評(píng)論
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And as upon the invasion of their valleys, the frosty Swiss have retreated to their mountains; so, hunted from the savannas and glades of the middle seas, the whale-bone whales can at last resort to their Polar citadels, and diving under the ultimate glassy barriers and walls there, come up among icy fields and floes! and in a charmed circle of everlasting December, bid defiance to all pursuit from man.
正如冷淡的瑞士人，一遇外族入侵他們的河谷，便都撤到他們的大山上去一般，因此，這些須鯨在那如大草原、林間開闊地帶的洋面上被獵擊后，它們最后也能夠這樣前往它們那些北極的城堡，而潛入到最后的草木茂盛的壁壘和城墻下去，又在冰地和浮冰塊中冒了出來(lái)；它們處在無(wú)盡的十二月天的美妙的小天地里，根本不把人類一切追逐放在眼里。
But as perhaps fifty of these whale-bone whales are harpooned for one cachalot, some philosophers of the forecastle have concluded that this positive havoc has already very seriously diminished their battalions. But though for some time past a number of these whales, not less than 13,000, have been annually slain on the nor'west coast by the Americans alone; yet there are considerations which render even this circumstance of little or no account as an opposing argument in this matter.
但是，也許是因?yàn)橥虻轿迨畻l這樣的須鯨，才能夠打到一條抹香鯨的緣故，因此，船頭樓上一些哲學(xué)家才斷定說(shuō)，這種具有決定意義的打擊早已使得鯨這支隊(duì)伍大大地減少了。雖則不久前，光是美國(guó)的捕鯨者，每年在西北線上所捕殺的這種鯨，其數(shù)目可就不下于一萬(wàn)三千條；然而，還是有人甚至把它當(dāng)作一種微不足道的情況，視為不值一駁的。
Natural as it is to be somewhat incredulous concerning the populousness of the more enormous creatures of the globe, yet what shall we say to Harto, the historian of Goa, when he tells us that at one hunting the King of Siam took 4,000 elephants; that in those regions elephants are numerous as droves of cattle in the temperate climes.
世界上那些身軀比較碩大的動(dòng)物的稠密情況，當(dāng)然免不了會(huì)多少引起懷疑，然而，我們對(duì)于那個(gè)果阿（果阿——印度馬拉巴的沿海地區(qū)。）的歷史家哈托（哈托——果阿總督的隨侍醫(yī)生，生卒年代不詳。）的言論又將怎樣看法呢？他說(shuō)暹羅國(guó)王一次行獵就可以打到四千只象；而且還說(shuō)在那些地方，象只之多，有如溫帶地方的畜群。
