英語聽書《白鯨記》第396期

Another thing. Flask was the last person down at the dinner, and Flask is the first man up. Consider! For hereby Flask's dinner was badly jammed in point of time. Starbuck and Stubb both had the start of him; and yet they also have the privilege of lounging in the rear. If Stubb even, who is but a peg higher than Flask, happens to have but a small appetite, and soon shows symptoms of concluding his repast, then Flask must bestir himself, he will not get more than three mouthfuls that day; for it is against holy usage for Stubb to precede Flask to the deck. Therefore it was that Flask once admitted in private, that ever since he had arisen to the dignity of an officer, from that moment he had never known what it was to be otherwise than hungry, more or less. For what he ate did not so much relieve his hunger, as keep it immortal in him. Peace and satisfaction, thought Flask, have for ever departed from my stomach. I am an officer; but, how I wish I could fist a bit of old-fashioned beef in the fore-castle, as I used to when I was before the mast. There's the fruits of promotion now; there's the vanity of glory: there's the insanity of life! Besides, if it were so that any mere sailor of the Pequod had a grudge against Flask in Flask's official capacity, all that sailor had to do, in order to obtain ample vengeance, was to go aft at dinnertime, and get a peep at Flask through the cabin sky-light, sitting silly and dumfoundered before awful Ahab.

還有一樁事情。弗拉斯克是個最后坐下來吃飯,又是最先立起來的人。請想一想吧!這樣,弗拉斯克的吃飯,在時間上說來,真是卡得多緊呀。斯達巴克和斯塔布兩個都比他先就坐;然而,他們也有懶洋洋地拉在他后面離開飯桌的特權。如果碰上斯塔布那天胃口不佳(可他不過比弗拉斯克高一級而已),馬上就要吃好飯的模樣,那么,弗拉斯克就得拚命吃得快,那天他就吃不上三大口飯了,因為要斯塔布比弗拉斯克先走上甲板,那是有違神圣不可侵犯的常規(guī)的。因此,有一回,弗拉斯克不得不私下承認,說是自從他升上了頭目的尊職后,他除了多少覺得有點餓外,從來不知道那尊職有什么意思。因為他所吃的東西并不很能解決他的饑餓,好象要讓饑餓在他肚皮里永垂不朽似的。弗拉斯克心里想,安寧跟滿足已經(jīng)就此跟我的肚皮永別了。我是個頭目;但是,我可多希望能夠在船頭樓里,手里捏著一塊老牛肉,象我當普通水手時所慣做的那樣。這就是高升的結(jié)果;原來就是一場虛榮;原來就是生的瘋狂!再說,如果因此而有任何一個"裴廓德號"的水手因弗拉斯克升了官而對他懷恨,要想獲得適當?shù)膱髲偷脑?那么,那個水手只須在吃飯時候,跑到船尾,朝船長室的天窗偷偷地瞧一下弗拉斯克,看他在令人肅然起敬的亞哈面前,木楞楞地坐在那里的那副神氣也就夠了。