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Billy Budd and Melville's Philosophy of WarAuthor(s): Joyce Sparer AdlerReviewed work(s):Source: PMLA, Vol. 91, No. 2 (Mar., 1976), pp. 266-278Published by: Modern Language AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/461513 .

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JOYCE SPARER ADLEROYCE SPARER ADLER

Billy Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warilly Budd and Melville's Philosophy of War

B ILLYBUDD, SAILOR' concentrates Mel-ville's philosophy of war and lifts it to itshighest point of development. Its themesare recapitulations and extensions of those he hadmany times developed, and its poetic conceptionsare the offspring of earlier ones which had con-cretized his ideas concerning the "greatest ofevils."2 Even the manuscript record of his revi-sion gives evidence of his need to express as per-fectly as possible his thinking about the ill whichhad been at the center of his imagination for al-most half a century,3 his vision of the "civilized"and "Christian" world in which the essence ofwar and evil is one. His reluctance to finish is un-derstandable. In his seventies he could not counton another chance to set forth so scrupulously hisview of the man-of-war world as a parody of theChristianity it feigns or to awaken other imagina-tions to "holier"4values than those civilized manhad lived by.The view of Billy Budd as the final stage in thedevelopment of Melville's philosophy of war em-braces both the work's abhorrence of war and thewarmachine (the feeling ignored by those who, inthe classical argumentabout Billy Budd,see it as a"testament of acceptance") and its genuinelyaffirmative,nonironic, and luminous aspects (thequalities set aside by those who see it in its totalityas irony, rejection,or darknessalone). Along withMelville's continued rejectionof the world of warthere is in Billy Budda new affirmationthat withinthat world's most cruel contradictions lies thepotentiality of its metamorphosis.It is now generally believed that Billy Budd,Sailor was originally intended for inclusion inJohn Marr and Other Sailors since an early draftof the ballad with which the story ends goes backto 1886 when other John Marr poems with shortprose introductions were being composed.5 Butas one can see from the Hayford and Sealts genetictext, which traces the changes Melville made dur-ing the years of Billi Budd's composition, Mel-ville sensed early the potential of the basic situa-

B ILLYBUDD, SAILOR' concentrates Mel-ville's philosophy of war and lifts it to itshighest point of development. Its themesare recapitulations and extensions of those he hadmany times developed, and its poetic conceptionsare the offspring of earlier ones which had con-cretized his ideas concerning the "greatest ofevils."2 Even the manuscript record of his revi-sion gives evidence of his need to express as per-fectly as possible his thinking about the ill whichhad been at the center of his imagination for al-most half a century,3 his vision of the "civilized"and "Christian" world in which the essence ofwar and evil is one. His reluctance to finish is un-derstandable. In his seventies he could not counton another chance to set forth so scrupulously hisview of the man-of-war world as a parody of theChristianity it feigns or to awaken other imagina-tions to "holier"4values than those civilized manhad lived by.The view of Billy Budd as the final stage in thedevelopment of Melville's philosophy of war em-braces both the work's abhorrence of war and thewarmachine (the feeling ignored by those who, inthe classical argumentabout Billy Budd,see it as a"testament of acceptance") and its genuinelyaffirmative,nonironic, and luminous aspects (thequalities set aside by those who see it in its totalityas irony, rejection,or darknessalone). Along withMelville's continued rejectionof the world of warthere is in Billy Budda new affirmationthat withinthat world's most cruel contradictions lies thepotentiality of its metamorphosis.It is now generally believed that Billy Budd,Sailor was originally intended for inclusion inJohn Marr and Other Sailors since an early draftof the ballad with which the story ends goes backto 1886 when other John Marr poems with shortprose introductions were being composed.5 Butas one can see from the Hayford and Sealts genetictext, which traces the changes Melville made dur-ing the years of Billi Budd's composition, Mel-ville sensed early the potential of the basic situa-

tion-the execution of a sailor in wartime. Itcould present an unforgettable picture of thenature of the world of war and, at the same time,suggest its complexities, which the imaginationof man must penetrate. The revisions movesteadily in the direction of realizing this po-tential6 until in the end Billy Budd becomes awork to remain in the reader'smemory as simul-taneously one of the most simple of fictionalworks, in terms of story, and one of the mostcomplex, in terms of what is implied by the artwith which the story is presented.By the time of his last work Melville was so ex-perienced a poet and narrator that he could relysolely on poetic conceptions integrated into nar-rative to carry his ideas. For this reason it ispossible to consider all main aspects of the workin the course of recalling the story.What happens in Billy Budd,with the exceptionof what takes place within the psyche of the crew,is what Melville had all along demonstrated mustnecessarily happen-what is, in that sense, fated-in the "present civilization of the world."7 Im-pressed from the English merchant ship Rights-of-Man8 to serve the King on the battleshipBellipotentin 1797, the year of the Great Mutinyduring the Napoleonic wars, Billy is White-Jacket's sailor "shorn of all rights" (p. 301; Ch.lxxii). Young and of considerable physical andpersonal beauty, like Melville's typical "Hand-some Sailor" in aspect though not like him a"spokesman" (p. 44; Ch. i), called "peace-maker"and "jewel" by the merchantman's captain (p.47; Ch. i), and "flower of the flock" and a"beauty" by the lieutenant who carries him off(p. 48; Ch. i), he is from the first the symbol of thegood and beauty "out of keeping" (p. 53; Ch. ii)and doomed in the world of war, as, in White-Jacket, are Jack Jewel (p. 70; Ch. xvi) and theblossoms which cannot survive on the Neversink.He is, at the same time, representativeof sailorsas a class, as the title Billy Budd, Sailor conveys.The words of John Marr describing seamen gen-

tion-the execution of a sailor in wartime. Itcould present an unforgettable picture of thenature of the world of war and, at the same time,suggest its complexities, which the imaginationof man must penetrate. The revisions movesteadily in the direction of realizing this po-tential6 until in the end Billy Budd becomes awork to remain in the reader'smemory as simul-taneously one of the most simple of fictionalworks, in terms of story, and one of the mostcomplex, in terms of what is implied by the artwith which the story is presented.By the time of his last work Melville was so ex-perienced a poet and narrator that he could relysolely on poetic conceptions integrated into nar-rative to carry his ideas. For this reason it ispossible to consider all main aspects of the workin the course of recalling the story.What happens in Billy Budd,with the exceptionof what takes place within the psyche of the crew,is what Melville had all along demonstrated mustnecessarily happen-what is, in that sense, fated-in the "present civilization of the world."7 Im-pressed from the English merchant ship Rights-of-Man8 to serve the King on the battleshipBellipotentin 1797, the year of the Great Mutinyduring the Napoleonic wars, Billy is White-Jacket's sailor "shorn of all rights" (p. 301; Ch.lxxii). Young and of considerable physical andpersonal beauty, like Melville's typical "Hand-some Sailor" in aspect though not like him a"spokesman" (p. 44; Ch. i), called "peace-maker"and "jewel" by the merchantman's captain (p.47; Ch. i), and "flower of the flock" and a"beauty" by the lieutenant who carries him off(p. 48; Ch. i), he is from the first the symbol of thegood and beauty "out of keeping" (p. 53; Ch. ii)and doomed in the world of war, as, in White-Jacket, are Jack Jewel (p. 70; Ch. xvi) and theblossoms which cannot survive on the Neversink.He is, at the same time, representativeof sailorsas a class, as the title Billy Budd, Sailor conveys.The words of John Marr describing seamen gen-26666

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Joyce Sparer Adleroyce Sparer Adlererally apply to him: "Taking things as fatedmerely,/ Child-like through the world ye spanned;/ Nor holding unto life too dearly, /... Barbar-ians of man's simpler nature, / Unworldly serversof the world."9 He is shortly seen to representalso the jewel and flower of youth sacrificed towar, like the soldiers in Battle-Pieces "nipped likeblossoms," 0 willing children sent through fireassacrifices to a false god, fated to die because anolder generationhas failed to rectify wrongs whichlead to war. In either aspect-representative oroutstanding-he embodies White-Jacket's con-ception of a sailor as the "image of his Creator"(p. 142; Ch. xxxiv).

Billy accepts his impressment without com-plaint. Like the crew of the Pequod and all but afew sailors on the Neversink he is incapable ofsaying "no" to anyone in authority, or indeed ofspeaking at all when he most needs speech to de-fend himself. His "imperfection" is concretizedin an actual "defect," a tongue-tie or "more orless of a stutter or even worse" (p. 53; Ch. ii). Thereverse of this "organic hesitancy"-the abilityto speak up to authority-is possessed by no onein Billy Budd, but the dedication to Jack Chase,whose outstanding quality in White-Jacket is hiswillingness to be a spokesman, points up thecontrast. There is no one resembling him on theBellipotent-a rereading of the dedication afterthe novel is readwill remindone-no independentspirit to speak up firmly for Billy.The day after Billy's impressment the Belli-potent's crew must witness an admonitory flog-ging.1 The young sailor, now a foretopman,vows never to do anything to bring down onhimself such a punishment or even a reproof. Butwhile he never does, and while his simple virtue,friendliness, and good looks make him well-likedby the crew, these very qualities arouse a "pecu-liar" (p. 73; Ch. x) hostility in Claggart, themaster-at-arms,a functionary peculiar to battle-ships. Billy's goodness calls forth a natural anti-pathy in Claggart; the devil, associated in Mel-ville's imagination with war and inevitably hostileto all good, resides in Claggart, as once before inBland, the master-at-armsin White-Jacket.WhatMelville stresses in both masters-at-arms is theirfunction. The diabolical power of each derivesfrom his position, given him by the war machine.Claggart's "place" puts "converging wires of un-derground influence" under his control (p. 67;

