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Quotation

You know that line of Coleridge? ‘As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean.’ ” I recognized the line—two lines, actually—as from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a poem which, unlike most of the other imperishable works we’d had to read in high school English, I’d actually liked. “ ‘Water, water, everywhere,’ ” I quoted back, “ ‘And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink.’ ” He nodded approvingly. “Most people think the last line is ‘And not a drop to drink.’ ” “Most people are wrong,” I said, “most of the time, about most things. Was the painted ship silent, upon its painted ocean?”