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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Chapter 10 The Man of the Waters

Chapter 10 The Man of the Waters

IT WAS THE ship's commander who had just spoken. At these words Ned Land stood up quickly. Nearly strangled, the steward staggered out at a signal from his superior; but such was the commander's authority aboard his vessel, not one gesture gave away the resentment that this man must have felt toward the Canadian. In silence we waited for the outcome of this scene; Conseil, in spite of himself, seemed almost fascinated, I was stunned.

Arms crossed, leaning against a corner of the table, the commander studied us with great care. Was he reluctant to speak further? Did he regret those words he had just pronounced in French? You would have thought so.

After a few moments of silence, which none of us would have dreamed of interrupting:

"Gentlemen," he said in a calm, penetrating voice, "I speak French, English, German, and Latin with equal fluency. Hence I could have answered you as early as our initial interview, but first I wanted to make your acquaintance and then think things over. Your four versions of the same narrative, perfectly consistent by and large, established your personal identities for me. I now know that sheer chance has placed in my presence Professor Pierre Aronnax, specialist in natural history at the Paris Museum and entrusted with a scientific mission abroad, his manservant Conseil, and Ned Land, a harpooner of Canadian origin aboard the Abraham Lincoln , a frigate in the national navy of the United States of America." I bowed in agreement. The commander hadn't put a question to me. So no answer was called for. This man expressed himself with perfect ease and without a trace of an accent. His phrasing was clear, his words well chosen, his facility in elocution remarkable. And yet, to me, he didn't have "the feel" of a fellow countryman. He went on with the conversation as follows:

"No doubt, sir, you've felt that I waited rather too long before paying you this second visit. After discovering your identities, I wanted to weigh carefully what policy to pursue toward you. I had great difficulty deciding. Some extremely inconvenient circumstances have brought you into the presence of a man who has cut himself off from humanity. Your coming has disrupted my whole existence." "Unintentionally," I said. "Unintentionally?" the stranger replied, raising his voice a little. "Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln hunted me on every sea? Was it unintentionally that you traveled aboard that frigate? Was it unintentionally that your shells bounced off my ship's hull? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land hit me with his harpoon?" I detected a controlled irritation in these words. But there was a perfectly natural reply to these charges, and I made it.

"Sir," I said, "you're surely unaware of the discussions that have taken place in Europe and America with yourself as the subject. You don't realize that various accidents, caused by collisions with your underwater machine, have aroused public passions on those two continents. I'll spare you the innumerable hypotheses with which we've tried to explain this inexplicable phenomenon, whose secret is yours alone. But please understand that the Abraham Lincoln chased you over the Pacific high seas in the belief it was hunting some powerful marine monster, which had to be purged from the ocean at all cost." A half smile curled the commander's lips; then, in a calmer tone: "Professor Aronnax," he replied, "do you dare claim that your frigate wouldn't have chased and cannonaded an underwater boat as readily as a monster?" This question baffled me, since Commander Farragut would certainly have shown no such hesitation. He would have seen it as his sworn duty to destroy a contrivance of this kind just as promptly as a gigantic narwhale.

"So you understand, sir," the stranger went on, "that I have a right to treat you as my enemy." I kept quiet, with good reason. What was the use of debating such a proposition, when superior force can wipe out the best arguments?

"It took me a good while to decide," the commander went on. "Nothing obliged me to grant you hospitality. If I were to part company with you, I'd have no personal interest in ever seeing you again. I could put you back on the platform of this ship that has served as your refuge. I could sink under the sea, and I could forget you ever existed. Wouldn't that be my right?" "Perhaps it would be the right of a savage," I replied. "But not that of a civilized man." "Professor," the commander replied swiftly, "I'm not what you term a civilized man! I've severed all ties with society, for reasons that I alone have the right to appreciate. Therefore I obey none of its regulations, and I insist that you never invoke them in front of me!" This was plain speaking. A flash of anger and scorn lit up the stranger's eyes, and I glimpsed a fearsome past in this man's life. Not only had he placed himself beyond human laws, he had rendered himself independent, out of all reach, free in the strictest sense of the word! For who would dare chase him to the depths of the sea when he thwarted all attacks on the surface? What ship could withstand a collision with his underwater Monitor ? What armor plate, no matter how heavy, could bear the thrusts of his spur? No man among men could call him to account for his actions. God, if he believed in Him, his conscience if he had one—these were the only judges to whom he was answerable.

These thoughts swiftly crossed my mind while this strange individual fell silent, like someone completely self–absorbed. I regarded him with a mixture of fear and fascination, in the same way, no doubt, that Œdipus regarded the Sphinx.

After a fairly long silence, the commander went on with our conversation.

"So I had difficulty deciding," he said. "But I concluded that my personal interests could be reconciled with that natural compassion to which every human being has a right. Since fate has brought you here, you'll stay aboard my vessel. You'll be free here, and in exchange for that freedom, moreover totally related to it, I'll lay on you just one condition. Your word that you'll submit to it will be sufficient." "Go on, sir," I replied. "I assume this condition is one an honest man can accept?" "Yes, sir. Just this. It's possible that certain unforeseen events may force me to confine you to your cabins for some hours, or even for some days as the case may be. Since I prefer never to use violence, I expect from you in such a case, even more than in any other, your unquestioning obedience. By acting in this way, I shield you from complicity, I absolve you of all responsibility, since I myself make it impossible for you to see what you aren't meant to see. Do you accept this condition?" So things happened on board that were quite odd to say the least, things never to be seen by people not placing themselves beyond society's laws! Among all the surprises the future had in store for me, this would not be the mildest.

"We accept," I replied. "Only, I'll ask your permission, sir, to address a question to you, just one." "Go ahead, sir." "You said we'd be free aboard your vessel?" "Completely." "Then I would ask what you mean by this freedom." "Why, the freedom to come, go, see, and even closely observe everything happening here—except under certain rare circumstances—in short, the freedom we ourselves enjoy, my companions and I." It was obvious that we did not understand each other.