erally apply to him: "Taking things as fatedmerely,/ Child-like through the world ye spanned;/ Nor holding unto life too dearly, /... Barbar-ians of man's simpler nature, / Unworldly serversof the world."9 He is shortly seen to representalso the jewel and flower of youth sacrificed towar, like the soldiers in Battle-Pieces "nipped likeblossoms," 0 willing children sent through fireassacrifices to a false god, fated to die because anolder generationhas failed to rectify wrongs whichlead to war. In either aspect-representative oroutstanding-he embodies White-Jacket's con-ception of a sailor as the "image of his Creator"(p. 142; Ch. xxxiv).Billy accepts his impressment without com-plaint. Like the crew of the Pequod and all but a

few sailors on the Neversink he is incapable ofsaying "no" to anyone in authority, or indeed ofspeaking at all when he most needs speech to de-fend himself. His "imperfection" is concretizedin an actual "defect," a tongue-tie or "more orless of a stutter or even worse" (p. 53; Ch. ii). Thereverse of this "organic hesitancy"-the abilityto speak up to authority-is possessed by no onein Billy Budd, but the dedication to Jack Chase,whose outstanding quality in White-Jacket is hiswillingness to be a spokesman, points up thecontrast. There is no one resembling him on theBellipotent-a rereading of the dedication afterthe novel is readwill remindone-no independentspirit to speak up firmly for Billy.The day after Billy's impressment the Belli-potent's crew must witness an admonitory flog-ging.1 The young sailor, now a foretopman,vows never to do anything to bring down onhimself such a punishment or even a reproof. Butwhile he never does, and while his simple virtue,friendliness, and good looks make him well-likedby the crew, these very qualities arouse a "pecu-liar" (p. 73; Ch. x) hostility in Claggart, themaster-at-arms,a functionary peculiar to battle-ships. Billy's goodness calls forth a natural anti-pathy in Claggart; the devil, associated in Mel-ville's imagination with war and inevitably hostileto all good, resides in Claggart, as once before inBland, the master-at-armsin White-Jacket.WhatMelville stresses in both masters-at-arms is theirfunction. The diabolical power of each derivesfrom his position, given him by the war machine.Claggart's "place" puts "converging wires of un-derground influence" under his control (p. 67;

Ch. viii). The navy "charges" him with his policeduties so that he can preserve its "order" (p. 64;Ch. viii). He lives in "official seclusion" from thelight (p. 64; Ch. viii). The words function andfunctionary are regularly used in relation to him.Since his qualities are what the navy needs in amaster-at-arms, Claggart has advanced rapidlyto his post, and, as with Bland, the navy defendshim, posthumously, even when his evil is exposed.His mystery, which is something to be probed, issocial in its significanceand consequences, not soemptily abstract and supernaturalthat one mustabandon all attempts to understand it. As Mel-ville had said in White-Jacket: "Ourselves areFate"; man fashions or chooses his own gods torule him (pp. 320-21; Ch. lxxv); there are "nomysteries out of ourselves" (p. 398; "The End").The depravity Claggart stands for is encouragedby the values that dominate the world: "Civiliza-tion, especially if of the austerersort is auspiciousto it. It folds itself in the mantle of respectability"(p. 75; Ch. xi).Melville accents the mutually exclusive char-acter of the values of war and peace, for whichClaggart and Billy stand, in an unusual spatialway, in terms of "the juxtaposition of dissimilarpersonalities" (p. 74; Ch. xi); the "mutually con-fronting visages" of the master-at-arms and theyoung sailor (p. 98; Ch. xix); and their eventualassignment to "opposite" compartments (p. 101;Ch. xix). Billy is associated with the sunlight, themaster-at-arms with the contrasting space, theshade. They are "essential right and wrong,"which in the "juggleryof circumstances" attend-ing war are interchanged (p. 103; Ch. xxi). Forwhat is evil for man is war's good; what is goodfor mankind is what war has no place for.An old Danish sailor's thoughts present thequestion to which the book responds. Seeing inBilly-Baby as he calls him-something "in con-trast" with the warship's "environment" and"oddly incongruous" with it, he wonders whatwill befall such a nature in such a world (p. 70;Ch. ix). He warns Billy that Claggart is down onhim, but just as Claggart is powerless to containany good, so Billy is unable to take in the evil ofthe master-at-arms.At a moment when the Bellipotent is on de-tached service from the fleet, Claggart seeks aninterview with Captain Vere. He accuses Billyof plotting mutiny, a charge well calculated to

Ch. viii). The navy "charges" him with his policeduties so that he can preserve its "order" (p. 64;Ch. viii). He lives in "official seclusion" from thelight (p. 64; Ch. viii). The words function andfunctionary are regularly used in relation to him.Since his qualities are what the navy needs in amaster-at-arms, Claggart has advanced rapidlyto his post, and, as with Bland, the navy defendshim, posthumously, even when his evil is exposed.His mystery, which is something to be probed, issocial in its significanceand consequences, not soemptily abstract and supernaturalthat one mustabandon all attempts to understand it. As Mel-ville had said in White-Jacket: "Ourselves areFate"; man fashions or chooses his own gods torule him (pp. 320-21; Ch. lxxv); there are "nomysteries out of ourselves" (p. 398; "The End").The depravity Claggart stands for is encouragedby the values that dominate the world: "Civiliza-tion, especially if of the austerersort is auspiciousto it. It folds itself in the mantle of respectability"(p. 75; Ch. xi).Melville accents the mutually exclusive char-acter of the values of war and peace, for whichClaggart and Billy stand, in an unusual spatialway, in terms of "the juxtaposition of dissimilarpersonalities" (p. 74; Ch. xi); the "mutually con-fronting visages" of the master-at-arms and theyoung sailor (p. 98; Ch. xix); and their eventualassignment to "opposite" compartments (p. 101;Ch. xix). Billy is associated with the sunlight, themaster-at-arms with the contrasting space, theshade. They are "essential right and wrong,"which in the "juggleryof circumstances" attend-ing war are interchanged (p. 103; Ch. xxi). Forwhat is evil for man is war's good; what is goodfor mankind is what war has no place for.An old Danish sailor's thoughts present thequestion to which the book responds. Seeing inBilly-Baby as he calls him-something "in con-trast" with the warship's "environment" and"oddly incongruous" with it, he wonders whatwill befall such a nature in such a world (p. 70;Ch. ix). He warns Billy that Claggart is down onhim, but just as Claggart is powerless to containany good, so Billy is unable to take in the evil ofthe master-at-arms.At a moment when the Bellipotent is on de-tached service from the fleet, Claggart seeks aninterview with Captain Vere. He accuses Billyof plotting mutiny, a charge well calculated to

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Billy Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warilly Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warcreate fear at that moment, but one which Verecannot credit in the case of the young sailor.Called in to face the accusation, Billy is speech-less with horror, his "impotence" noted by thecaptain (p. 99; Ch. xix). Claggart's eyes as heconfronts Billy lose their human expression.His first glance is that of a serpent, his last thatof a torpedo fish, Melville again associating thedevil, as represented by the serpent, with war, asimplied by the torpedo. Unable to use his tongue,Billy can express himself against Claggart onlywith a blow, which strikes the master-at-arms inthe forehead and kills him.Vere's instantaneous utterance, "Fated boy"(p!99; Ch. xix), unconsciously pronounces Billy'sdoom. His response is the result of conditioningso strong that his verdict has the force of aninstinct. The moment sets forth dramaticallywhat was put forward as exposition in White-Jacket in regardto the power which a man-of-warcaptain's long-instilled prejudices and traininghave over his thought (p. 232; Ch. lv). So thor-oughly has Vere been dedicated to the ritual ofwar that to him it seems Fate. He covers and thenuncovers his face, the "father in him, manifestedtowards Billy thus far in the scene .. replacedby the military disciplinarian" (p. 100; Ch.xix).This is a gentler version, but an imaginativelyrelated version, nonetheless, of the two faces ofthe Neversink'scaptain, a fatherly one for specialoccasions and an uncompromising judge's facewhen he condemns a man to be flogged. The twofaces cannot coincide. The face of the militarydisciplinarian in Vere must take the place of thatof the father.Vere must at this point make his consciouschoice between God's will and that of Mars. Heis not in any degree unclear about the nature ofthat choice; in his mind Claggarthas been struckdead by an "angel of God." But neither is he for amoment undecided about his verdict: "Yet theangel must hang" (p. 101; Ch. xix). For, as Mel-ville will make increasingly clear, the god whomVere has been trained to worship is Mars; hisreligion is war; his thoughts and acts are condi-tioned by the ritual patterns of warmaking. So hesilences that part of himself that recognizes Godin Billy; he is, in effect, knowingly striking atGod when he decides to sacrifice God's angel.Melville shows him self-alienated to the extreme.Veredoes feel sympathy, even deep love for Billy,

create fear at that moment, but one which Verecannot credit in the case of the young sailor.Called in to face the accusation, Billy is speech-less with horror, his "impotence" noted by thecaptain (p. 99; Ch. xix). Claggart's eyes as heconfronts Billy lose their human expression.His first glance is that of a serpent, his last thatof a torpedo fish, Melville again associating thedevil, as represented by the serpent, with war, asimplied by the torpedo. Unable to use his tongue,Billy can express himself against Claggart onlywith a blow, which strikes the master-at-arms inthe forehead and kills him.Vere's instantaneous utterance, "Fated boy"(p!99; Ch. xix), unconsciously pronounces Billy'sdoom. His response is the result of conditioningso strong that his verdict has the force of aninstinct. The moment sets forth dramaticallywhat was put forward as exposition in White-Jacket in regardto the power which a man-of-warcaptain's long-instilled prejudices and traininghave over his thought (p. 232; Ch. lv). So thor-oughly has Vere been dedicated to the ritual ofwar that to him it seems Fate. He covers and thenuncovers his face, the "father in him, manifestedtowards Billy thus far in the scene .. replacedby the military disciplinarian" (p. 100; Ch.xix).This is a gentler version, but an imaginativelyrelated version, nonetheless, of the two faces ofthe Neversink'scaptain, a fatherly one for specialoccasions and an uncompromising judge's facewhen he condemns a man to be flogged. The twofaces cannot coincide. The face of the militarydisciplinarian in Vere must take the place of thatof the father.Vere must at this point make his consciouschoice between God's will and that of Mars. Heis not in any degree unclear about the nature ofthat choice; in his mind Claggarthas been struckdead by an "angel of God." But neither is he for amoment undecided about his verdict: "Yet theangel must hang" (p. 101; Ch. xix). For, as Mel-ville will make increasingly clear, the god whomVere has been trained to worship is Mars; hisreligion is war; his thoughts and acts are condi-tioned by the ritual patterns of warmaking. So hesilences that part of himself that recognizes Godin Billy; he is, in effect, knowingly striking atGod when he decides to sacrifice God's angel.Melville shows him self-alienated to the extreme.Veredoes feel sympathy, even deep love for Billy,

