That for six thousand years–and no one knows how many millions of ages before–the great whales should have been spouting all over the sea, and sprinkling and mistifying the gardens of the deep, as with so many sprinkling or mistifying pots; —
为了六千年–没人知道之前可能有多少百万年–巨鲸一直在海中喷水，如同许多洒水器或喷雾罐一样洒遍和迷雾化海底花园； —

and that for some centuries back, thousands of hunters should have been close by the fountain of the whale, watching these sprinklings and spoutings– that all this should be, and yet, that down to this blessed minute (fifteen and a quarter minutes past one o’clock P.M. of this sixteenth day of December, A.D. 1851), it should still remain a problem, whether these spoutings are, after all, really water, or nothing but vapor–this is surely a noteworthy thing.
并且到现在(1851年12月16日下午一点十五分一刻)，数千猎人近距离观看这些洒水和喷射已经有好几个世纪，但是这些喷水到底是水还是仅仅是雾气的问题仍然是一个未解之谜，这确实是值得关注的事情。

Let us, then, look at this matter, along with some interesting items contingent. —
那么，让我们一起来看看这个问题，以及一些相关有趣的细节。 —

Every one knows that by the peculiar cunning of their gills, the finny tribes in general breathe the air which at all times is combined with the element in which they swim; —
众所周知，通过鳃的特殊巧妙构造，一般的鱼类会呼吸与它们所游动的环境中随时结合的空气； —

hence, a herring or a cod might live a century, and never once raise its head above the surface. —
因此，一条鲱鱼或鳕鱼可能活上一个世纪，但从未将头抬出水面。 —

But owing to his marked internal structure which gives him regular lungs, like a human being’s, the whale can only live by inhaling the disengaged air in the open atmosphere. —
但是由于鲸鱼明显的内部结构具有类似人类的正常肺，它唯一能够通过吸入大气中游离的空气来生存。 —

Wherefore the necessity for his periodical visits to the upper world. —
因此，他需要定期上浮到地球表面。 —

But he cannot in any degree breathe through his mouth, for, in his ordinary attitude, the Sperm Whale’s mouth is buried at least eight feet beneath the surface; —
但他绝对不能通过嘴巴呼吸，因为在正常情况下，抹香鲸的嘴巴至少深埋在水面下八英尺； —

and what is still more, his windpipe has no connexion with his mouth. —
而且更重要的是，他的气管与嘴没有连接。 —

No, he breathes through his spiracle alone; —
不，他只通过鳃孔呼吸； —

and this is on the top of his head.
而鳃孔位于他头顶上。

If I say, that in any creature breathing is only a function indispensable to vitality, inasmuch as it withdraws from the air a certain element, which being subsequently brought into contact with the blood imparts to the blood its vivifying principle, I do not think I shall err; —
如果我说，在任何生物中，呼吸只是生命不可或缺的功能，因为它从空气中提取某种元素，随后与血液接触，将生命活力注入血液，我不认为我会错； —

though I may possibly use some superfluous scientific words. —
虽然我可能使用一些多余的科学术语。 —

Assume it, and it follows that if all the blood in a man could be aerated with one breath, he might then seal up his nostrils and not fetch another for a considerable time. —
假设这是正确的，那么如果一个人的所有血液能在一口气中被氧化，他就可以封住鼻孔一段时间，不呼吸； —

That is to say, he would then live without breathing. —
换句话说，他就可以不呼吸而生存。 —

Anomalous as it may seem, this is precisely the case with the whale, who systematically lives, by intervals, his full hour and more (when at the bottom) without drawing a single breath, or so much as in any way inhaling a particle of air; —
尽管看起来很反常，但这正是抹香鲸的情况，他有规律地在海底（当在水底时）连续活动一个小时甚至更久，而不吸一口气，或者说没有任何方式吸入一丁点空气； —

for, remember, he has no gills. How is this? —
因为，请记住，他没有鳃。这是怎么回事？ —

Between his ribs and on each side of his spine he is supplied with a remarkable involved Cretan labyrinth of vermicelli-like vessels, which vessels, when he quits the surface, are completely distended with oxygenated blood. —
在他的肋骨之间，以及脊柱两侧，有一种与克里特岛似的、参差不齐的细条状血管构成的复杂迷宫，当他离开水面时，这些血管完全充满了富氧血液。 —

