英语听书《白鲸记》 第70期

So that there are instances among them of men,who, named with Scripture names,a singularlycommon fashion on the island,and in childhoodnaturally imbibing the stately dramatic thee andthou of the Quaker idiom; still, from the audacious,daring, and boundless adventure of theirsubsequent lives, strangely blend with theseunoutgrown peculiarities, a thousand bold dashes ofcharacter, not unworthy a Scandinavian sea-king, ora poetical Pagan Roman.

岛上的人们还有个习惯，那就是用《圣经》中的人物为自己起名字。他们的称呼中，有“你”与“您”的区别，显得有礼有节;然而他们的血液之中却始终流淌着冒险的成分，勇猛与大无畏的精神,使他们可以成为斯堪的那维亚的海中之霸，也可以成为颇有诗人气质的罗马教徒。

And when these things unite in a man of greatly superior natural force, with a globular brainand a ponderous heart; who has also by the stillness and seclusion of many long night-watches in the remotest waters, and beneath constellations never seen here at the north, beenled to think untraditionally and independently; receiving all nature's sweet or savageimpressions fresh from her own virgin voluntary and confiding breast, and thereby chiefly, butwith some help from accidental advantages, to learn a bold and nervous lofty language,thatman makes one in a whole nation's census,a mighty pageant creature, formed for nobletragedies.

这种不乏浪漫色彩的勇猛性格蕴育出了像比勒达船长这种静如处女、动若脱兔的人物，隐居于如此荒蛮之海域，从来没有见过被领导,也有如此的独立性格;他身上有与大自然相谐的宁和与恬美，也有自然斗士的桀骜不驯。他是悲剧中的伟人，支配别人成了他人格的一种病态表现。