but "a true military officer is in one particularlike a true monk. Not with more of self-abnega-tion will the latter keep his vows of monasticobedience than the former his allegiance to mar-tial duty" (p. 104; Ch. xxi). The comparisonextrapolates the one in Clarel in which an imag-ined warship is a grim abbey afloat on theocean, its discipline cenobite and dumb, its deepgalleries "cloisters of the god of war."'2 Indeed,as far back as White-Jacket,officers were "priestsof Mars" (p. 209; Ch. xlix), and an English fight-ing frigate's tall mainmast had terminated "likea steepled cathedral, in the bannered cross of thereligion of peace" (p. 268; Ch. lxv). ThroughoutBilly Budd the contrast between the religion ofwar and "the religion of Peace" is evoked, largelyby church images-an altar, a place of sanctuary,confessionals or side-chapels, sacraments, cove-nants, and ceremonial forms-until the Belli-potent becomes, in effect, a cathedraldedicated toWar. Billy is an offering Vere makes to Mars, anoffering not demanded by law or ethics or evenmilitary necessity (Melville plainly eliminatingthese as Vere's felt motivations) but by his ownobsession.Vere's inner compulsion, like Ahab's, driveshim so "steadfastly" on (p. 113; Ch. xxi) that hecannot delay. As he preparesto make his sacrifice,he is so strangely excited that the surgeon whohas been called in to attend to the corpse wonderswhether he is sane (p. 101; Ch. xx). The questionthus raised about Vere's sanity is a symbolic one,the concrete poetic expression of Melville's longconception of war as the "madness" in men. Asignificant subsidiary question is presented aswell: does Vere's strange behavior indicate asudden aberration, a "transient excitement"brought about by the unusual circumstances?Vere's devotion to war-his "madness"-is notsudden; it is his constant state of mind. But thepeculiar circumstances of Billy's killing of Clag-gart bring his obsession into sharperfocus.Instead of waiting to submit Billy's case to theadmiral when they rejoin the fleet, as the otherofficers think should be done, Vere sets up theform, though not the substance, of a trial, care-fully selecting the members of his court. He con-ducts the proceedings in extreme secrecy. Thenaval court-martial which White-Jacket con-demns as a "Star Chamber indeed!" and com-paresto the Spanish Inquisition (p. 302; Ch. lxxii)

but "a true military officer is in one particularlike a true monk. Not with more of self-abnega-tion will the latter keep his vows of monasticobedience than the former his allegiance to mar-tial duty" (p. 104; Ch. xxi). The comparisonextrapolates the one in Clarel in which an imag-ined warship is a grim abbey afloat on theocean, its discipline cenobite and dumb, its deepgalleries "cloisters of the god of war."'2 Indeed,as far back as White-Jacket,officers were "priestsof Mars" (p. 209; Ch. xlix), and an English fight-ing frigate's tall mainmast had terminated "likea steepled cathedral, in the bannered cross of thereligion of peace" (p. 268; Ch. lxv). ThroughoutBilly Budd the contrast between the religion ofwar and "the religion of Peace" is evoked, largelyby church images-an altar, a place of sanctuary,confessionals or side-chapels, sacraments, cove-nants, and ceremonial forms-until the Belli-potent becomes, in effect, a cathedraldedicated toWar. Billy is an offering Vere makes to Mars, anoffering not demanded by law or ethics or evenmilitary necessity (Melville plainly eliminatingthese as Vere's felt motivations) but by his ownobsession.Vere's inner compulsion, like Ahab's, driveshim so "steadfastly" on (p. 113; Ch. xxi) that hecannot delay. As he preparesto make his sacrifice,he is so strangely excited that the surgeon whohas been called in to attend to the corpse wonderswhether he is sane (p. 101; Ch. xx). The questionthus raised about Vere's sanity is a symbolic one,the concrete poetic expression of Melville's longconception of war as the "madness" in men. Asignificant subsidiary question is presented aswell: does Vere's strange behavior indicate asudden aberration, a "transient excitement"brought about by the unusual circumstances?Vere's devotion to war-his "madness"-is notsudden; it is his constant state of mind. But thepeculiar circumstances of Billy's killing of Clag-gart bring his obsession into sharperfocus.Instead of waiting to submit Billy's case to theadmiral when they rejoin the fleet, as the otherofficers think should be done, Vere sets up theform, though not the substance, of a trial, care-fully selecting the members of his court. He con-ducts the proceedings in extreme secrecy. Thenaval court-martial which White-Jacket con-demns as a "Star Chamber indeed!" and com-paresto the Spanish Inquisition (p. 302; Ch. lxxii)

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Joyce SparerAdleroyce SparerAdlerhere resembles those palace tragedies which oc-curred in the capital founded by the czar ofRussia, "Peter the Barbarian" (p. 103; Ch. xxi).The first part of the trial, which establishes thefacts and at which Billy is present, presents indramatic form ideas set forth in White-Jacket,Billy being the representative "plebian topman,without a jury ... judicially naked at the bar"(p. 303; Ch. lxxii) and Vere the captain clothedwith unlimited, arbitrary powers. To Billy, whocannot say "no" to anyone in authority, a found-ling child who wants to be liked and who fears tocall forth even a reproof, Vere, the king's aristo-cratic "envoy" (p. 60; Ch. vi), is someone hecould certainly never gainsay. His statement, "Ihave eaten the King's bread and I am true to theKing" (p. 106; Ch. xxi), recalls the unquestioningobedience exacted in return for food in Mobv-Dick's cabin-table scene in which men waiting tobe served by Ahab are as little children humblebefore the captain, whose war they will servewithout question; even Starbuck, the chief mate,receives his meat as though receiving alms.13Billy's words, suggesting as they do a sacramentand a covenant, contribute to a contrast betweenthe bargain between men and kings who givethem food so that they may feed upon them andthe covenant between man and God by whichman will live according to the ethical standardsrepresented by God. One realizes at this pointwhy Melville had earliermade Vere referto Billy,in "naval parlance,"as a "King's bargain"(p. 95;Ch. xviii).Although Billy symbolizes what is essentiallygood, he has the weakness of the sailors he repre-sents: his silence gives consent to war's demands.When he grasps what Vere has in mind for him,he acquiesces to the decision as to Fate. His si-lence-like that of all the others on the Belli-

potent, including the silence of Vere's humanepart-is an accessory of war, partakingof its evil.Thus an earlier remark about Billy, unexplainedat the time, is clarified; namely, that his vocalflaw shows that "the arch interferer, the enviousmarplot of Eden, still has more or less to do witheveryhumanconsignment to this planet of Earth"(p. 53; Ch. ii).The second part of the trial, the arrival at ajoint verdict (pp. 109-14; Ch. xxi), begins justafter Billy is sent back to the compartment oppo-site the one where Claggart's body lies. Vere asks

here resembles those palace tragedies which oc-curred in the capital founded by the czar ofRussia, "Peter the Barbarian" (p. 103; Ch. xxi).The first part of the trial, which establishes thefacts and at which Billy is present, presents indramatic form ideas set forth in White-Jacket,Billy being the representative "plebian topman,without a jury ... judicially naked at the bar"(p. 303; Ch. lxxii) and Vere the captain clothedwith unlimited, arbitrary powers. To Billy, whocannot say "no" to anyone in authority, a found-ling child who wants to be liked and who fears tocall forth even a reproof, Vere, the king's aristo-cratic "envoy" (p. 60; Ch. vi), is someone hecould certainly never gainsay. His statement, "Ihave eaten the King's bread and I am true to theKing" (p. 106; Ch. xxi), recalls the unquestioningobedience exacted in return for food in Mobv-Dick's cabin-table scene in which men waiting tobe served by Ahab are as little children humblebefore the captain, whose war they will servewithout question; even Starbuck, the chief mate,receives his meat as though receiving alms.13Billy's words, suggesting as they do a sacramentand a covenant, contribute to a contrast betweenthe bargain between men and kings who givethem food so that they may feed upon them andthe covenant between man and God by whichman will live according to the ethical standardsrepresented by God. One realizes at this pointwhy Melville had earliermade Vere referto Billy,in "naval parlance,"as a "King's bargain"(p. 95;Ch. xviii).Although Billy symbolizes what is essentiallygood, he has the weakness of the sailors he repre-sents: his silence gives consent to war's demands.When he grasps what Vere has in mind for him,he acquiesces to the decision as to Fate. His si-lence-like that of all the others on the Belli-

potent, including the silence of Vere's humanepart-is an accessory of war, partakingof its evil.Thus an earlier remark about Billy, unexplainedat the time, is clarified; namely, that his vocalflaw shows that "the arch interferer, the enviousmarplot of Eden, still has more or less to do witheveryhumanconsignment to this planet of Earth"(p. 53; Ch. ii).The second part of the trial, the arrival at ajoint verdict (pp. 109-14; Ch. xxi), begins justafter Billy is sent back to the compartment oppo-site the one where Claggart's body lies. Vere asks

