英語聽書《白鯨記》第747期

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For as the mightiest elephant is but a terrier to Leviathan, so, compared with Leviathan's tail, his trunk is but the stalk of a lily. The most direful blow from the elephant's trunk were as the playful tap of a fan, compared with the measureless crush and crash of the sperm whale's ponderous flukes, which in repeated instances have one after the other hurled entire boats with all their oars and crews into the air, very much as an Indian juggler tosses his balls.

因為在大鯨看來，最大的象也不過是條狗罷了，所以跟鯨尾比較起來，象鼻就不過是一支百合莖。跟抹香鯨的笨重的裂片那種噼里啪啦的無限的沖擊力比起來，象鼻的最可怕的打擊也不過是一把扇子那么開玩笑的一拍而已，抹香鯨的裂片已經(jīng)一再出現(xiàn)這種情況，接二連三地把全部小艇連人帶槳都給扔到空中去，活象一個變戲法的印第安人在拋擲他的小球。

Footnote: though all comparison in the way of general bulk between the whale and the elephant is preposterous, inasmuch as in that particular the elephant stands in much the same respect to the whale that a dog does to the elephant; nevertheless, there are not wanting some points of curious similitude; among these is the spout. It is well known that the elephant will often draw up water or dust in his trunk, and then elevating it, jet it forth in a stream.

原注：這樣就鯨和象兩者間的一般軀干上來做種種比較，未免頗為荒謬，因為就這方面說來，象之與鯨猶如狗之與象；不過，話雖如此，兩者之間可仍不乏若干奇特的類似之點的；其中，噴水就是一種。據(jù)說象也時常用大鼻子吸起水或者垃圾來，然后把它高高舉起，把這些東西象一條小溪那樣向前噴去。

The more I consider this mighty tail, the more do I deplore my inability to express it. At times there are gestures in it, which, though they would well grace the hand of man, remain wholly inexplicable. In an extensive herd, so remarkable, occasionally, are these mystic gestures, that I have heard hunters who have declared them akin to Free-Mason signs and symbols; that the whale, indeed, by these methods intelligently conversed with the world.

我越想到這種巨尾，越痛恨我的能力薄弱，無法把它完全表達出來。那尾巴好象時時在做手勢，雖說這給人類的手大增光輝，卻也完全令人費解。我曾經(jīng)聽到獵手們說，偶然看到一大群鯨這種神秘的手勢真是非常希奇，他們說，那種手勢有如互濟會（互濟會——歐洲一種以互濟友愛為目的的秘密結(jié)社，發(fā)源于石工工會。）的各種標志。因為實際上，大鯨就借這種聰明的方法跟人間打交道。