英语听书《白鲸记》第777期

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　而当原告对被告提出指责时，被告的船长竟伸起指头直戳到原告的嘴巴，而且还强词夺理地对原告们说，他所做的都是合情合理的，他现在应该保有他们的绳索、标枪和小艇（这些东西都是在大鲸被夺去时原封不动地附在鲸身上的）。因此，原告们现在要控告对方赔偿他们的鲸、绳索、标枪和小艇的损失。

　　Mr. Erskine was counsel for the defendants; Lord Ellenborough was the judge. In the course of the defence, the witty⁶ Erskine went on to illustrate⁷ his position, by alluding⁸ to a recent crim. con⁹. case, wherein a gentleman, after in vain trying to bridle¹⁰ his wife's viciousness, had at last abandoned her upon the seas of life; but in the course of years, repenting¹¹ of that step, he instituted an action to recover possession of her. Erskine was on the other side; and he then supported it by saying, that though the gentleman had originally harpooned¹² the lady, and had once had her fast, and only by reason of the great stress of her plunging¹³ viciousness, had at last abandoned her; yet abandon her he did, so that she became a loose-fish; and therefore when a subsequent gentleman re-harpooned her, the lady then became that subsequent gentleman's property, along with whatever harpoon³ might have been found sticking in her.

　　厄斯金（托马斯·厄斯金（1750—1825）——英国律师。先生当时是被告的辩护律师：法官是埃伦巴勒（爱德华·洛·埃伦巴勒（1750—1818）——英国律师。）勋爵。在辩护过程中，机智的厄斯金竟引证了从前一件通奸案来解释他的见解，他说，当时有一位仁兄，在徒劳地制止他妻子的不端行为后，终于把她抛弃了，听她漂流去。但是，过了几年，他又懊悔不该采取那种做法，想重新把她占为己有。厄斯金当时是女方的辩护人，于是起来为女方辩护说，尽管这位仁兄原来也使用标枪把她戳中了，并且一度把她拴住了，只不过因为她耽迷于不端行为，令人左右为难，才终于不得不将她抛弃；然而，既然他确是把她抛弃了，所以她就成为一条无主鲸了；因此，等到有第二个仁兄再用标枪把她戳中了的时候，那么，这位太太当然就该归这第二个仁兄所有喽，连同她身上还可以找得到的、前人所已戳在她身上的标枪，都应一起算作第二位仁兄的财产了。

　　Now in the present case Erskine contended that the examples of the whale and the lady were reciprocally illustrative of each other.

　　所以，在现在这个案件中，厄斯金极力主张，这条鲸和那个太太的两个例子，都是足以彼此互作说明的。

分享到：