All 5 Uses of
baptism
in
Moby Dick
- But by and by, he said, he would return,—as soon as he felt himself baptized again.†
Chpt 10-12
- "No," said Peleg, "and he hasn't been baptized right either, or it would have washed some of that devil's blue off his face."†
Chpt 16-18
- There is a deal of obscurity concerning the identity of the species thus multitudinously baptised.†
Chpt 31-33 *
- "Ego non baptizo te in nomine patris, sed in nomine diaboli!" deliriously howled Ahab, as the malignant iron scorchingly devoured the baptismal blood.†
Chpt 112-114
- But the suddenly started Pequod was not quick enough to escape the sound of the splash that the corpse soon made as it struck the sea; not so quick, indeed, but that some of the flying bubbles might have sprinkled her hull with their ghostly baptism.†
Chpt 130-132
Definition:
-
(baptism) a Christian ceremony signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth
or:
a challenging experience that initiates or purifieseditor's notes: Most churches baptize infants, but some require an adult to request baptism, and a few (such as the Quakers) require no baptism at all.
Typically, water is used as part of the ceremony, such as sprinkling a little water on a baby's head; though some churches use complete submersion in water.