英語聽書《白鯨記》第372期

First: The uncertain, unsettled condition of thisscience of Cetology is in the very vestibule attestedby the fact, that in some quarters it still remains amoot point whether a whale be a fish. In his Systemof Nature, A.D. 1776, Linnaeus declares, "I herebyseparate the whales from the fish." But of my ownknowledge, I know that down to the year 1850,sharks and shad, alewives and herring, againstLinnaeus's express edict, were still found dividing thepossession of the same seas with the Leviathan.

第一,鯨類學這門科學之未定未決的情形,正是有待于事實證明的首當其沖的問題,在某些方面說來,它還有一個爭議未決的問題,那就是大鯨究竟是不是魚。林尼厄斯在寫于一七七六年的《自然之體系》一書中說,"這里我要把鯨與魚區(qū)別開來。"不過,就我所知,我知道直至一八五○年,鯊魚和鯡魚,?魚和青魚,卻與林尼厄斯所發(fā)表的見解相反,仍然是跟大海獸共海而分處的。

The grounds upon which Linnaeus would fain have banished the whales from the waters, hestates as follows: "On account of their warm bilocular heart, their lungs, their movable eyelids,their hollow ears, penem intrantem feminam mammis lactantem," and finally, "ex lege naturaejure meritoque." I submitted all this to my friends Simeon Macey and Charley Coffin, ofNantucket, both messmates of mine in a certain voyage, and they united in the opinion thatthe reasons set forth were altogether insufficient. Charley profanely hinted they were humbug.

林尼厄斯之所以要把鯨從海里放逐出去的根據(jù),是這樣的,他說:"鑒于它們有溫暖的雙心室的心臟,有肺,有能活動的眼皮,有內(nèi)凹的耳朵,而且,雌性又有乳房,從自然規(guī)律說來,當然應該區(qū)別于一般魚類。"在某次航行中,我碰到了兩個餐友,就是南塔開特人西米恩。麥賽和查利?？品?我把這一切向他們請教,他們都一致認為,上面所提的理由是完全不充足的。查利還不敬地把他們稱為吹牛家咧。

Be it known that, waiving all argument, I take the good old fashioned ground that the whale isa fish, and call upon holy Jonah to back me. This fundamental thing settled, the next point is,in what internal respect does the whale differ from other fish. Above, Linnaeus has given youthose items. But in brief they are these: lungs and warm blood; whereas, all other fish arelungless and cold blooded.

其實,我寧愿放棄一切爭論,堅持老式的立場,宣稱鯨是魚,并且請神圣的約拿來支持我。這一基本之點已告解決,其次,就來研究鯨具有什么與其他魚類不同的內(nèi)部特征。關(guān)于這,林尼厄斯已在上面把這些要點提出來了。簡略地說,這些特征就是:有肺,有熱血;反之,其他魚類卻是沒有肺而且是冷血的。