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Ahab's harpoon, the one forged at Perth's fire, remained firmly lashed in its conspicuous crotch, so that it projected beyond his whale-boat's bow; but the sea that had stove its bottom had caused the loose leather sheath to drop off; and from the keen steel barb there now came a levelled flame of pale, forked fire. As the silent harpoon burned there like a serpent's tongue, Starbuck grasped Ahab by the arm — "God, God is against thee, old man; forbear! 't is an ill voyage! ill begun, ill continued; let me square the yards, while we may, old man, and make a fair wind of it homewards, to go on a better voyage than this."
亞哈的標槍，就是那支在柏斯的熔爐里煉出來的標槍，依然緊縛在它那突出的槍架上，所以，它直伸在他那只捕鯨小艇的艇頭外邊；可是那打穿了艇肚的海浪，已使得那松弛了的標槍鞘皮脫落了；那銳利的鋼鉤上，有一股均勻的灰蒙蒙的、叉形的火焰。就在那支悄然的標槍頭燒得象一條蛇舌的時候，斯達巴克抓住亞哈的胳膊——"天啊，上天也在反對你啦，老人家；得當心呀！這是個不吉利的航程呀，不吉利開始啦，不吉利還要繼續下去；趁我們還來得及，老人家，我們還是調正帆臂，使它順風駛回家去，總比這樣的航程好呀。"
Overhearing Starbuck, the panic-stricken crew instantly ran to the braces — though not a sail was left aloft. For the moment all the aghast mate's thoughts seemed theirs; they raised a half mutinous cry. But dashing the rattling lightning links to the deck, and snatching the burning harpoon, Ahab waved it like a torch among them; swearing to transfix with it the first sailor that but cast loose a rope's end. Petrified by his aspect, and still more shrinking from the fiery dart that he held, the men fell back in dismay, and Ahab again spoke: —
那些嚇慌了的水手一偷聽到斯達巴克這番話，立刻都奔到轉帆索那邊去——雖然那上面連一張帆都沒有了。一時間，那個驚慌的大副的一切想法似乎也就是他們的想法，水手們發出一陣有點象是嘩變的叫聲。可是，亞哈把那些閃電似的鏈環克朗地朝甲板上一擲，抓起那支燃燒著的標槍，象擎著一支火把那般，在他們中間揮來揮去；大聲咒罵說，哪個水手敢先松解一下索頭，就用這標槍把他戳穿。水手們看到他這副神氣，都傻了眼，又更怕他手里拿著的火一般的標槍會猛地戳來，大家都沮喪地退縮了，于是亞哈又開口了：
All your oaths to hunt the White Whale are as binding as mine; and heart, soul, and body, lungs and life, old Ahab is bound.
你們大家那個打白鯨的誓約，都跟我的誓約一樣應該兌現；我亞哈老頭已經把良心、靈魂、身體、五臟六腑和生命全都交給它了。
