信天翁號

South-eastward from the Cape, off the distant Crozetts, a good cruising ground for Right Whalemen, a sail loomed ahead, the Goney (Albatross) by name. As she slowly drew nigh, from my lofty perch at the fore-mast-head, I had a good view of that sight so remarkable to a tyro in the far ocean fisheries—a whaler at sea, and long absent from home.

好望角東南方、遙遠的克羅澤群島外——一片露脊鯨捕手的好漁場——前方隱隱現出一艘帆船，名叫「Goney（信天翁號）」。當她緩緩駛近，從我在前桅頂的高處，我把那幅對遠洋漁業新手而言無比奇異的景象看了個清楚——一艘在海上、久離家鄉的捕鯨船。

As if the waves had been fullers, this craft was bleached like the skeleton of a stranded walrus. All down her sides, this spectral appearance was traced with long channels of reddened rust, while all her spars and her rigging were like the thick branches of trees furred over with hoar-frost. Only her lower sails were set. A wild sight it was to see her long-bearded look-outs at those three mast-heads. They seemed clad in the skins of beasts, so torn and bepatched the raiment that had survived nearly four years of cruising. ... yet, those forlorn-looking fishermen, mildly eyeing us as they passed, said not one word to our own look-outs, while the quarter-deck hail was being heard from below.

彷彿那些海浪是漂洗工，這船被漂得白如一具擱淺海象的骸骨。沿著她兩舷，這幽靈般的外觀上劃著一道道泛紅的鏽痕的長溝；而她所有的圓桅與索具，都像覆滿白霜（hoar-frost）的粗樹枝。她只張著下層的帆。看她那三個桅頂上長鬍子的瞭望員，是一幅狂野的景象。他們彷彿身披獸皮——那熬過近四年航行而倖存的衣裳，破爛、補丁打得不像話。他們站在釘在桅上的鐵箍裡，在一片深不可測的海上搖盪；雖然當那船緩緩貼著我們船尾滑過時，我們高處的六個人彼此靠得那麼近，幾乎可以從一艘船的桅頂跳到另一艘的桅頂；可那些一臉淒涼的漁人，只是溫和地望著我們經過，對我們自己的瞭望員一個字也沒說，這時後甲板的招呼正從下面傳來。

“Ship ahoy! Have ye seen the White Whale?”

「船喂——！你們見過白鯨沒有？」

But as the strange captain, leaning over the pallid bulwarks, was in the act of putting his trumpet to his mouth, it somehow fell from his hand into the sea; and the wind now rising amain, he in vain strove to make himself heard without it. ... “Ahoy there! This is the Pequod, bound round the world! Tell them to address all future letters to the Pacific ocean! and this time three years, if I am not at home, tell them to address them to ——”

可那陌生的船長俯身在慘白的舷牆上、正要把傳聲筒湊到嘴邊時，它不知怎地從他手中掉進了海裡；而這時風猛烈地大了起來，他沒了傳聲筒、再怎麼努力也無法讓人聽見他的聲音。與此同時，他的船仍在拉開彼此的距離。裴廓德號的水手們以各種無言的方式，顯出他們對這「不祥之事」的留意——才剛向另一艘船一提白鯨的名字（就出了這事）；亞哈遲疑了片刻；幾乎像是：若不是那威脅的風攔著，他真會放下一艘艇去登上那陌生船。但他趁著自己處於上風的位置，又抓起他的傳聲筒，並憑那船的模樣認出她是一艘南塔克特船、不久就要返家，便高聲喊道——「喂——！這是裴廓德號，要繞世界一圈！叫他們以後把所有的信都寄到太平洋去！三年後的這時候，我若還沒到家，就叫他們把信寄到——」

At that moment the two wakes were fairly crossed, and instantly, then, in accordance with their singular ways, shoals of small harmless fish, that for some days before had been placidly swimming by our side, darted away with what seemed shuddering fins, and ranged themselves fore and aft with the stranger’s flanks. Though in the course of his continual voyagings Ahab must often before have noticed a similar sight, yet, to any monomaniac man, the veriest trifles capriciously carry meanings.

正在那一刻，兩船的航跡恰好交叉；於是頃刻間，按著牠們那奇特的習性，那群連日來一直安詳地在我們船旁伴游的無害小魚，以一種彷彿戰慄的鰭，倏地竄開、改排到那陌生船的兩側去了。亞哈在他連年不斷的航行中，必定早就常見過類似的景象；然而，對任何一個偏執狂的人而言，最最微不足道的小事，都被任性地賦予了意義。

“Swim away from me, do ye?” murmured Ahab, gazing over into the water. There seemed but little in the words, but the tone conveyed more of deep helpless sadness than the insane old man had ever before evinced. But turning to the steersman... he cried out in his old lion voice,—“Up helm! Keep her off round the world!”

「連你們也從我這兒游開，是嗎？」亞哈喃喃地說，凝望著水面。這話本身似乎沒什麼，可那語氣裡，透出比這瘋老頭以往所流露過的更深的、無助的悲哀。但他轉向那舵手——那人至此一直把船頂著風、好減慢船速——用他那獅子般的老嗓門喊道：「轉舵向下風！讓她繞著世界往前開！」

Round the world! There is much in that sound to inspire proud feelings; but whereto does all that circumnavigation conduct? Only through numberless perils to the very point whence we started, where those that we left behind secure, were all the time before us.

繞著世界！這聲音裡有許多東西能激起豪情；可這一切環球航行，究竟通向何處？只不過是穿過無數的凶險、回到我們出發的那一點——而我們留在身後、以為安全的那些人，這一路其實一直都在我們的前方（早已先到了那裡）。

Were this world an endless plain, and by sailing eastward we could for ever reach new distances, and discover sights more sweet and strange than any Cyclades or Islands of King Solomon, then there were promise in the voyage. But in pursuit of those far mysteries we dream of, or in tormented chase of that demon phantom that, some time or other, swims before all human hearts; while chasing such over this round globe, they either lead us on in barren mazes or midway leave us whelmed.

倘若這世界是一片無盡的平原，向東航行便能永遠抵達新的遠方、發現比任何基克拉澤斯群島、或所羅門王的島嶼更甜美奇異的景象，那這趟航程便有指望。可我們所追逐的，是我們夢中那些遙遠的奧祕；或是那遲早會在每一顆人心面前游過的「魔鬼幻影」——當人在這圓圓的地球上追逐這樣的東西時，它們不是把我們引進荒蕪的迷宮，就是在半途把我們淹沒、棄之不顧。