I shall ere long paint to you as well as one can without canvas, something like the true form of the whale as he actually appears to the eye of the whaleman when in his own absolute body the whale is moored1 alongside the whaleship so that he can be fairly stepped upon there. It may be worth while, therefore, previously2 to advert3 to those curious imaginary portraits of him which even down to the present day confidently challenge the faith of the landsman. It is time to set the world right in this matter, by proving such pictures of the whale all wrong.
It may be that the primal4 source of all those pictorial5 delusions6 will be found among the oldest Hindoo, Egyptian, and Grecian sculptures. For ever since those inventive but unscrupulous times when on the marble panellings of temples, the pedestals of statues, and on shields, medallions, cups, and coins, the dolphin was drawn7 in scales of chain-armor like Saladin's, and a helmeted head like St. George's; ever since then has something of the same sort of license8 prevailed, not only in most popular pictures of the whale, but in many scientific presentations of him.
Now, by all odds9, the most ancient extant portrait anyways purporting10 to be the whale's, is to be found in the famous cavern-pagoda11 of Elephants, in India. The Brahmins maintain that in the almost endless sculptures of that immemorial pagoda, all the trades and pursuits, every conceivable avocation12 of man, were prefigured ages before any of them actually came into being. No wonder then, that in some sort our noble profession of whaling should have been there shadowed forth13. The Hindoo whale referred to, occurs in a separate department of the wall, depicting14 the incarnation of Vishnu in the form of leviathan, learnedly known as the Matse Avatar. But though this sculpture is half man and half whale, so as only to give the tail of the latter, yet that small section of him is all wrong. It looks more like the tapering15 tail of an anaconda, than the broad palms of the true whale's majestic16 flukes.
But go to the old Galleries, and look now at a great Christian17 painter's portrait of this fish; for he succeeds no better than the antediluvian18 Hindoo. It is Guido's picture of Perseus rescuing Andromeda from the sea-monster or whale. Where did Guido get the model of such a strange creature as that? Nor does Hogarth, in painting the same scene in his own "Perseus Descending19," make out one whit20 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 distended21 tusked22 mouth into which the billows are rolling, might be taken for the Traitors23' Gate leading from the Thames by water into the Tower. Then, there are the Prodromus whales of the old Scotch24 Sibbald, and Jonah's whale, as depicted25 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 winding26 like a vine-stalk round the stock of a descending anchor-- as stamped and gilded27 on the backs and titlepages of many books both old and new--that is a very picturesque28 but purely29 fabulous30 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 Revival31 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.
In the vignettes and other embellishments of some ancient books you will at times meet with very curious touches at the whale, where all manner of spouts32, jets d'eau, hot springs and cold, Saratoga and Baden-Baden, come bubbling up from his unexhausted brain. In the title-page of the original edition of the "Advancement33 of Learning" you will find some curious whales.
But quitting all these unprofessional attempts, let us glance at those pictures of leviathan purporting to be sober, scientific delineations, by those who know. In old Harris's collection of voyages there are some plates of whales extracted from a Dutch book of voyages, A.D. 1671, entitled "A Whaling Voyage to Spitzbergen in the ship Jonas in the Whale, Peter Peterson of Friesland, master." In one of those plates the whales, like great rafts of logs, are represented lying among ice-isles, with white bears running over their living backs. In another plate, the prodigious35 blunder is made of representing the whale with perpendicular36 flukes.
Then again, there is an imposing37 quarto, written by one Captain Colnett, a Post Captain in the English navy, entitled "A Voyage round Cape38 Horn into the South Seas, for the purpose of extending the Spermaceti Whale Fisheries." In this book is an outline purporting to be a "Picture of a Physeter or Spermaceti whale, drawn by scale from one killed on the coast of Mexico, August, 1793, and hoisted40 on deck." I doubt not the captain had this veracious42 picture taken for the benefit of his marines. To mention but one thing about it, let me say that it has an eye which applied43, according to the accompanying scale, to a full grown sperm39 whale, would make the eye of that whale a bow-window some five feet long. Ah, my gallant44 captain, why did ye not give us Jonah looking out of that eye!
Nor are the most conscientious45 compilations46 of Natural History for the benefit of the young and tender, free from the same heinousness47 of mistake. Look at that popular work "Goldsmith's Animated48 Nature." In the abridged49 London edition of 1807, there are plates of an alleged50 "whale" and a "narwhale." I do not wish to seem inelegant, but this unsightly whale looks much like an amputated sow; and, as for the narwhale, one glimpse at it is enough to amaze one, that in this nineteenth century such a hippogriff could be palmed for genuine upon any intelligent public of schoolboys.
Then, again, in 1825, Bernard Germain, Count de Lacepede, a great naturalist51, published a scientific systemized whale book, wherein are several pictures of the different species of the Leviathan. All these are not only incorrect, but the picture of the Mysticetus or Greenland whale (that is to say the Right whale), even Scoresby, a long experienced man as touching52 that species, declares not to have its counterpart in nature.
