But you must be a thorough whaleman, to see these sights; and not only that, but if you wish to return to such a sight again, you must be sure and take the exact intersecting latitude and longitude of your first stand-point, else so chance-like are such observations of the hills, that your precise, previous stand-point would require a laborious re-discovery; like the Solomon islands, which still remain incognita, though once high-ruffed Mendanna trod them and old Figuera chronicled them.
但是,要看這些景色,就必須是個(gè)十足的捕鯨人才行;而且不僅如此,如果想再看看這樣一種景色,還得有把握地站在你第一次站過(guò)的那塊經(jīng)緯交叉的地方,否則,象這樣偶然而得的山景,要重新找到你剛才站著的正確地點(diǎn),就得花番大功夫了,就跟那個(gè)梭羅馬群島(即所羅門(mén)群島。)一樣,雖然那個(gè)氣急呼呼的門(mén)達(dá)納(尼烏拉·德·門(mén)達(dá)納(1541—1595)——西班牙航海家,他曾于一五六七年發(fā)現(xiàn)所羅門(mén)群島。)的足跡,曾經(jīng)一度到過(guò)那里,菲格拉(法蘭西斯科·德·菲格拉(1540—1620)——西班牙詩(shī)人。)老頭也曾經(jīng)記載過(guò)它,可它仍是個(gè)隱姓埋名的地方。
Nor when expandingly lifted by your subject, can you fail to trace out great whales in the starry heavens, and boats in pursuit of them; as when long filled with thoughts of war the Eastern nations saw armies locked in battle among the clouds. Thus at the North have I chased Leviathan round and round the Pole with the revolutions of the bright points that first defined him to me. And beneath the effulgent Antarctic skies I have boarded the Argo-Navis, and joined the chase against the starry Cetus far beyond the utmost stretch of Hydrus and the Flying Fish.
如果閣下有興高高往上攀去,坐著小艇去追尋它們的話,那么在滿天星斗的上天,也不難找到大鯨,有如那些飽經(jīng)戰(zhàn)患的東方民族,看到給包圍在戰(zhàn)云里的軍隊(duì)。我就這樣在北極地方,不住地繞著北極星,追擊著那由陣陣金光初次使我看得輪廓分明的大鯨。而在輝煌燦爛的南極天空下,我卻坐上了南船星座,跟他們一起到遠(yuǎn)離海蛇星座和飛魚(yú)星座的無(wú)垠無(wú)涯的地方去追擊鯨星座。
With a frigate's anchors for my bridle-bitts and fasces of harpoons for spurs, would I could mount that whale and leap the topmost skies, to see whether the fabled heavens with all their countless tents really lie encamped beyond my mortal sight!
用一只小巡洋艦的錨來(lái)作我的系索柱,用標(biāo)槍的束桿來(lái)做我的馬扎子,我就能夠登上那條鯨,沖到最高的天空,去看看那傳說(shuō)中的上天和它所有的無(wú)數(shù)帳篷里,究竟是不是真的包藏有我肉眼所不能見(jiàn)的東西!