Nevertheless, though of real knowledge there be little, yet of books there are a plenty; and so in some small degree, with cetology, or the science of whales.  不过,虽则真正的知识不多,然而有关的书本却不少;因此,鲸类学或者是鲸科学也差不多是这样。

Many are the men, small and great, old and new, landsmen and seamen, who have at large or in little, written of the whale. Run over a few: 虽然有很多人,小人物大人物,老人物新人物,陆上人和水手,他们都或多或少的,写到有关大鲸的事情。

The Authors of the Bible; Aristotle; Pliny; Aldrovandi; Sir Thomas Browne; Gesner; Ray; Linnaeus; Rondeletius; Willoughby;  这里不妨概略地提出一些来...《圣经》的那些作者;亚里斯多德;普利尼;艾特罗万第;托马斯布朗男爵;格斯纳;雷约翰。雷;林尼厄斯;隆德列修斯;威洛比;

Green; Artedi; Sibbald; Brisson; Marten; Lacepede; Bonneterre; Desmarest; Baron Cuvier; Frederick Cuvier; John Hunter; Owen; Scoresby; Beale; Bennett; J. Ross Browne;  格林;阿蒂第;西鲍尔德;布里松(玛苏林。杰克。布里松;马登;拉塞佩德拉塞佩德;博纳太埃尔;德马雷斯;居维埃男爵;弗列达里克。

the Author of Miriam Coffin; Olmstead; and the Rev. T. Cheever. But to what ultimate generalizing purpose all these have written, the above cited extracts will show. 居维埃;约翰。亨特;欧文;斯哥斯比;比尔;贝内特;罗斯。布朗;《米里亚姆。科芬》的作者;奥耳姆斯特德和契弗牧师。但是,上述诸人的著作究竟具有什么根本的概括意义,那从上面所引的若干摘录就可以表明。

Of the names in this list of whale authors only those following Owen ever saw living whales; and but one of them was a real professional harpooneer and whaleman.  在上列这些大鲸作者的名单中,只有欧文以下诸人曾经看到过活鲸;而且,其中也只有一个人是真正的职业标枪手和捕鲸人。

I mean Captain Scoresby. On the separate subject of the Greenland or right-whale, he is the best existing authority.  我指的是斯哥斯比船长。在论格陵兰大鲸,又称露脊鲸的各别的科目中,他是现存的最优秀的权威。

But Scoresby knew nothing and says nothing of the great sperm whale,compared with which the Greenland whale is almost unworthy mentioning.  但是,对于那种抹香鲸(与之相比,格陵兰鲸几乎是不值一提的),斯哥斯比还是毫无所知,一无记载。