A gentle joyousness — a mighty mildness of repose in swiftness, invested the gliding whale. Not the white bull Jupiter swimming away with ravished Europa clinging to his graceful horns; his lovely, leering eyes sideways intent upon the maid; with smooth bewitching fleetness, rippling straight for the nuptial bower in Crete; not Jove, not that great majesty Supreme! did surpass the glorified White Whale as he so divinely swam.
這條悄悄向前游去的鯨,有一種從容不迫的——迅疾而又非常和緩安靜的情趣。這條令人嘆為觀止的白鯨這樣神妙的游態(tài),決不是那雪白的大公牛的朱必特跟心神恍惚的歐羅巴緊扳著他那優(yōu)美的兩只角,雙雙游去時所能望其項背,盡管他那柔情、諂媚的眼睛斜瞪著那個美女;以爽朗迷人的神速,潺潺地直向克里特島的新房游去,不,決不是育芙,決不是那個偉大尊嚴(yán)的神所能望其項背。
On each soft side — coincident with the parted swell, that but once leaving him then flowed so wide away — on each bright side, the whale shed off enticings. No wonder there had been some among the hunters who namelessly transported and allured by all this serenity, had ventured to assail it; but had fatally found that quietude but the vesture of tornadoes. Yet calm, enticing calm, oh, whale! thou glidest on, to all who for the first time eye thee, no matter how many in that same way thou mayst have bejuggled and destroyed before.
這條鯨的柔軟的脅腹,在它一游過去,波濤就洶涌地分開的同時,脅腹頓時變得光輝燦爛,看了真是動人心目。難怪在獵人中,有些人會給這種靜穆和祥的氣態(tài)弄得莫名其妙地心醉神迷,膽敢聽天由命地去攻擊它;到頭來卻發(fā)現(xiàn)這種靜穆原來就是風(fēng)暴的外衣。大鯨啊,你這樣悄悄游去,不管你以前已經(jīng)用這種方法騙過了、毀掉了多少人,但在初次看到你的人的眼里,卻還是平靜的,平靜得動人心魄。
And thus, through the serene tranquillities of the tropical sea, among waves whose hand-clappings were suspended by exceeding rapture, Moby Dick moved on, still withholding from sight the full terrors of his submerged trunk, entirely hiding the wrenched hideousness of his jaw.
莫比-迪克就這樣穿過那靜謐的熱帶海洋,在那象是興高采烈、不斷鼓掌似的浪濤間繼續(xù)前進(jìn),人們依然看不到它那沉在水里的充滿恐怖的體軀,完全看不到它那扯傷得怕人的嘴巴。