Moreover, while in most other animals that I can now think of, the eyes are so planted as imperceptibly to blend their visual power, so as to produce one picture and not two to the brain; the peculiar position of the whale's eyes, effectually divided as they are by many cubic feet of solid head, which towers between them like a great mountain separating two lakes in valleys; this, of course, must wholly separate the impressions which each independent organ imparts. The whale, therefore, must see one distinct picture on this side, and another distinct picture on that side; while all between must be profound darkness and nothingness to him. Man may, in effect, be said to look out on the world from a sentry-box with two joined sashes for his window. But with the whale, these two sashes are separately inserted, making two distinct windows, but sadly impairing the view. This peculiarity of the whale's eyes is a thing always to be borne in mind in the fishery; and to be remembered by the reader in some subsequent scenes.
而且,就我這時(shí)所能想到的其它多數(shù)動物說來,兩只眼睛這么長法會不知不覺地把兩只眼睛的視力給混在一起,使得腦海里產(chǎn)生出一個(gè)而不是兩個(gè)畫面;可是,鯨眼的這種特殊的位置,實(shí)際上兩只眼睛好象讓這只好幾平方英尺的大頭給隔開來,而那只頭,高踞在它們中間,猶如一座大山把溪谷分成兩個(gè)大湖;這自然一定會把每只眼睛所獲得的印象都給完全分開了。因此,大鯨一定是在這一邊看到了一幅明晰的畫面,又在另一邊看到了另一幅明晰的畫面;至于所有處在中間的東西,在它看來一定是漆黑一團(tuán)、空無所有了。實(shí)際上,人類觀察世界萬物,可說是從一個(gè)有兩只連在一起的玻璃窗框的哨亭里望出去的??墒?,就大鯨說來,這兩只窗框卻是各自分開裝置,結(jié)果雖是兩扇明亮的玻璃窗,可惜卻損傷了視力。鯨眼的這種特點(diǎn)就是捕魚業(yè)中必須時(shí)刻謹(jǐn)記在心的,也是讀者在以后的若干場景中勢必會回想到的一件事情。
A curious and most puzzling question might be started concerning this visual matter as touching the Leviathan. But I must be content with a hint. So long as a man's eyes are open in the light, the act of seeing is involuntary; that is, he cannot then help mechanically seeing whatever objects are before him.
關(guān)于說到大海獸這種視覺方面的事情,也許會產(chǎn)生一個(gè)奇特而最使人迷惑的問題。不過,我必須一說為快。只要人的眼睛是在光線里張開來的,這種觀看的動作就是不知不覺的了;就是說,他勢必是無意識地看到一切顯現(xiàn)在他眼前的東西。