"Pardon me, sir," I went on, "but that's merely the freedom that every prisoner has, the freedom to pace his cell! That's not enough for us." "Nevertheless, it will have to do!" "What! We must give up seeing our homeland, friends, and relatives ever again?" "Yes, sir. But giving up that intolerable earthly yoke that some men call freedom is perhaps less painful than you think!" "By thunder!" Ned Land shouted. "I'll never promise I won't try getting out of here!" "I didn't ask for such a promise, Mr. Land," the commander replied coldly. "Sir," I replied, flaring up in spite of myself, "you're taking unfair advantage of us! This is sheer cruelty!" "No, sir, it's an act of mercy! You're my prisoners of war! I've cared for you when, with a single word, I could plunge you back into the ocean depths! You attacked me! You've just stumbled on a secret no living man must probe, the secret of my entire existence! Do you think I'll send you back to a world that must know nothing more of me? Never! By keeping you on board, it isn't you whom I care for, it's me!" These words indicated that the commander pursued a policy impervious to arguments.

"Then, sir," I went on, "you give us, quite simply, a choice between life and death?" "Quite simply." "My friends," I said, "to a question couched in these terms, our answer can be taken for granted. But no solemn promises bind us to the commander of this vessel." "None, sir," the stranger replied. Then, in a gentler voice, he went on:

"Now, allow me to finish what I have to tell you. I've heard of you, Professor Aronnax. You, if not your companions, won't perhaps complain too much about the stroke of fate that has brought us together. Among the books that make up my favorite reading, you'll find the work you've published on the great ocean depths. I've pored over it. You've taken your studies as far as terrestrial science can go. But you don't know everything because you haven't seen everything. Let me tell you, professor, you won't regret the time you spend aboard my vessel. You're going to voyage through a land of wonders. Stunned amazement will probably be your habitual state of mind. It will be a long while before you tire of the sights constantly before your eyes. I'm going to make another underwater tour of the world—perhaps my last, who knows?—and I'll review everything I've studied in the depths of these seas that I've crossed so often, and you can be my fellow student. Starting this very day, you'll enter a new element, you'll see what no human being has ever seen before—since my men and I no longer count—and thanks to me, you're going to learn the ultimate secrets of our planet." I can't deny it; the commander's words had a tremendous effect on me. He had caught me on my weak side, and I momentarily forgot that not even this sublime experience was worth the loss of my freedom. Besides, I counted on the future to resolve this important question. So I was content to reply:

"Sir, even though you've cut yourself off from humanity, I can see that you haven't disowned all human feeling. We're castaways whom you've charitably taken aboard, we'll never forget that. Speaking for myself, I don't rule out that the interests of science could override even the need for freedom, which promises me that, in exchange, our encounter will provide great rewards." I thought the commander would offer me his hand, to seal our agreement. He did nothing of the sort. I regretted that.

"One last question," I said, just as this inexplicable being seemed ready to withdraw. "Ask it, professor." "By what name am I to call you?" "Sir," the commander replied, "to you, I'm simply Captain Nemo;* to me, you and your companions are simply passengers on the Nautilus ." *Latin: nemo means "no one." Ed.

Captain Nemo called out. A steward appeared. The captain gave him his orders in that strange language I couldn't even identify. Then, turning to the Canadian and Conseil:

"A meal is waiting for you in your cabin," he told them. "Kindly follow this man." "That's an offer I can't refuse!" the harpooner replied.

After being confined for over thirty hours, he and Conseil were finally out of this cell.

"And now, Professor Aronnax, our own breakfast is ready. Allow me to lead the way." "Yours to command, Captain." I followed Captain Nemo, and as soon as I passed through the doorway, I went down a kind of electrically lit passageway that resembled a gangway on a ship. After a stretch of some ten meters, a second door opened before me.

I then entered a dining room, decorated and furnished in austere good taste. Inlaid with ebony trim, tall oaken sideboards stood at both ends of this room, and sparkling on their shelves were staggered rows of earthenware, porcelain, and glass of incalculable value. There silver–plated dinnerware gleamed under rays pouring from light fixtures in the ceiling, whose glare was softened and tempered by delicately painted designs.

In the center of this room stood a table, richly spread. Captain Nemo indicated the place I was to occupy.

"Be seated," he told me, "and eat like the famished man you must be." Our breakfast consisted of several dishes whose contents were all supplied by the sea, and some foods whose nature and derivation were unknown to me. They were good, I admit, but with a peculiar flavor to which I would soon grow accustomed. These various food items seemed to be rich in phosphorous, and I thought that they, too, must have been of marine origin.

Captain Nemo stared at me. I had asked him nothing, but he read my thoughts, and on his own he answered the questions I was itching to address him.

"Most of these dishes are new to you," he told me. "But you can consume them without fear. They're healthy and nourishing. I renounced terrestrial foods long ago, and I'm none the worse for it. My crew are strong and full of energy, and they eat what I eat." "So," I said, "all these foods are products of the sea?" "Yes, professor, the sea supplies all my needs. Sometimes I cast my nets in our wake, and I pull them up ready to burst. Sometimes I go hunting right in the midst of this element that has long seemed so far out of man's reach, and I corner the game that dwells in my underwater forests. Like the flocks of old Proteus, King Neptune's shepherd, my herds graze without fear on the ocean's immense prairies. There I own vast properties that I harvest myself, and which are forever sown by the hand of the Creator of All Things." I stared at Captain Nemo in definite astonishment, and I answered him:

"Sir, I understand perfectly how your nets can furnish excellent fish for your table; I understand less how you can chase aquatic game in your underwater forests; but how a piece of red meat, no matter how small, can figure in your menu, that I don't understand at all." "Nor I, sir," Captain Nemo answered me. "I never touch the flesh of land animals." "Nevertheless, this . ," I went on, pointing to a dish where some slices of loin were still left. "What you believe to be red meat, professor, is nothing other than loin of sea turtle. Similarly, here are some dolphin livers you might mistake for stewed pork. My chef is a skillful food processor who excels at pickling and preserving these various exhibits from the ocean. Feel free to sample all of these foods. Here are some preserves of sea cucumber that a Malaysian would declare to be unrivaled in the entire world, here's cream from milk furnished by the udders of cetaceans , and sugar from the huge fucus plants in the North Sea; and finally, allow me to offer you some marmalade of sea anemone, equal to that from the tastiest fruits." So I sampled away, more as a curiosity seeker than an epicure, while Captain Nemo delighted me with his incredible anecdotes.

