Herman Melville 1

Question 1

forbearance

Answer 1

n. good-natured tolerance of delay or imcompetence

“But as he sat still for a moment, and as he steadfastly looked into the mate’s malignant eye and perceived the stacks of powder-casks heaped up in him and the slow-match silently burning along towards them; as he instinctively saw all this, that strange forbearance and unwillingness to stir up the deeper passionateness in any already ireful being-a repgugnance most felt, when felt at all, by really valiant men even when aggrieved-this nameless phantom feeling, gentlemen, stole over Steelkilt.” (25)