“Do you like the sea, Captain?”
“Yes – I love it! The sea is everything. It covers 7/10ths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense dessert, where man is never lonely for he feels life stirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderful existence. It is nothing but love and emotion. It is the living infinite, as one of your poets has said. In fact professor, nature manifests herself in it by her three kingdoms: mineral, vegetable, and animal. The sea is the vast reservoir of nature. The globe began with sea so-to-speak, and who knows if it will not end with it. In it is supreme tranquility.
The sea does not belong to despots. Upon its surface, men can still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be carried away with terrestrial horrors. But at 30 feet below its level, their reign ceases, their influence is quenched, and their power disappears.
Ah sir, live! Live in the bosom of the waters. There only is independence. There, I recognize no masters. There, I am free!”
Captain Nemo suddenly became silent in the midst of this enthusiasm, by which he was quite carried away. For a few moments he paced up and down, much agitated. Then he became more calm, regained his accustomed coldness of expression, and, turning toward me,
“Now Professor, if you wish to go over the Nautilus, I am at your service.”
Captain Nemo rose. I followed him. …
– 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, translated by Mercier Lewis, read by Michael Prichard. Excerpt from Chapter 3.