"But this sea, Professor Aronnax," he told me, "this prodigious, inexhaustible wet nurse of a sea not only feeds me, she dresses me as well. That fabric covering you was woven from the masses of filaments that anchor certain seashells; as the ancients were wont to do, it was dyed with purple ink from the murex snail and shaded with violet tints that I extract from a marine slug, the Mediterranean sea hare. The perfumes you'll find on the washstand in your cabin were produced from the oozings of marine plants. Your mattress was made from the ocean's softest eelgrass. Your quill pen will be whalebone, your ink a juice secreted by cuttlefish or squid. Everything comes to me from the sea, just as someday everything will return to it!" "You love the sea, Captain." "Yes, I love it! The sea is the be all and end all! It covers seven–tenths of the planet earth. Its breath is clean and healthy. It's an immense wilderness where a man is never lonely, because he feels life astir on every side. The sea is simply the vehicle for a prodigious, unearthly mode of existence; it's simply movement and love; it's living infinity, as one of your poets put it. And in essence, professor, nature is here made manifest by all three of her kingdoms, mineral, vegetable, and animal. The last of these is amply represented by the four zoophyte groups, three classes of articulates, five classes of mollusks, and three vertebrate classes: mammals, reptiles, and those countless legions of fish, an infinite order of animals totaling more than 13,000 species, of which only one–tenth belong to fresh water. The sea is a vast pool of nature. Our globe began with the sea, so to speak, and who can say we won't end with it! Here lies supreme tranquility. The sea doesn't belong to tyrants. On its surface they can still exercise their iniquitous claims, battle each other, devour each other, haul every earthly horror. But thirty feet below sea level, their dominion ceases, their influence fades, their power vanishes! Ah, sir, live! Live in the heart of the seas! Here alone lies independence! Here I recognize no superiors! Here I'm free!" Captain Nemo suddenly fell silent in the midst of this enthusiastic outpouring. Had he let himself get carried away, past the bounds of his habitual reserve? Had he said too much? For a few moments he strolled up and down, all aquiver. Then his nerves grew calmer, his facial features recovered their usual icy composure, and turning to me:

"Now, professor," he said, "if you'd like to inspect the Nautilus , I'm yours to command."

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Chapter 10 The Man of the Waters Kapitel 10 Der Mann des Wassers Capítulo 10 El hombre de las aguas 10 skyrius Vandenų žmogus Rozdział 10 Człowiek wód Capítulo 10 O Homem das Águas Bölüm 10 Suların Adamı 第10章水之人 第10章 水之人

IT WAS THE ship's commander who had just spoken. At these words Ned Land stood up quickly. Nearly strangled, the steward staggered out at a signal from his superior; but such was the commander's authority aboard his vessel, not one gesture gave away the resentment that this man must have felt toward the Canadian. ||||пошатываясь вышел|||||||начальника|||||командира|||||||||||||||||||| ||||taumelte hinaus|||||||||||||||||||||||Groll||||||||| ||||Tambaleó|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Presque étranglé, l'intendant sort en titubant au signal de son supérieur ; mais l'autorité du commandant à bord de son navire est telle qu'aucun geste ne trahit le ressentiment que cet homme doit éprouver à l'égard du Canadien. In silence we waited for the outcome of this scene; Conseil, in spite of himself, seemed almost fascinated, I was stunned. En silence, nous attendons le dénouement de cette scène ; Conseil, malgré lui, semble presque fasciné, moi je suis abasourdi.

Arms crossed, leaning against a corner of the table, the commander studied us with great care. Bras croisés, appuyé sur un coin de la table, le commandant nous étudie avec attention. Was he reluctant to speak further? ||неохотный||| ||zögerlich||| A-t-il hésité à s'exprimer plus avant ? Did he regret those words he had just pronounced in French? You would have thought so. C'est ce que l'on aurait pu croire.

After a few moments of silence, which none of us would have dreamed of interrupting:

"Gentlemen," he said in a calm, penetrating voice, "I speak French, English, German, and Latin with equal fluency. Hence I could have answered you as early as our initial interview, but first I wanted to make your acquaintance and then think things over. |||||||||||||||||||Bekanntschaft machen||||| J'aurais donc pu vous répondre dès notre premier entretien, mais je voulais d'abord faire votre connaissance et ensuite réfléchir. Your four versions of the same narrative, perfectly consistent by and large, established your personal identities for me. Vos quatre versions du même récit, parfaitement cohérentes dans l'ensemble, ont établi pour moi vos identités personnelles. I now know that sheer chance has placed in my presence Professor Pierre Aronnax, specialist in natural history at the Paris Museum and entrusted with a scientific mission abroad, his manservant Conseil, and Ned Land, a harpooner of Canadian origin aboard the Abraham Lincoln , a frigate in the national navy of the United States of America." |||||||||||||||||||||||порученный|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||reiner Zufall|||||||||||||||||||beauftragt mit|||||||Diener||||||||||||||||||||||||| Je sais maintenant que le hasard a mis en ma présence le professeur Pierre Aronnax, spécialiste d'histoire naturelle au Muséum de Paris et chargé d'une mission scientifique à l'étranger, son valet Conseil, et Ned Land, harponneur d'origine canadienne à bord de l'Abraham Lincoln, frégate de la marine nationale des Etats-Unis d'Amérique". I bowed in agreement. |||Ich nickte zustimmend. The commander hadn't put a question to me. Le commandant ne m'avait pas posé de question. So no answer was called for. This man expressed himself with perfect ease and without a trace of an accent. ||||||Leichtigkeit||||||| His phrasing was clear, his words well chosen, his facility in elocution remarkable. |||||||||||ораторское искусство| |||||||||Fähigkeit||Redekunst| |||||||||facility||elocution| And yet, to me, he didn't have "the feel" of a fellow countryman. ||||||||||||земляк Et pourtant, pour moi, il n'avait pas le "feeling" d'un compatriote. He went on with the conversation as follows:

