I seemed distinctly to perceive that my own individuality was now merged in a joint stock company of two; 一边又仿佛明明白白地觉得我自己的个人生命现在已并入我们两人的股份两合公司里了，

　　that my free will had received a mortal wound; 觉得我的自由意志已经受到极大的创伤；

　　and that another's mistake or misfortune might plunge innocent me into unmerited disaster and death. 也觉得他的差错和不幸就一定会把无辜的我抛进了那个不该我受的灾难和死亡里去。

　　Therefore, I saw that here was a sort of interregnum in Providence; 因此，我看到这就是一种天意的中绝期；

　　for its even-handed equity never could have so gross an injustice. 因为它那大公无私的公道从来没有做出如此不公平的处罚。

　　And yet still further pondering—while I jerked him now and then from between the whale and ship, 然而更仔细地推敲下去——我这样不时地在船只与大鲸间对他猛拉一下，

　　which would threaten to jam him—still further pondering, I say,  就象是要陷害他似的——更仔细地推敲下去，我说，

　　I saw that this situation of mine was the precise situation of every mortal that breathes; 我看到我的这种处境，正是一切活着的人类的处境；

　　only, in most cases, he, one way or other, has this Siamese connexion with a plurality of other mortals. 不同的是，在大多数的场合上，一切活着的人，都有一根缚住一大串人的暹逻索子。

　　If your banker breaks, you snap; if your apothecary by mistake sends you poison in your pills, you die. 如果你的银行家倒了台，你也倒了；如果药铺里在你的丸药上错放了毒药，你就完了蛋。

　　True, you may say that, by exceeding caution, you may possibly escape these and the multitudinous other evil chances of life. 不错，你也许可以这样说，你只要格外小心注意，就可以避免这些和各式各样其它的生命危险。

　　But handle Queequeg's monkey-rope heedfully as I would, sometimes he jerked it so, that I came very near sliding overboard. 可是，我虽是这样拚命谨慎地抓着魁魁格的猴索，但是，他有时这样猛地一拉，我就几几乎要滑到海里去了。

　　Nor could I possibly forget that, do what I would, I only had the management of one end of it. 随我怎样小心注意，我也忘不了我所能控制得了的只有绳子的一头而已。