We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.”
To be alone on the great ocean, to feel besides the ship that bears you, nothing human floats within your world’s horizon, begets5 in a thoughtful mind a deep solemnity. The voyager is, as it were, at once brought before the material image of eternity6. Sky and sea, each recedes7 without limit from his view; a circle above, a circle around, a circle underneath8, no beginning, no ending, no repose9 for the sight, no boundary on which to fix the thought, but growing higher and higher, wider and wider, deeper and deeper, as the eye gazes and finds no resting point,—both sea and sky suggest, with overpowering force, that condition of soul which, knowing neither time nor space, forever[12] mounts Godward. In no mood does Nature speak louder to the heart than in her silence. When her thunders roll through the atmosphere and the hills tremble, the ocean surges and the wind wails10; when she laughs through her thousand notes from bird or blossom, the heart either exults11 at the strife12, or grows tender with sympathy in the universal joy. But place man alone on the ocean, shrouded13 in silence, with no living thing beyond his own tiny, wooden world for companionship, he begins to realize in the mighty14 expanse which engulfs15 his vision his own physical insignificancy16. The very stars that look down upon him, with light twinkling and faint, from the rapidity with which they have sent their rays through distant firmaments to greet his vision and tell him there are countless17 worlds of greater beauty and higher perfection for his spirit to explore; even they deepen his feeling of littleness, till, finally, his soul recovers its dignity in the very magnitude of the scenery spread for its exploration. It knows that all this is but a portion of its heritage; that earth, air and water, the very planets that mock its curiosity, are ministering spirits, given with all their mysteries to be finally absorbed into its own all-penetrating nature.
Few, however, can so realize their own spirit-power, as to be calm in a calm. A motionless ship upon a silent ocean has a phantom18 look. The tall, tapering19 spars, the symmetrical tracery of ropes, the useless sails in white drooping20 folds, the black body in sharp relief in the white light, added[13] to the ghost-ship,—the twin of the one in the air,—in dimly-shadowed companionship, hull21 uppermost and her masts pointing downwards22 in the blue water, make up a spectral23 picture. As day after day passes, overhead a hot burning sun whose rays blind without rejoicing, no ripple24 upon the water, no life, because neither fish nor bird can bear the heat; the very garbage thrown overboard floating untouched, as if destruction rejected her own; the night mantling25 all in darkness, making silence still more oppressive,—for even the blocks refuse their wonted creaking;—all this consumes the body like rust26 slowly eating into iron. Nature faints and man sinks into her lassitude. He feels deserted27 of his own mother. She that bore him mocks him. Perchance a cold grey sky, pregnant with gloom, shuts down all around him, reflecting itself in the ocean which looks even greyer and colder. The atmosphere grows barren of light. No wind comes. Silent, motionless, and despairing, the vessel28 lies upon the waters; not slumbering29, for every nerve within is quickened to unnatural30 keenness to catch a sign of change. It comes not. The seamen31’s hearts, too worn to pray or curse, daily sink deeper within them, like masses of lead slowly finding their way through the fathomless32 depths of the ocean. A sail, a floating spar, a shark or devil fish, anything that were of man or beast, a shrub33, the tiniest sea-snail or wildest bird, would be welcomed as Columbus hailed the floating signs that told to his mutinous34 crew a coming shore.
[14]
But none come. Weeks go by thus. Is man a god that his soul cannot fail within him! Must he not sympathize with the surrounding inanition! Welcome battle, welcome storm, welcome all that excites his energies, though it consume blood and muscle; be the mind racked and the body tortured; still man marches triumphantly35 on to his object. But take away opposition36, reduce him to nothingness, convince him that action begets no result, that will is powerless, and he is no longer man. Not to act is conscious annihilation. But Nature never wholly deserts. She leaves hope to cheer humanity with promises that sooner or later must be fulfilled. There is, however, no condition so destitute37 of all that makes man Man as helpless solitude38, when mind and body alike without action, stagnate39 and forget their origin.
