英語聽書《白鯨記》 第236期

Nor was the pulpit itself without a trace of the samesea-taste that had achieved the ladder and thepicture. Its panelled front was in the likeness of aship's bluff bows, and the Holy Bible rested on aprojecting piece of scroll work, fashioned after aship's fiddle-headed beak.

而且,講壇本身除了那張?zhí)葑雍湍欠彤嬕酝?并不就毫無海上情調(diào)的痕跡。它那嵌板的前沿就很象船只的扁平的船頭,那本放在突出的斜板上的《圣經(jīng)》,就是模仿船只的提琴頭似鐵嘴的式樣。

What could be more full of meaning?--for the pulpit is ever this earth's foremost part; all therest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God's quickwrath is first descried, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt. From thence it is the God ofbreezes fair or foul is first invoked for favorable winds. Yes, the world's a ship on its passageout, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow.

還有比這更富有意義的嗎?因為講壇從來就是人間的為首的部分,其余的一切都是跟著它走的。講壇領(lǐng)導(dǎo)整個塵世.特別叫人討厭的暴風(fēng)雨就正是從這里被首先發(fā)現(xiàn)的,船頭必須具有首當(dāng)其沖的能耐。上帝的清風(fēng)或逆風(fēng)就正是從這里被首先變成順風(fēng)的。不錯,世界就是一只向前駛出的大船,而且沒有一次完整的航程;這只講壇就是它的船頭。