So that for an hour or more, a thousand fathoms in the sea, he carries a surplus stock of vitality in him, just as the camel crossing the waterless desert carries a surplus supply of drink for future use in its four supplementary stomachs. —
所以在海底千仞之下一个小时甚至更长时间，他身体里带着多余的活力存货，就像骆驼穿越没有水源的沙漠，它身体里的四个副胃里带着未来使用的多余水分。 —

The anatomical fact of this labyrinth is indisputable; —
这种迷宫的解剖事实是无可辩驳的； —

and that the supposition founded upon it is reasonable and true, seems the more cogent to me, when I consider the otherwise inexplicable obstinacy of that leviathan in having his spoutings out, as the fishermen phrase it. —
而基于这一事实的假设对我来说更合理更真实，尤其是当考虑到那头巨兽在作怪时无端停止它的喷水。 —

This is what I mean. If unmolested, upon rising to the surface, the Sperm Whale will continue there for a period of time exactly uniform with all his other unmolested risings. —
这就是我的意思。如果不受干扰，在浮到水面时，抹香鲸会持续停留一段时间，与他所有其他未受干扰的浮出水面时的时间完全一致。 —

Say he stays eleven minutes, and jets seventy times, that is, respires seventy breaths; —
假设他停留了十一分钟，喷出了七十次，也就是呼吸了七十次； —

then whenever he rises again, he will be sure to have his seventy breaths over again, to a minute. —
那么每次他再次出现时，他肯定会重新呼吸七十次，每分钟一次； —

Now, if after he fetches a few breaths you alarm him, so that he sounds, he will be always dodging up again to make good his regular allowance of air. —
现在，如果在他呼吸几次后你惊吓到他，导致他立即浮出水面，他将不断地浮上来补充他规定的空气量； —

And not till those seventy breaths are told, will he finally go down to stay out his full term below. —
只有等到七十次呼吸结束，他才会最终潜入水下，待上面满足黑暗的封闭时间； —

Remark, however, that in different individuals these rates are different; —
需要注意的是，不同的个体这些速率是不同的； —

but in any one they are alike. Now, why should the whale thus insist upon having his spoutings out, unless it be to replenish his reservoir of air, ere descending for good? —
但在同一个个体中，这些速率是相同的。那么，为什么鲸鱼会如此坚持要喷出水尘呢？难道不就是为了在下潜之前充满气体储备？ —

How obvious it is it, too, that this necessity for the whale’s rising exposes him to all the fatal hazards of the chase. —
这种需要浮到水面的习性显然暴露了它在捕猎中所面临的致命危险； —

For not by hook or by net could this vast leviathan be caught, when sailing a thousand fathoms beneath the sunlight. —
因为在深处一千浮尺之下，这只巨大的座山鲸是无法被钩网扑捉的； —

Not so much thy skill, then, O hunter, as the great necessities that strike the victory to thee!
所以，猎人，胜利归于你并不全是出于你的技术，而是出于迫在眉睫的大限需求！

In man, breathing is incessantly going on–one breath only serving for two or three pulsations; —
对于人类来说，呼吸是不断进行的，一次呼吸仅仅供给两三次心跳； —

so that whatever other business he has to attend to, waking or sleeping, breathe he must, or die he will. —
所以无论他有什么其他事情要处理，无论是醒着还是睡着，他都必须呼吸，否则就会死； —

But the Sperm Whale only breathes about one seventh or Sunday of his time.
但抹香鲸只有大约七分之一的时间在呼吸；

