The cruise of the Snark
by Jack London
- Pages
- about 287
- Category
- History
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5.3 h at 250 wpm
From the opening
I had a house to build on the ranch, also an orchard, a vineyard, and
several hedges to plant, and a number of other things to do. We thought
we would start in four or five years. Then the lure of the adventure
began to grip us. Why not start at once? We’d never be younger, any of
us. Let the orchard, vineyard, and hedges be growing up while we were
away. When we came back, they would be ready for us, and we could live
in the barn while we built the house.
So the trip was decided upon, and the building of the Snark began. We
named her the Snark because we could not think of any other name—this
information is given for the benefit of those who otherwise might think
there is something occult in the name.
Our friends cannot understand why we make this voyage. They shudder,
and moan, and raise their hands. No amount of explanation can make them
comprehend that we are moving along the line of least resistance; that
it is easier for us to go down to the sea in a small ship than to
remain on dry land, just as it is easier for them to remain on dry land
than to go down to the sea in the small ship. This state of mind comes
of an undue prominence of the ego. They cannot get away from
themselves. They cannot come out of themselves long enough to see that
their line of least resistance is not necessarily everybody else’s line
of least resistance. They make of their own bundle of desires, likes,
and dislikes a yardstick wherewith to measure the desires, likes, and
dislikes of all creatures. This is unfair. I tell them so. But they
cannot get away from their own miserable egos long enough to hear me.
They think I am crazy. In return, I am sympathetic. It is a state of
mind familiar to me.
A short sample. Read the whole book
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