英语听书《白鲸记》 第3期

So fare thee well, poor devil of a Sub-Sub, whosecommentator I am. Thou belongest to thathopeless, sallow tribe which no wine of this world willever warm; and for whom even Pale Sherry would betoo rosy-strong; but with whom one sometimes lovesto sit, and feel poor-devilish, too; and grow convivialupon tears; and say to them bluntly, with full eyesand empty glasses, and in not altogetherunpleasant sadnessGive it up, Sub-Subs! For byhow much the more pains ye take to please theworld, by so much the more shall ye for ever gothankless! Would that I could clear out Hampton Court and the Tuileries for ye! But gulp downyour tears and hie aloft to the royal-mast with your hearts; for your friends who have gonebefore are clearing out the seven-storied heavens, and making refugees of long-pamperedGabriel, Michael, and Raphael, against your coming. Here ye strike but splintered heartstogetherthere, ye shall strike unsplinterable glasses!

EXTRACTS.

And God created great whales. GENESIS.

Leviathan maketh a path to shine after him; One would think the deep to be hoary. JOB.

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. JONAH.

There go the ships; there is that Leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein. PSALMS.

In that day, the Lord with his sore, and great, and strong sword, shall punish Leviathan thepiercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is inthe sea. ISAIAH

And what thing soever besides cometh within the chaos of this monster's mouth, be it beast,boat, or stone, down it goes all incontinently that foul great swallow of his, and perisheth inthe bottomless gulf of his paunch. HOLLAND'S PLUTARCH'S MORALS.

The Indian Sea breedeth the most and the biggest fishes that are: among which the Whalesand Whirlpooles called Balaene, take up as much in length as four acres or arpens of land.HOLLAND'S PLINY.

Scarcely had we proceeded two days on the sea, when about sunrise a great many Whales andother monsters of the sea, appeared. Among the former, one was of a most monstrous size....This came towards us, open-mouthed, raising the waves on all sides, and beating the sea beforehim into a foam. TOOKE'S LUCIAN. THE TRUE HISTORY.

He visited this country also with a view of catching horse-whales, which had bones of very greatvalue for their teeth, of which he brought some to the king.... The best whales were catched inhis own country, of which some were forty-eight, some fifty yards long. He said that he was oneof six who had killed sixty in two days. OTHER OR OTHER'S VERBAL NARRATIVE TAKEN DOWNFROM HIS MOUTH BY KING ALFRED, A.D. 890.

And whereas all the other things, whether beast or vessel, that enter into the dreadful gulf ofthis monster's (whale's) mouth, are immediately lost and swallowed up, the sea-gudgeon retiresinto it in great security, and there sleeps. MONTAIGNE. APOLOGY FOR RAIMOND SEBOND.