英语听书《白鲸记》第853期

The English were preceded in the whale fishery by the Hollanders, Zealanders, and Danes; from whom they derived many terms still extant in the fishery; and what is yet more, their fat old fashions, touching plenty to eat and drink. For, as a general thing, the English merchant-ship scrimps her crew; but not so the English whaler.

就从事捕鲸业说来，荷兰人，西兰人和丹麦人都是早于英国人的，他们所创造出来的许多名词直到如今都还通行于捕鱼业中；而且不仅如此，他们还把那大吃大喝的阔绰古风也给保持下来。因为，一般说来，英国商船对他们的水手都很刻薄；但英国捕鲸船却不是这样。

Hence, in the English, this thing of whaling good cheer is not normal and natural, but incidental and particular; and, therefore, must have some special origin, which is here pointed out, and will be still further elucidated.

因此，英国这种把捕鲸搞得有声有色的情况，并不是正常和天然的，而是偶然和特殊的，所以其中必有特别的来头，这就是这里所要提出，并将加以进一步说明的。

During my researches in the Leviathanic histories, I stumbled upon an ancient Dutch volume, which, by the musty whaling smell of it, I knew must be about whalers. The title was, "Dan Coopman," wherefore I concluded that this must be the invaluable memoirs of some Amsterdam cooper in the fishery, as every whale ship must carry its cooper. I was reinforced in this opinion by seeing that it was the production of one "Fitz Swackhammer." But my friend Dr. Snodhead, a very learned man, professor of Low Dutch and High German in the college of Santa Claus and St. Potts, to whom I handed the work for translation, giving him a box of sperm candles for his trouble—this same Dr. Snodhead, so soon as he spied the book, assured me that "Dan Coopman" did not mean "The Cooper," but "The Merchant."

在我研究大鲸史料期间，我偶然接触到一本荷兰古籍，（这个所谓荷兰古籍和下面的统计数字是作者模仿斯哥斯比的著作《北极记》第二卷151—152页而作的游戏文字。）这本书，从它所发出的霉臭的鲸味看来，我断定它必是一本谈到捕鲸船的书。它的书名叫做"Dan Coopman"，因此，我肯定这本书一定是捕鱼业中某个阿姆斯特丹箍桶匠的珍贵的回忆录，因为每只捕鲸船都一定配备有箍桶匠。待到我看到这是一位名叫菲斯·斯瓦克哈姆玛（斯瓦克哈姆玛——英文可解释为榔头咯咯响，因而作者将其肯定为箍桶匠。）的作品的时候，我更加强我这个看法。不过，我有一位叫斯诺黑特博士的朋友，他非常有学问，也是山大·克劳斯大学和圣波特大学的荷兰语和德语教授，因此，我把这部作品拿去请他翻译，并送他一盒抹香鲸油烛作为酬劳——这位斯诺黑特博士，一看到书名，就立刻对我说，"Dan Coop-man"并不是"箍桶匠"的意思，而是"商人"。

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