Moby Dick; Or, The Whale

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

每当我发现自己嘴角紧绷，每当我的灵魂中弥漫着潮湿、阴冷的十一月气息，每当我发现自己不由自主地在棺材店前驻足，每当我跟在每个葬礼队伍的最后，特别是每当我的忧郁情绪如此强烈，以至于需要坚强的道德原则来阻止我故意走上街头，有条不紊地打掉人们的帽子——那时，我认为是时候尽快出海了。

But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all.

但我们自己在所有河流和海洋中看到的正是同样的形象。那是生命中无法捉摸的幻影；这就是一切的关键。