plunging

The plunging ships, the bleating sheep,

Then, instead of plunging into the mass of documents piled before him, he opened the drawer of his desk, touched a spring, and drew out a parcel of cherished memoranda, amongst which he had carefully arranged, in characters only known to himself, the names of all those who, either in his political career, in money matters, at the bar, or in his mysterious love affairs, had become his enemies.

To say one was wrong is to momentarily relinquish power, plunging oneself into a state of perceived inadequacy and vulnerability.