The loneliness of the man was slowly being borne in upon me. There was not a man aboard but hated or feared him, nor was there a man whom he did not despise. He seemed consuming with the tremendous power that was in him and that seemed never to have found adequate expression in works. He was as Lucifer would be, were that proud spirit banished4 to a society of soulless, Tomlinsonian ghosts.
This loneliness was bad enough in itself, but, to make it worse, he was oppressed by the primal5 melancholy6 of the race. Knowing him, I reviewed the old Scandinavian myths with clearer understanding. The white-skinned, fair-haired savages8 who created that terrible pantheon were of the same fiber9 as he. The frivolity10 of the laughter-loving Latins was no part of him. When he laughed it was from a humor that was nothing else than ferocious11. But he laughed rarely; he was too often sad. And it was a sadness as deep-reaching as the roots of the race. It was the race heritage, the sadness which had made the race sober-minded, clean-lived, and fanatically moral.
In point of fact, the chief vent12 to this primal melancholy has been religion in its more agonizing13 forms. But the compensations of such religion were denied Wolf Larsen. His brutal14 materialism15 would not permit it. So, when his blue moods came on, nothing remained for him but to be devilish. Had he not been so terrible a man, I could sometimes have felt sorry for him, as, for instance, one morning when I went into his state-room to fill his water-bottle and came unexpectedly upon him. He did not see me. His head was buried in his hands, and his shoulders were heaving convulsively as with sobs16. He seemed torn by some mighty17 grief. As I softly withdrew, I could hear him groaning18, 'God! God! God!' Not that he was calling upon God; it was a mere19 expletive, but it came from his soul.
At dinner he asked the hunters for a remedy for headache, and by evening, strong man that he was, he was half blind, and reeling about the cabin.
'I've never been sick in my life, Hump,' he said, as I guided him to his room. 'Nor did I ever have a headache except the time my head was healing after having been laid open for six inches by a capstan-bar.'
For three days this blinding headache lasted, and he suffered as wild animals suffer, as it seemed the way on ship to suffer, without plaint, without sympathy, utterly20 alone.
This morning, however, on entering his state-room to make the bed and put things in order, I found him well and hard at work. Table and bunk21 were littered with designs and calculations. On a large transparent22 sheet, compass and square in hand, he was copying what appeared to be a scale of some sort or other.
'Hello, Hump!' he greeted me genially23. 'I'm just finished the finishing touches. Want to see it work?'
'But what is it?' I asked.
'A labor-saving device for mariners24, navigation reduced to kindergarten simplicity,' he answered gaily25. 'From today a child will be able to navigate26 a ship. No more long-winded calculations. All you need is one star in the sky on dirty night to know instantly where you are. Look. I place the transparent scale on this star-map, revolving27 the scale on the North Pole. On the scale I've worked out the circles of altitude and the lines of bearing. All I do is put it on a star, revolve28 the scale till it is opposite those figures on the map underneath29, and presto30, there you are, the ship's precise location!'
There was a ring of triumph in his voice, and his eyes, clear blue this morning as the sea, were sparkling with light.
'You must be well up in mathematics,' I said. 'Where did you go to school?' 'Never saw the inside of one, worse luck,' was the answer. 'I had to dig it out for myself.
'And why do you think I have made this thing?' he demanded abruptly31. 'Dreaming to leave footprints on the sands of time?' He laughed one of his horrible mocking laughs. 'Not at all. To get it patented, to make money from it, to revel32 in piggishness, with all night in while other men do the work. That's my purpose. Also, I have enjoyed working it out.'
'The creative joy,' I murmured.
'I guess that's what it ought to be called. Which is another way of expressing the joy of life in that it is alive, the triumph of movement over matter, of the quick over the dead, the pride of the yeast33 because it is yeast and crawls.'
I threw up my hands with helpless disapproval34 of his inveterate35 materialism, and went about making the bed. He continued copying lines and figures upon the transparent scale. It was a task requiring the utmost nicety and precision, and I could not but admire the way he tempered his strength to the fineness and delicacy36 of the need.
When I had finished the bed, I caught myself looking at him in a fascinated sort of way. He was certainly a handsome man- beautiful in the masculine sense. And again, with never-failing wonder, I remarked the total lack of viciousness, or wickedness, or sinfulness, in his face. It was the face, I am convinced, of a man who did no wrong. And by this I do not wish to be misunderstood. What I mean is that it was the face of a man who either did nothing contrary to the dictates37 of his conscience, or who had no conscience. I incline to the latter way of accounting38 for it. He was a magnificent atavism, a man so purely39 primitive40 that he was of the type that came into the world before the development of the moral nature. He was not immoral41, but merely unmoral.
As I have said, in the masculine sense his was a beautiful face. Smooth-shaven, every line was distinct, and it was cut as clear and sharp as a cameo; while sea and sun had tanned the naturally fair skin to a dark bronze which bespoke42 struggle and battle, and added to both his savagery44 and his beauty. The lips were full, yet possessed45 of the firmness, almost harshness, which is characteristic of thin lips. The set of his mouth, his chin, his jaw46, was likewise firm or harsh, with all the fierceness and indomitableness of the male; the nose also. It was the nose of a being born to conquer and command. It just hinted of the eagle beak47. It might have been Grecian, it might have been Roman, only it was a shade too massive for the one, a shade too delicate for the other. And while the whole face was the incarnation of fierceness and strength, the primal melancholy from which he suffered seemed to greaten the lines of mouth and eye and brow, seemed to give a largeness and completeness which otherwise the face would have lacked.
