We can't afford to lose whales by the likes of you; a whale would sell for thirty times what you would, Pip, in Alabama. Bear that in mind, and don't jump any more." Hereby perhaps Stubb indirectly hinted, that though man loved his fellow, yet man is a money-making animal, which propensity too often interferes with his benevolence.
我们不能为了你这样的人而白白牺牲一条大鲸,一条大鲸,在阿拉巴马地方,卖起来可比你的身价高出三十倍呢,比普。要牢牢记住这点,别再跳了。"这样,斯塔布也许就间接地暗示出,人类虽然爱他的伙伴,然而,人类毕竟是种孳孳为利的动物,这种癖好往往要跟他的仁爱心发生冲突。
But we are all in the hands of the Gods; and Pip jumped again. It was under very similar circumstances to the first performance; but this time he did not breast out the line; and hence, when the whale started to run, Pip was left behind on the sea, like a hurried traveller's trunk. Alas! Stubb was but too true to his word. It was a beautiful, bounteous, blue day! the spangled sea calm and cool, and flatly stretching away, all round, to the horizon, like gold-beater's skin hammered out to the extremest. Bobbing up and down in that sea, Pip's ebon head showed like a head of cloves. No boat-knife was lifted when he fell so rapidly astern. Stubb's inexorable back was turned upon him; and the whale was winged. In three minutes, a whole mile of shoreless ocean was between Pip and Stubb. Out from the centre of the sea, poor Pip turned his crisp, curling, black head to the sun, another lonely castaway, though the loftiest and the brightest.
但是,我们大家都掌握在上帝的手里;比普又跳出去了。情形跟第一次极相仿佛;不过,这回,他胸口并没有抵着捕鲸索;因此,当那条鲸要狂奔出去的时候,比普就象被慌忙的旅客丢下的一只箱子那样,给撇在后边的海上了。唉!斯塔布也太信守他的言语了。这一天,真是太阳普施仁爱,天空蔚蓝而绮丽,闪耀的海洋平静无波,平坦地向四面的水平线伸展开去,象金箔匠的金箔让?头击得非常匀称那样。比普在海里忽上忽下地漂,他那黑檀木的头顶好象一簇丁香树冠。当他这样迅速地翻到艇尾去的时候,谁都没有举起艇刀。斯塔布无情地背对着他;那条大鲸已被戳伤了。在三分钟内,在无边的海洋上,比普跟斯塔布已隔开整整一英里。在海洋的中心里,可怜的比普那只一头鬈曲黑发的脑袋,对着太阳,虽然是这么天高气爽,灿烂辉煌,可是,又有一个孤寂的被摈弃者了。