Ere the English ship fades from sight be it set down here, that she hailed from London, and was named after the late Samuel Enderby, merchant of that city, the original of the famous whaling house of enderby and sons; —
在英国船从视线中消失之前，让我们记录下她来自伦敦，以已故的塞缪尔·恩德比为名，为那个城市的商人，恩德比父子著名的捕鲸公司的原始形式； —

a house which in my poor whaleman’s opinion, comes not far behind the united royal houses of the Tudors and Bourbons, in point of real historical interest. —
在我这个可怜的捕鲸者看来，就真实的历史利益而言，这家公司不逊色于都铎王室和波旁王室的联合； —

How long, prior to the year of our Lord 1775, this great whaling house was in existence, my numerous fish-documents do not make plain; —
在1775年之前，这家伟大的捕鲸公司存在了多久，我的许多捕鱼文件并未交代清楚； —

but in that year (1775) it fitted out the first English ships that ever regularly hunted the Sperm Whale; —
但在那一年（1775年），它装备了第一批英国船只，这些船只是第一批规律地捕捞抹香鲸的； —

though for some score of years previous (ever since 1726) our valiant Coffins and Maceys of Nantucket and the Vineyard had in large fleets pursued the Leviathan, but only in the North and South Atlantic: —
尽管在此之前的几十年（自1726年以来），我们伟大的南塔克特岛和葡萄园岛的考菲恩斯和梅西家族一直在大规模地追捕这头利维坦，但只在北大西洋和南大西洋； —

not elsewhere. Be it distinctly recorded here, that the Nantucketers were the first among mankind to harpoon with civilized steel the great Sperm Whale; —
更准确地记录在此的是，南塔克特人是全人类中第一批用文明的钢铁标枪捕杀抹香鲸的人； —

and that for half a century they were the only people of the whole globe who so harpooned him.
而且在整个地球上，他们是唯一这样捕杀他的民族半个世纪之久；

In 1778, a fine ship, the Amelia, fitted out for the express purpose, and at the sole charge of the vigorous Enderbys, boldly rounded Cape Horn, and was the first among the nations to lower a whale-boat of any sort in the great South Sea. The voyage was a skilful and lucky one; —
1778年，一艘名为阿米莉雅的优良船只专门为此目的而装备好，并由英勇的恩德比家族独立承担，大胆地绕过好望角，成为第一个在南大海洋中任何情况下下海捕鲸船只的国家。这次航行很成功，也很幸运； —

and returning to her berth with her hold full of the precious sperm, the Amelia’s example was soon followed by other ships, English and American, and thus the vast Sperm Whale grounds of the Pacific were thrown open. —
船只返航的时候，厢舱里满载着珍贵的抹香鲸脂，阿米莉雅的榜样很快被其他英国和美国船只效仿，因此大规模的太平洋抹香鲸捕捞区被打开； —

But not content with this good deed, the indefatigable house again bestirred itself: —
但这还不够，不知疲倦的公司再次行动起来； —

Samuel and all his Sons–how many, their mother only knows–and under their immediate auspices, and partly, I think, at their expense, the British government was induced to send the sloop-of-war Rattler on a whaling voyage of discovery into the South Sea. Commanded by a naval Post-Captain, the Rattler made a rattling voyage of it, and did some service; —
恩德比家族的塞缪尔和他的所有儿子们–他们的母亲可能是唯一知道他们数量的人–在他们的直接支持下，我想一部分是由他们掏腰包，英国政府被说服派遣了名为“困兽”号的护卫舰进行一次南大海洋的捕鲸探险之旅。由一位海军上校指挥，困兽号的航行非常成功，也做出了一些贡献； —

how much does not appear. But this is not all. —
具体的成就不详。但这还不是全部； —

In 1819, the same house fitted out a discovery whale ship of their own, to go on a tasting cruise to the remote waters of Japan. That ship– well called the “Syren”–made a noble experimental cruise; —
1819年，同一家公司装备了一艘自己的探险捕鲸船，前往遥远的日本海域进行一次试探性航行。这艘被称为“赛伦”的船进行了一次伟大的实验性航行； —

and it was thus that the great Japanese Whaling Ground first became generally known. —
因此，这个伟大的日本捕鲸区首次得到了普遍的了解； —

The Syren in this famous voyage was commanded by a Captain Coffin, a Nantucketer.
在这次著名的航行中，赛伦号由一位南塔克特的考菲恩船长指挥。

All honor to the Enderbies, therefore, whose house, I think, exists to the present day; —
因此，一切荣耀都归于恩德比家族，我想他们的家族至今仍存在； —

though doubtless the original Samuel must long ago have slipped his cable for the great South Sea of the other world.
尽管最初的塞缪尔必定很久以前已经滑向另一个世界的伟大南海。

