I, Ishmael, was one of that crew; my shouts had gone up with the rest;
我,以实玛利,是那些水手中的一员;我的叫喊声已经同他们的一起爆发了;
my oath had been welded with theirs; and stronger I shouted, and more did I hammer and clinch my oath, because of the dread in my soul.
我的誓言已经同他们的结合在一起了;我越叫得响亮,就把我的誓言槌扣得越紧,因为我的灵魂感到畏惧。
A wild, mystical, sympathetical feeling was in me; Ahab's quenchless feud seemed mine.
我有一种狂热而神秘的同情心:亚哈那难以压制的仇恨仿佛也就是我的仇恨。
With greedy ears I learned the history of that murderous monster against whom I and all the others had taken our oaths of violence and revenge.
我这双贪婪的耳朵已经听到了那只凶残的巨兽的故事,我和所有其他的人都已对它发下我们的激烈和雪恨的誓言了。
For some time past, though at intervals only, the unaccompanied, secluded White Whale had haunted those uncivilized seas mostly frequented by the Sperm Whale fishermen.
那条离群索居的白鲸,在过去,只是不时出没在那些为捕抹香鲸者最常去的蛮荒的海洋上。
But not all of them knew of his existence; only a few of them, comparatively, had knowingly seen him;
并不是全部的捕鲸者都知道这条白鲸的;只有比较少数的捕鲸者曾经有意识地看到过它;
while the number who as yet had actually and knowingly given battle to him, was small indeed.
实际上,有意识地去打它的确实是为数不多。
For, owing to the large number of whale-cruisers;
因为捕鲸船只数目很多;
the disorderly way they were sprinkled over the entire watery circumference, many of them adventurously pushing their quest along solitary latitudes, so as seldom or never for a whole twelvemonth or more on a stretch, to encounter a single news-telling sail of any sort; the inordinate length of each separate voyage;
它们又都是混乱地散布在整个海洋上,其中有许多还到荒僻的地方去作冒险的探索,因而往往在一年多的一趟航程中,难得或者可说是决不会碰到任何一只报告任何消息的船只;
the irregularity of the times of sailing from home;
每次航程都是非常之长;
all these, with other circumstances, direct and indirect, long obstructed the spread through the whole world-wide whaling-fleet of the special individualizing tidings concerning Moby Dick.
出航时间没有规律,所有这些,加上直接间接的其它种种情形,就使得有关莫比－迪克这个独特的消息长期以来无法在全世界整个捕鲸船队中传播开来。