I love the friendship of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville – intense kindred spirits and artistic allies. Hawthorne “got” Melville’s greatness long before Melville’s reputation was rehabilitated posthumously. Moby Dick is, of course, dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Anyway, here’s a beautiful letter from Melville to Hawthorne.
Small excerpt:
Let us speak, although we show all our faults and weaknesses, — for it is a sign of strength to be weak, to know it, and out with it, — not in [a] set way and ostentatiously, though, but incidentally and without premeditation.
Maybe it’s just an indication of the language of their time, but that sentence seems really well-thought out for a guy saying “let us speak without pre-meditation.” It’s great though. I love old letters between friends. How much of that is lost these days with e-communication, I wonder?
Yeah – the sentence structures, the references … it’s truly amazing.
Now it’d be:
yo, nat. let’s just chillax, bro. see u later?? Say “whatup” to da Whale! LOL!