31 章鱼(8)
People not only claimed these devilfish could drag ships under, but a certain Olaus Magnus tells of a cephalopod a mile long that looked more like an island than an animal. There's also the story of how the Bishop of Trondheim set up an altar one day on an immense rock. After he finished saying mass, this rock started moving andwent back into the sea. The rock was a devilfish."
人们不仅说这些章鱼能把船只拖走，而且还有一位名叫奥拉乌斯·马纽的人说过，有一种长1海里的头足类动物，说它是动物，还不如说它是小岛。人们也说过，尼德罗斯的主教有一天在一块大岩石上设了一个祭坛，他一做完弥撒，这块岩石就移动起来，沉入海里。原来这块岩石是一只章鱼。”
And that's everything we know? the Canadian asked.
“说完了吗？”加拿大人问。
No, I replied, "another bishop, Pontoppidan of Bergen, also tells of a devilfish so large a whole ca一valry regiment could maneuver on it.""They sure did go on, those oldtime bishops!" Ned Land said.
“还没有，”我回答，“另一个主教，篷多比丹·德·柏乐根，也同样说过一只章鱼，在它上面还能一操一练一队骑兵呢！”“他们可真会说啊，这些从前的主教们！”尼德·兰说。
Finally, the naturalists of antiquity mention some monsters with mouths as big as a gulf, which were too huge to get through the Strait of Gibraltar.
“最后，古代的博物学家也记载过这种怪物，它们的嘴就像一个海湾， 身一体大得连直布罗陀海峡都走不过去。”
Good work, men! the Canadian put in.“
真神！”加拿大人说。
But in all these stories, is there any truth? Conseil asked."None at all, my friends, at least in those that go beyond the bounds of credibility and fly off into fable or legend. Yet for the imaginings of these storytellers there had to be, if not a cause, at least an excuse. It can't be denied that some species of squid and other devilfish are quite large, though still smaller than cetaceans.
“可在所有的记载中，有真实的吗？”康塞尔问。 “没有，我的朋友们，从上升为神话或传说要超出真实界限这个角度看是完全没有的。但是，神话作者的想象必须有一个原因，要不至少要有一个，假托。我们不能否认存在着一些非常巨型的章鱼和一槍一乌贼，但它们应是比鲸类动物小的。