the question he knows to be in the officers'minds:"How can we adjudge to summary and shamefuldeath a fellow creatureinnocent before God, andwhom we feel to be so?-Does that state itaright? You sign sad assent. Well, I too feel that,the full force of that. It is Nature." But he urgesthe court to remember that their allegiance hasbeen sworn to the King, not to Nature. And now,as in his most subtle earlierfiction, Melville speaksthroughanother, saying in part what that charac-tersays but in essence and in total intention some-thing far different; it is the technique used withespecial artistry in the case of Captain Delano inBenito Cereno and of Judge Hall in The Confi-dence-Man. Speaking through Vere, Melvilleespouses the reverseof the religion for which Vereproselytizes. The captain addresses to the courtwhat could stand alone in another context as aneloquent speech against war. He does not intendit so; Melville, however, does, conveying oblique-ly that war itself is the "Great Mutiny" againstGod, striking at "essential right." It is Vere, notMelville, who rules out "moral scruple" in favorof that strength in war, that bellipotence, whichto him is "paramount."Through Vere's speech tothe court Melville reveals the absence of moralityin war and shows himself prophetically sensitiveto a question whose centrality would not be gen-erally clear until well into the twentieth century,the question of individual conscience and respon-sibility in time of war.Vereasks:. . suppose condemnationto follow these presentproceedings.Wouldit be so muchwe ourselves hatwouldcondemnas it wouldbe martial aw operatingthroughus? For that law and the rigorof it, we arenot responsible.Ourvowed responsibilitys in this:That howeverpitilesslythat law may operate n anyinstances,we nevertheless dhere o it andadministerit. (pp. 110-11;Ch.xxi)He urges that warm hearts not betray heads thatshould be cool, that in war the heart, "the femi-nine in man," must be ruled out. As for con-science, "tell me whether or not, occupying theposition we do, private conscience should notyield to that imperial one formulated in the codeunder which alone we officially proceed" (p. 111;Ch. xxi).When one member of the court-martial pleadsthat Billy intended neither mutiny nor homicide,

Verereplies:

the question he knows to be in the officers'minds:"How can we adjudge to summary and shamefuldeath a fellow creatureinnocent before God, andwhom we feel to be so?-Does that state itaright? You sign sad assent. Well, I too feel that,the full force of that. It is Nature." But he urgesthe court to remember that their allegiance hasbeen sworn to the King, not to Nature. And now,as in his most subtle earlierfiction, Melville speaksthroughanother, saying in part what that charac-tersays but in essence and in total intention some-thing far different; it is the technique used withespecial artistry in the case of Captain Delano inBenito Cereno and of Judge Hall in The Confi-dence-Man. Speaking through Vere, Melvilleespouses the reverseof the religion for which Vereproselytizes. The captain addresses to the courtwhat could stand alone in another context as aneloquent speech against war. He does not intendit so; Melville, however, does, conveying oblique-ly that war itself is the "Great Mutiny" againstGod, striking at "essential right." It is Vere, notMelville, who rules out "moral scruple" in favorof that strength in war, that bellipotence, whichto him is "paramount."Through Vere's speech tothe court Melville reveals the absence of moralityin war and shows himself prophetically sensitiveto a question whose centrality would not be gen-erally clear until well into the twentieth century,the question of individual conscience and respon-sibility in time of war.Vereasks:. . suppose condemnationto follow these presentproceedings.Wouldit be so muchwe ourselves hatwouldcondemnas it wouldbe martial aw operatingthroughus? For that law and the rigorof it, we arenot responsible.Ourvowed responsibilitys in this:That howeverpitilesslythat law may operate n anyinstances,we nevertheless dhere o it andadministerit. (pp. 110-11;Ch.xxi)He urges that warm hearts not betray heads thatshould be cool, that in war the heart, "the femi-nine in man," must be ruled out. As for con-science, "tell me whether or not, occupying theposition we do, private conscience should notyield to that imperial one formulated in the codeunder which alone we officially proceed" (p. 111;Ch. xxi).When one member of the court-martial pleadsthat Billy intended neither mutiny nor homicide,

Verereplies:

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Billy Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warilly Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warbeforea court less arbitrary nd more merciful hana martialone, that plea would largelyextenuate.Atthe Last Assizes t shallacquit.Buthow here?Wepro-ceed underthe law of the MutinyAct. In featurenochild can resemblehis father more than that Actresembles n spiritthe thing fromwhich it derives-War. pp.111-12;Ch.xxi)Yet to the letter of that law Vere works to convertthe court; the Mutiny Act is, in the words ofWhite-Jacket about the Articles of War, his"gospel" (p. 292; Ch. lxx).To guarantee their going along with his "pre-judgment" (p. 108; Ch. xxi), Vereconcludes withan appeal to the officers' sense of fear, his argu-ment being that the crew, learning of Billy's deedand seeing him continue alive, will believe theBellipotent's officers weak and may mutinyagainst them. This appeal prevails. In any event,Vere's subordinates are, like Billy, "without thefaculty, hardly... the inclination to gainsay"him (p. 113; Ch. xxi). So Billy is sentenced to behanged at the yardarmat dawn. Vere takes uponhimself the burden of telling him privately "thefinding of the court" (p. 114; Ch. xxii), knowingBilly will feel for him (p. 113; Ch. xxi).The narratorgives no account of the interview,only a conjecture that Vere in the end may havedeveloped the passion sometimes "latent" undera stoical exterior: "The austere devotee of mili-tary duty, letting himself melt back into whatremains primeval in our formalized humanity,may in end have caught Billy to his heart, even asAbraham may have caught young Isaac on thebrink of resolutely offeringhim up in obedience tothe exacting behest" (p. 115; Ch. xxii). The nar-rator sees a resemblance between the two situa-tions, the one biblical, the other military, in orderthat Melville may accent the contrast between theGod who created man and the god of war whowould destroy him. For God in the story of Isaacand Abraham does not in the end exact the sacri-fice. In the history of the ancient Jews, as told bythose who composed the Old Testament, theAbraham-Isaac story signifies the first recordedrepudiation of the tradition of human sacrifice. Itis God's final behest that Isaac should live andthat Abraham's seed should multiply throughhim. But Vere's internal behest condemns Billy,and the tradition of human sacrifice on the altarof war goes on.

Nevertheless, Vere does suffer, and intensely;

beforea court less arbitrary nd more merciful hana martialone, that plea would largelyextenuate.Atthe Last Assizes t shallacquit.Buthow here?Wepro-ceed underthe law of the MutinyAct. In featurenochild can resemblehis father more than that Actresembles n spiritthe thing fromwhich it derives-War. pp.111-12;Ch.xxi)Yet to the letter of that law Vere works to convertthe court; the Mutiny Act is, in the words ofWhite-Jacket about the Articles of War, his"gospel" (p. 292; Ch. lxx).To guarantee their going along with his "pre-judgment" (p. 108; Ch. xxi), Vereconcludes withan appeal to the officers' sense of fear, his argu-ment being that the crew, learning of Billy's deedand seeing him continue alive, will believe theBellipotent's officers weak and may mutinyagainst them. This appeal prevails. In any event,Vere's subordinates are, like Billy, "without thefaculty, hardly... the inclination to gainsay"him (p. 113; Ch. xxi). So Billy is sentenced to behanged at the yardarmat dawn. Vere takes uponhimself the burden of telling him privately "thefinding of the court" (p. 114; Ch. xxii), knowingBilly will feel for him (p. 113; Ch. xxi).The narratorgives no account of the interview,only a conjecture that Vere in the end may havedeveloped the passion sometimes "latent" undera stoical exterior: "The austere devotee of mili-tary duty, letting himself melt back into whatremains primeval in our formalized humanity,may in end have caught Billy to his heart, even asAbraham may have caught young Isaac on thebrink of resolutely offeringhim up in obedience tothe exacting behest" (p. 115; Ch. xxii). The nar-rator sees a resemblance between the two situa-tions, the one biblical, the other military, in orderthat Melville may accent the contrast between theGod who created man and the god of war whowould destroy him. For God in the story of Isaacand Abraham does not in the end exact the sacri-fice. In the history of the ancient Jews, as told bythose who composed the Old Testament, theAbraham-Isaac story signifies the first recordedrepudiation of the tradition of human sacrifice. Itis God's final behest that Isaac should live andthat Abraham's seed should multiply throughhim. But Vere's internal behest condemns Billy,and the tradition of human sacrifice on the altarof war goes on.

Nevertheless, Vere does suffer, and intensely;

it is one of the most important ideas in the workthat all suffer from war. The senior lieutenantsees Vere leave the compartment, and "the facehe beheld, for the moment one expressive of theagony of the strong, was to that officer, though aman of fifty, a startling revelation" (p. 115; Ch.xxii). His is the agony of a martyrto an inhumanereligion. Vere turning from Billy, as Ahab fromPip, turns from his own humanity, sacrificing towar his capacity for love, for "fatherhood." Allthat will seem to remain of him from this momenton is his military function. He has adhered to hischoice between the values represented by Clag-gart and by Billy, sacrificing Billy and what herepresents and, in effect, upholding what Clag-gart stands for. And suddenly we know why it wassaid earlier of Claggart's depravity that civiliza-tion, "especially if of the austerer sort" (whichdenies its heart), is auspicious to it (p. 75; Ch. xi).

