英语听书《白鲸记》第450期

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Aside from those more obvious considerations touching² Moby Dick, which could not but occasionally awaken³ in any man's soul some alarm,  关于莫比－迪克,除了难免偶尔教任何人都要惊心动魄的那些较为明显的理由而外,

there was another thought, or rather vague, nameless horror concerning him, which at times by its intensity⁴ completely overpowered all the rest;  对它还有另外一种看法,或者不如说怀有一种难以言宣的。

and yet so mystical and well nigh ineffable⁵ was it, that I almost despair of putting it in a comprehensible form.  模糊的恐怖,那种恐怖,往往由于它非常强烈地压倒一切,而且又那么神秘。近乎形容不出,以致我几乎无法以一种容易使人了解的形式把它表达出来。

It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled⁶ me.  最使我害怕的就是这条大鲸的白色。我怎能在这里说得明白呢;

But how can I hope to explain myself here; and yet, in some dim, random⁷ way, explain myself I must, else all these chapters might be naught⁸. 然而,我总得胡乱含混地把它说出来,否则,所有这些章节都不免要等于零了。

Though in many natural objects, whiteness refiningly enhances beauty, as if imparting some special virtue⁹ of its own,  虽则在自然界的许多东西中,白色会优雅地显得更美,仿佛会使它本身增加一种特殊的价值,

as in marbles, japonicas, and pearls; and though various nations have in some way recognised a certain royal preeminence¹⁰ in this hue¹¹;  比如大理石。山茶花和珍珠就是这样:虽则有许多国家还认为这种颜色是一种无上的重要颜色;

even the barbaric, grand old kings of Pegu placing the title Lord of the White Elephants above all their other magniloquent ascriptions of dominion¹²;  甚至古代的野蛮而伟大的庇古帝王们,还把"白象之王"的称号置于他们其它种种夸张的统治称号之上;

and the modern kings of Siam unfurling the same snow-white quadruped in the royal standard.  现代的暹罗国王们还在王旗上扯出这种雪白的四足兽来。

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