The Raft and Socrates Asks Why [antikvár]

THE RAFT A raft is floating on the Atlantic. The long swell lifts it, raising first one corner so that it lies steeply tilted, and the opposite corner dips into the sea. The water, with a flourish of white, runs along its lower side. The bodies on the raft begin to roll downhill, but they have been tied to the planking, and the ropes halt their movement abruptly. Then the raft is tilted in the opposite direction, and again the bodies move a little way, uneasily. The Atlantic is almost black, and the swell is ribbed with a fresh wind, here and there white-bearded. The sky hangs low in dull and formless clouds. A shower of rain, swift and savage, runs over the sea and striking hard upon the raft, rebounds, from planking and bodies, in small crystal fountains. There is a break in the clouds, and the view enlarges. On the desolate circle of ocean there is nothing to be seen but the raft. It rises on a swell, and disappears into a darker gulf. There are six bodies on it. Two of them, on the i