Chapter 25 Postscript

Abridged Text, followed by Abridger Notes, followed by multimedia, followed by Original Text with deletions.

 

Chapter 25 Postscript

 

In behalf of the dignity of whaling, I would fain advance naught but substantiated facts.

It is well known that at the coronation of kings and queens, even modern ones, a certain curious process of seasoning them for their functions is gone through. Certain I am, that a king’s head is solemnly oiled at his coronation, even as a head of salad. Can it be, though, that they anoint it with a view of making its interior run well, as they anoint machinery? Much might be ruminated here.

 

But the only thing to be considered here, is this—what kind of oil is used at coronations? Certainly it cannot be olive oil, nor macassar oil, nor castor oil, nor bear’s oil, nor train oil, nor cod-liver oil. What then can it possibly be, but sperm oil in its unmanufactured, unpolluted state, the sweetest of all oils?

 

Think of that, ye loyal Britons! we whalemen supply your kings and queens with coronation stuff!

 

Link to Chapter 26 Knights and Squires.

 

Abridger Notes

 

This chapter was completely removed from the British edition, undoubtedly because a king is likened to a salad. The MEL annotator writes:

 

 

“If Moby-Dick is to work as a narrative, readers must sympathize with its working-class characters and understand, even admire, the particular world of work in which they live. In the preceding Chapter 24, Ishmael adopts the role of an “advocate” (lawyer) arguing, as if in court, for the dignity of whalers and whaling. In Chapter 25, titled “Postscript,” Melville extends the argument, with British readers in mind. (Melville may have added this four-paragraph chapter as an afterthought late in the composition process.) But Ishmael’s flippancies toward monarchy—in one instance, he compares the royal head of state to a “head of salad”—doomed the little chapter; it was cut entirely from the British edition. Because of this removal, the British edition's chapter numbers going forward in volume 1 vary by one from the American version.”

 

 

There are too many ‘?’ in a chapter that opens with advocacy of substantiated facts, but given it was apparently a dig at monarchy, we can overlook that inconsistency. The abridgement retains the dig, without rubbing it in.

 

Multimedia Chapter 25 Postscript

 

Original Chapter 25 Postscript with Deletions

 

In behalf of the dignity of whaling, I would fain advance naught but substantiated facts[DHF1] . But after embattling his facts, an advocate who should wholly suppress a not unreasonable surmise, which might tell eloquently upon his cause—such an advocate, would he not be blameworthy?

 

It is well known that at the coronation of kings and queens, even modern ones, a certain curious process of seasoning them for their functions is gone through. There is a saltcellar of state, so called, and there may be a caster of state. How they use the salt, precisely—who knows? Certain I am, however, that a king’s head is solemnly oiled at his coronation, even as a head of salad. Can it be, though, that they anoint it with a view of making its interior run well, as they anoint machinery? Much might be ruminated here, concerning the essential dignity of this regal process, because in common life we esteem but meanly and contemptibly a fellow who anoints his hair, and palpably smells of that anointing. In truth, a mature man who uses hair-oil, unless medicinally, that man has probably got a quoggy spot in him somewhere. As a general rule, he can’t amount to much in his totality.

 

But the only thing to be considered here, is this—what kind of oil is used at coronations? Certainly it cannot be olive oil, nor macassar oil, nor castor oil, nor bear’s oil, nor train oil, nor cod-liver oil. What then can it possibly be, but sperm oil in its unmanufactured, unpolluted state, the sweetest of all oils?

 

Think of that, ye loyal Britons! we whalemen supply your kings and queens with coronation stuff!

 [DHF1]There are too many ‘?’ in a chapter that opens with advocacy of substantiated facts


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preface to Abridging Moby Dick

Image
              I was introduced to the 1956 movie, Moby Dick , as a young kid. I vaguely remember watching it with my father, which added to its gravitas, but it’s a bold, memorable, riveting story and cast of characters that assuredly would have stuck with me anyways. My father gave me the book, the British version as it turns out (see below), for Christmas 1969, with his inscription, which mentioned notable characters from the book that I would likely run across in life, but not Ishmael, perhaps because he saw himself in Ishmael, as do I – I don’t think I would feel entirely at ease with anyone who didn’t recognize some substantial amount of Ismael in themself. I recall reading the book soon after that gift from Dad, and then again in college. I still have it – I am looking at it now. Since then I have learned from and enjoyed the Frank Mueller reading of Moby Dick on Audible, over and over and over again, for more than ...
Read more

Chapter 5 Breakfast

Image
Abridged Text, followed by by Abridger Notes, followed by multimedia, followed by Original Text with deletions .   Chapter 5 Breakfast   I quickly followed suit, and descending into the bar-room accosted the grinning landlord very pleasantly. I cherished no malice towards him, though he had been skylarking with me not a little in the matter of my bedfellow.   However, a good laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce. So, if any one man, in his own proper person, afford stuff for a good joke to anybody, let him not be backward, but let him cheerfully allow himself to spend and be spent in that way. And the man that has anything bountifully laughable about him, be sure there is more in that man than you perhaps think for.   The bar-room was now full of the boarders, whom I had not as yet had a good look at. They were nearly all whalemen; chief mates, and second mates, and third mates, and sea carpenters, and sea coopers, and sea blacksmiths, and...
Read more

Chapter 1 Loomings

Abridged Text, followed by Images, followed by Abridger Notes, followed by Original Text with deletions . Chapter 1 Loomings   Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flour...
Read more