And so I caught myself standing7 idly and studying him. I cannot say how greatly the man had come to interest me. Who was he? What was he? How had he happened to be? All powers seemed his, all potentialities; why, then, was he no more than the obscure master of a seal-hunting schooner48, with a reputation for frightful49 brutality50 among the men who hunted seals?
My curiosity burst from me in a flood of speech:
'Why is it that you have not done great things in this world? With the power that is yours you might have risen to any height. Unpossessed of conscience or moral instinct, you might have mastered the world, broken it to your hand. And yet here you are, at the top of your life, where diminishing and dying begin, living an obscure and sordid51 existence hunting sea-animals for the satisfaction of woman's vanity and love of decoration, reveling in a piggishness, to use your own words, which is anything and everything except splendid. Why, with all that wonderful strength, have you not done something? There was nothing to stop you, nothing that could stop you. What was wrong? Did you lack ambition? Did you fall under temptation? What was the matter? What was the matter?'
He had lifted his eyes to me at the beginning of my outburst and followed me complacently52 until I had done and stood before him breathless and dismayed. He waited a moment, as though seeing where to begin, and then said:
'Hump, do you know the parable53 of the sower who went forth54 to sow? If you will remember, some of the seed fell upon stony55 places, where there was not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched56; and because they had no root they withered57 away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them.'
'Well?' I said.
'Well?' he queried58 half petulantly59. 'It was not well. I was one of those seeds.'
He dropped his head to the scale and resumed the copying. I finished my work, and had opened the door to leave, when he spoke43 to me.
'Hump, if you will look on the west coast of the map of Norway you will see an indentation called Romsdal Fiord. I was born within a hundred miles of that stretch of water. But I was not born Norwegian. I am a Dane. My father and mother were Danes, and how they ever came to that bleak60 bight of land on the west coast I do not know. I never heard. Outside of that, there is nothing mysterious. They were poor people and unlettered. They came of generations of poor, unlettered people- peasants of the sea who sowed their sons on the waves as has been their custom since time began. There is no more to tell.'
'But there is,' I objected. 'It is still obscure to me.'
'What can I tell you,' he demanded, with a recrudescence of fierceness, 'of the meagerness of a child's life- of fish diet and coarse living; of going out with the boats from the time I could crawl; of my brothers, who went away one by one to the deep-sea farming and never came back; of myself, unable to read or write, cabin-boy at the mature age of ten on the coastwise, old-country ships; of the rough fare and rougher usage, where kicks and blows were bed and breakfast and took the place of speech, and fear and hatred61 and pain were my only soul-experiences? I do not care to remember. A madness comes up in my brain even now as I think of it. But there were coastwise skippers I would have sought and killed when a man's strength came to me, only the lines of my life were cast at the time in other places. I did return, not long ago, but unfortunately the skippers were dead, all but one, a mate in the old days, a skipper when I met him, and when I left him, a cripple who would never walk again.'
'But you who read Spencer and Darwin and have never seen the inside of a school, how did you learn to read and write?' I queried.
'In the English merchant service. Cabin-boy at twelve, ship's boy at fourteen, ordinary seaman62 at sixteen, able seaman at seventeen and cock of the fo'c's'le; infinite ambition and infinite loneliness, receiving neither help nor sympathy, I did it all for myself- navigation, mathematics, science, literature, and what not. And of what use has it been? Master and owner of a ship at the top of my life, as you say, when I am beginning to diminish and die. Paltry63, isn't it? And when the sun was up I was scorched, and because I had no root I withered away.'
'But history tells of slaves who rose to the purple,' I chided.
'And history tells of opportunities that came to the slaves who rose to the purple,' he answered grimly. 'No man makes opportunity. All the great men ever did was to know it when it came to them. The Corsican knew. I have dreamed as greatly as the Corsican. I should have known the opportunity, but it never came. The thorns sprung up and choked me. And, Hump, I can tell you that you know more about me than any living man except my own brother.'
'And what is he? And where is he?'
'Master of the steamship64 Macedonia, seal-hunter,' was the answer. 'We will meet him most probably on the Japan coast. Men call him "Death" Larsen.'
'Death Larsen!' I involuntarily cried. 'Is he like you?'
'Hardly. He is a lump of an animal without any head. He has all my- my-'
'Brutishness,' I suggested.
'Yes, thank you for the word- all my brutishness; but he can scarcely read or write.'
'And he has never philosophized on life,' I added.
'No,' Wolf Larsen answered, with an indescribable air of sadness. 'And he is all the happier for leaving life alone. He is too busy living it to think about it. My mistake was in ever opening the books.'
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1
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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relegated
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| v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类 | |
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galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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fiber
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| n.纤维，纤维质 | |
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frivolity
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| n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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13
agonizing
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| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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materialism
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| n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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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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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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navigate
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| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
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revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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28
revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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presto
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| adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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32
revel
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| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
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33
yeast
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| n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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dictates
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| n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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41
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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42
bespoke
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| adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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43
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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44
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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45
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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46
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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47
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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49
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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50
brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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51
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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52
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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53
parable
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| n.寓言，比喻 | |
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54
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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55
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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56
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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57
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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58
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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59
petulantly
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60
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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61
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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62
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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63
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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64
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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