Underlining the reversal of human values inwar, Melville has Claggart prepared for burial"with every funeral honor properly belonging tohis naval grade" (p. 117; Ch. xxiii), while Billylies on the upper deck awaiting an ignominiousdeath. Billy's significanceas the good and beautysacrificed to war is representedas if in a painting.Since all of Billy Buddis only some eighty pages,the two-page painting (pp. 118-20; Ch. xxiv) ofthe young sailor in a bay formed by the regularspacing of the guns must have been of extremesymbolic importance to Melville.14 Billy lies be-tween two guns "as nippedin the vice of fate." Theguns painted black and the heavy hempen breech-ings tarred the same color seem to wear the liveryof undertakers."In contrast with the funerealhueof these surroundings," Billy lies in his soiledwhite sailor's apparel which glimmers in the ob-scure light. "In effect he is already in his shroud."Worked into the painting is the basic contrast be-tween the ignored values of Christianity and thevalues actually held sacredin modern civilization.Overhim but scarce lluminating im,two battle an-ternsswing rom wo massivebeamsof thedeckabove.Fed with he oil suppliedbythe warcontractorswhosegains,honestor otherwise,arein every and an antici-pated portionof the harvestof death),withflickeringsplashesof dirty yellow light they pollute the palemoonshine llbutineffectuallytrugglingnobstructedfleckshroughheopenports romwhich hetampionedcannonprotrude.Other anternsat intervals ervebutto bringout somewhat he obscurerbayswhich,like

it is one of the most important ideas in the workthat all suffer from war. The senior lieutenantsees Vere leave the compartment, and "the facehe beheld, for the moment one expressive of theagony of the strong, was to that officer, though aman of fifty, a startling revelation" (p. 115; Ch.xxii). His is the agony of a martyrto an inhumanereligion. Vere turning from Billy, as Ahab fromPip, turns from his own humanity, sacrificing towar his capacity for love, for "fatherhood." Allthat will seem to remain of him from this momenton is his military function. He has adhered to hischoice between the values represented by Clag-gart and by Billy, sacrificing Billy and what herepresents and, in effect, upholding what Clag-gart stands for. And suddenly we know why it wassaid earlier of Claggart's depravity that civiliza-tion, "especially if of the austerer sort" (whichdenies its heart), is auspicious to it (p. 75; Ch. xi).

Underlining the reversal of human values inwar, Melville has Claggart prepared for burial"with every funeral honor properly belonging tohis naval grade" (p. 117; Ch. xxiii), while Billylies on the upper deck awaiting an ignominiousdeath. Billy's significanceas the good and beautysacrificed to war is representedas if in a painting.Since all of Billy Buddis only some eighty pages,the two-page painting (pp. 118-20; Ch. xxiv) ofthe young sailor in a bay formed by the regularspacing of the guns must have been of extremesymbolic importance to Melville.14 Billy lies be-tween two guns "as nippedin the vice of fate." Theguns painted black and the heavy hempen breech-ings tarred the same color seem to wear the liveryof undertakers."In contrast with the funerealhueof these surroundings," Billy lies in his soiledwhite sailor's apparel which glimmers in the ob-scure light. "In effect he is already in his shroud."Worked into the painting is the basic contrast be-tween the ignored values of Christianity and thevalues actually held sacredin modern civilization.Overhim but scarce lluminating im,two battle an-ternsswing rom wo massivebeamsof thedeckabove.Fed with he oil suppliedbythe warcontractorswhosegains,honestor otherwise,arein every and an antici-pated portionof the harvestof death),withflickeringsplashesof dirty yellow light they pollute the palemoonshine llbutineffectuallytrugglingnobstructedfleckshroughheopenports romwhich hetampionedcannonprotrude.Other anternsat intervals ervebutto bringout somewhat he obscurerbayswhich,like

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Joyce SparerAdleroyce SparerAdlersmall confessionalsor side-chapels n a cathedral,branch romthe longdim-vistaed roadaislebetweenthe twobatteries f that covered ier.(p. 119;Ch.xxiv)With something of the look of a slumberingchildin the cradle, a serene light coming and going onhis face as he dreams, Billy is a picture of inno-cence, beauty, and peace doomed in the world ofwar.The chaplain who comes to talk to Billy findshim asleep in a peace that transcendsany consola-tion he has to offer. This chaplain, also an acces-sory of war, is gentler than the one in White-Jacket (Ch. xxxviii), but his role, in essence, isthe same; indeed, it is more fully developed andstrongly stated. Melville stresses his function andthe contrast between the religion he preachesandtheone he serves.Bluntlyput,a chaplain s theministerof the PrinceofPeace ervingn the host of theGod of War-Mars. Assuch,heis as incongruous s a musketwouldbe on thealtarat Christmas.Why,then,is he there?Becauseheindirectly ubserves he purposeattestedby the can-non; because oo he lendsthe sanctionof the religionof the meekto that whichpracticallys theabrogationof everything utbruteForce.(pp. 121-22;Ch.xxiv)

The luminous moonlit night passes away, but"like the prophet in the chariot disappearing inheaven and dropping his mantle to Elisha," ittransfersits pale robe "to the breaking day" anda faint light rises slowly in the East (p. 122; Ch.xxv). With this association with Elijah and thetransfer of his mantle to suggest a progression toa brighter future day, the early phrase, "themantle of respectability" to signify the cloakwhich civilization lends to Claggart-like de-pravity (p. 75; Ch. xi), seems to have been me-ticulously worded to light the differencewhen thismoment would appear. For the transfer of Eli-jah's mantle to Elisha and the slowly rising lightin the East imply an advance to a day when menwill no longer worship false gods (the baals fromwhose designation the name Beelzebub for thedevil derives) and will fulfill their latent "God-given" humanity. 5 This prophecy, with thebelievable reality upon which Melville will baseit, is the source of the luminescence that, despitethe painful events to come, will irradiate theremainderof the work.At four in the morning silver whistles summonall hands on deck to witness punishment. The

small confessionalsor side-chapels n a cathedral,branch romthe longdim-vistaed roadaislebetweenthe twobatteries f that covered ier.(p. 119;Ch.xxiv)With something of the look of a slumberingchildin the cradle, a serene light coming and going onhis face as he dreams, Billy is a picture of inno-cence, beauty, and peace doomed in the world ofwar.The chaplain who comes to talk to Billy findshim asleep in a peace that transcendsany consola-tion he has to offer. This chaplain, also an acces-sory of war, is gentler than the one in White-Jacket (Ch. xxxviii), but his role, in essence, isthe same; indeed, it is more fully developed andstrongly stated. Melville stresses his function andthe contrast between the religion he preachesandtheone he serves.Bluntlyput,a chaplain s theministerof the PrinceofPeace ervingn the host of theGod of War-Mars. Assuch,heis as incongruous s a musketwouldbe on thealtarat Christmas.Why,then,is he there?Becauseheindirectly ubserves he purposeattestedby the can-non; because oo he lendsthe sanctionof the religionof the meekto that whichpracticallys theabrogationof everything utbruteForce.(pp. 121-22;Ch.xxiv)

The luminous moonlit night passes away, but"like the prophet in the chariot disappearing inheaven and dropping his mantle to Elisha," ittransfersits pale robe "to the breaking day" anda faint light rises slowly in the East (p. 122; Ch.xxv). With this association with Elijah and thetransfer of his mantle to suggest a progression toa brighter future day, the early phrase, "themantle of respectability" to signify the cloakwhich civilization lends to Claggart-like de-pravity (p. 75; Ch. xi), seems to have been me-ticulously worded to light the differencewhen thismoment would appear. For the transfer of Eli-jah's mantle to Elisha and the slowly rising lightin the East imply an advance to a day when menwill no longer worship false gods (the baals fromwhose designation the name Beelzebub for thedevil derives) and will fulfill their latent "God-given" humanity. 5 This prophecy, with thebelievable reality upon which Melville will baseit, is the source of the luminescence that, despitethe painful events to come, will irradiate theremainderof the work.At four in the morning silver whistles summonall hands on deck to witness punishment. The

crew's silence, like Billy's, gives consent. Onlyat the moment of his death does Billy's frozenspeech become fluid, touching something deepwithin the crew. But the greatereloquence is Mel-ville's as he speaks through the young sailor andthrough the scene of his execution (pp. 123-24;Ch. xxv and pp. 125-28; Ch. xxvii). His artmakesthe spectacle "admonitory" for the reader,as forthe crew, in another sense entirely from the oneVereintends. Billystands facingaft.At the penultimatemoment,his words,his only ones,words wholly unobstructed n the utterance,werethese:"GodblessCaptainVere!"Syllables ounantici-pated coming from one with the ignominioushempabout his neck-a conventionalfelon's benedictiondirectedaft towardsthe quartersof honor; syllablestoo deliveredn theclearmelodyof a singingbirdonthepointof launchingromthetwig-had a phenome-naleffect,not unenhanced ytherarepersonalbeautyof the young sailor, spiritualizednow throughlateexperiencesopoignantly rofound.Withoutvolition,as it were,as if indeedthe ship'spopulacewerebut the vehiclesof somevocalcurrentelectric,with one voice from alow and aloft came aresonantympatheticcho:"GodblessCaptainVere "Andyet at thatinstantBillyalonemusthavebeenintheirhearts,evenas in theireyes.At thepronouncedwordsandthespontaneous chothat voluminouslyreboundedthem, CaptainVere,either hrough toicself-control r a sortofmomentaryparalysis nducedby emotionalshock, stood erectlyrigidas a musket n theship-armorer'sack.(pp. 123-24; Ch.xxv)Imbued with the meaning and suggesting theshape of the whole book, and appearing at theclimax of the narrative development, this mo-ment fuses poetic concepts from earlierworks andthrough their union gives birth to something new.The poetic concepts that carry over involveboth imagery and method. The association ofBilly with the singing bird about to launch fromthe twig, confirming him as a symbol of harmonyand as a captive in the world-of-war, has its fore-runner in White-Jacket when, as the body ofShenly slides into the sea, Jack Chase calls a soli-tary bird overhead the spirit of the dead man-of-war's man and all the crew gaze upward andwatch it sail into the sky (p. 342; Ch. lxxxi). Theuse of sound and silence to convey the responsesof the crew also has its precedent in White-Jacket, as has often been remarked,but here thedirection is not from sound to silence but from