"No doubt, sir, you've felt that I waited rather too long before paying you this second visit. "Vous avez sans doute estimé que j'ai attendu un peu trop longtemps avant de vous rendre cette deuxième visite. After discovering your identities, I wanted to weigh carefully what policy to pursue toward you. ||||||||||||verfolgen|| I had great difficulty deciding. Some extremely inconvenient circumstances have brought you into the presence of a man who has cut himself off from humanity. Des circonstances extrêmement gênantes vous ont mis en présence d'un homme qui s'est coupé de l'humanité. Your coming has disrupted my whole existence." "Unintentionally," I said. «Нечаянно», сказал я.|| "Unintentionally?" the stranger replied, raising his voice a little. "Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln hunted me on every sea? Was it unintentionally that you traveled aboard that frigate? Was it unintentionally that your shells bounced off my ship's hull? ||unabsichtlich||||abprallten|||| Est-ce involontairement que vos obus ont rebondi sur la coque de mon navire ? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land hit me with his harpoon?" I detected a controlled irritation in these words. |festgestellt|||||| But there was a perfectly natural reply to these charges, and I made it. |||||||||Anschuldigungen|||| Mais il y avait une réponse parfaitement naturelle à ces accusations, et je l'ai faite.

"Sir," I said, "you're surely unaware of the discussions that have taken place in Europe and America with yourself as the subject. You don't realize that various accidents, caused by collisions with your underwater machine, have aroused public passions on those two continents. ||||||||||||||erregt|||||| I'll spare you the innumerable hypotheses with which we've tried to explain this inexplicable phenomenon, whose secret is yours alone. |verschonen|||||||||||||||||| Je vous épargne les innombrables hypothèses avec lesquelles on a tenté d'expliquer ce phénomène inexplicable, dont le secret n'appartient qu'à vous. But please understand that the Abraham Lincoln chased you over the Pacific high seas in the belief it was hunting some powerful marine monster, which had to be purged from the ocean at all cost." ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||уничтожено|||||| |||||||verfolgte||||||||||||||||||||||||||| A half smile curled the commander's lips; then, in a calmer tone: "Professor Aronnax," he replied, "do you dare claim that your frigate wouldn't have chased and cannonaded an underwater boat as readily as a monster?" |||||||||||||||обстреливала из пушек|||||||| "Professeur Aronnax, répondit-il, osez-vous prétendre que votre frégate n'aurait pas poursuivi et canonné un bateau sous-marin aussi facilement qu'un monstre ? This question baffled me, since Commander Farragut would certainly have shown no such hesitation. ||озадачил меня||||||||||| ||verwirrt|||||||||||Zögern Cette question me laisse perplexe, car le commandant Farragut n'aurait certainement pas montré une telle hésitation. He would have seen it as his sworn duty to destroy a contrivance of this kind just as promptly as a gigantic narwhale. |||||||поклявшийся|||||хитрое устройство|||||||||| ||||||||||||Vorrichtung|||||||||| ||||||||||||device|||||||||| Habría considerado que su deber jurado era destruir un artilugio de este tipo con la misma prontitud que una narval gigante.

"So you understand, sir," the stranger went on, "that I have a right to treat you as my enemy." I kept quiet, with good reason. What was the use of debating such a proposition, when superior force can wipe out the best arguments? ||||||||предложение||||||||| ||||||||Vorschlag|||||auslöschen||||

"It took me a good while to decide," the commander went on. "Nothing obliged me to grant you hospitality. ||||||гостеприимство |verpflichtete||||| If I were to part company with you, I'd have no personal interest in ever seeing you again. I could put you back on the platform of this ship that has served as your refuge. ||||||||||||||||убежище I could sink under the sea, and I could forget you ever existed. Wouldn't that be my right?" N'est-ce pas mon droit ?" "Perhaps it would be the right of a savage," I replied. ||||||||savage|| "But not that of a civilized man." "Professor," the commander replied swiftly, "I'm not what you term a civilized man! ||||schnell|||||||| "Professeur, répondit rapidement le commandant, je ne suis pas ce que vous appelez un homme civilisé ! I've severed all ties with society, for reasons that I alone have the right to appreciate. |порвал|||||||||||||| |abgebrochen||Verbindungen|||||||||||| J'ai rompu tout lien avec la société, pour des raisons que je suis le seul à pouvoir apprécier. Therefore I obey none of its regulations, and I insist that you never invoke them in front of me!" |||||||||||||применять||||| ||gehorche|||||||||||berufen auf||||| |||||||||||||invoke||||| This was plain speaking. ||klare Worte| A flash of anger and scorn lit up the stranger's eyes, and I glimpsed a fearsome past in this man's life. |||||Verachtung||||||||||||||| |||||contempt||||||||||||||| Not only had he placed himself beyond human laws, he had rendered himself independent, out of all reach, free in the strictest sense of the word! |||||||||||gemacht|||||||||||||| |||||||||||made|||||||||||||| Non seulement il s'est placé au-delà des lois humaines, mais il s'est rendu indépendant, hors d'atteinte, libre au sens le plus strict du terme ! For who would dare chase him to the depths of the sea when he thwarted all attacks on the surface? ||||||||||||||сорвал||||| ||||||||||||||vereitelt||||| ||||||||||||||repelled||||| Qui oserait le poursuivre dans les profondeurs de la mer alors qu'il a déjoué toutes les attaques à la surface ? What ship could withstand a collision with his underwater Monitor ? |||standhalten||||||Unterwasser-Monitor Quel navire pourrait résister à une collision avec son moniteur sous-marin ? What armor plate, no matter how heavy, could bear the thrusts of his spur? |||||||||||||Spornstoß Quelle plaque d'armure, aussi lourde soit-elle, pourrait supporter les coups de son éperon ? No man among men could call him to account for his actions. Aucun homme parmi les hommes ne pouvait lui demander de rendre compte de ses actes. God, if he believed in Him, his conscience if he had one—these were the only judges to whom he was answerable. |||||||Gewissen||||||||||||||verantwortlich gegenüber Dieu, s'il y croit, sa conscience, s'il en a une, tels sont les seuls juges auxquels il doit répondre.