The ship named after him was worthy of the honor, being a very fast sailer and a noble craft every way. —
以他命名的那艘船倒是配得上这个荣誉，她是一艘非常快速的帆船，各方面都是一艘高贵的船只。 —

I boarded her once at midnight somewhere off the Patagonian coast, and drank good flip down in the forecastle. —
我曾在午夜的某个时刻登上她，位于巴塔哥尼亚海岸附近，并在船头的前甲板上喝了几杯好酒。 —

It was a fine gam we had, and they were all trumps–every soul on board. —
我们度过了一段美妙的时光，他们全都是无可挑剔的——船上的每一个灵魂。 —

A short life to them, and a jolly death. —
表述他们短暂的生命，祝愿他们能迎接欢乐的死亡。 —

And that fine gam I had– long, very long after old Ahab touched her planks with his ivory heel– it minds me of the noble, solid, Saxon hospitality of that ship; —
那段美好的时光留在我心头，直到老亚哈用他的象牙踩在她的甲板上之后很长一段时间——它让我想起了那艘船上高贵、坚实、盎格鲁撒克逊式的款待； —

and may my parson forget me, and the devil remember me, if I ever lose sight of it. Flip? —
顺带一提，我必须讲一下酒糟？没错，我们喝了很多，平均每小时十加仑； —

Did I say we had flip? Yes, and we flipped it at the rate of ten gallons the hour; —
当狂风骤起（在巴塔哥尼亚附近经常刮大风），所有人——连那些访客们也被叫到上面收帆，船只变得过于顶重而不得不挂满抬帆绳把彼此扯上去； —

and when the squall came (for it’s squally off there by Patagonia), and all hands– visitors and all–were called to reef topsails, we were so top-heavy that we had to swing each other aloft in bowlines; —
我们愚蠢地把夹克衣摆的下摆卷进了帆里，这样，我们被困在那里，紧紧地被海风呼啸着的大风中，成了所有醉汉的一个警示故事。 —

and we ignorantly furled the skirts of our jackets into the sails, so that we hung there, reefed fast in the howling gale, a warning example to all drunken tars. —
然而，船桅并没有被吹倒； —

However, the masts did not go overboard; —
过了一会儿，我们趴下来，清醒了许多，甚至不得不再次消耗一些酒糟，尽管野蛮的海盐飞溅到前舱的舷窗，使得味道对我来说有些过于淡了。 —

and by and by we scrambled down, so sober, that we had to pass the flip again, though the savage salt spray bursting down the forecastle scuttle, rather too much diluted and pickled it for my taste.
牛肉非常美味——嚼劲十足，但是有韧性。有人说这是公牛肉；

The beef was fine–tough, but with body in it. They said it was bullbeef; —
也有人说这是驼肉；但我不能确定这是怎么回事。 —

others, that it was dromedary beef; but I do not know, for certain, how that was. —
对牛肉来源的争论。 —

They had dumplings too; small, but substantial, symmetrically globular, and indestructible dumplings. —
他们还有饺子；虽小，但实在，形状完美，坚固无比的饺子。 —

I fancied that you could feel them, and roll them about in you after they were swallowed. —
我觉得你吞下后能感受到它们，能在身体里滚动。 —

If you stooped over too far forward, you risked their pitching out of you like billiard-balls. —
如果你俯身太过前倾，会有它们像球一样滚出来的风险。 —

The bread– but that couldn’t be helped; —
面包——但那是无法避免的； —

besides, it was an anti-scorbutic, in short, the bread contained the only fresh fare they had. —
况且，这是一种抗坏血酸的，简言之，面包是他们唯一的新鲜食物。 —

But the forecastle was not very light, and it was very easy to step over into a dark corner when you ate it. —
但舱底不是很明亮，吃的时候很容易踩到一个黑暗的角落。 —

But all in all, taking her from truck to helm, considering the dimensions of the cook’s boilers, including his own live parchment boilers; —
取她的食物从桅顶到舵杆之间，考虑了厨师锅炉的尺寸，包括他自己的活皮锅炉； —

fore and aft, I say, the Samuel Enderby was a jolly ship; of good fare and plenty; —
前后，我说，塞缪尔·恩德比是一艘愉快的船；食物丰盛； —

fine flip and strong; crack fellows all, and capital from boot heels to hat-band.
美好的浓香和强烈的；所有人都很不错；从靴跟到帽檐都一流。

