Chapter 51 The Spirit-Spout
第五十一章 神灵的喷水
Days, weeks passed, and under easy sail, the ivory Pequod had slowly swept across four several cruising-grounds;
这只牙骨制的“裴廓德号”,经过了许多天,许多个星期,已一帆风顺地慢慢驶过了四个巡游渔场;
that off the Azores; off the Cape de Verdes; on the Plate (so called), being off the mouth of the Rio de la Plata;
那就是亚速尔(亚速尔——北大西洋的群岛。)海面;佛得角(佛得角——非洲极西部一个角。)海面;那个由于是在里奥·德·拉·普拉塔河口而称为普拉特河(普拉特河——在乌拉圭和阿根廷间的河口。);
and the Carrol Ground, an unstaked, watery locality, southerly from St. Helena.
和那在圣海伦娜南边的,未立界的水区的卡罗尔渔场。
It was while gliding through these latter waters that one serene and moonlight night, when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver;
就在驶过这些地方的时候,有一天晚上,月白天清,浪涛象银轴般滚滚而过;
and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude;
由于浪涛在徐徐沸腾,显得弥漫着一种不是凄寂,而是银白色的静穆;
on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of the white bubbles at the bow.
在这样静穆的夜空里,在泡沫四溅的船头的远前方,出现了一股银白色的喷水。
Lit up by the moon, it looked celestial; seemed some plumed and glittering god uprising from the sea.
它给月色一照耀,赛似一股灵光,似乎突然从海里冒出了一个光耀夺目的神明。
Fedallah first descried this jet.
费达拉首先发现这道喷射。
For of these moonlight nights, it was his wont to mount to the main-mast head, and stand a look-out there, with the same precision as if it had been day.
因为每当这种月色皎洁的夜晚,他就要攀上主桅顶,象白天一样准确地站在那里望。
And yet, though herds of whales were seen by night, not one whaleman in a hundred would venture a lowering for them.
不过,虽则晚上会发现一群一群大鲸,可是敢于冒险放下小艇去追击它们的,却是一百个捕鲸人中也找不到一个。
You may think with what emotions, then, the seamen beheld this old Oriental perched aloft at such unusual hours;
那么,在这样一个不同寻常的时分,水手们看到这个东方老头高栖在那上面,你就可以想象,他们会多么激动了。
his turban and the moon,companions in one sky.
他的头巾和月亮就是天生的一对良朋。