We all know how they live upon whales, and have rare old vintages of prime old train oil. Zogranda, one of their most famous doctors, recommends strips of blubber for infants, as being exceedingly juicy and nourishing. And this reminds me that certain Englishmen, who long ago were accidentally left in Greenland by a whaling vessel— that these men actually lived for several months on the mouldy scraps of whales which had been left ashore after trying out the blubber. Among the Dutch whalemen these scraps are called "fritters"; which, indeed, they greatly resemble, being brown and crisp, and smelling something like old Amsterdam housewives' dough-nuts or oly-cooks, when fresh. They have such an eatable look that the most self-denying stranger can hardly keep his hands off.
我们都知道，他们不但靠大鲸为生，还有象罕见的陈年葡萄酒一般的陈年上好鲸油。有一位最著名的爱斯基摩医生叫左格兰达（据百周年纪念版注：是讽指斯哥斯比。）的，他就推荐过婴孩们要吃鲸脂，认为它是最有液汁和最富有营养的东西。说到这里，教我想起一群英国人来，他们在很久之前，偶然被一艘捕鲸船留置在格陵兰，——这些人，实际上，有好几个月就是靠那些榨过油后。抛在海边的、发霉的鲸肉碎片过活的。在荷兰的捕鲸人中，管这种碎肉片叫做"鲸油渣"；事实上，这倒很是相象，因为它们颜色棕黄，又有点脆，味道也有点象古代阿姆斯特丹的主妇们所做的新鲜油炸饼或者油煎饼。它们具有那么可口的外表，连最有克制功夫的客人，也不免要食指大动。
But what further depreciates the whale as a civilized dish, is his exceeding richness. He is the great prize ox of the sea, too fat to be delicately good. Look at his hump, which would be as fine eating as the buffalo's (which is esteemed a rare dish), were it not such a solid pyramid of fat. But the spermaceti itself, how bland and creamy that is; like the transparent, half jellied, white meat of a cocoanut in the third month of its growth, yet far too rich to supply a substitute for butter. Nevertheless, many whalemen have a method of absorbing it into some other substance, and then partaking of it.
但是，人们所以更进一步地轻视大鲸，不把它当成文明人的食品，乃是因为它过分肥腻。它本身就是海里的大公牛，十分肥腻，不很可口。瞧它那隆起的背峰，要不是那里边尽是那样一片结实得象金字塔般的脂肪，那可就象水牛鱼（水牛鱼——产于密西西比河一带的鲫科大鱼，背上隆起。）（这是公认的一种珍馐）背那样的可口了。不过，就抹香鲸油本身说来，尽管它是多么柔滑、浓腻，象一只长了三个月的椰子肉一般透明。雪白而有点胶粘粘的，然而，要用它来代替黄油，却仍太嫌油腻。话虽如此，有许多捕鲸人都有一种吃法，那就是把它掺和其它的东西一起吃。