It has been said that the whale only breathes through his spout-hole; —
有人说鲸鱼仅通过喷孔呼吸； —

if it could truthfully be added that his spouts are mixed with water, then I opine we should be furnished with the reason why his sense of smell seems obliterated in him; —
如果可以确切地说他的吐水和水混合在一起，我认为我们会理解他为什么几乎没有嗅觉了； —

for the only thing about him that at all answers to his nose is that identical spout-hole; —
因为他身上唯一与鼻子相对应的事物就是那个喷孔； —

and being so clogged with two elements, it could not be expected to have the power of smelling. —
由于鼻孔被两种物质堵塞，不可能具有嗅觉能力。 —

But owing to the mystery of the spout–whether it be water or whether it be vapor–no absolute certainty can as yet be arrived at on this head. —
但由于喷孔的神秘性质——无论是水还是蒸汽——目前尚无绝对确定的结论。 —

Sure it is, nevertheless, that the Sperm Whale has no proper olfactories. —
然而，有一点是确定的，那就是抹香鲸没有适当的嗅觉器官。 —

But what does he want of them? No roses, no violets, no Cologne-water in the sea.
但是他又需要什么？海里没有玫瑰、没有紫罗兰、没有科隆水。

Furthermore, as his windpipe solely opens into the tube of his spouting canal, and as that long canal–like the grand Erie Canal– is furnished with a sort of locks (that open and shut) for the downward retention of air or the upward exclusion of water, therefore the whale has no voice; —
另外，由于他的气管只开口通向喷孔管道，而那段长长的管道——就像伟大的伊利运河一样——配备有一种类似于船闸的机构（可以打开和关闭），用于向下保留空气或向上排水，因此鲸鱼没有呼吸声音； —

unless you insult him by saying, that when he so strangely rumbles, he talks through his nose. —
除非你侮辱他，说他发出怪声时是从鼻子里说话。 —

But then again, what has the whale to say? —
但再说，鲸鱼有什么好说的呢？ —

Seldom have I known any profound being that had anything to say to this world, unless forced to stammer out something by way of getting a living. —
我很少看到任何深刻的生物对这个世界有什么话要说，除非别无选择只能支支吾吾地说点什么来维持生计。 —

Oh! happy that the world is such an excellent listener!
哦！多么幸运，这个世界是一个如此优秀的倾听者！

Now, the spouting canal of the Sperm Whale, chiefly intended as it is for the conveyance of air, and for several feet laid along, horizontally, just beneath the upper surface of his head, and a little to one side; —
现在，抹香鲸的喷孔管道，主要用于传送空气，它沿着头部的上表面水平地铺设了好几英尺，稍微偏向一侧； —

this curious canal is very much like a gas-pipe laid down in a city on one side of a street. —
这个奇特的通道非常像城市街道一侧铺设的煤气管道。 —

But the question returns whether this gas-pipe is also a water-pipe; —
但问题又回来了，这个煤气管道是否也是水管道； —

in other words, whether the spout of the Sperm Whale is the mere vapor of the exhaled breath, or whether that exhaled breath is mixed with water taken in at the mouth, and discharged through the spiracle. —
换句话说，抹香鲸的喷孔是否只是呼出气息的水蒸气，还是呼出的气息还携带一些口中进入的水，并通过气孔排放。 —

It is certain that the mouth indirectly communicates with the spouting canal; —
这是肯定的，口腔间接与喷孔管道相通； —

but it cannot be proved that this is for the purpose of discharging water through the spiracle. —
但不能证明这是为了通过气孔排放水。 —

Because the greatest necessity for so doing would seem to be, when in feeding he accidentally takes in water. —
因为这样做的最大必要性似乎是，当他在进食时意外地吸入了水。 —

But the Sperm Whale’s food is far beneath the surface, and there he cannot spout even if he would. —
但抹香鲸的食物远在水面以下，他在那里即使想也不能喷水。 —

