20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (with the original illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville)

by Jules Verne

There our diving suits were removed, not without difficulty; and utterly exhausted, faint from lack of food and rest, I repaired to my stateroom, full of wonder at this startling excursion on the bottom of the sea.

I don't know why, but I love the structure of this sentence. I want to save it to break it down later.

Between Europeans and savages, it’s acceptable for Europeans to shoot back but not to attack first.

Was this the actual thought of the time period, or was Jules Verne trying to make European culture seem more superior than it actually was?