英語聽書《白鯨記》第388期

Concerning the officers of the whale-craft, this seems as good a place as any to set down a little domestic peculiarity on ship-board, arising from the existence of the harpooneer class of officers, a class unknown of course in any other marine than the whale-fleet.

說到捕鯨船的船上頭目,這里倒還可以順便把船上特有的內(nèi)政情況加以一記,說一說船上頭目中的標槍手階級的來源,因為這一階級除了捕鯨船隊以外,自然是其它任何船舶所不知道的。

The large importance attached to the harpooneer's vocation is evinced by the fact, that originally in the old Dutch Fishery, two centuries and more ago, the command of a whale-ship was not wholly lodged in the person now called the captain, but was divided between him and an officer called the Specksynder. Literally this word means Fat-Cutter; usage, however, in time made it equivalent to Chief Harpooneer. In those days, the captain's authority was restricted to the navigation and general management of the vessel; while over the whale-hunting department and all its concerns, the Specksynder or Chief Harpooneer reigned supreme. In the British Greenland Fishery, under the corrupted title of Specksioneer, this old Dutch official is still retained, but his former dignity is sadly abridged. At present he ranks simply as senior Harpooneer; and as such, is but one of the captain's more inferior subalterns. Nevertheless, as upon the good conduct of the harpooneers the success of a whaling voyage largely depends, and since in the American Fishery he is not only an important officer in the boat, but under certain circumstances (night watches on a whaling ground) the command of the ship's deck is also his; therefore the grand political maxim of the sea demands, that he should nominally live apart from the men before the mast, and be in some way distinguished as their professional superior; though always, by them, familiarly regarded as their social equal.

標槍手這一職業(yè)的重大意義是有事實根據(jù)的。在二百多年前的古荷蘭捕鯨業(yè)中,捕鯨船的指揮權(quán)本來并不是完全交給那個現(xiàn)今叫做船長的人,而是由他跟一個叫做斯培克辛德的頭目分而治之的。這個名詞...斯培克辛德...按照字義解釋,就是割油者;不過,在待遇上恰好是相當于一等標槍手。當時,船長的職權(quán)僅限于船只的航行和一般的管理工作;至于捕鯨以及一切跟捕鯨方面有關(guān)的事情,都由斯培克辛德也即一等標槍手大權(quán)獨攬。在英國的格陵蘭捕魚業(yè)中,卻仍沿用這個語言訛誤的"斯培克西昂尼爾"的頭銜,保留了這個古荷蘭的船上頭目的職位,可是,他以前的權(quán)尊則已給大大地縮小了。現(xiàn)在他只算是個高級標槍手;這樣一來,這種職司不過是船長的一個比較下級的部屬而已。然而,由于一次捕鯨航行的成功,大多有賴于這些標槍手的掌握得宜,同時,因為在美國捕魚業(yè)中,他不只是小艇上的一個重要頭目,而且在某種情況之下(在捕鯨場上的值夜),整個船面指揮權(quán),也是屬于他的;因此,根據(jù)海上的主要政治準則,就要求他必須在形式上與那些桅桿前的水手分開生活,必須在職務上多少顯得比一般水手優(yōu)越些;雖然大家往往是熟不拘禮地把他們看成地位同等的人物。