Chapter VIII. THE PULPIT

engraft, ingraft, v.
2. fig. a. To implant (virtues, dispositions, sentiments) in the mind; to incorporate (a thing) into a previously existing system or unity, (an alien) into a race or community; and the like.
engrafted, ppl. a.
In the senses of the vb. lit. and fig.

tarpaulin, n.
1. a. A covering or sheet of canvas coated or impregnated with tar so as to make it waterproof, used to spread over anything to protect it from wet. Also, without a or pl., canvas so tarred; sometimes applied to other kinds of waterproof cloth. b. A sailor’s hat made of tarpaulin.

While I’m here I want to also mention this:
2. a. transf. A nickname for a mariner or sailor, esp. a common sailor. Now rare or arch.

because earlier in this project, I stupidly “pshaw”ed at the idea that tar meaning “sailor” might be derived from “tarpaulin.” This turns out to have been stupid for two reasons. First: sailors were, in fact, called “tarpaulins,” which I didn’t know and which makes the derivation seem perfectly likely. Second: “tarpaulin” is itself so named because it is made with tar – making the competing derivations for tar=sailor substantially identical – which of course makes perfect sense, but all these years of encountering tar-less tarpaulin referred to as “tarp” had deafened me to that obvious fact. OED, in fact, gives this as the etymology:

Generally thought to be f. TAR n. + PALL n. + -ING (as in netting, grating, and cf. AWNING)
The blackness of tarred canvas may have suggested its likeness to a funeral pall; though, in the absence of any instance of tar-pall, this origin must remain conjectural.

Fascinating. Let’s move on.

man-rope
Naut. One of the ropes on each side of a gangway or ladder, used in ascending and descending a ship’s side, etc.

maintop, n.
Naut. 1. The top of a mainmast; a platform just above the head of the lower mainmast.

Quebec
The city is elaborately fortified.

notoriety, n.
1. The state or condition of being notorious; the fact of being famous or well known, esp. for some reprehensible action, quality, etc.
I include this because I was under the mistaken impression that any non-negative use of “notoriety” was in error. This is not the case. Both the etymology and the quotations in the OED tell me that the word “notorious” originally did not have a negative connotation and simply meant “widely known.” The negative falls under esp. nowadays but there’s still certainly room for Father Mapple in there.

Ehrenbreitstein
A fortress in Germany on a hill overlooking the Rhine. Not sure if the “perennial well of water” image is meant to tie in to Ehrenbreitstein, or even to real fortresses in general. Though it would seem reasonable that a well would be an important, or at least desirable, feature of fortresses.

cenotaph, n.
a. An empty tomb; a sepulchral monument erected in honour of a deceased person whose body is elsewhere.

lee coast
Well, I now know lee to mean “sheltered from the wind,” or in particular, “the sheltered side of something,” but it’s not entirely clear to me what it means when applied to a whole coast – a coast in a painting, no less. Is it just that an informed viewer tell which way the wind is blowing in the painting? I see in google that “lee coast” is a phrase that infrequently but occasionally appears in nautical talk, often in a generic sense not relating to any specific weather circumstances. Can’t find a definition. Help.

scud, n.
2. d. Ocean foam or spray driven by the wind; also transf. of ice or snow.

silver plate inserted into Victory’s plank where Nelson fell
Pictures here. The current plate is apparently brass. Either the plate’s been replaced or Melville got the material wrong – both seem likely enough.

helm, n.
1. The handle or tiller, in large ships the wheel, by which the rudder is managed; sometimes extended so as to include the whole steering gear.

bluff, a.
1. Presenting a broad flattened front; esp. a. Of a ship: Opposed to sharp or projecting, having little ‘rake’ or inclination, nearly vertical in the bows.

fiddle-headed, a.
a. Naut. Having a fiddle-head.
fiddle-head
1. Naut. The ornamental carving at the bows of a vessel, the termination of which is a scroll turning aft or inward like the head of a violin.

beak, n.
7. The pointed and ornamented projection at the prow of ancient vessels, esp. of war galleys, where it was used in piercing and disabling the enemy’s vessels; now = BEAK-HEAD.

a voyage complete
This is a famous enough quote and makes fine sense already, but just reassure me: by “and not a voyage complete” he is saying that… a) the ship of the world has not a single completed voyage to its record; it is untested and this is its first trip; b) the current voyage is just begun rather than nearing completion; c) the current voyage will not return to its point of origin; d) something else. It’s a), right?

i &middot ii &middot 1 &middot 2 &middot 3 &middot 4 &middot 5 &middot 6 &middot 7