These thoughts swiftly crossed my mind while this strange individual fell silent, like someone completely self–absorbed. I regarded him with a mixture of fear and fascination, in the same way, no doubt, that Œdipus regarded the Sphinx. |рассматривал||||||||||||||||Эдип|||

After a fairly long silence, the commander went on with our conversation. Après un assez long silence, le commandant a poursuivi notre conversation.

"So I had difficulty deciding," he said. "But I concluded that my personal interests could be reconciled with that natural compassion to which every human being has a right. |||||||||in Einklang gebracht||||Mitgefühl|||||||| "Mais j'ai conclu que mes intérêts personnels pouvaient être conciliés avec la compassion naturelle à laquelle tout être humain a droit. Since fate has brought you here, you'll stay aboard my vessel. You'll be free here, and in exchange for that freedom, moreover totally related to it, I'll lay on you just one condition. Tu seras libre ici, et en échange de cette liberté, d'ailleurs totalement liée à celle-ci, je ne te poserai qu'une seule condition. Your word that you'll submit to it will be sufficient." ||||einreichen||||| Votre parole de vous y soumettre sera suffisante". "Go on, sir," I replied. "I assume this condition is one an honest man can accept?" "Yes, sir. Just this. It's possible that certain unforeseen events may force me to confine you to your cabins for some hours, or even for some days as the case may be. ||||непредвиденные||||||запереть||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||einsperren||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||confine||||||||||||||||| Il est possible que certains événements imprévus m'obligent à vous confiner dans vos cabines pendant quelques heures, voire quelques jours selon les cas. Since I prefer never to use violence, I expect from you in such a case, even more than in any other, your unquestioning obedience. ||||||||||||||||||||||безоговорочное| Comme je préfère ne jamais recourir à la violence, j'attends de vous, dans un tel cas, plus encore que dans tout autre, une obéissance sans faille. By acting in this way, I shield you from complicity, I absolve you of all responsibility, since I myself make it impossible for you to see what you aren't meant to see. |||||||||соучастие||освобождаю от ответственности|||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||Mittäterschaft|||||||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||absolve|||||||||||||||||||| En agissant ainsi, je vous mets à l'abri de toute complicité, je vous décharge de toute responsabilité, puisque je fais en sorte que vous ne puissiez pas voir ce que vous n'êtes pas censés voir. Do you accept this condition?" So things happened on board that were quite odd to say the least, things never to be seen by people not placing themselves beyond society's laws! Among all the surprises the future had in store for me, this would not be the mildest. ||||||||||||||||наименее значительным

"We accept," I replied. "Only, I'll ask your permission, sir, to address a question to you, just one." "Go ahead, sir." "You said we'd be free aboard your vessel?" |||||||судно "Completely." "Then I would ask what you mean by this freedom." "Why, the freedom to come, go, see, and even closely observe everything happening here—except under certain rare circumstances—in short, the freedom we ourselves enjoy, my companions and I." "Pourquoi, la liberté d'aller, de venir, de voir, et même d'observer de près tout ce qui se passe ici - sauf dans certaines circonstances rares - bref, la liberté dont nous jouissons nous-mêmes, mes compagnons et moi." It was obvious that we did not understand each other. Il était évident que nous ne nous comprenions pas.

"Pardon me, sir," I went on, "but that's merely the freedom that every prisoner has, the freedom to pace his cell! ||||||||||||||||||im Kreis gehen|| "Pardonnez-moi, monsieur, poursuivis-je, mais il s'agit simplement de la liberté dont jouit tout prisonnier, la liberté de faire le tour de sa cellule ! That's not enough for us." "Nevertheless, it will have to do!" "Néanmoins, il faudra s'en contenter !" "What! We must give up seeing our homeland, friends, and relatives ever again?" ||||||родина||||| "Yes, sir. But giving up that intolerable earthly yoke that some men call freedom is perhaps less painful than you think!" ||||||ярмо|||||||||||| ||||||irdisches Joch|||||||||||| ||||||yoke|||||||||||| Mais renoncer à cet intolérable joug terrestre que certains appellent liberté est peut-être moins douloureux que vous ne le pensez !". "By thunder!" Ned Land shouted. "I'll never promise I won't try getting out of here!" "I didn't ask for such a promise, Mr. Land," the commander replied coldly. "Sir," I replied, flaring up in spite of myself, "you're taking unfair advantage of us! |||aufflammend||||||||||| |||flaring||||||||||| "Monsieur", ai-je répondu en m'enflammant malgré moi, "vous profitez injustement de nous ! This is sheer cruelty!" C'est de la pure cruauté !" "No, sir, it's an act of mercy! You're my prisoners of war! I've cared for you when, with a single word, I could plunge you back into the ocean depths! |||||||||||погрузить|||||| |||||||||||stürzen|||||| You attacked me! You've just stumbled on a secret no living man must probe, the secret of my entire existence! ||||||||||исследовать|||||| ||||||||||untersuchen|||||| Tu viens de découvrir un secret qu'aucun homme vivant ne doit percer, le secret de toute mon existence ! Do you think I'll send you back to a world that must know nothing more of me? Never! By keeping you on board, it isn't you whom I care for, it's me!" En te gardant à bord, ce n'est pas de toi que je me soucie, c'est de moi !" These words indicated that the commander pursued a policy impervious to arguments. ||||||придерживался||||| ||||||verfolgte|||unempfänglich|| |||||||||impervious|| Ces mots indiquent que le commandant poursuit une politique imperméable aux arguments.