crew's silence, like Billy's, gives consent. Onlyat the moment of his death does Billy's frozenspeech become fluid, touching something deepwithin the crew. But the greatereloquence is Mel-ville's as he speaks through the young sailor andthrough the scene of his execution (pp. 123-24;Ch. xxv and pp. 125-28; Ch. xxvii). His artmakesthe spectacle "admonitory" for the reader,as forthe crew, in another sense entirely from the oneVereintends. Billystands facingaft.At the penultimatemoment,his words,his only ones,words wholly unobstructed n the utterance,werethese:"GodblessCaptainVere!"Syllables ounantici-pated coming from one with the ignominioushempabout his neck-a conventionalfelon's benedictiondirectedaft towardsthe quartersof honor; syllablestoo deliveredn theclearmelodyof a singingbirdonthepointof launchingromthetwig-had a phenome-naleffect,not unenhanced ytherarepersonalbeautyof the young sailor, spiritualizednow throughlateexperiencesopoignantly rofound.Withoutvolition,as it were,as if indeedthe ship'spopulacewerebut the vehiclesof somevocalcurrentelectric,with one voice from alow and aloft came aresonantympatheticcho:"GodblessCaptainVere "Andyet at thatinstantBillyalonemusthavebeenintheirhearts,evenas in theireyes.At thepronouncedwordsandthespontaneous chothat voluminouslyreboundedthem, CaptainVere,either hrough toicself-control r a sortofmomentaryparalysis nducedby emotionalshock, stood erectlyrigidas a musket n theship-armorer'sack.(pp. 123-24; Ch.xxv)Imbued with the meaning and suggesting theshape of the whole book, and appearing at theclimax of the narrative development, this mo-ment fuses poetic concepts from earlierworks andthrough their union gives birth to something new.The poetic concepts that carry over involveboth imagery and method. The association ofBilly with the singing bird about to launch fromthe twig, confirming him as a symbol of harmonyand as a captive in the world-of-war, has its fore-runner in White-Jacket when, as the body ofShenly slides into the sea, Jack Chase calls a soli-tary bird overhead the spirit of the dead man-of-war's man and all the crew gaze upward andwatch it sail into the sky (p. 342; Ch. lxxxi). Theuse of sound and silence to convey the responsesof the crew also has its precedent in White-Jacket, as has often been remarked,but here thedirection is not from sound to silence but from

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Billy Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warilly Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warsilence to sound. The creation of a memorable,intensely visualizable scene to pictorialize theform and significanceof a social institution is alsoa tested Melville method, most fully developed inBenito Cereno. Vividly signified in this scene arethe war machine's concentration of power, itssacrifice of what is beautiful and good, and its"abrogation of everything but brute Force." Ituncovers the ironies and contradictions of the sit-uation: Vere in whom power is centered suffersthe most; his humanity is seen to be totally re-pressed as he stands "erectly rigid as a musket inthe ship-armorer's rack." At the very momentthat the humanity in the crew is touched and theyreact in harmony with Billy, Vere becomes a thingof war whose sole function it is to mete out death,as Ahab at the end is no more than an extensionof his weapon. Death-in-life in Vere stands incontrast with Life-in-death in Billy. The bene-diction, "God bless Captain Vere," gives voiceto the feeling shared by Billy and Melville thatVere is the one on the Bellipotentmost in need ofblessing.The way in which sight and sound are com-bined in this scene constitutes the new techniqueMelville's imagination brings forth in this crucial"penultimatemoment" on the edge of both deathand dawn. What is visual and what is aural joinin a strange counterpoint wherein one element isheld motionless while the other moves, eachworking simultaneously both with and againstthe other, to convey at one and the same momentthe seemingly forever fixed picture of the presentcivilization of the world and movement stirringwithin it. It is as if in a;film the action were to bearrested and the sound continued. The tableauincluding Billy, the crew, and Vere impresses onthe mind a picture that strikingly exhibits the es-tablished pattern of the world. It is the pictureVere wishes the admonitory spectacle to im-press. But the aural accompaniment flows for-ward carrying first Billy's benediction and thenthe sympathetic, swelling echo from the sailors inwhose hearts he is. While what the mind's eye seesis frozen and motionless, the moving sound sug-gests that the frozen structure may thaw. Some-thing in the heart of the crew, long asleep butintact, has been stirred.The tension between sightand sound, between the apparently immutableform and the growth of feeling within, will con-tinue to the point at which the idea that a seed of

silence to sound. The creation of a memorable,intensely visualizable scene to pictorialize theform and significanceof a social institution is alsoa tested Melville method, most fully developed inBenito Cereno. Vividly signified in this scene arethe war machine's concentration of power, itssacrifice of what is beautiful and good, and its"abrogation of everything but brute Force." Ituncovers the ironies and contradictions of the sit-uation: Vere in whom power is centered suffersthe most; his humanity is seen to be totally re-pressed as he stands "erectly rigid as a musket inthe ship-armorer's rack." At the very momentthat the humanity in the crew is touched and theyreact in harmony with Billy, Vere becomes a thingof war whose sole function it is to mete out death,as Ahab at the end is no more than an extensionof his weapon. Death-in-life in Vere stands incontrast with Life-in-death in Billy. The bene-diction, "God bless Captain Vere," gives voiceto the feeling shared by Billy and Melville thatVere is the one on the Bellipotentmost in need ofblessing.The way in which sight and sound are com-bined in this scene constitutes the new techniqueMelville's imagination brings forth in this crucial"penultimatemoment" on the edge of both deathand dawn. What is visual and what is aural joinin a strange counterpoint wherein one element isheld motionless while the other moves, eachworking simultaneously both with and againstthe other, to convey at one and the same momentthe seemingly forever fixed picture of the presentcivilization of the world and movement stirringwithin it. It is as if in a;film the action were to bearrested and the sound continued. The tableauincluding Billy, the crew, and Vere impresses onthe mind a picture that strikingly exhibits the es-tablished pattern of the world. It is the pictureVere wishes the admonitory spectacle to im-press. But the aural accompaniment flows for-ward carrying first Billy's benediction and thenthe sympathetic, swelling echo from the sailors inwhose hearts he is. While what the mind's eye seesis frozen and motionless, the moving sound sug-gests that the frozen structure may thaw. Some-thing in the heart of the crew, long asleep butintact, has been stirred.The tension between sightand sound, between the apparently immutableform and the growth of feeling within, will con-tinue to the point at which the idea that a seed of

change is germinating inside the rigid form willtake the ascendancy, giving the work its positivetone. The unusual use of sight and sound in thisclimactic scene seems to grow out of Melville'sdesire, newly born in the course of the composi-tion of Billy Budd, to explore how the seeminglyeternal world of war might begin to be trans-formed to that fluid, life-giving world of peace sosuddenly and startlingly pictured-without anygradual transition to it-in the "Epilogue" toMoby-Dick.As the signal for the hanging is given, a move-ment in the sky also creates a contrast with theformalized sight below. A cloud of vapor low inthe East is "shot throughwith a soft gloryas of thefleece of the Lamb of God seen in mystical vi-sion, and simultaneously therewith, watched bya wedged mass of upturned faces, Billy ascended;and, ascending, took the full rose of the dawn"(p. 124; Ch. xxv), his spirit welcomed back intoheaven.16The climax of the exemplary spectaclethe crew has been forced to witness turnsout to beone to inspire, one to move the heart and work asa dynamic in the imagination.The short chapter culminating in the executioncloses: "In the pinioned figure arrived at theyard-end, to the wonder of all no motion wasapparent, none save that created by the slow rollof the hull in moderate weather, so majestic in aship ponderously cannoned" (p. 124; Ch. xxv).The sentence makes visible an earlier statementconcerning the ordinary sailor: "Accustomed toobey orders without debating them," he lives alife "externally ruled for him" (p. 87; Ch. xvi).Billy's "impotence," noted earlier by Vere whenthe young sailor could not speak up against Clag-gart, is now realized by the lack of any motionoriginating within his own body which is exter-nally ruled by the "majestic" motion of HisMajesty's Ship Bellipotent. His impotence is insharpest contrast with the omnipotence of thecaptain who now standserect as a musket, symbolof civilization's ultimate Force. And yet, theworld of war, as White-Jacketnotes near the end,is "full of strange contradictions" (p. 390; Ch.xci). Billy does have power. Though impotent tosave himself, he has power to invoke the future.His death, illuminating the nature of the worldrepresented by the Bellipotent, will quicken theimagination of the crew and in that respect be agood death. But Vere, the King's all-powerful

change is germinating inside the rigid form willtake the ascendancy, giving the work its positivetone. The unusual use of sight and sound in thisclimactic scene seems to grow out of Melville'sdesire, newly born in the course of the composi-tion of Billy Budd, to explore how the seeminglyeternal world of war might begin to be trans-formed to that fluid, life-giving world of peace sosuddenly and startlingly pictured-without anygradual transition to it-in the "Epilogue" toMoby-Dick.As the signal for the hanging is given, a move-ment in the sky also creates a contrast with theformalized sight below. A cloud of vapor low inthe East is "shot throughwith a soft gloryas of thefleece of the Lamb of God seen in mystical vi-sion, and simultaneously therewith, watched bya wedged mass of upturned faces, Billy ascended;and, ascending, took the full rose of the dawn"(p. 124; Ch. xxv), his spirit welcomed back intoheaven.16The climax of the exemplary spectaclethe crew has been forced to witness turnsout to beone to inspire, one to move the heart and work asa dynamic in the imagination.The short chapter culminating in the executioncloses: "In the pinioned figure arrived at theyard-end, to the wonder of all no motion wasapparent, none save that created by the slow rollof the hull in moderate weather, so majestic in aship ponderously cannoned" (p. 124; Ch. xxv).The sentence makes visible an earlier statementconcerning the ordinary sailor: "Accustomed toobey orders without debating them," he lives alife "externally ruled for him" (p. 87; Ch. xvi).Billy's "impotence," noted earlier by Vere whenthe young sailor could not speak up against Clag-gart, is now realized by the lack of any motionoriginating within his own body which is exter-nally ruled by the "majestic" motion of HisMajesty's Ship Bellipotent. His impotence is insharpest contrast with the omnipotence of thecaptain who now standserect as a musket, symbolof civilization's ultimate Force. And yet, theworld of war, as White-Jacketnotes near the end,is "full of strange contradictions" (p. 390; Ch.xci). Billy does have power. Though impotent tosave himself, he has power to invoke the future.His death, illuminating the nature of the worldrepresented by the Bellipotent, will quicken theimagination of the crew and in that respect be agood death. But Vere, the King's all-powerful

