the Fates, put me down for this shabby part of a whaling voyage,  也就是命运诸神要派定我担任这个捕鲸的寒伧角色,

when others were set down for magnificent parts in high tragedies,  却派别些人去演崇高悲剧里的华贵角色,

and short and easy parts in genteel comedies, and jolly parts in farces-though I cannot tell why this was exactly;  演时髦喜剧里的轻松小角色,演讽刺剧里的丑角...虽然我真说不出究竟为什么来;

yet, now that I recall all the circumstances, I think I can see a little into the springs and motives which being cunningly presented to me under various disguises,  然而,现在我回想当时种种情景,那些以各种伪装狡狯地放在我面前的目的和动机...诱使我动手扮演起我所扮演的角色,

induced me to set about performing the part I did, besides cajoling me into the delusion  并且还哄得我幻想这是我自己的独立意志,

that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment. 和缜密考虑的结果...我想我也能捉摸到一些儿了。

Chief among these motives was the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself.  在这些动机中,首先是那条大鲸，叫人一想起就没法按捺得下自己。

Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity.  这样一个可怕而神秘的怪物激起了我所有的猎奇心。