評(píng)論
打印
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(guó)人之具有把握事物的生動(dòng)逼真的天資，似乎特別表現(xiàn)在他們那些捕鯨場(chǎng)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?cè)诓遏~業(yè)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)方面還不及英國(guó)的什一，更不及美國(guó)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(gè)國(guó)家提供無(wú)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(shuō)來(lái)，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(wú)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(shuō)來(lái)，卻不過(guò)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(gè)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(dú)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(shí)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(duì)這位優(yōu)秀的航海家毫無(wú)貶抑之意（我把他尊崇為一位經(jīng)驗(yàn)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(guò)，象如此關(guān)系重大的事體，事先卻沒(méi)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。