Such was the condition of the crew of a vessel about the year 1530, lying motionless on the waters of the Pacific, not far from 25° north latitude40 and 140° west longitude41. The bark was of that frail42 class, called caravel, scarcely fitted to navigate43 a small lake, much less to explore unknown seas. Yet, in those days European navigators did not hesitate to trust their lives and fortunes, on voyages of years’ duration, to craft which would now be condemned44 even for river navigation. The one of which we speak was of about seventy tons burden, with a high poop, which gave a comfortable cabin, a half deck and a forecastle, raised like the poop, sufficient to give partial shelter to the numerous crew. One mast with a large lateen sail rose from[15] the centre of the vessel, but her progress was aided as much by oars45 as by canvas. At the masthead was a castle-shaped box, in which the seamen could comfortably remain, either as lookouts46, or for defence. This gave to the spar a clumsy, top-heavy look, wholly inconsistent with our modern ideas of nautical47 symmetry.
It was plain that the caravel had been long from port, and had suffered much from stress of weather. Her sides were rusty48 grey; barnacles clung so thickly below and above the water line, as to greatly interfere49 with her sailing qualities; the seams were open, and as the hot sun poured upon them, pitch oozed50 out. A tattered51 and threadbare sail hung loosely from the long yard which swayed from the masthead. The cordage appeared strained and worn to its last tension. Iron rust had eaten through and stained the wood in all parts of the hull. If paint had ever existed, the elements had long since eaten it up. Everything indicated long and hard usage. Yet amid all there were signs of seamanship and discipline; for bad and shattered as were rope, spar, and sail, everything was in its place and in the best order its condition permitted.
Within the cabin was a weather-beaten young man, well made, of a strong and active frame, features bronzed by long exposure to varied53 climates, and fine soft hair, somewhat light in color, which even now would have curled gracefully54, had it been properly cared for. He lay ill and panting on the transom, with his face close to the open[16] port, gasping55 for air; not that he was seriously reduced, for it was readily seen that fatigue56, anxiety and scanty57 fare had more to do with his weak condition than actual disease. Near him was a rude chart of the coasts of Mexico and adjacent sea, which he had long and carefully, and, to all appearance, fruitlessly studied. It was covered with a labyrinth58 of pencil marks, indicating a confused idea both of navigation and his present position. He had been recently poring over it, and at last had thrown it aside as utterly59 worthless, or at all events as affording him no clue by which to extricate60 himself from his present situation in a sea wholly unknown to the navigators of his day.
Near him sat a priest, whose thoughtful, benevolent61 face was far from expressing despair even under their present circumstances. He talked to the young man of the necessity of trusting themselves to the guidance of Providence62, and sought to cheer him by his own hopeful serenity63 and untiring action.
Around the deck and under such shelter from the heat as they could contrive64, the crew reclined in mournful groups; some with faces hardened into despair, and others careless or indifferent. A few only manifested a spirit of pious65 resignation. The strongest seldom spoke66. Their looks were as sullen67 as their tempers were fierce, and if they opened their mouths, it was to mutter or curse, daring Nature to do her worst. Nothing but their physical debility prevented frequent violent explosions of the pent-up irritability68 arising from their[17] helpless state. Disease and starvation were rapidly adding fresh horrors to their situation. One seaman52 lay on the hard deck with a broken thigh69, in which mortification70 had already begun, groaning71 and piteously asking for water. In his thirst he would have drank more in one hour than was allowanced to the entire crew for a day’s consumption. Several others, whose fevered tongues rattled72 from dryness, were also tossing and moaning on the rough planks73, too weak or hopeless to join in the fruitless appeal of their dying comrade. Such water as they had was clotted74 with slime, and impregnated with foul75 odors. Their meat was all gone, and the little bread left, musty and worm-eaten.
