英語聽書《白鯨記》第701期

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Now, of course, this canal is filled with much the same strangely fibrous substance—the spinal cord—as the brain; and directly communicates with the brain. And what is still more, for many feet after emerging from the brain's cavity, the spinal cord remains of an undecreasing girth, almost equal to that of the brain. Under all these circumstances, would it be unreasonable to survey and map out the whale's spine phrenologically? For, viewed in this light, the wonderful comparative smallness of his brain proper is more than compensated by the wonderful comparative magnitude of his spinal cord.

這根脊管自然也跟頭腦一樣，有著極其相似的奇特的纖維質(zhì)——脊柱纖維質(zhì)；而且直接通向頭腦。此外這種脊柱纖維質(zhì)，從腦窩里向外露出好多英尺后，還有一根象沒有縮短的肚帶似的東西，大小幾乎跟頭腦一樣。根據(jù)這種情形說來，憑骨相學(xué)的見地來探測出大鯨的脊骨，難道不是很合情理么？因為，從這個角度來觀察，它那正式的頭腦之相當(dāng)小得出奇，是遠(yuǎn)非那又大得相當(dāng)出奇的脊柱纖維質(zhì)所能彌補的。

But leaving this hint to operate as it may with the phrenologists, I would merely assume the spinal theory for a moment, in reference to the Sperm Whale's hump. This august hump, if I mistake not, rises over one of the larger vertebrae, and is, therefore, in some sort, the outer convex mould of it. From its relative situation then, I should call this high hump the organ of firmness or indomitableness in the Sperm Whale. And that the great monster is indomitable, you will yet have reason to know.

但是，這種分析，還是讓骨相學(xué)家們?nèi)プ霭?，我不過是暫時借用這種脊骨理論，來說一說抹香鯨的背峰而已。這一個威風(fēng)凜凜的背峰，如果我沒有弄錯的話，它是通過一根較大的脊骨聳出來的，因此，它有點象是這根脊骨的外部的凸出物。于是，從它的相關(guān)的情況看來，我將管這只高高的背峰叫做抹香鯨的堅定的或者是不屈不撓的器官。至于這只巨獸之所以是不屈不撓的，以后你還可以得到相信的根據(jù)。