The sky looks lacquered; clouds there are none; the horizon floats; and this nakedness of unrelieved radiance is as the insufferable splendors of God's throne. Well that Ahab's quadrant was furnished with colored glasses, through which to take sight of that solar fire. So, swinging his seated form to the roll of the ship, and with his astrological-looking instrument placed to his eye, he remained in that posture for some moments to catch the precise instant when the sun should gain its precise meridian. Meantime while his whole attention was absorbed, the Parsee was kneeling beneath him on the ship's deck, and with face thrown up like Ahab's, was eyeing the same sun with him; only the lids of his eyes half hooded their orbs, and his wild face was subdued to an earthly passionlessness. At length the desired observation was taken; and with his pencil upon his ivory leg, Ahab soon calculated what his latitude must be at that precise instant. Then falling into a moment's revery, he again looked up towards the sun and murmured to himself: "Thou seamark! thou high and mighty Pilot! thou tellest me truly where I am — but canst thou cast the least hint where I shall be? Or canst thou tell where some other thing besides me is this moment living? Where is Moby Dick? This instant thou must be eyeing him.
天空象是涂上一層漆;萬(wàn)里晴空,沒(méi)有一片云彩;水平線在漂泛著;這種亮得刺眼的光輝直似上帝寶座上的難以忍受的光彩。好在亞哈的象限儀上裝有染色鏡片,所以他能透過(guò)它來(lái)觀察那如火如荼的太陽(yáng)。亞哈就這樣隨著船身的簸動(dòng)而搖來(lái)晃去地坐在那里,眼睛湊著那架觀察星象的儀器,他這樣看了一會(huì)兒,想弄清楚太陽(yáng)究竟要在什么時(shí)分才會(huì)移到那正確的子午線上。當(dāng)他這樣全神貫注的時(shí)候,那個(gè)祆教徒也正跪在亞哈的小艇下面的甲板上,臉象亞哈一樣仰起著,跟亞哈一起在望著那只太陽(yáng);不同的是,他的眼皮半掩著瞳孔,而且那張狂野的臉縮成一種毫無(wú)熱情的神氣。最后,亞哈取得了所需要的觀察后,立刻拿起鉛筆,在他那只骨腿上計(jì)算當(dāng)時(shí)他所處的正確方向。接著,他沉思了一陣,又仰頭望著太陽(yáng),暗自嘟噥道,"你這個(gè)海標(biāo)呀!你這個(gè)高超而偉大的領(lǐng)港人呵!請(qǐng)你老實(shí)對(duì)我說(shuō),我究竟是在什么地方——我該到哪里去,難道連一點(diǎn)暗示都不肯給我么?或者你就不能告訴我,此刻除了我以外,還有另外一種東西是在什么地方嗎?莫比-迪克在哪里?此刻你一定在看它。