"Then, sir," I went on, "you give us, quite simply, a choice between life and death?" "Quite simply." "My friends," I said, "to a question couched in these terms, our answer can be taken for granted. |||||||сформулированный|||||||||| |||||||formuliert|||||||||| "Mes amis, ai-je dit, à une question formulée en ces termes, notre réponse peut être considérée comme acquise. But no solemn promises bind us to the commander of this vessel." Mais aucune promesse solennelle ne nous lie au commandant de ce navire." "None, sir," the stranger replied. Then, in a gentler voice, he went on: |||более мягким голосом||||

"Now, allow me to finish what I have to tell you. "Maintenant, permettez-moi de terminer ce que j'ai à vous dire. I've heard of you, Professor Aronnax. You, if not your companions, won't perhaps complain too much about the stroke of fate that has brought us together. Vous, si ce n'est vos compagnons, ne vous plaindrez peut-être pas trop du coup du sort qui nous a réunis. Among the books that make up my favorite reading, you'll find the work you've published on the great ocean depths. Parmi les livres qui constituent mes lectures préférées, vous trouverez les travaux que vous avez publiés sur les grandes profondeurs océaniques. I've pored over it. |внимательно изучил|| |genau studiert|| |pored|| Je me suis penché sur la question. You've taken your studies as far as terrestrial science can go. |||||||наземная||| |||||||irdisch||| Vous avez poussé vos études aussi loin que la science terrestre peut aller. But you don't know everything because you haven't seen everything. Let me tell you, professor, you won't regret the time you spend aboard my vessel. You're going to voyage through a land of wonders. Stunned amazement will probably be your habitual state of mind. ||||||привычное состояние ума||| |fassungsloses Erstaunen|||||gewohnter||| La stupéfaction sera probablement votre état d'esprit habituel. It will be a long while before you tire of the sights constantly before your eyes. Vous ne vous lasserez pas avant longtemps des vues qui s'offrent à vous en permanence. I'm going to make another underwater tour of the world—perhaps my last, who knows?—and I'll review everything I've studied in the depths of these seas that I've crossed so often, and you can be my fellow student. Je vais refaire un tour du monde sous-marin - peut-être le dernier, qui sait - et je reverrai tout ce que j'ai étudié dans les profondeurs de ces mers que j'ai si souvent traversées, et tu pourras être mon condisciple. Starting this very day, you'll enter a new element, you'll see what no human being has ever seen before—since my men and I no longer count—and thanks to me, you're going to learn the ultimate secrets of our planet." A partir d'aujourd'hui, vous allez entrer dans un nouvel élément, vous allez voir ce qu'aucun être humain n'a jamais vu - puisque mes hommes et moi ne comptons plus - et grâce à moi, vous allez apprendre les ultimes secrets de notre planète." I can't deny it; the commander's words had a tremendous effect on me. |||||||||enormen||| He had caught me on my weak side, and I momentarily forgot that not even this sublime experience was worth the loss of my freedom. ||||||||||||||||возвышенный опыт|||||||| ||erwischt||||||||kurzzeitig||||||erhabene|||||||| ||||||||||for a moment||||||sublime|||||||| Il m'avait surpris sur mon côté faible, et j'ai momentanément oublié que même cette expérience sublime ne valait pas la perte de ma liberté. Besides, I counted on the future to resolve this important question. So I was content to reply: |||zufrieden||

"Sir, even though you've cut yourself off from humanity, I can see that you haven't disowned all human feeling. |||||||||||||||отреклись от||| |||||||||||||||disowned||| "Monsieur, même si vous vous êtes coupé de l'humanité, je vois que vous n'avez pas renoncé à tout sentiment humain. We're castaways whom you've charitably taken aboard, we'll never forget that. |потерпевшие кораблекрушение|||милосердно|||||| |castaways||||||||| Nous sommes des naufragés que vous avez charitablement embarqués, nous ne l'oublierons jamais. Speaking for myself, I don't rule out that the interests of science could override even the need for freedom, which promises me that, in exchange, our encounter will provide great rewards." |||||||||||||перевесить||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||überwiegen|||||||||||||Begegnung|||| Pour ma part, je n'exclus pas que l'intérêt de la science puisse l'emporter même sur le besoin de liberté, ce qui me promet qu'en échange, notre rencontre sera très enrichissante". I thought the commander would offer me his hand, to seal our agreement. Je pensais que le commandant me tendrait la main pour sceller notre accord. He did nothing of the sort. I regretted that.

"One last question," I said, just as this inexplicable being seemed ready to withdraw. ||||||||unerklärliche||||| "Une dernière question", ai-je dit, alors que cet être inexplicable semblait prêt à se retirer. "Ask it, professor." "By what name am I to call you?" "Sir," the commander replied, "to you, I'm simply Captain Nemo;* to me, you and your companions are simply passengers on the Nautilus ." |||||||||||||||||||||Nautilus *Latin: nemo means "no one." Ed.

Captain Nemo called out. A steward appeared. The captain gave him his orders in that strange language I couldn't even identify. Then, turning to the Canadian and Conseil:

"A meal is waiting for you in your cabin," he told them. "Kindly follow this man." "That's an offer I can't refuse!" the harpooner replied.

After being confined for over thirty hours, he and Conseil were finally out of this cell. ||eingesperrt|||||||||||||

"And now, Professor Aronnax, our own breakfast is ready. Allow me to lead the way." Permettez-moi de vous guider." "Yours to command, Captain." "A vous de commander, capitaine." I followed Captain Nemo, and as soon as I passed through the doorway, I went down a kind of electrically lit passageway that resembled a gangway on a ship. |||||||||||||||||||||||напоминал||трап на корабле||| ||||||||||||||||||||elektrisch beleuchtet|Durchgang||ähnelte||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||gangway||| J'ai suivi le capitaine Nemo, et dès que j'ai franchi la porte, j'ai emprunté une sorte de couloir éclairé électriquement qui ressemblait à une passerelle de bateau. After a stretch of some ten meters, a second door opened before me.

