![]() This Right Whale I take to have been a Stoic the Sperm Whale, a Platonian, who might have taken up Spinoza in his latter years.Ī recent thread also discussed the comparison of whales to philosophers in Chapter 73, where one of the whales was Kant and the other Locke, which you may be interested in. Recall, too, that shortly before this chapter, in Chapter 74: The Sperm Whale’s Head-Contrasted View, Melville compares the two decapitated whale heads to the heads of philosophers. ![]() Nor is losing yourself metaphorically by reading, absorbing, and luxuriating in reading the ideas and Philosophy of Plato. So the idea is that dying in such a sweet smelling, rejuvenating pool of spermaceti isn't such a bad way to go. Such a clearer! such a sweetener! such a softener! such a delicious molifier! After having my hands in it for only a few minutes, my fingers felt like eels, and began, as it were, to serpentine and spiralise. A sweet and unctuous duty! No wonder that in old times this sperm was such a favourite cosmetic. It was our business to squeeze these lumps back into fluid. ![]() But as Melville explains here and previously in the book – and expands on later, notably in Chapter 94: A Squeeze of the Hand – spermaceti is extremely fragrant and has certain cosmetic qualities. aAfter all, nearly dying from falling into the sinking head of a whale isn't such a good thing. It seems you're interpreting the metaphor negatively, which makes a certain amount of sense. How many, think ye, have likewise fallen into Plato’s honey head, and sweetly perished there? Only one sweeter end can readily be recalled-the delicious death of an Ohio honey-hunter, who seeking honey in the crotch of a hollow tree, found such exceeding store of it, that leaning too far over, it sucked him in, so that he died embalmed. Now, had Tashtego perished in that head, it had been a very precious perishing smothered in the very whitest and daintiest of fragrant spermaceti coffined, hearsed, and tombed in the secret inner chamber and sanctum sanctorum of the whale. The quote in your post isn't formatting right for me, so I'll repost the whole paragraph here: Norton Critical Edition could be an option but I'm not sure. What's exactly means Plato's head? And perished there? Is puzzling as the hell!! but I'm very interesting in understand other points of views.Īlso any book recommendation for better understanding of this amazing history would be welcome. One probably interpretation of this final line could be that You shouldn't use too much the Plato philosophy otherwise could die with your own words? Is when Tashtego falls over into the sperm whale head and almost die inside but Queequeg rescue him with a subaquatic cesarean. How many, think ye, have likewise fallen into Plato’s honey head, and sweetly perished there?” Only one sweeter end can readily be recalled- the delicious death of an Ohio honey-hunter, who seeking honey in the crotch of a hollow tree, found such exceeding store of it, that leaning too far over, it sucked him in, so that he died embalmed. ![]() “Now, had Tashtego perished in that head, it had been a very precious perishing smothered in the very whitest and daintiest of fragment spermaceti coffined, hearsed, and tombed in the secret inner chamber and sanctum sanctorum of the whale. In the end of chapter 78, Melville finish the chapter this way:
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