英语听书《白鲸记》第372期

First: The uncertain, unsettled condition of thisscience of Cetology is in the very vestibule attestedby the fact, that in some quarters it still remains amoot point whether a whale be a fish. In his Systemof Nature, A.D. 1776, Linnaeus declares, "I herebyseparate the whales from the fish." But of my ownknowledge, I know that down to the year 1850,sharks and shad, alewives and herring, againstLinnaeus's express edict, were still found dividing thepossession of the same seas with the Leviathan.

第一,鲸类学这门科学之未定未决的情形,正是有待于事实证明的首当其冲的问题,在某些方面说来,它还有一个争议未决的问题,那就是大鲸究竟是不是鱼。林尼厄斯在写于一七七六年的《自然之体系》一书中说,"这里我要把鲸与鱼区别开来。"不过,就我所知,我知道直至一八五○年,鲨鱼和鲱鱼,?鱼和青鱼,却与林尼厄斯所发表的见解相反,仍然是跟大海兽共海而分处的。

The grounds upon which Linnaeus would fain have banished the whales from the waters, hestates as follows: "On account of their warm bilocular heart, their lungs, their movable eyelids,their hollow ears, penem intrantem feminam mammis lactantem," and finally, "ex lege naturaejure meritoque." I submitted all this to my friends Simeon Macey and Charley Coffin, ofNantucket, both messmates of mine in a certain voyage, and they united in the opinion thatthe reasons set forth were altogether insufficient. Charley profanely hinted they were humbug.

林尼厄斯之所以要把鲸从海里放逐出去的根据,是这样的,他说:"鉴于它们有温暖的双心室的心脏,有肺,有能活动的眼皮,有内凹的耳朵,而且,雌性又有乳房,从自然规律说来,当然应该区别于一般鱼类。"在某次航行中,我碰到了两个餐友,就是南塔开特人西米恩。麦赛和查利。科芬,我把这一切向他们请教,他们都一致认为,上面所提的理由是完全不充足的。查利还不敬地把他们称为吹牛家咧。

Be it known that, waiving all argument, I take the good old fashioned ground that the whale isa fish, and call upon holy Jonah to back me. This fundamental thing settled, the next point is,in what internal respect does the whale differ from other fish. Above, Linnaeus has given youthose items. But in brief they are these: lungs and warm blood; whereas, all other fish arelungless and cold blooded.

其实,我宁愿放弃一切争论,坚持老式的立场,宣称鲸是鱼,并且请神圣的约拿来支持我。这一基本之点已告解决,其次,就来研究鲸具有什么与其他鱼类不同的内部特征。关于这,林尼厄斯已在上面把这些要点提出来了。简略地说,这些特征就是:有肺,有热血;反之,其他鱼类却是没有肺而且是冷血的。