Herman Melville - Pierre: or, The ambiguities

Cover

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THE WRITINGS OF HERMAN MELVILLE

The Northwestern-Newberry Edition

VOLUME SEVEN

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EDITORS
HARRISON HAYFORD, General Editor
HERSHEL PARKER, Associate General Editor
G. THOMAS TANSELLE, Bibliographical Editor

ASSOCIATES
RICHARD COLLES JOHNSON, Bibliographical Associate
JOEL MYERSON, Editorial Associate

ADVISORY BOARD
JOHN HURT FISHER For the Modern Language Association of America
WILLIAM M. GIBSON For the Center for Editions of American Authors
LEON HOWARD For the MLA American Literature Section
WILLARD THORP For the MLA American Literature Section
MOODY E. PRIOR For Northwestern University
ROBERT PLANT ARMSTRONG For Northwestern University Press
LAWRENCE W. TOWNER For The Newberry Library

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Pierre

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This volume edited by
HARRISON HAYFORD
HERSHEL PARKER
G. THOMAS TANSELLE

Historical Note by
LEON HOWARD
and
HERSHEL PARKER

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or
The Ambiguities

HERMAN MELVILLE

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS
and
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY
Evanston and Chicago
1971

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THE RESEARCH leading to the establishment of the text printed herein was undertaken pursuant to a contract with the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, under the provisions of the Coperative Research Program. The Historical Note, by Leon Howard and Hershel Parker, was prepared independently of the text.

Publication of the Northwestern-Newberry Edition of THE WRITINGS OF HERMAN MELVILLE has been made possible through the financial support of Northwestern University and its Research Committee, and of The Newberry Library. This edition originated with Northwestern University Press, Inc., which reserves all rights against commercial reproduction by offset-lithographic or equivalent copying processes.

Historical Note copyright 1971 by Leon Howard and
Hershel Parker

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 6711991

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Cloth Edition, ISBN 0810102668
Paper Edition, ISBN 0810102676

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TO

I N OLD TIMES authors were proud of the privilege of dedicating their works to Majesty. A right noble custom, which we of Berkshire must revive. For whether we will or no, Majesty is all around us here in Berkshire, sitting as in a grand Congress of Vienna of majestical hill-tops, and eternally challenging our homage.

But since the majestic mountain, Greylockmy own more immediate sovereign lord and kinghath now, for innumerable ages, been the one grand dedicatee of the earliest rays of all the Berkshire mornings, I know not how his Imperial Purple Majesty (royal-born: Porphyrogenitus) will receive the dedication of my own poor solitary ray.

Nevertheless, forasmuch as I, dwelling with my loyal neighbors, the Maples and the Beeches, in the amphitheater over which his central majesty presides, have received his most bounteous and unstinted fertilizations, it is but meet, that I here devoutly kneel, and render up my gratitude, whether, thereto, The Most Excellent Purple Majesty of Greylock benignantly incline his hoary crown or no.

Pittsfield, Mass.

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