I then entered a dining room, decorated and furnished in austere good taste. Я|||||||||||| ||||||||||schlicht|| Je suis ensuite entré dans une salle à manger, décorée et meublée avec un bon goût austère. Inlaid with ebony trim, tall oaken sideboards stood at both ends of this room, and sparkling on their shelves were staggered rows of earthenware, porcelain, and glass of incalculable value. eingelegt||Ebenholzintarsien|Verzierung aus Ebenholz||||||||||||glänzend|||Regalen||gestaffelte|||Irdenware|||||| Inlaid|||trim||||||||||||||||||||earthenware|||||| Incrustés de garnitures en ébène, de hauts buffets en chêne se dressaient aux deux extrémités de la pièce, et leurs étagères abritaient des rangées échelonnées de faïences, de porcelaines et de verres d'une valeur incalculable. There silver–plated dinnerware gleamed under rays pouring from light fixtures in the ceiling, whose glare was softened and tempered by delicately painted designs. |||столовая посуда|||||||||||||||||||| ||||glänzte||Strahlen|herabströmend||||||Decke|||||||||| ||||||||||fixtures||||||||||||| La vaisselle argentée y brille sous les rayons des luminaires du plafond, dont l'éclat est adouci et tempéré par des motifs délicatement peints.

In the center of this room stood a table, richly spread. ||||||||||gedeckt Captain Nemo indicated the place I was to occupy.

"Be seated," he told me, "and eat like the famished man you must be." |||||||||изнемогающий от голода|||| |||||||||ausgehungert|||| |seated|||||||||||| Our breakfast consisted of several dishes whose contents were all supplied by the sea, and some foods whose nature and derivation were unknown to me. |||||||Inhalte|||||||||||||Herkunft|||| ||||||||||||||||||||origin|||| Notre petit déjeuner se composait de plusieurs plats dont le contenu était tous fournis par la mer, et de quelques aliments dont la nature et la dérivation m'étaient inconnues. They were good, I admit, but with a peculiar flavor to which I would soon grow accustomed. ||||||||своеобразный|привкус|||||||привыкнуть к ||||||||eigentümlich||||||||gewohnt Ils étaient bons, je l'admets, mais avec une saveur particulière à laquelle je ne tarderais pas à m'habituer. These various food items seemed to be rich in phosphorous, and I thought that they, too, must have been of marine origin. |||||||||фосфором||||||||||||

Captain Nemo stared at me. I had asked him nothing, but he read my thoughts, and on his own he answered the questions I was itching to address him. ||||||||||||||||||||жаждал задать||| ||||||||||||||||||||darauf brennend||| ||||||||||||||||||||itching|||

"Most of these dishes are new to you," he told me. "But you can consume them without fear. They're healthy and nourishing. |||питательные |||nahrhaft I renounced terrestrial foods long ago, and I'm none the worse for it. |отказался от||||||||||| |verzichtete auf|irdische|||||||||| J'ai renoncé aux aliments terrestres il y a longtemps, et je n'en suis pas plus malheureux. My crew are strong and full of energy, and they eat what I eat." "So," I said, "all these foods are products of the sea?" "Yes, professor, the sea supplies all my needs. Sometimes I cast my nets in our wake, and I pull them up ready to burst. ||||Netze|||Kielwasser|||||||| Parfois, je lance mes filets dans notre sillage et je les remonte, prêts à éclater. Sometimes I go hunting right in the midst of this element that has long seemed so far out of man's reach, and I corner the game that dwells in my underwater forests. Il m'arrive de chasser au beau milieu de cet élément qui a longtemps semblé hors de portée de l'homme, et de coincer le gibier qui habite mes forêts sous-marines. Like the flocks of old Proteus, King Neptune's shepherd, my herds graze without fear on the ocean's immense prairies. |||||Протей||Нептуна|||||||||океанских||океанских просторах |||||||||||weiden|||||||Prärien |||||Proteus||Neptune's|shepherd|||graze||||||| Comme les troupeaux du vieux Protée, berger du roi Neptune, mes troupeaux paissent sans crainte dans les immenses prairies de l'océan. There I own vast properties that I harvest myself, and which are forever sown by the hand of the Creator of All Things." |||||||||||||gesät||||||||| J'y possède de vastes propriétés que je récolte moi-même et qui sont à jamais ensemencées par la main du Créateur de toutes choses". I stared at Captain Nemo in definite astonishment, and I answered him: ||||||deutlicher|Erstaunen||||

"Sir, I understand perfectly how your nets can furnish excellent fish for your table; I understand less how you can chase aquatic game in your underwater forests; but how a piece of red meat, no matter how small, can figure in your menu, that I don't understand at all." |||||||||||||||||||||водная дичь||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||jagen|||||||||||||||||||eine Rolle spielen||||||||| "Monsieur, je comprends parfaitement que vos filets puissent fournir d'excellents poissons pour votre table ; je comprends moins que vous puissiez chasser le gibier aquatique dans vos forêts sous-marines ; mais qu'un morceau de viande rouge, aussi petit soit-il, puisse figurer dans votre menu, cela je ne le comprends pas du tout". "Nor I, sir," Captain Nemo answered me. "I never touch the flesh of land animals." "Nevertheless, this . ," I went on, pointing to a dish where some slices of loin were still left. |||||||||||Lendenstück||| J'ai continué en montrant un plat où il restait encore quelques tranches de longe. "What you believe to be red meat, professor, is nothing other than loin of sea turtle. ||||||||||||филе черепахи||| Similarly, here are some dolphin livers you might mistake for stewed pork. ||||||||||тушёное мясо| ||||||||||geschmort| My chef is a skillful food processor who excels at pickling and preserving these various exhibits from the ocean. ||||||||преуспевает в|||||||||| ||||||||sich auszeichnet||Einlegen||konservieren|||Exponate||| ||||||||||pickling|||||||| Mon chef est un habile préparateur culinaire qui excelle dans l'art de mariner et de conserver ces différents produits de l'océan. Feel free to sample all of these foods. N'hésitez pas à goûter tous ces aliments. Here are some preserves of sea cucumber that a Malaysian would declare to be unrivaled in the entire world, here's cream from milk furnished by the udders of cetaceans , and sugar from the huge fucus plants in the North Sea; and finally, allow me to offer you some marmalade of sea anemone, equal to that from the tastiest fruits." |||консервы|||морской огурец|||малайзиец|||||непревзойденный||||||||||||вымя китообразных||||||||фукусовых водорослей|||||||||||||||||||||||| |||Konserven|||||||||||The German translation for "unrivaled" in this context is "unübertroffen".||||||||||||Euter von Walen||||||||Blasentang|||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||udders||||||||fucus||||||||||||||marmalade|||anemone||||||| Voici des conserves de concombre de mer qu'un Malaisien déclarerait inégalées dans le monde entier, voici de la crème de lait fournie par les mamelles des cétacés, et du sucre provenant des énormes fucus de la mer du Nord ; et enfin, permettez-moi de vous offrir une marmelade d'anémone de mer, égale à celle des fruits les plus savoureux." So I sampled away, more as a curiosity seeker than an epicure, while Captain Nemo delighted me with his incredible anecdotes. ||пробовал|||||||||гурман||||||||| |||||||||||Feinschmecker||||||||| |||||||||||epicure|||||||||