But why was it, think ye, that the Samuel Enderby, and some other English whalers I know of–not all though–were such famous, hospitable ships; —
但为什么，你认为，塞缪尔·恩德比，和我知道的其他一些英国捕鲸船——不是所有的——是如此有名，热情好客； —

that passed round the beef, and the bread, and the can, and the joke; —
绕船传递牛肉，面包，酒，笑话； —

and were not soon weary of eating, and drinking, and laughing? I will tell you. —
并且吃喝笑得不亦乐乎？我会告诉你。 —

The abounding good cheer of these English whalers is matter for historical research. —
这些英国捕鲸船充足的好吃的是历史研究的课题。 —

Nor have I been at all sparing of historical whale research, when it has seemed needed.
当需要时，历史鲸鱼研究我也从不吝啬。

The English were preceded in the whale fishery by the Hollanders, Zealanders, and Danes; —
在捕鲸业中，英国人之前有荷兰人、西兰人和丹麦人； —

from whom they derived many terms still extant in the fishery; —
从他们那里派生了许多仍在渔业中存在的术语; —

and what is yet more, their fat old fashions, touching plenty to eat and drink. —
更甚的是，他们肥胖的老式时尚，涉及丰盛的食物和饮料。 —

For, as a general thing, the English merchant-ship scrimps her crew; but not so the English whaler. —
就一般情况而言，英国商船会对船员进行节约；但鲸捕船并非如此。 —

Hence, in the English, this thing of whaling good cheer is not normal and natural, but incidental and particular; —
因此，在英语中，对捕鲸的热情好客并不是常态和自然的，而是偶然和特殊的； —

and, therefore, must have some special origin, which is here pointed out, and will be still further elucidated.
因此，必须具有一些特殊的起源，这里指出并将进一步阐明。

During my researches in the Leviathanic histories, I stumbled upon an ancient Dutch volume, which, by the musty whaling smell of it, I knew must be about whalers. —
在我研究利维坦历史时，我偶然发现了一本古老的荷兰卷轴，从陈腐的捕鲸味中可以知道这本书一定是关于捕鲸者的。 —

The title was, “Dan Coopman,” wherefore I concluded that this must be the invaluable memoirs of some Amsterdam cooper in the fishery, as every whale ship must carry its cooper. —
标题是“丹·库普曼”，因此我得出结论，这本书一定是一位阿姆斯特丹的桶匠在捕鱼业中的宝贵回忆录，因为每艘捕鲸船都必须配备桶匠。 —

I was reinforced in this opinion by seeing that it was the production of one “Fitz Swackhammer.” —
这种看法得到了加强，因为我看到它是“菲兹·斯沃克哈默”制作的。 —

But my friend Dr. Snodhead, a very learned man, professor of Low Dutch and High German in the college of Santa Claus and St. Potts, to whom I handed the work for translation, giving him a box of sperm candles for his trouble–this same Dr. Snodhead, so soon as he spied the book, assured me that “Dan Coopman” did not mean “The Cooper,” but “The Merchant.” —
但是我的朋友施诺德海德博士，一位博学的学者，圣克劳斯和圣波茨大学的低地德语和高地德语教授，我把这部作品交给他翻译，并给了他一盒鲸蜡烛作为报酬–就是这位施诺德海德博士，他一看到这本书，就向我保证，“丹·库普曼”并不是指“桶匠”，而是指“商人”。 —

In short, this ancient and learned Low Dutch book treated of the commerce of Holland; —
简而言之，这本古老而博学的低地德语书讨论了荷兰的商业。 —

and, among other subjects, contained a very interesting account of its whale fishery. —
一，《切萨皮克地区历史》详细记载了该地区的鲸鱼渔业等多个主题。 —

And in this chapter it was, headed, “Smeer,” or “Fat,” that I found a long detailed list of the outfits for the larders and cellars of 180 sail of Dutch whalemen; —
在这一章节中，标题为“Smeer”或“Fat”，我找到了一份详细清单，列出了180艘荷兰捕鲸船的食品储藏室和地窖的装备； —

from which list, as translated by Dr. Snodhead, I transcribe the following:
把用斯内德博士翻译的名单中与下列内容相符的部分复制下来。 1，在哪个名单中，我转述以下内容，译为中文。

0084400,000 lbs. of beef. 60,000 lbs. Friesland pork. 150,000 lbs. of stock fish. 550,000 lbs. —
10084400,000磅的牛肉。60000磅弗里西兰猪肉。150,000磅的鱼干。550,000磅。 —

of biscuit. 72,000 lbs. of soft bread. 2,800 firkins of butter. 20,000 lbs. —
饼干。72,000磅软面包。2,800桶黄油。20,000磅。 —

of Texel and Leyden cheese. 144,000 lbs. —
德克塞尔和莱顿奶酪。144,000磅。 —

cheese (probably an inferior article). 550 ankers of Geneva. —
奶酪（可能是劣质产品）。550桶杜松子酒。 —

