英語聽書《白鯨記》第727期

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Poor Sag-Harbor, therefore, seems worsted all round. But he had still another reason for his want of faith. It was this, if I remember right: Jonah was swallowed by the whale in the Mediterranean Sea, and after three days' he was vomited up somewhere within three days' journey of Nineveh, a city on the Tigris, very much more than three days' journey across from the nearest point of the Mediterranean coast. How is that?

因此，可憐的薩格港佬，似乎被駁得體無完膚了。然而，他又有另一個不相信的理由。如果我沒有記錯的話，那就是：約拿是在地中海上被大鯨吞下去的，三天后，他就在一個三天內(nèi)可到達(dá)尼尼微（底格里斯河（底格里斯河——在土耳其的亞洲部分和伊朗的河名。）上的一個城市）的什么地方被吐出來了，這段航程，如果從地中海的最近的海岸橫渡過去，也遠(yuǎn)不止三天。這又怎么說得通呢？

But was there no other way for the whale to land the prophet within that short distance of Nineveh? Yes. He might have carried him round by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. But not to speak of the passage through the whole length of the Mediterranean, and another passage up the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, such a supposition would involve the complete circumnavigation of all Africa in three days, not to speak of the Tigris waters, near the site of Nineveh, being too shallow for any whale to swim in. Besides, this idea of Jonah's weathering the Cape of Good Hope at so early a day would wrest the honor of the discovery of that great headland from Bartholomew Diaz, its reputed discoverer, and so make modern history a liar.

但是，難道在尼尼微這段短短的距離中，那條大鯨就沒有別的途徑來使這個先知著陸么？有的，他也許可以帶著他繞過好望角。但且不提它可以穿過整個地中海，或上溯到波斯灣和紅海，這個假設(shè)勢必牽扯到在三天里環(huán)游整個非洲，也不提靠近尼尼微的底格里斯河一帶，因為那兒河水太淺，任何一只大鯨都不能游。再說，關(guān)于約拿在那么早期的時代就合渡過好望角的這樣想法，還不免要搶掉發(fā)現(xiàn)這個海岬的巴塞洛繆·第亞士（巴塞洛繆·第亞士（1450?—1500）——葡萄牙的航海家。1488年繞過好望角。）那份榮譽(yù)，而使寫現(xiàn)代歷史的人成為說謊者了。

But all these foolish arguments of old Sag-Harbor only evinced his foolish pride of reason—a thing still more reprehensible in him, seeing that he had but little learning except what he had picked up from the sun and the sea.

但是，薩格港佬所有這些庸人自擾的辯詞，只是說明他強(qiáng)詞奪理罷了——更為不容寬恕的是：他除了道聽途說以外，學(xué)識實在十分有限。