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Joyce SparerAdleroyce SparerAdlerrepresentative, is, in a sense, the impotent victimof the ultimate power concentrated in him. WhileBilly has the miraculous ability to inspire love fora peaceful way of living, to be in that sense asavior, Vere's potency is only for death. LikeLot's wife, as Melville saw her in White-Jacket,hestands "crystallized in the act of looking back-ward, and forever incapable of looking before"(p. 150; Ch. xxxvi). Hence Melville's executionscene is symbolic of both the polarization ofpower in the world of war and the contradictionsat the heart of such a world, contradictions thatmust eventually bring a metamorphosis. Theyhave alreadycaused a crack in the rigid mold; thesilence, the aural equivalent of the frozen form,has been broken. Eventually, music (the ballad)will issue through the fissure in the seemingly un-breakableform.Moments after the execution the silence is"gradually disturbed by a sound not easily to beverbally rendered." (The italics in the quotationsto follow will all be mine except where the empha-sis is stated to be Melville's.) The sound is an omenof a growth of feeling in the crew. "Whoever hasheard the freshet-wave of a torrent suddenlyswelled by pouring showers in tropical moun-tains, showers not shared by the plain; whoeverhas heardthefirst muffledmurmurof its slopingad-lvance hroughprecipitous woods may form someconception of the sound now heard. The seemingremoteness of its source was because of its mur-murous indistinctness, since it came from closeby, even from the men massed on the ship's opendeck" (p. 126; Ch. xxvii). Only seemingly remote,the source is deep within the men. The murmurisindistinct, but there has been some expression,though wordless, of a feeling going back to man'sremote origin, and still latent within him. Then,like the "shriek of the sea hawk, the silverwhistlesof the boatswain and his mates pierced thatominous low sound, dissipating it" (p. 126; Ch.xxvii). The men, yielding to the mechanism ofdiscipline, disperse, and the sound is, for themoment, silenced.But, again, as the closing "formality" consignsBilly's body to the ocean, "a second strange hu-man murmur" is heard from the sailors as vul-tures fly screaming to circle the spot (p. 127;Ch. xxvii). To the crew the action of the vultures"though dictated by mere animal greed for prey"is "big with no prosaic significance," a phrase

representative, is, in a sense, the impotent victimof the ultimate power concentrated in him. WhileBilly has the miraculous ability to inspire love fora peaceful way of living, to be in that sense asavior, Vere's potency is only for death. LikeLot's wife, as Melville saw her in White-Jacket,hestands "crystallized in the act of looking back-ward, and forever incapable of looking before"(p. 150; Ch. xxxvi). Hence Melville's executionscene is symbolic of both the polarization ofpower in the world of war and the contradictionsat the heart of such a world, contradictions thatmust eventually bring a metamorphosis. Theyhave alreadycaused a crack in the rigid mold; thesilence, the aural equivalent of the frozen form,has been broken. Eventually, music (the ballad)will issue through the fissure in the seemingly un-breakableform.Moments after the execution the silence is"gradually disturbed by a sound not easily to beverbally rendered." (The italics in the quotationsto follow will all be mine except where the empha-sis is stated to be Melville's.) The sound is an omenof a growth of feeling in the crew. "Whoever hasheard the freshet-wave of a torrent suddenlyswelled by pouring showers in tropical moun-tains, showers not shared by the plain; whoeverhas heardthefirst muffledmurmurof its slopingad-lvance hroughprecipitous woods may form someconception of the sound now heard. The seemingremoteness of its source was because of its mur-murous indistinctness, since it came from closeby, even from the men massed on the ship's opendeck" (p. 126; Ch. xxvii). Only seemingly remote,the source is deep within the men. The murmurisindistinct, but there has been some expression,though wordless, of a feeling going back to man'sremote origin, and still latent within him. Then,like the "shriek of the sea hawk, the silverwhistlesof the boatswain and his mates pierced thatominous low sound, dissipating it" (p. 126; Ch.xxvii). The men, yielding to the mechanism ofdiscipline, disperse, and the sound is, for themoment, silenced.But, again, as the closing "formality" consignsBilly's body to the ocean, "a second strange hu-man murmur" is heard from the sailors as vul-tures fly screaming to circle the spot (p. 127;Ch. xxvii). To the crew the action of the vultures"though dictated by mere animal greed for prey"is "big with no prosaic significance," a phrase

that earlier in the growth of the manuscript hadread, "big with imaginative import of bale" (p.416). Though no elaboration follows, the un-prosaic significance seems to involve human, asopposed to "mere animal," greed for prey andhints at an awakening of poetic sensibility to themeaning behind the sacrifice of Billy.An uncertainmovement beginsamong the men,to be counteracted by a drumbeat to quartersnot customary at that hour. Vere intends the en-suing ritual to reinforce a strict pattern of condi-tioned response: " 'With mankind,' he would say,'forms, measured forms, are everything; and thatis the import couched in the story of Orpheuswithhis lyre spellbinding the wild denizens of thewood' " (p. 128; Ch. xxvii). The crew's unresist-ing participation in the formalities seems to bearout his theory; for "toned by music and religiousrites subserving the discipline and purposes ofwar, the men in their wonted orderlymanner dis-persed to the places allotted them when not at theguns." But while the day which has followed therosy dawn brings the firm reimposition of themilitary forms, "the circumambient air in theclearness of its serenity" is "like smooth whitemarble in the polished block not yet removedfromthe marble-dealer'syard" (p. 128; Ch. xxvii); theuncut marble of future time contains the possi-bility of being shaped into something differentfrom the static form visible on the deck of theBellipotent.This introduction of the idea of a freer, moredynamic form is followed at once by a passageabout form which bridges the now completedaccount of "How it fared with the HandsomeSailor during the year of the Great Mutiny" (p.128; Ch. xxviii) and the three remaining chapters,"in way of sequel," which will concretize Mel-ville's creative concept of form and its meaningfor him, the writer: "The symmetry of form at-tainable in pure fiction cannot so readily beachieved in a narration essentially having less todo with fable than with fact. Truth uncompro-misingly told will always have its ragged edges;hence the conclusion of such a narration is apt tobe less finished than an architectural finial" (p.128; Ch. xxviii). The counterposition of the twostatements about form, Vere's and Melville's,accents the fundamental difference between thethinking of the artist and the man of war. ToVere men are beasts to be tamed, "wild denizens

that earlier in the growth of the manuscript hadread, "big with imaginative import of bale" (p.416). Though no elaboration follows, the un-prosaic significance seems to involve human, asopposed to "mere animal," greed for prey andhints at an awakening of poetic sensibility to themeaning behind the sacrifice of Billy.An uncertainmovement beginsamong the men,to be counteracted by a drumbeat to quartersnot customary at that hour. Vere intends the en-suing ritual to reinforce a strict pattern of condi-tioned response: " 'With mankind,' he would say,'forms, measured forms, are everything; and thatis the import couched in the story of Orpheuswithhis lyre spellbinding the wild denizens of thewood' " (p. 128; Ch. xxvii). The crew's unresist-ing participation in the formalities seems to bearout his theory; for "toned by music and religiousrites subserving the discipline and purposes ofwar, the men in their wonted orderlymanner dis-persed to the places allotted them when not at theguns." But while the day which has followed therosy dawn brings the firm reimposition of themilitary forms, "the circumambient air in theclearness of its serenity" is "like smooth whitemarble in the polished block not yet removedfromthe marble-dealer'syard" (p. 128; Ch. xxvii); theuncut marble of future time contains the possi-bility of being shaped into something differentfrom the static form visible on the deck of theBellipotent.This introduction of the idea of a freer, moredynamic form is followed at once by a passageabout form which bridges the now completedaccount of "How it fared with the HandsomeSailor during the year of the Great Mutiny" (p.128; Ch. xxviii) and the three remaining chapters,"in way of sequel," which will concretize Mel-ville's creative concept of form and its meaningfor him, the writer: "The symmetry of form at-tainable in pure fiction cannot so readily beachieved in a narration essentially having less todo with fable than with fact. Truth uncompro-misingly told will always have its ragged edges;hence the conclusion of such a narration is apt tobe less finished than an architectural finial" (p.128; Ch. xxviii). The counterposition of the twostatements about form, Vere's and Melville's,accents the fundamental difference between thethinking of the artist and the man of war. ToVere men are beasts to be tamed, "wild denizens

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Billy Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warilly Budd and Melville's Philosophy of Warof the wood" who must be bound. Brutishness istheir sole potentiality. Melville, whose narrativehas just revealed the humanity latent in man,evidenced by the crew's intuitive response toBilly, and has shown the men moved (unbound),has had Vere, the militaryman, speak of Orpheus,the artist, and find in his music only somethingakin to that "subserving the discipline and pur-poses of war." While to Vere war is a sacred, fatedform and the Bellipotenta place of worship whosearchitecture is complete, to Melville that archi-tecture is neither holy nor final. Vere would bindman's consciousness; Melville would awaken it.The conclusion of Billy Budd will be "less finishedthan an architectural finial" because Melville'sart strives to be an equation of life, and life to himhas no final form-a main theme in Moby-Dick.It may seem immutable, but within its set and ap-parently eternal form there are grains at work.Vere's ideas are to Melville's as long-settled,measured, closed, and static form is to the fresh,open, living, growing shape into which the workis about to bloom. The realization of this newshape is a creative act by Melville closely relatedto his breaking out of the rigid circle of the chaseat the end of Moby-Dick. The concluding chap-ters-a "sequel" in the sense of a necessary con-sequence-burst out of the established pattern ofconventional narration and in so doing conveythe idea that the rigid form of the world which hasbeen pictured can also be disturbed.The first of the chapters relates Vere's death(pp. 128-29; Ch. xxviii). Last seen as a musket,he is himself struck by a musket ball. The incidentoccurs on the return voyage to rejoin the fleet,when the Bellipotent encounters the Frenchbattleship, the Athee (the Atheist), "the aptestname, if one consider it, ever given to a warship."If it is the aptest name ever given a warship, it isthe aptest name for the Bellipotent, and bellipo-tence and atheism become synonymous. Vere'sdeath on the heels of his sacrifice of Billy to Marsis Melville's judgment upon him for his denial ofGod. He does not permit Vere to be rewardedeven in the way a votary of Mars must desire:"Unhappily he was cut off too early for the Nileand Trafalgar. The spirit that spite its philosophicausterity may yet have indulged in the most secretof all passions, ambition, never attained to the ful-ness of fame" (p. 129). Like the dream of theadmiral in "The Haglets," Vere's dreams of glory

