英語聽書《白鯨記》第577期

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Some of them have little boxes of dentistical-looking implements, specially intended for the skrimshandering business. But, in general, they toil with their jack-knives alone; and, with that almost omnipotent tool of the sailor, they will turn you out anything you please, in the way of a mariner's fancy.

他們有一些人還有象牙科醫(yī)生用的小工具箱，專門用來制作解悶手工。不過，一般說來，他們大都只用他們那種水手小刀來雕刻；他們用了那只可以說是水手的萬能工具，憑水手所能想象得出的技巧，就可以給你做出你所喜愛的一切東西來。

Long exile from Christendom and civilization inevitably restores a man to that condition in which God placed him, i.e. what is called savagery. Your true whale-hunter is as much a savage as an Iroquois. I myself am a savage, owning no allegiance but to the King of the Cannibals; and ready at any moment to rebel against him.

長期離開基督教地區(qū)與文明社會而流亡在外的人，必然地會回復(fù)到上帝曾經(jīng)給他安置在那里的那種狀態(tài)里，也就是所謂野蠻狀態(tài)。你這個真正的捕鯨者就跟一個易洛魁人一樣的野蠻。我自己就是個野蠻人，不過坦白地說，我還沒有效忠生番王，而是準備隨時反抗他。

Now, one of the peculiar characteristics of the savage in his domestic hours, is his wonderful patience of industry. An ancient Hawaiian war-club or spear-paddle, in its full multiplicity and elaboration of carving, is as great a trophy of human perseverance as a Latin lexicon. For, with but a bit of broken sea-shell or a shark's tooth, that miraculous intricacy of wooden net-work has been achieved; and it has cost steady years of steady application.

且說野蠻人在不野蠻的時候的特點之一，就是他具有令人驚嘆的刻苦耐勞的精神。在那種花樣繁多和精工細刻的雕刻品中，一件古代的夏威夷的戰(zhàn)棒或者槍橈，就跟一部拉丁辭典一樣，是人類的堅持不撓精神的偉大紀念品。因為只用那么一點破碎的貝殼或者一只鯊魚齒，就做出了那種奇跡似的錯綜復(fù)雜的木刻網(wǎng)狀細工，這可花了多少認真勤勉的歲月呵！

As with the Hawaiian savage, so with the white sailor-savage. With the same marvellous patience, and with the same single shark's tooth, of his one poor jack-knife, he will carve you a bit of bone sculpture, not quite as workmanlike, but as close packed in its maziness of design, as the Greek savage, Achilles's shield; and full of barbaric spirit and suggestiveness, as the prints of that fine old Dutch savage, Albert Durer.

夏威夷的野蠻人如此，白種的野蠻化水手也如此。他們都以這種不可思議的耐心耐性，使用這樣一片鯊魚牙骨，一把可憐的水手小刀，就給你雕出一點骨雕物來，雖然不算怎樣精巧，可是，就它那錯綜復(fù)雜的結(jié)構(gòu)說來，卻跟希臘的野蠻人所做的阿基利斯（阿基利斯——希臘神話，也是荷馬的史詩《伊利亞特》中的英雄，據(jù)傳說，他除腳踵外，全身刀槍不入。）盾牌一樣結(jié)實，而就其富有野蠻人的神韻和創(chuàng)造性說來，卻可跟那位高尚的德國老野蠻人艾柏特·丟勒（艾柏特·丟勒（1471—1528）——德國畫家，雕刻家，有“藝術(shù)王子”和“繪畫大師”之稱。）的版畫相媲美。