英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)書《白鯨記》第655期
So strongly and metaphysically did I conceive of my situation then, that while earnestly watching his motions, I seemed distinctly to perceive that my own individuality was now merged in a joint stock company of two; that my free will had received a mortal wound; and that another's mistake or misfortune might plunge innocent me into unmerited disaster and death. Therefore, I saw that here was a sort of interregnum in Providence; for its even-handed equity never could have so gross an injustice. And yet still further pondering—while I jerked him now and then from between the whale and ship, which would threaten to jam him—still further pondering, I say, I saw that this situation of mine was the precise situation of every mortal that breathes; only, in most cases, he, one way or other, has this Siamese connexion with a plurality of other mortals. If your banker breaks, you snap; if your apothecary by mistake sends you poison in your pills, you die. True, you may say that, by exceeding caution, you may possibly escape these and the multitudinous other evil chances of life. But handle Queequeg's monkey-rope heedfully as I would, sometimes he jerked it so, that I came very near sliding overboard. Nor could I possibly forget that, do what I would, I only had the management of one end of it.當(dāng)時(shí)，我確是把我的處境想得非常奧妙，以致我一邊認(rèn)認(rèn)真真地注視著他的動(dòng)作，一邊又仿佛明明白白地覺(jué)得我自己的個(gè)人生命現(xiàn)在已并入我們兩人的股份兩合公司里了，覺(jué)得我的自由意志已經(jīng)受到極大的創(chuàng)傷；也覺(jué)得他的差錯(cuò)和不幸就一定會(huì)把無(wú)辜的我拋進(jìn)了那個(gè)不該我受的災(zāi)難和死亡里去。因此，我看到這就是一種天意的中絕期；因?yàn)樗谴蠊珶o(wú)私的公道從來(lái)沒(méi)有做出如此不公平的處罰。然而更仔細(xì)地推敲下去——我這樣不時(shí)地在船只與大鯨間對(duì)他猛拉一下，就象是要陷害他似的——更仔細(xì)地推敲下去，我說(shuō)，我看到我的這種處境，正是一切活著的人類的處境；不同的是，在大多數(shù)的場(chǎng)合上，一切活著的人，都有一根縛住一大串人的暹邏索子。如果你的銀行家倒了臺(tái)，你也倒了；如果藥鋪里在你的丸藥上錯(cuò)放了毒藥，你就完了蛋。不錯(cuò)，你也許可以這樣說(shuō)，你只要格外小心注意，就可以避免這些和各式各樣其它的生命危險(xiǎn)?？墒?，我雖是這樣拚命謹(jǐn)慎地抓著魁魁格的猴索，但是，他有時(shí)這樣猛地一拉，我就幾幾乎要滑到海里去了。隨我怎樣小心注意，我也忘不了我所能控制得了的只有繩子的一頭而已。
