英語聽書《白鯨記》 第344期

"Aye, aye," said Stubb, the second mate, "Starbuck,there, is as careful a man as you'll find anywhere inthis fishery." But we shall ere long see what thatword "careful" precisely means when used by a manlike Stubb, or almost any other whale hunter.

"不錯,不錯,"二副斯塔布說,"斯達巴克嘛,象他這么細心的人,在這個捕魚業(yè)中是隨處都找得到的。"但是,我們不久就可以看到象斯塔布這樣的人,或者幾乎任何其他一個捕鯨者所謂的"細心"這個詞兒的確切意義了。

Starbuck was no crusader after perils; in himcourage was not a sentiment; but a thing simplyuseful to him, and always at hand upon all mortally practical occasions. Besides, he thought,perhaps, that in this business of whaling, courage was one of the great staple outfits of theship, like her beef and her bread, and not to be foolishly wasted. Wherefore he had no fancy forlowering for whales after sun-down; nor for persisting in fighting a fish that too much persistedin fighting him. For, thought Starbuck, I am here in this critical ocean to kill whales for myliving, and not to be killed by them for theirs; and that hundreds of men had been so killedStarbuck well knew. What doom was his own father's? Where, in the bottomless deeps, could hefind the torn limbs of his brother?

斯達巴克并不是追求危險的十字軍武士;在他看來,勇敢并不是一種感情;而不過是一種對他有用,在碰到迫不得已的情形時,總能呼之即至的東西。此外,也許他還認為在捕鯨這種行業(yè)中,勇敢就是船只的最主要的裝備品之一,如同船上的牛肉和面包一樣,不是可以傻里傻氣地隨便浪費的。因此,每當夕陽西下后,他就沒有放下小艇去打鯨的雅興;也不會堅持去打魚,盡管魚會堅持要打斯達巴克。因為,斯達巴克認為,我在這個危險的大洋上,是為我的生活而打鯨的,并不是為鯨的生活而反讓它們殺了的;成千上萬的人就這樣讓鯨弄死,也是斯達巴克所清楚的。他自己的父親是怎樣一種命運?在無底的深淵里,他能夠到什么地方去找他兄弟的殘肢呢?

With memories like these in him, and, moreover, given to a certain superstitiousness, as hasbeen said; the courage of this Starbuck, which could, nevertheless, still flourish, must indeedhave been extreme. But it was not in reasonable nature that a man so organized, and withsuch terrible experiences and remembrances as he had; it was not in nature that these thingsshould fail in latently engendering an element in him, which, under suitable circumstances,would break out from its confinement, and burn all his courage up.

這位斯達巴克既然懷有這些往事前塵,而且,天生又有上述那些迷信;因而他的勇氣雖然還是頗為蓬勃,可是確實也已到頂了。但是,象這樣形成的人,又有著象他這樣可怖的經(jīng)驗和記憶的人而會弄到這地步,卻未免有點反乎常情;而且這些東西竟至于不能在他身上醞釀成為一種要素,成為一種在適當?shù)那闆r下,會突破它的限制,而激發(fā)起他全部的勇敢來的要素,這也是不合乎常情的。