英语听书《白鲸记》 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.

"不错,不错,"二副斯塔布说,"斯达巴克嘛,象他这么细心的人,在这个捕鱼业中是随处都找得到的。"但是,我们不久就可以看到象斯塔布这样的人,或者几乎任何其他一个捕鲸者所谓的"细心"这个词儿的确切意义了。

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?

斯达巴克并不是追求危险的十字军武士;在他看来,勇敢并不是一种感情;而不过是一种对他有用,在碰到迫不得已的情形时,总能呼之即至的东西。此外,也许他还认为在捕鲸这种行业中,勇敢就是船只的最主要的装备品之一,如同船上的牛肉和面包一样,不是可以傻里傻气地随便浪费的。因此,每当夕阳西下后,他就没有放下小艇去打鲸的雅兴;也不会坚持去打鱼,尽管鱼会坚持要打斯达巴克。因为,斯达巴克认为,我在这个危险的大洋上,是为我的生活而打鲸的,并不是为鲸的生活而反让它们杀了的;成千上万的人就这样让鲸弄死,也是斯达巴克所清楚的。他自己的父亲是怎样一种命运?在无底的深渊里,他能够到什么地方去找他兄弟的残肢呢?

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.

这位斯达巴克既然怀有这些往事前尘,而且,天生又有上述那些迷信;因而他的勇气虽然还是颇为蓬勃,可是确实也已到顶了。但是,象这样形成的人,又有着象他这样可怖的经验和记忆的人而会弄到这地步,却未免有点反乎常情;而且这些东西竟至于不能在他身上酝酿成为一种要素,成为一种在适当的情况下,会突破它的限制,而激发起他全部的勇敢来的要素,这也是不合乎常情的。