Lo! ye believers in gods all goodness, and in man all ill, lo you! see the omniscient gods oblivious of suffering man; and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude. Come! I feel prouder leading thee by thy black hand, than though I grasped an Emperor's!

你瞧！你们这些把神明当作大慈大悲。把人类当作十恶不赦的人们呀，你们瞧呀！看看那全能的神明竟不理睬受难的人类；人类虽是愚笨，却不知他所行何事，然而，却都有着恩和爱的快乐的事儿。走吧！我牵着你这只黑手，比我握着皇帝的手还更觉得自豪哪！

There go two daft ones now, muttered the old Manxman. "One daft with strength, the other daft with weakness. But here's the end of the rotten line — all dripping, too. Mend it, eh? I think we had best have a new line altogether. I'll see Mr. Stubb about it."

瞧！两个痴子一起走啦，那个人岛老头喃喃道。"一个是有魄力的痴子，一个是很懦弱的痴子。可是，这根烂绳头——全都湿淋淋了。把它修一修嘛？我想，我们最好还是去弄根崭新的绳子来吧。让我去跟斯塔布谈谈看。"

Chapter 126 The Life-Buoy

第一百二十六章 救生圈

Steering now south-eastward by Ahab's levelled steel, and her progress solely determined by Ahab's level log and line; the Pequod held on her path towards the Equator. Making so long a passage through such unfrequented waters, descrying no ships, and ere long, sideways impelled by unvarying trade winds, over waves monotonously mild; all these seemed the strange calm things preluding some riotous and desperate scene.

裴廓德号靠了亚哈亲自校准的罗盘针，又完全靠了亚哈所设计的测程仪来记录航速，现在正向着东南方，继续往赤道驶去。在这种人迹罕到的水域中作这样漫长的航行，连一艘船也看不到。不一会儿，一阵打斜吹来的千篇一律的贸易风，把它推在和缓得使人厌倦的波涛上。所有这些看似平静得出奇的情况，正是行将出现一种骚乱和险恶的场面的预兆。