Chapter 91 begins with an epigraph, reading:

“‘In vain it was to rake for Ambergriese in the paunch of this Leviathan, insufferable fetor denying that inquiry.‘ Sir T. Browne, V. E.” (440)

To me, this really stuck out in the novel, mainly because we, as readers, are not accustomed to epigraphs by Melville. Additionally, it just seemed out of place, so I looked it up. Browne was an English polymath, or someone exceptionally well-versed in a wide variety of subjects, and an author whom Melville frequently turned to for examples and information. Sir Thomas Browne wrote extensively on the whale, specifically the Sperm Whale, in his novel Pseudodoxia Epidemica, known largely as Vulgar Errors. It’s from his writing and meticulous dissection of both the whale and the scientific notions around spermaceti that Melville draws inspiration. Ambergriese, now spelled ambergris, is a waxy, oily substance commonly created in the boiling digestive tract of Sperm Whales.

It’s important to note the meaning of this quote. While yes, the ambergriese is hugely sought after and valuable, the effort behind its extraction is not. In fact, the effort is “insufferable.” It’s interesting that the action of extracting this oil, valuable as it is, is considered “insufferable” and to do so would be “in vain.” Yet, the years-long pursuit of the live whale is not only tolerated but also sought after. Here they are, approaching a target who is still valuable to them and their markets, but is dead and smells, rotting away in the foaming rocking of the ocean, and the Pequod turns away. It suggests that part of the process of whaling is the hunt – the chase through the unknown of the sea. When happening upon an already dead whale, which still may carry riches “in the paunch,” they turn away, deeming it unnecessary and not worth the time and effort. It’s ironic, considering how easy it would be compared to tracking, harpooning, and actually maintaining a live hunt of another whale.