10,800 barrels of beer.
10,800桶啤酒。

Most statistical tables are parchingly dry in the reading; —
大多数统计表在阅读时枯燥乏味； —

not so in the present case, however, where the reader is flooded with whole pipes, barrels, quarts, and gills of good gin and good cheer.
但在这种情况下不是，读者将被淹没在整个一问，桶，夸脱和杯子的好金酒和好宴会中。

At the time, I devoted three days to the studious digesting of all this beer, beef, and bread, during which many profound thoughts were incidentally suggested to me, capable of a transcendental and Platonic application; —
在那个时候，我花了三天时间来认真消化所有这些啤酒、牛肉和面包，其中还偶然给我提供了许多深奥的思考，能够进行超脱和柏拉图式的运用； —

and, furthermore, I compiled supplementary tables of my own, touching the probable quantity of stock-fish, &c. —
而且，我还编制了我自己的补充表格，涉及到每位古老格陵兰和斯匹次卑尔根捕鲸者可能消耗的干鱼的数量。 —

, consumed by every Low Dutch harpooneer in that ancient Greenland and Spitzbergen whale fishery. —
这些表格包含了每位低地德国鲸鱼捕捞者在这个古老的格陵兰和斯匹次卑尔根捕鲸业中可能消耗的干鱼等等。 —

In the first place, the amount of butter, and Texel and Leyden cheese consumed, seems amazing. —
首先，他们消耗的黄油、特克塞尔干酪和莱顿干酪的数量似乎令人惊讶。 —

I impute it, though, to their naturally unctuous natures, being rendered still more unctuous by the nature of their vocation, and especially by their pursuing their game in those frigid Polar Seas, on the very coasts of that Esquimaux country where the convivial natives pledge each other in bumpers of train oil.
不过，我把这归因于他们天生油腻的性格，再加上他们这一职业的性质所带来的更油腻，特别是在那些寒冷的极地海域追逐捕鱼，正好位于那些爱干杯儿喝鲸油的爱斯基摩人国家的海岸线上。

The quantity of the beer, too, is very large, 10,800 barrels. —
啤酒的数量也非常庞大，10800桶。 —

Now, as those polar fisheries could only be prosecuted in the short summer of that climate, so that the whole cruise of one of these Dutch whalemen, including the short voyage to and from the Spitzbergen sea, did not much exceed three months, say, and reckoning 30 men to each of their fleet of 180 sail, we have 5,400 Low Dutch seamen in all; —
现在，由于这些极地渔业只能在那个气候下的夏季进行，所以这些荷兰捕鲸船只的整个航行，包括往返斯匹次伯海的短途航行，总共也不过三个月左右吧。假设每艘船有30名船员，那么180艘船共有5400名荷兰低地地区的海员； —

therefore, I say, we have precisely two barrels of beer per man, for a twelve weeks’ allowance, exclusive of his fair proportion of that 550 ankers of gin. —
因此，我说，我们每个人正好有两桶啤酒，供应十二个星期，不包含他应得的那550桶杜松子酒。 —

Now, whether these gin and beer harpooneers, so fuddled as one might fancy them to have been, were the right sort of men to stand up in a boat’s head, and take good aim at flying whales; —
现在，不管这些杜松子酒和啤酒的鱼叉手，会不会喝得晕头转向，看起来他们似乎也能站在船头上，瞄准飞行的鲸鱼。 —

this would seem somewhat improbable. Yet they did aim at them, and hit them too. —
他们确实朝鲸鱼投掷，而且也命中了。 —

But this was very far North, be it remembered, where beer agrees well with the constitution; —
但请记住，这是极地地区，啤酒对身体十分适合； —

upon the Equator, in our southern fishery, beer would be apt to make the harpooneer sleepy at the mast-head and boozy in his boat; —
在赤道上，我们南方的捕鲸业中，啤酒会让鱼叉手在桅杆顶端变得昏昏欲睡，在船上沉溺于酒意； —

and grievous loss might ensue to Nantucket and New Bedford.
而那将给南塔基特和新贝德福德带来严重的损失。

But no more; enough has been said to show that the old Dutch whalers of two or three centuries ago were high livers; —
但不必再说了；已经足够说明，两三个世纪前的荷兰捕鲸船员是纵情享乐者； —

and that the English whalers have not neglected so excellent an example. —
而英国的捕鲸者也没有忽视这一良好榜样。 —

For, say they, when cruising in an empty ship, if you can get nothing better out of the world, get a good dinner out of it, at least. —
因为他们说，当在一艘空船上巡航时，如果你无法从世界上得到更好的东西，至少从中得到一顿丰盛的晚餐。 —

And this empties the decanter.
而这使酒瓶空了。