Besides, if you regard him very closely, and time him with your watch, you will find that when unmolested, there is an undeviating rhyme between the periods of his jets and the ordinary periods of respiration.
此外，如果你仔细观察他，并用表计时，你会发现当他没有受到干扰时，他的喷水间隔与普通的呼吸间隔有着稳定的节奏。

But why pester one with all this reasoning on the subject? Speak out! You have seen him spout; —
但为什么要在这个问题上纠缠不休呢？说出来吧！你已经看到他喷水了； —

then declare what the spout is; can you not tell water from air? —
那么请说明喷水是什么；你难道分不清水和空气吗？ —

My dear sir, in this world it is not so easy to settle these plain things. —
亲爱的先生，在这个世界上解决这些简单的事情并不容易。 —

I have ever found your plain things the knottiest of all. —
我发现你的所谓简单事情反而最棘手。 —

And as for this whale spout, you might almost stand in it, and yet be undecided as to what it is precisely.
至于这头鲸的喷水口，你几乎可以站在里面，但对其究竟是什么，可能仍然犹豫不决。

The central body of it is hidden in the snowy sparkling mist enveloping it; —
它的中心结构隐藏在周围雪白闪闪的蒙特中； —

and how can you certainly tell whether any water falls from it, when, always, when you are close enough to a whale to get a close view of his spout, he is in a prodigious commotion, the water cascading all around him. —
而当你足够靠近一头鲸以便近距离观察它的喷水时，他总是在巨大的喷射中，水流四处倾泻。 —

And if at such times you should think that you really perceived drops of moisture in the spout, how do you know that they are not merely condensed from its vapor; —
如果在这样的时候，你认为你真的看到了喷水中有水滴，那么你又如何知道它们不是从水蒸气凝结的； —

or how do you know that they are not those identical drops superficially lodged in the spout-hole fissure, which is countersunk into the summit of the whale’s head? —
又如何知道它们不是那些表面上附着在喷水孔裂缝里的水滴，这些裂缝是凹陷在鲸头顶上的？ —

For even when tranquilly swimming through the mid-day sea in a calm, with his elevated hump sun-dried as a dromedary’s in the desert; —
因为即使在日间的平静海面上悠闲游泳时，他额上高高的隆起也像沙漠中一只驼鸟的被太阳晒干的驼峰一样； —

even then, the whale always carries a small basin of water on his head, as under a blazing sun you will sometimes see a cavity in a rock filled up with rain.
即使在那时，鲸头上总是携带着一小盆水，就像在灼热的太阳下，有时你会看到岩石中的一个凹洞被雨水填满一样。

Nor is it at all prudent for the hunter to be over curious touching the precise nature of the whale spout. —
猎人对鲸喷水口的确切特性过于好奇实在不明智。 —

It will not do for him to be peering into it, and putting his face in it. —
他不应该盯着它并把脸伸进去。 —

You cannot go with your pitcher to this fountain and fill it, and bring it away. —
你不能带着壶去这个泉眼取水，然后带走。 —

For even when coming into slight contact with the outer, vapory shreds of the jet, which will often happen, your skin will feverishly smart, from the acridness of the thing so touching it. —
即使轻微接触到喷射出的雾气，这种情况经常发生，你的皮肤也会因为接触到它的刺激而发炎。 —

And I know one, who coming into still closer contact with the spout, whether with some scientific object in view, or otherwise, I cannot say, the skin peeled off from his cheek and arm. —
我知道有一个人，更接近喷口时，无论是出于科学目的还是其他原因，我也说不准，他的脸颊和手臂的皮肤从中脱落。 —

Wherefore, among whalemen, the spout is deemed poisonous; they try to evade it. Another thing; —
因此，在捕鲸者中，这个喷口被认为是有毒的，他们会尽量避开它。还有一件事； —

