"Certain. I've lowered for whales from a leaking ship in a gale off Cape Horn."
“當(dāng)然是,在合恩角海面上,我就曾經(jīng)在大風(fēng)里,打一只漏船上放下小艇去捕大鯨。”
"Mr. Flask," said I, turning to little King-Post, who was standing close by; "you are experienced in these things, and I am not. Will you tell me whether it is an unalterable law in this fishery, Mr. Flask, for an oarsman to break his own back pulling himself back-foremost into death's jaws?"
“弗拉斯克先生,”我又轉(zhuǎn)過頭問這個(gè)小中柱,他正好站在我旁邊;“你對這些事情經(jīng)驗(yàn)多,我可沒有經(jīng)驗(yàn)。你可不可以告訴我,這究竟是不是捕鯨業(yè)的不變的法律,弗拉斯克先生,竟要一個(gè)槳手拚著性命、偷偷摸摸地把自己劃到鬼門關(guān)里去呢?”
"Can't you twist that smaller?" said Flask. "Yes, that's the law. I should like to see a boat's crew backing water up to a whale face foremost. Ha, ha! the whale would give them squint for squint, mind that!"
“你不能少亂扯些嗎?”弗拉斯克說。“不錯(cuò),這就是法律。我倒真想看到整只小艇的水手都把他們自己劃到大鯨面前去。哈,哈!那么,大鯨就會(huì)對他們另眼相看了,一定是這樣的!”
Here then, from three impartial witnesses, I had a deliberate statement of the entire case. Considering,therefore, that squalls and capsizings in the water and consequent bivouacks on the deep, were matters of common occurrence in this kind of life; considering that at the superlatively CRItical instant of going on to the whale I must resign my life into the hands of him who steered the boat-- oftentimes a fellowwho at that very moment is in his impetuousness upon the point of scuttling the craft with his own frantic stampings; considering that the particular disaster to our own particular boat was chiefly to be imputed to Starbuck's driving on to his whale almost in the teeth of a squall, and considering that Starbuck, notwithstanding, was famous for his great heedfulness in the fishery;
那么,從這三個(gè)不偏不倚的證人的話里,我對全盤事件已經(jīng)獲得一個(gè)慎重的說明了。因此,鑒于在海里會(huì)碰上刮狂風(fēng)和翻船以及結(jié)果還得在海上露宿的這種生活,都不過是家常便飯;鑒于在捕鯨的最緊要關(guān)頭,我必須把我的生命交在那個(gè)指揮小艇的人的手里——而這家伙在這種千鈞一發(fā)的時(shí)分,往往都是脾氣很急躁,狂跺著腳拚命催逼船只向前;鑒于我們這條小艇的不幸,主要得歸之于斯達(dá)巴克那種幾乎是不顧狂風(fēng)而猛追大鯨的行動(dòng),又鑒于斯達(dá)巴克,不管怎樣,卻是在捕魚界中以極其小心謹(jǐn)慎見稱的;