But the placing of the cap-sheaf to all this blundering business was reserved for the scientific Frederick Cuvier, brother to the famous Baron53. In 1836, he published a Natural History of Whales, in which he gives what he calls a picture of the Sperm Whale. Before showing that picture to any Nantucketer, you had best provide for your summary retreat from Nantucket. In a word, Frederick Cuvier's Sperm Whale is not a Sperm Whale, but a squash. Of course, he never had the benefit of a whaling voyage (such men seldom have), but whence he derived54 that picture, who can tell? Perhaps he got it as his scientific predecessor56 in the same field, Desmarest, got one of his authentic57 abortions58; that is, from a Chinese drawing. And what sort of lively lads with the pencil those Chinese are, many queer cups and saucers inform us.
As for the sign-painters' whales seen in the streets hanging over the shops of oil-dealers, what shall be said of them? They are generally Richard III. whales, with dromedary humps, and very savage59; breakfasting on three or four sailor tarts60, that is whaleboats full of mariners61: their deformities floundering in seas of blood and blue paint.
But these manifold mistakes in depicting the whale are not so very surprising after all. Consider! Most of the scientific drawings have been taken from the stranded62 fish; and these are about as correct as a drawing of a wrecked63 ship, with broken back, would correctly represent the noble animal itself in all its undashed pride of hull64 and spars. Though elephants have stood for their full-lengths, the living Leviathan has never yet fairly floated himself for his portrait. The living whale, in his full majesty65 and significance, is only to be seen at sea in unfathomable waters; and afloat the vast bulk of him is out of sight, like a launched line-of-battle ship; and out of that element it is a thing eternally impossible for mortal man to hoist41 him bodily into the air, so as to preserve all his mighty66 swells67 and undulations. And, not to speak of the highly presumable difference of contour between a young suckling whale and a full-grown Platonian Leviathan; yet, even in the case of one of those young sucking whales hoisted to a ship's deck, such is then the outlandish, eel-like, limbered, varying shape of him, that his precise expression the devil himself could not catch.
But it may be fancied, that from the naked skeleton of the stranded whale, accurate hints may be derived touching his true form. Not at all. For it is one of the more curious things about this Leviathan, that his skeleton gives very little idea of his general shape. Though Jeremy Bentham's skeleton, which hangs for candelabra in the library of one of his executors, correctly conveys the idea of a burly-browed utilitarian68 old gentleman, with all Jeremy's other leading personal characteristics; yet nothing of this kind could be inferred from any leviathan's articulated bones. In fact, as the great Hunter says, the mere69 skeleton of the whale bears the same relation to the fully70 invested and padded animal as the insect does to the chrysalis that so roundingly envelopes it. This peculiarity71 is strikingly evinced in the head, as in some part of this book will be incidentally shown. It is also very curiously72 displayed in the side fin34, the bones of which almost exactly answer to the bones of the human hand, minus only the thumb. This fin has four regular bone-fingers, the index, middle, ring, and little finger. But all these are permanently73 lodged74 in their fleshy covering, as the human fingers in an artificial covering. "However recklessly the whale may sometimes serve us," said humorous Stubb one day, "he can never be truly said to handle us without mittens75."
For all these reasons, then, any way you may look at it, you must needs conclude that the great Leviathan is that one creature in the world which must remain unpainted to the last. True, one portrait may hit the mark much nearer than another, but none can hit it with any very considerable degree of exactness. So there is no earthly way of finding out precisely76 what the whale really looks like. And the only mode in which you can derive55 even a tolerable idea of his living contour, is by going a whaling yourself; but by so doing, you run no small risk of being eternally stove and sunk by him. Wherefore, it seems to me you had best not be too fastidious in your curiosity touching this Leviathan.
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1
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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advert
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| vi.注意，留意，言及；n.广告 | |
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primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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pictorial
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| adj.绘画的；图片的；n．画报 | |
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delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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purporting
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| v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 ) | |
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pagoda
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| n.宝塔（尤指印度和远东的多层宝塔），（印度教或佛教的）塔式庙宇 | |
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avocation
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| n.副业，业余爱好 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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depicting
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| 描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述 | |
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tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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antediluvian
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| adj.史前的，陈旧的 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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whit
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| n.一点，丝毫 | |
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distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tusked
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| adj.有獠牙的，有长牙的 | |
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traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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32
spouts
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| n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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fin
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| n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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38
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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sperm
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| n.精子，精液 | |
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40
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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veracious
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| adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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45
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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compilations
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| n.编辑，编写( compilation的名词复数 )；编辑物 | |
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47
heinousness
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48
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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abridged
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| 削减的，删节的 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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51
naturalist
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| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
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52
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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53
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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54
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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55
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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56
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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58
abortions
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| n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育 | |
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59
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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60
tarts
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| n.果馅饼( tart的名词复数 )；轻佻的女人；妓女；小妞 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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71
peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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72
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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mittens
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| 不分指手套 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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