I have heard it said, and I do not much doubt it, that if the jet is fairly spouted into your eyes, it will blind you. —
我听说，我也不怀疑，如果喷射的水柱直接射入你的眼睛，会导致你失明。 —

The wisest thing the investigator can do then, it seems to me, is to let this deadly spout alone.
我认为，调查人员能做的最明智的事情就是让这个致命的水柱远离。

Still, we can hypothesize, even if we cannot prove and establish. My hypothesis is this: —
尽管我们无法证明和确定，但我们可以进行假设。我的假设是： —

that the spout is nothing but mist. And besides other reasons, to this conclusion I am impelled, by considerations touching the great inherent dignity and sublimity of the Sperm Whale; —
这个水柱只不过是雾气。此外，有其他原因，也使我得出这个结论，涉及到抹香鲸的伟大固有尊严和崇高性； —

I account him no common, shallow being, inasmuch as it is an undisputed fact that he is never found on soundings, or near shores; —
我认为他不是一个普通、浅薄的存在，因为无可争辩的事实是，他永远不会被发现在浅水区或附近； —

all other whales sometimes are. He is both ponderous and profound. —
其他鲸有时会。他既沉重又深邃。 —

And I am convinced that from the heads of all ponderous profound beings, such as Plato, Pyrrho, the Devil, Jupiter, Dante, and so on, there always goes up a certain semi-visible steam, while in the act of thinking deep thoughts. —
我深信，所有沉重而深奥的存在，比如柏拉图、皮罗、魔鬼、朱庇特、但丁等等，头顶总是升起一股半透明的蒸汽，在深思熟虑时； —

While composing a little treatise on Eternity, I had the curiosity to place a mirror before me; —
在写一篇关于永恒的小论文时，我好奇地把一面镜子放在我面前； —

and ere long saw reflected there, a curious involved worming and undulation in the atmosphere over my head. —
不久我看到镜子中反射出我头顶处大气中的一种奇怪的曲折和波动。 —

The invariable moisture of my hair, while plunged in deep thought, after six cups of hot tea in my thin shingled attic, of an August noon; —
每当我深陷思考之中时，我的头发总是潮湿，那是在八月的中午，在我狭窄的屋顶阁楼里喝了六杯热茶之后； —

this seems an additional argument for the above supposition.
这似乎是上述假设的另一个论点。

And how nobly it raises our conceit of the mighty, misty monster, to behold him solemnly sailing through a calm tropical sea; —
而且看到他庄严地在宁静的热带海域中航行，确实能够提升我们对这个庞大而神秘的怪物的观念； —

his vast, mild head overhung by a canopy of vapor, engendered by his incommunicable contemplations, and that vapor– as you will sometimes see it–glorified by a rainbow, as if Heaven itself had put its seal upon his thoughts. —
他巨大而温和的头部被一片蒸汽覆盖，这蒸汽源自他无法传达的思考，有时你会看到这蒸汽被彩虹点缀，仿佛是天堂亲自为他的思想盖上印记。 —

For d’ye see, rainbows do not visit the clear air; they only irradiate vapor. —
因为，你看，彩虹不会出现在晴空中，它们只会照亮蒸汽。 —

And so, through all the thick mists of the dim doubts in my mind, divine intuitions now and then shoot, enkindling my fog with a heavenly ray. —
所以，尽管我的思绪中存在浓重的疑惑，神圣的直觉偶尔也会闪现，用天上的光芒点燃我的雾气。 —

And for this I thank God; for all have doubts; many deny; —
为此我感谢上帝；因为所有人都有疑惑，很多人否认； —

but doubts or denials, few along with them, have intuitions. —
但是疑惑或否认不多，能有直觉的更是少数。 —

Doubts of all things earthly, and intuitions of some things heavenly; —
对一切尘世的怀疑，以及对一些天国的直觉； —

this combination makes neither believer nor infidel, but makes a man who regards them both with equal eye.
这种结合既不使人成为信徒，也不使人成为不信徒，而是让一个人平等看待它们。