“How many barrels will thy vengeance yield thee even if though gettest it … it will not fetch thee much in our Nantucket market.” Logic, alas, is a rubbery cudgel against the iron will of fanaticism. Starbuck’s further retort that “To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous,” too, falls short.”
― George Cotkin, Dive Deeper: Journeys with Moby-Dick