英语听书《白鲸记》第369期

Thus speak of the whale, the great Cuvier, and John Hunter, and Lesson, those lights of zoology and anatomy.

那些动物学家和解剖学的权威,如伟大的居维埃,约翰。亨特和莱松,对于大鲸就是这样说法。

Nevertheless, though of real knowledge there be little, yet of books there are a plenty; and so in some small degree, with cetology, or the science of whales. Many are the men, small and great, old and new, landsmen and seamen, who have at large or in little, written of the whale. Run over a few:-- The Authors of the Bible; Aristotle; Pliny; Aldrovandi; Sir Thomas Browne; Gesner; Ray; Linnaeus; Rondeletius; Willoughby; Green; Artedi; Sibbald; Brisson; Marten; Lacepede; Bonneterre; Desmarest; Baron Cuvier; Frederick Cuvier; John Hunter; Owen; Scoresby; Beale; Bennett; J. Ross Browne; the Author of Miriam Coffin; Olmstead; and the Rev. T. Cheever. But to what ultimate generalizing purpose all these have written, the above cited extracts will show.

不过,虽则真正的知识不多,然而有关的书本却不少;因此,鲸类学或者是鲸科学也差不多是这样。虽然有很多人,小人物大人物,老人物新人物,陆上人和水手,他们都或多或少的,写到有关大鲸的事情。这里不妨概略地提出一些来...《圣经》的那些作者;亚里斯多德;普利尼;艾特罗万第;托马斯。布朗男爵;格斯纳;雷约翰。雷;林尼厄斯;隆德列修斯;威洛比;格林;阿蒂第;西鲍尔德;布里松(玛苏林。杰克。布里松;马登;拉塞佩德拉塞佩德;博纳太埃尔;德马雷斯;居维埃男爵;弗列达里克。居维埃;约翰。亨特;欧文;斯哥斯比;比尔;贝内特;罗斯。布朗;《米里亚姆。科芬》的作者;奥耳姆斯特德和契弗牧师。但是,上述诸人的著作究竟具有什么根本的概括意义,那从上面所引的若干摘录就可以表明。

Of the names in this list of whale authors only those following Owen ever saw living whales; and but one of them was a real professional harpooneer and whaleman. I mean Captain Scoresby. On the separate subject of the Greenland or right-whale, he is the best existing authority. But Scoresby knew nothing and says nothing of the great sperm whale,compared with which the Greenland whale is almost unworthy mentioning.

在上列这些大鲸作者的名单中,只有欧文以下诸人曾经看到过活鲸;而且,其中也只有一个人是真正的职业标枪手和捕鲸人。我指的是斯哥斯比船长。在论格陵兰大鲸,又称露脊鲸的各别的科目中,他是现存的最优秀的权威。但是,对于那种抹香鲸(与之相比,格陵兰鲸几乎是不值一提的),斯哥斯比还是毫无所知,一无记载。