Welcome back to another episode of church history. Last week we were talking about the pulpit, that Latin word pulpitum and that object that appears in so many churches.

Well, we also find the pulpit appearing in of all places that great American novel

by Herman Melville, none other than Moby Dick. Moby Dick has 135 chapters. They have fascinating names like The Shark Massacre and other

interesting names. Two of the chapters in particular come early in the book

that have great names. Chapter 9 is entitled The Sermon. Chapter 8 is entitled The Pulpit.

So this is Melville's description of a pulpit of a fabled New England church.

It's sort of a conglomerate picture that Melville is putting together.

And of course they are about to go out to sea questing after the great white whale.

And before they go, all the sailors will show up

that Sunday in church to hear that sermon

before they're sent off to see,

and they might not come back again.

Well, this is chapter 8 on the pulpit.

Let's read Melville's description.

He tells us how he is sitting there in the pew of the church and Father Maple comes in and then he

starts walking towards the pulpit. Melville says, like most old-fashioned pulpit, it was a very lofty one. And since a regular stairs to such a height

would, by its long angle with the floor, seriously constrict the already small area of the chapel.

The architect, it seemed, had acted upon the hint of Father Maple and finished the pulpit without a stairs substituting a perpendicular

that is straight up and down side ladder. Like those used in mounting a ship from a boat at sea. The wife of a

whaling captain had provided the chapel with a handsome pair of red ropes for this ladder.

Halting for an instant at the foot of the ladder,

and with both hands grasping the ornamental knobs of those red ropes,

...