All wore the look of having long struggled with adverse76 fortune. They were men whose element was made up of hardship and adventure; men, who, forgetting in one hour’s better fortune all that had brought them to their present condition, would not hesitate to embark77 again on a similar errand. Here they were, bowed in spirit, haggard in features, their hardy78 limbs lying torpidly79 about, indifferent to death itself, but worn to worse than death by drifting for weeks about under a pitiless sun on an unknown sea, which the oldest of them had never heard of, and which seemed to them as if they had arrived within the confines of stagnant80 matter, where they were doomed81 to rot in body and decay in mind, coffined82 in their vessel, whose slow destruction kept even pace with their own.
Five of their number had already died and been cast overboard. Gladly would they have seen[18] sharks gorge83 themselves on their late shipmates, as that would have shown them that the water still contained life. But no carrion84 fishes came near them. With faces upturned and glassy eyes fixed85 upon the caravel, those corpses86 floated about them so long that the crew were at last afraid to look over the bulwarks87 for fear of seeing what they desired so much to forget.
But humanity had not altogether abandoned them. The frailest88 in body among that vessel’s company proved the strongest in faith and action. A woman was of their number. Consuming even less of their provisions than the others, she reserved herself, and in great measure her allowance of food, for those whose necessity she considered as greater than her own. At all hours was she to be seen moving quietly about, speaking hope and courage to one, giving to eat or drink to another, or fanning the hot brow of a half delirious89 sufferer, while she talked to him of a home into which no suffering could enter, if the heart once were right. Especially was she devoted90 to the young man in the cabin. He evidently relied even more upon her than upon the priest, and imbibed91 fresh strength and hope from her voice and example. The priest was equally unwearied with his bodily aid and spiritual counsel to the crew. Thus it was that amid the most trying of the experiences of ocean-life, despair did not altogether quench92 hope.
Yet what situation could be more cheerless! One altogether similar in the history of navigation had never occurred before, and by the hurried course[19] of discovery and civilization, would not again occur. They were literally93 alone, drifting on an unknown, motionless sea. No winds stirred its surface; no birds flew by; no fishes came up from beneath their keel; there was no change except from the burning day to the feverish94 night, which brought with it no cooling dew, nor any sign to excite a sailor’s hope. Although they could not know the fact, not a vessel beside theirs for thousands of miles east or west, north or south, floated on that ocean. Driven thither95 against their wills, they were the first to explore its solitude. It was true that continents and archipelagoes thickly peopled were around them, but for all they knew, they were being carried by an irresistible96 fate to the boundary of nature, whence they would drop into a fathomless void. They were therefore literally alone.
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1
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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2
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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3
furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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begets
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| v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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7
recedes
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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exults
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的第三人称单数 ) | |
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12
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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13
shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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14
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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15
engulfs
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| v.吞没，包住( engulf的第三人称单数 ) | |
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16
insignificancy
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| 不重要的事物； 无关紧要的人； 低微 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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20
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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21
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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22
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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23
spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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24
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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25
mantling
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| 覆巾 | |
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26
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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28
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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29
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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30
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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32
fathomless
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| a.深不可测的 | |
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33
shrub
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| n.灌木，灌木丛 | |
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34
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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35
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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38
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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39
stagnate
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| v.停止 | |
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40
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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41
longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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42
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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43
navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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44
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46
lookouts
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| n.寻找（ 某人/某物）( lookout的名词复数 )；是某人（自己）的问题；警戒；瞭望台 | |
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47
nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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48
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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49
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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50
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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51
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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52
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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53
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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54
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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55
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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56
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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57
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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58
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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59
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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60
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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61
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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62
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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63
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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64
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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66
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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67
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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68
irritability
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| n.易怒 | |
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69
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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70
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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71
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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72
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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73
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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clotted
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| adj.凝结的v.凝固( clot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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76
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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77
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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78
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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79
torpidly
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| adv.迟钝地，有气无力的 | |
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80
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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81
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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82
coffined
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| vt.收殓（coffin的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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83
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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84
carrion
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| n.腐肉 | |
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85
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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86
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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87
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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frailest
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| 脆弱的( frail的最高级 )； 易损的； 易碎的 | |
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delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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90
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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imbibed
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| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
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quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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96
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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