英语听书《白鲸记》 第340期

In behalf of the dignity of whaling, I would fainadvance naught but substantiated facts. But afterembattling his facts, an advocate who should whollysuppress a not unreasonable surmise, whichmight tell eloquently upon his cause--such anadvocate, would he not be blame-worthy?

为维护捕鲸业的威严起见,我很愿意再提出一些具体的事实来。不过把这些事实罗列出来后,辩护者就应该完全不作并非无理的臆测,因为,这对他的事业有很大的影响。这样一个辩护者,他总不该受责备吧?

It is well known that at the coronation of kings andqueens, even modern ones, a certain curious process of seasoning them for their functions isgone through. There is a saltcellar of state, so called, and there may be a caster of state. Howthey use the salt, precisely--who knows? Certain I am, however, that a king's head is solemnlyoiled at his coronation, even as a head of salad. Can it be, though, that they anoint it with aview of making its interior run well, as they anoint machinery? Much might be ruminated here,concerning the essential dignity of this regal process, because in common life we esteem butmeanly and contemptibly a fellow who anoints his hair, and palpably smells of that anointing. Intruth, a mature man who uses hairoil, unless medicinally, that man has probably got a quoggyspot in him somewhere. As a general rule, he can't amount to much in his totality.

如所周知,国王和女王在加冕的时候(现代也是如此),必须为他们的仪式进行一番奇特的梳妆手续。有一种所谓盐缸式的仪式,也可以称之为调味式的仪式。至于他们究竟怎样用盐。谁知道呢?不过,我可以肯定的是,在国王举行加冕典礼的时候,他的脑袋瓜子,是郑重其事地抹了油,抹得那只脑袋瓜子如同一盆色拉。不过,人们是不是可以采用擦机器的办法,把那只脑袋瓜子也抹得它内部可以灵活运转呢?这里,关于这种庄严的操作法的实在情形,倒是深值玩味的,因为在我们的日常生活中,我们总是把头发抹油,抹得芬香扑鼻的人,看成是一种下贱和无聊的人。事实上,一个使用发油的成年人,除了是医学上的需要外,那个人大概是在头上什么地方长有一块癞疤。一般说来,人是不可能十全十美的。