The natural aptitude of the French for seizing the picturesqueness of things seems to be peculiarly evinced in what paintings and engravings they have of their whaling scenes.
法國人之具有把握事物的生動逼真的天資,似乎特別表現(xiàn)在他們那些捕鯨場面的繪畫和雕刻上。
With not one tenth of England's experience in the fishery, and not the thousandth part of that of the Americans,
雖然他們在捕魚業(yè)的經(jīng)驗方面還不及英國的什一,更不及美國的千分之一,
they have nevertheless furnished both nations with the only finished sketches at all capable of conveying the real spirit of the whale hunt.
但是,他們卻給這兩個國家提供無比精巧的寫生畫,完全能夠傳達(dá)出捕鯨的真正神韻。
For the most part, the English and American whale draughtsmen seem entirely content with presenting the mechanical outline of things,
就英美大多數(shù)大鯨繪圖員說來,他們似乎純?nèi)粷M足于表現(xiàn)事物的粗陋輪廓,
such as the vacant profile of the whale;
比如畫了一幅毫無神采的大鯨側(cè)面圖;
which, so far as picturesqueness of effect is concerned, is about tantamount to sketching the profile of a pyramid.
而就畫趣的效果說來,卻不過是略等于速寫出一只金字塔的側(cè)面圖而已。
Even Scoresby, the justly renowned Right whaleman,
甚至于斯哥斯比,這個謹(jǐn)嚴(yán)的著名捕露脊鯨者,
after giving us a stiff full length of the Greenland whale, and three or four delicate miniatures of narwhales and porpoises,
在給我們一幅生硬的格陵蘭鯨的全身像和三四條精巧的獨角鯨和小鯨的袖珍圖后,
treats us to a series of classical engravings of boat hooks, chopping knives, and grapnels;
又讓我們?nèi)バ蕾p一連串刻有小艇鐵鉤,菜刀,四腳錨等的古雅版畫;
and with the microscopic diligence of a Leuwenhoeck submits to the inspection of a shivering world ninety-six fac-similes of magnified Arctic snow crystals.
同時還以雷文胡克(雷文胡克——即荷蘭的顯微鏡家安東尼·范。李文霍克(1632—1723)。)的辛勤鉆研顯微鏡的精神,讓我們觀察一下令人發(fā)顫的北極地方九十六幅放大了的結(jié)晶雪粒的復(fù)制圖。
I mean no disparagement to the excellent voyager (I honor him for a veteran),
我對這位優(yōu)秀的航海家毫無貶抑之意(我把他尊崇為一位經(jīng)驗豐富的前輩),
but in so important a matter it was certainly an oversight not to have procured for every crystal a sworn affidavit taken before a Greenland Justice of the Peace.
不過,象如此關(guān)系重大的事體,事先卻沒有把每一顆結(jié)晶體都拿到格陵蘭的治安推事那里去取得一份宣誓書,那就未免是一種失察了。