The ribs were ten on a side. The first, to begin from the neck, was nearly six feet long; the second, third, and fourth were each successively longer, till you came to the climax of the fifth, or one of the middle ribs, which measured eight feet and some inches. From that part, the remaining ribs diminished, till the tenth and last only spanned five feet and some inches. In general thickness, they all bore a seemly correspondence to their length. The middle ribs were the most arched. In some of the Arsacides they are used for beams whereon to lay footpath bridges over small streams.
这些肋骨每边各有十根、第一根，就是从颈部数起的那一根，几乎有六英尺长；第二根、第三根和第四根都一根比一根长，等你数到最长的第五根或者是中间的那一根，它量起来有八英尺几英寸长。打从第五根起，其余的肋骨就逐渐缩短了，直缩到第十根，也就是最后的一根，看来只不过五英尺多点。就一般的粗细说来，它们都跟长度差不多。不过中间的那些肋骨都很弯。在阿萨西提地方，有些肋骨还被当横木用，拿来架在小河上做小桥。
In considering these ribs, I could not but be struck anew with the circumstance, so variously repeated in this book, that the skeleton of the whale is by no means the mould of his invested form. The largest of the Tranque ribs, one of the middle ones, occupied that part of the fish which, in life, is greatest in depth. Now, the greatest depth of the invested body of this particular whale must have been at least sixteen feet; whereas, the corresponding rib measured but little more than eight feet. So that this rib only conveyed half of the true notion of the living magnitude of that part. Besides, for some way, where I now saw but a naked spine, all that had been once wrapped round with tons of added bulk in flesh, muscle, blood, and bowels. Still more, for the ample fins, I here saw but a few disordered joints; and in place of the weighty and majestic, but boneless flukes, an utter blank!
一想到这些肋骨，我不禁重新想起本书中一再提到的那些情况，那就是说，鲸骷髅绝不就是它原来的身体的形状。托朗魁那条鲸的最大的肋骨，也就是中间的那根，在鲸活着的时候，就是鲸身的最厚部分。而这条鲸本来的身躯的最厚部分至少一定有十六英尺长；可是，这根肋骨量起来却不过是八英尺。所以这根肋骨只不过是表达了这只大活物的那一部分的一半真相而已。此外，我总觉得，我现在所看到的这种不过是一根光堂堂的椎骨，却曾经给一吨一吨的鲜肉，肌肉，鲜血和内脏四面紧紧包围着。还有，说到那些原来是丰满的鳍，我现在所看到的，却只是一堆零乱的骨节了；而且原来那些极有分量与威风凛凛的，而且一点骨头也没有的鲸尾裂片，如今纯然一无所有了！