英语听书《白鲸记》第577期

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　　But, in general, they toil³ with their jack-knives alone;  不过，一般说来，他们大都只用他们那种水手小刀来雕刻；

　　and, with that almost omnipotent⁴ tool of the sailor, they will turn you out anything you please, in the way of a mariner's fancy. 他们用了那只可以说是水手的万能工具，凭水手所能想象得出的技巧，就可以给你做出你所喜爱的一切东西来。

　　Long exile from Christendom and civilization inevitably⁵ restores a man to that condition in which God placed him, i.e. what is called savagery⁷. 长期离开基督教地区与文明社会而流亡在外的人，必然地会回复到上帝曾经给他安置在那里的那种状态里，也就是所谓野蛮状态。

　　Your true whale-hunter is as much a savage⁶ as an Iroquois. 你这个真正的捕鲸者就跟一个易洛魁人一样的野蛮。

　　I myself am a savage, owning no allegiance but to the King of the Cannibals; and ready at any moment to rebel against him. 我自己就是个野蛮人，不过坦白地说，我还没有效忠生番王，而是准备随时反抗他。

　　Now, one of the peculiar⁸ characteristics of the savage in his domestic hours, is his wonderful patience of industry. 且说野蛮人在不野蛮的时候的特点之一，就是他具有令人惊叹的刻苦耐劳的精神。

　　An ancient Hawaiian war-club or spear-paddle, in its full multiplicity and elaboration of carving⁹, is as great a trophy¹⁰ of human perseverance¹¹ as a Latin lexicon¹². 在那种花样繁多和精工细刻的雕刻品中，一件古代的夏威夷的战棒或者枪桡，就跟一部拉丁辞典一样，是人类的坚持不挠精神的伟大纪念品。

　　For, with but a bit of broken sea-shell or a shark's tooth, that miraculous¹³ intricacy of wooden net-work has been achieved; 因为只用那么一点破碎的贝壳或者一只鲨鱼齿，就做出了那种奇迹似的错综复杂的木刻网状细工，

　　and it has cost steady years of steady application. 这可花了多少认真勤勉的岁月呵！

　　As with the Hawaiian savage, so with the white sailor-savage. 夏威夷的野蛮人如此，白种的野蛮化水手也如此。

　　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,   他们都以这种不可思议的耐心耐性，使用这样一片鲨鱼牙骨，一把可怜的水手小刀，就给你雕出一点骨雕物来，

　　not quite as workmanlike, but as close packed in its maziness of design, as the Greek savage, Achilles's shield;  虽然不算怎样精巧，可是，就它那错综复杂的结构说来，却跟希腊的野蛮人所做的阿基利斯（阿基利斯——希腊神话，也是荷马的史诗《伊利亚特》中的英雄，据传说，他除脚踵外，全身刀枪不入。）盾牌一样结实，

　　and full of barbaric spirit and suggestiveness, as the prints of that fine old Dutch savage, Albert Durer. 而就其富有野蛮人的神韵和创造性说来，却可跟那位高尚的德国老野蛮人艾柏特·丢勒（艾柏特·丢勒（1471—1528）——德国画家，雕刻家，有“艺术王子”和“绘画大师”之称。）的版画相媲美。

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