But no doubt the first man that ever murdered an ox was regarded as a murderer; perhaps he was hung; and if he had been put on his trial by oxen, he certainly would have been; and he certainly deserved it if any murderer does. Go to the meat-market of a Saturday night and see the crowds of live bipeds staring up at the long rows of dead quadrupeds. Does not that sight take a tooth out of the cannibal's jaw? Cannibals? who is not a cannibal? I tell you it will be more tolerable for the Fejee that salted down a lean missionary in his cellar against a coming famine; it will be more tolerable for that provident Fejee, I say, in the day of judgment, than for thee, civilized and enlightened gourmand, who nailest geese to the ground and feastest on their bloated livers in thy pate-de-foie-gras.
不過(guò),毫無(wú)疑問(wèn),第一個(gè)把牛殺死的人,總是被人家看做是個(gè)謀殺犯;說(shuō)不定還要送他上絞架;而且如果把他送到牛群里去審判的話,他準(zhǔn)會(huì)給絞死;也一定會(huì)象任何一個(gè)謀殺犯一樣罪有應(yīng)得。請(qǐng)你在禮拜六晚上到肉市場(chǎng)上去走一趟,去看看一群群的兩腳動(dòng)物,在瞪眼緊瞅著一長(zhǎng)排一長(zhǎng)排的被殺死了的四腳動(dòng)物吧。那景致可不象是從吃人生番的嘴里拔掉一只牙齒一般么?吃人生番么?誰(shuí)不是吃人生番?不過(guò),我告訴你,如果一個(gè)斐濟(jì)人,為了防備那即將到來(lái)的饑荒,把一個(gè)瘦骨嶙峋的傳道師拿去腌在他的地窖里,那倒是比較情有可原的;我說(shuō),在末日審判的時(shí)候,那一個(gè)有先見(jiàn)之明的斐濟(jì)人將比你,比你這個(gè)開(kāi)通文明的老饕,把一些活鵝釘死在地上,拿它們的肝去做你的肥鵝肝餅而大嚼一頓的,更會(huì)獲得寬恕呢。
But Stubb, he eats the whale by its own light, does he? and that is adding insult to injury, is it? Look at your knife-handle, there, my civilized and enlightened gourmand, dining off that roast beef, what is that handle made of?—what but the bones of the brother of the very ox you are eating? And what do you pick your teeth with, after devouring that fat goose? With a feather of the same fowl. And with what quill did the Secretary of the Society for the Suppression of Cruelty to Ganders formally indite his circulars? It is only within the last month or two that that society passed a resolution to patronize nothing but steel pens.
但是,斯塔布不是借著大鯨自己的光在吃鯨的嗎?這不是叫它又受傷又受辱么?可是,請(qǐng)你看一看你的刀柄,我的開(kāi)通文明的正在吃烤牛排的老饕,你瞧,你那刀柄是用什么東西做的?——還不是你正在吃的那只牛的弟兄們的骨頭么?還有,你在狂啖了肥鵝之后,是用什么東西剔牙齒呀?用的正是這種家禽的羽毛呀。"禁止虐待雄鵝協(xié)會(huì)"的秘書(shū)是用什么畫(huà)筆撰寫(xiě)他那冠冕堂皇的傳單呀?那個(gè)協(xié)會(huì)還不過(guò)在一兩個(gè)月前才通過(guò)一項(xiàng)提倡使用鋼筆的決議咧。