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英语听书《白鲸记》第564期

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Nor does Hogarth, in painting the same scene in his own "Perseus Descending," make out one whit better. The huge corpulence of that Hogarthian monster undulates on the surface, scarcely drawing one inch of water. It has a sort of howdah on its back, and its distended tusked mouth into which the billows are rolling, might be taken for the Traitors' Gate leading from the Thames by water into the Tower. Then, there are the Prodromus whales of the old Scotch Sibbald, and Jonah's whale, as depicted in the prints of old Bibles and the cuts of old primers. What shall be said of these? As for the book-binder's whale winding like a vine-stalk round the stock of a descending anchor--as stamped and gilded on the backs and titlepages of many books both old and new--that is a very picturesque but purely fabulous creature, imitated, I take it, from the like figures on antique vases. Though universally denominated a dolphin, I nevertheless call this book-binder's fish an attempt at a whale; because it was so intended when the device was first introduced. It was introduced by an old Italian publisher somewhere about the 15th century, during the Revival of Learning; and in those days, and even down to a comparatively late period, dolphins were popularly supposed to be a species of the Leviathan.

不过,霍加思(威廉·霍加思(1697—1764)——英国画家和雕刻家。)在他自己那幅画着同一个场面的"珀修斯降世"中,也并不见得高明些。霍加思画的那只巨兽,在水面上起伏的硕大形体,露出水面还不及一英寸。它背上有一种象背椅的东西,而那只波涛滚滚流入的张得大大的嘴巴,也许会被当做是从泰晤士河通向伦敦塔的"叛徒之门"(叛徒之门——从前送政治犯进伦敦塔朝泰晤士河那一面的门。)呢。接着便是从前苏格兰的西鲍尔德发现的那条先驱鲸,和描刻在旧版《圣经》上跟从前的小祷告书(小祷告书——宗教改革前所用的小祷告书。)上的那种所谓约拿鲸的插图了。对这些画又该怎么看呢?至于那种钉书工人所装饰的鲸,盘绕得象葡萄藤盘着一个下垂的锚叉一般——印镶在古今那许多书本的书脊和里封上——那倒是一种十分富有诗情画意,而又纯是神话式的动物,我认为,那是模仿古代许多瓶饰上的形象的。虽则一般都把它称为海豚,然而,我却认为这种钉书工人的鱼是企图画鲸的一种尝试:因为初次采用这种图样的时候,就有这样的意图。那是在十五世纪左右,在文艺复兴时代,由意大利一个老出版商初次采用的,而且在当时,甚至直至以后相当长的期间内,大家都认为海豚就是这种大海兽的一种。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
whale [weil]

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n. 鲸
vi. 捕鲸
v. 鞭打,

 
antique [æn'ti:k]

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adj. 古代的
n. 古物,古董

 
scotch [skɔtʃ]

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n. 伤口,刻痕 v. 粉碎,消灭,阻止 v. 弄伤,刻

联想记忆
device [di'vais]

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n. 装置,设计,策略,设备

 
comparatively [kəm'pærətivli]

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adv. 比较地,相对地

 
scene [si:n]

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n. 场,景,情景

 
intended [in'tendid]

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adj. 故意的,有意的;打算中的 n. 已订婚者 v.

联想记忆
species ['spi:ʃiz]

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n. (单复同)物种,种类

 
nevertheless [.nevəðə'les]

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adv. 仍然,不过
conj. 然而,不过

 
stock [stɔk]

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n. 存货,储备; 树干; 血统; 股份; 家畜

 

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