Moderation, Self-Reflection, Evil

This chapter argues that the book of Ecclesiastes helps Melville fathom the limits of wisdom philosophy. Ecclesiastes stresses the need to temper the idealism that underpins the perennial search for divine wisdom with the expediencies of daily life in the world. It is a meta-text that reflects critically on the wisdom project. Having found American culture to be fundamentally opposed to wisdom axioms (cf. Chapter 2), Melville, as this chapter shows, begins to push back against some of the skepticism in Solomon’s “despondent philosophy,” while maintaining the fundamental usefulness of its contemplative outlook on life. The works covered here—Redburn, Moby-Dick, Pierre, and the poetry collection Battle-Pieces—all depict individuals caught in the hermeneutical conundrum of applying wisdom teachings to the situations they find themselves in. Melville ultimately winds up embracing the wisdom axiom of moderation through contemplative discernment.