Cursed be that mortal inter-indebtedness which will not do away with ledgers. I would be free as air; and I'm down in the whole world's books. I am so rich, I could have given bid for bid with the wealthiest Praetorians at the auction of the Roman empire (which was the world's); and yet I owe for the flesh in the tongue I brag with. By heavens! I'll get a crucible, and into it, and dissolve myself down to one small, compendious vertebra. So.
这笔该死的勾销不了的欠来欠去的人情账！我真想象空气一般的自由；但是我已经全身是债了。如果我很富有，那我可以到罗马帝国（也就是世界的帝国）的拍卖场上去跟最有钱的将军们讨价还价了；但是，我却少了一根可以大夸特夸的舌头。真的！我要去找一只坩埚来，跳了进去，把我自己消溶成一小撮脊椎骨。就这样行啦！
Carpenter ( resuming his work).
木匠（重新开始干活）
Well, well, well! Stubb knows him best of all, and Stubb always says he's queer; says nothing but that one sufficient little word queer; he's queer, says Stubb; he's queer—queer, queer; and keeps dinning it into Mr. Starbuck all the time—queer—sir—queer, queer, very queer. And here's his leg. Yes, now that I think of it, here's his bed-fellow! has a stick of whale's jaw-bone for a wife! And this is his leg; he'll stand on this. What was that now about one leg standing in three places, and all three places standing in one hell— how was that? Oh! I don't wonder he looked so scornful at me!
唔，唔，唔！斯塔布比谁都清楚他，斯塔布始终说他是个怪物；什么都不说，就只说怪物这两个简单字眼；他是怪物，斯塔布说；他是怪物——怪物，怪物；而且老是唠唠叨叨地把它说给斯达巴克先生听——怪物，先生——怪物，怪物，真是怪物。哟，这是他的腿！嗯，我可想起来了，这就是他的睡伴！拿一根鲸嘴骨去做老婆！这就是他的腿；他就要靠这来支撑。这只腿这会儿怎么会经得起三种用场，而这三种用场又怎么经得起地狱——这究竟是怎么一回事？难怪他要那么傲慢地看着我！