of the wood" who must be bound. Brutishness istheir sole potentiality. Melville, whose narrativehas just revealed the humanity latent in man,evidenced by the crew's intuitive response toBilly, and has shown the men moved (unbound),has had Vere, the militaryman, speak of Orpheus,the artist, and find in his music only somethingakin to that "subserving the discipline and pur-poses of war." While to Vere war is a sacred, fatedform and the Bellipotenta place of worship whosearchitecture is complete, to Melville that archi-tecture is neither holy nor final. Vere would bindman's consciousness; Melville would awaken it.The conclusion of Billy Budd will be "less finishedthan an architectural finial" because Melville'sart strives to be an equation of life, and life to himhas no final form-a main theme in Moby-Dick.It may seem immutable, but within its set and ap-parently eternal form there are grains at work.Vere's ideas are to Melville's as long-settled,measured, closed, and static form is to the fresh,open, living, growing shape into which the workis about to bloom. The realization of this newshape is a creative act by Melville closely relatedto his breaking out of the rigid circle of the chaseat the end of Moby-Dick. The concluding chap-ters-a "sequel" in the sense of a necessary con-sequence-burst out of the established pattern ofconventional narration and in so doing conveythe idea that the rigid form of the world which hasbeen pictured can also be disturbed.The first of the chapters relates Vere's death(pp. 128-29; Ch. xxviii). Last seen as a musket,he is himself struck by a musket ball. The incidentoccurs on the return voyage to rejoin the fleet,when the Bellipotent encounters the Frenchbattleship, the Athee (the Atheist), "the aptestname, if one consider it, ever given to a warship."If it is the aptest name ever given a warship, it isthe aptest name for the Bellipotent, and bellipo-tence and atheism become synonymous. Vere'sdeath on the heels of his sacrifice of Billy to Marsis Melville's judgment upon him for his denial ofGod. He does not permit Vere to be rewardedeven in the way a votary of Mars must desire:"Unhappily he was cut off too early for the Nileand Trafalgar. The spirit that spite its philosophicausterity may yet have indulged in the most secretof all passions, ambition, never attained to the ful-ness of fame" (p. 129). Like the dream of theadmiral in "The Haglets," Vere's dreams of glory

in war, if he had them (and one knows that earlyin the novel excessive love of glory was describedas the first virtue in a military man), are notrealized.But the account of his death reveals that, evenin Vere, humanity, though determinedly sup-pressed, is not dead: "Not long before death,while lying under the influence of that magicaldrug which, soothing the physical frame, mys-teriouslyoperateson the subtler elementinman,hewas heard to murmur words inexplicable to hisattendant: 'Billy Budd, Billy Budd'" (p. 129).The drug has freed the subconscious part of himfrom the silence he has imposed upon it, and hismurmur unites with the "strangehuman murmur"of the crew. Surely, the passage implies, thesilence of man's suppressed humanity can bebreached if the heart of even this most austeremonk of war speaks out. "Billy Budd, BillyBudd" is man's unconscious yearning for peace.It may be that the book's subtitle, An InsideNarrative, refers to what is occurring inside theheart of man in the critical modern era, con-tinuing into Melville's day, which Billy Budd ex-emplifies.17Vere's "Billy Budd, Billy Budd" is his exit linefrom the drama, and he will not be heard of again.Who, essentially, has he been? The contradic-tions carefully worked into his characterization-sometimes interpretedas evidence of carelessnessor indecision on Melville's part-have been thesource of opposite extremes of opinion amongcritics, all but a few of whom have been impressedby one side of him to the virtual exclusion of theother. But the contradiction within Vere is hisvery essence; the split in him is as central to hismeaning as is the split in Ahab. He is the sym-bolic figure-not crudely, but finely and fairly,drawn-of civilized man: learned, but not suffi-ciently imaginative; not devoid of the ability tolove, but not allowing this capacity to develop;sensitive to the difference between the good andevil signifiedby Billy and Claggart,but the puppetof the god he has been trained to think must rulein this world. His ultimate faith is in Force, notonly against the enemy but in dealing with hisown side-utilizing impressment, flogging, andhanging-and in dealing violently with his ownheart. Exceptional among the officers on theBellipotent, and even among captains, in hisrigidity, he is the comprehensive figureof what is

in war, if he had them (and one knows that earlyin the novel excessive love of glory was describedas the first virtue in a military man), are notrealized.But the account of his death reveals that, evenin Vere, humanity, though determinedly sup-pressed, is not dead: "Not long before death,while lying under the influence of that magicaldrug which, soothing the physical frame, mys-teriouslyoperateson the subtler elementinman,hewas heard to murmur words inexplicable to hisattendant: 'Billy Budd, Billy Budd'" (p. 129).The drug has freed the subconscious part of himfrom the silence he has imposed upon it, and hismurmur unites with the "strangehuman murmur"of the crew. Surely, the passage implies, thesilence of man's suppressed humanity can bebreached if the heart of even this most austeremonk of war speaks out. "Billy Budd, BillyBudd" is man's unconscious yearning for peace.It may be that the book's subtitle, An InsideNarrative, refers to what is occurring inside theheart of man in the critical modern era, con-tinuing into Melville's day, which Billy Budd ex-emplifies.17Vere's "Billy Budd, Billy Budd" is his exit linefrom the drama, and he will not be heard of again.Who, essentially, has he been? The contradic-tions carefully worked into his characterization-sometimes interpretedas evidence of carelessnessor indecision on Melville's part-have been thesource of opposite extremes of opinion amongcritics, all but a few of whom have been impressedby one side of him to the virtual exclusion of theother. But the contradiction within Vere is hisvery essence; the split in him is as central to hismeaning as is the split in Ahab. He is the sym-bolic figure-not crudely, but finely and fairly,drawn-of civilized man: learned, but not suffi-ciently imaginative; not devoid of the ability tolove, but not allowing this capacity to develop;sensitive to the difference between the good andevil signifiedby Billy and Claggart,but the puppetof the god he has been trained to think must rulein this world. His ultimate faith is in Force, notonly against the enemy but in dealing with hisown side-utilizing impressment, flogging, andhanging-and in dealing violently with his ownheart. Exceptional among the officers on theBellipotent, and even among captains, in hisrigidity, he is the comprehensive figureof what is

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Joyce SparerAdleroyce SparerAdlerdominant in modern civilization. There are overa score of referencesto, or images of, this rigidity,a quality always so appalling to Melville. The con-tradiction within him is the contradiction withincivilization, between war's values and the pri-meval and enduring needs of men. In Vere, as incivilization, there exist two potentials-the onesymbolized by the devil of war operating throughClaggart and the other signified by Billy as thepeace-loving angel of God-God and the devilcontinuing to be, as elsewhere in Melville's writ-ing, poetic concepts signifying human potential-ities and values. It is the tragedy of civilized man,as of Vere-tragic in the sense that creative po-tentialities are wasted-that he has so far con-tinued to uphold the values symbolized by Clag-gart18and to sacrificethose signified by Billy.As if to underline the idea that the dream ofglory in war is doomed, Vere's name is not men-tioned in the "authorized" naval account of theBellipotentevents quoted in the chapter immedi-ately following his death.19 The report is Mel-ville's final illustration of how good and evil areinterchanged in the world of war and of how"authorized"history may pervertthe truth or useit for its own purposes. The article reports Billy's"extreme depravity," while Claggart is said tohave been "respectable and discreet," a pettyofficerupon whom, as none know betterthan the commis-sioned gentlemen, the efficiency of His Majesty's navyso largelydepends.His functionwasa responsible ne,at once onerousand thankless;and his fidelityin itthegreaterbecauseof his strongpatriotic mpulse...Thecriminalpaidthepenaltyof hiscrime.Thepromp-titudeof thepunishment asproved alutary.Nothingamiss is nowapprehendedboardH.M.S.Bellipotent.(pp. 130-31;Ch.xxix)But Melville sees everything amiss-except forthis, that whereas the report finds that the au-thorities have nothing now to apprehend (in thesense of fear), the crew has begun to apprehendthat something must be amiss, as the concludingchapter (pp. 131-32; Ch. xxx) opens to view.With no reason to worship Mars, though theyare forced to take part in war's rites, with no illu-sion that war can satisfy for them "the most secretof all passions, ambition," the crew, inspired byBilly and groping toward some understanding ofthe mystery surrounding his hanging, has had en-graved in its memory the execution scene that

dominant in modern civilization. There are overa score of referencesto, or images of, this rigidity,a quality always so appalling to Melville. The con-tradiction within him is the contradiction withincivilization, between war's values and the pri-meval and enduring needs of men. In Vere, as incivilization, there exist two potentials-the onesymbolized by the devil of war operating throughClaggart and the other signified by Billy as thepeace-loving angel of God-God and the devilcontinuing to be, as elsewhere in Melville's writ-ing, poetic concepts signifying human potential-ities and values. It is the tragedy of civilized man,as of Vere-tragic in the sense that creative po-tentialities are wasted-that he has so far con-tinued to uphold the values symbolized by Clag-gart18and to sacrificethose signified by Billy.As if to underline the idea that the dream ofglory in war is doomed, Vere's name is not men-tioned in the "authorized" naval account of theBellipotentevents quoted in the chapter immedi-ately following his death.19 The report is Mel-ville's final illustration of how good and evil areinterchanged in the world of war and of how"authorized"history may pervertthe truth or useit for its