"But this sea, Professor Aronnax," he told me, "this prodigious, inexhaustible wet nurse of a sea not only feeds me, she dresses me as well. |||||||||Огромная|неисчерпаемая|||||||||||||| |||||||||gewaltig|unerschöpflich|||||||||||||| "Mais cette mer, Professeur Aronnax, m'a-t-il dit, cette prodigieuse et inépuisable nourrice qu'est la mer, non seulement me nourrit, mais m'habille aussi. That fabric covering you was woven from the masses of filaments that anchor certain seashells; as the ancients were wont to do, it was dyed with purple ink from the murex snail and shaded with violet tints that I extract from a marine slug, the Mediterranean sea hare. |||||||||||||||||древние люди|||||||окрашена||||||мурекс улитка|||||||||||||||||морской заяц ||||||||Massen||Filamente||verankern||||||||||||gefärbt|||||||||||||||||||Meeresnacktschnecke||||Seehase ||||||||||filaments||||||||||||||||||||murex||||||tints|||||||slug|||| Cette étoffe qui vous recouvre a été tissée à partir des masses de filaments qui ancrent certains coquillages ; comme le faisaient les anciens, elle a été teintée à l'encre violette de l'escargot murex et nuancée de teintes violettes que j'extrais d'une limace marine, le lièvre de mer de Méditerranée. The perfumes you'll find on the washstand in your cabin were produced from the oozings of marine plants. ||||||умывальник||||||||выделения||| ||||||Waschtisch||||||||Sekrete||| ||||||||||||||oozings||| Los perfumes que encontrará en el lavabo de su camarote se producían a partir de los exudados de plantas marinas. Your mattress was made from the ocean's softest eelgrass. ||||||||морская трава |Deine Matratze wurde aus dem weichsten Seegras des Ozeans hergestellt.|||||||Dein Matratze wurde aus dem weichsten Seegras des Ozeans gemacht. ||||||||eelgrass Your quill pen will be whalebone, your ink a juice secreted by cuttlefish or squid. ||||||||||||каракатица|| |Federkiel|||||||||||Tintenfisch||Tintenfisch |quill|||||||||||cuttlefish|| Votre plume sera en os de baleine, votre encre un jus sécrété par la seiche ou le calmar. Everything comes to me from the sea, just as someday everything will return to it!" "You love the sea, Captain." "Yes, I love it! The sea is the be all and end all! It covers seven–tenths of the planet earth. Its breath is clean and healthy. It's an immense wilderness where a man is never lonely, because he feels life astir on every side. ||||||||||||||in Bewegung||| ||||||||||||||stirring||| C'est une immensité sauvage où l'homme ne se sent jamais seul, car il sent la vie s'animer de toutes parts. The sea is simply the vehicle for a prodigious, unearthly mode of existence; it's simply movement and love; it's living infinity, as one of your poets put it. ||||||||ungeheuerlich||||||||||||unendliche Weite||||||| La mer n'est que le vecteur d'un mode d'existence prodigieux, inouï, elle n'est que mouvement et amour, elle est l'infini vivant, comme l'a dit l'un de vos poètes. And in essence, professor, nature is here made manifest by all three of her kingdoms, mineral, vegetable, and animal. ||||||||offenbart|||drei||||||| The last of these is amply represented by the four zoophyte groups, three classes of articulates, five classes of mollusks, and three vertebrate classes: mammals, reptiles, and those countless legions of fish, an infinite order of animals totaling more than 13,000 species, of which only one–tenth belong to fresh water. ||||||||||зоофиты|||||членистоногие||||||||||||||||||||||насчитывающих|||||||||||| |||||reichlich||||||||||Gliederfüßer||||Weichtiere|||||Säugetiere|||||||||||||insgesamt umfassen|||||||||||| ||||||||||zoophyte|||||articulates||||||||||||||legions|||||||||||||||||||| Cette dernière est amplement représentée par les quatre groupes de zoophytes, les trois classes d'articulés, les cinq classes de mollusques et les trois classes de vertébrés : les mammifères, les reptiles et les innombrables légions de poissons, un ordre infini d'animaux totalisant plus de 13 000 espèces, dont un dixième seulement appartient à l'eau douce. The sea is a vast pool of nature. Our globe began with the sea, so to speak, and who can say we won't end with it! |Unser Erdball|||||||||||||||| Notre globe a commencé avec la mer, pour ainsi dire, et qui peut dire que nous ne finirons pas avec elle ! Here lies supreme tranquility. |||Здесь царит высший покой. ||Hier liegt höchste Ruhe.| The sea doesn't belong to tyrants. La mer n'appartient pas aux tyrans. On its surface they can still exercise their iniquitous claims, battle each other, devour each other, haul every earthly horror. ||||||||несправедливые|||||пожирать|||||| ||||||||"ungerechten"|||||verschlingen|||schleppen||| ||||||||iniquitous||||||||||| A sa surface, ils peuvent encore exercer leurs prétentions iniques, s'affronter, se dévorer, se livrer à toutes les horreurs terrestres. But thirty feet below sea level, their dominion ceases, their influence fades, their power vanishes! |||||||власть||||||| |||||||Herrschaft|aufhört|||||| Ah, sir, live! Live in the heart of the seas! Here alone lies independence! Here I recognize no superiors! ||||Vorgesetzte Here I'm free!" Captain Nemo suddenly fell silent in the midst of this enthusiastic outpouring. |||||||||||Begeisterungsausbruch Had he let himself get carried away, past the bounds of his habitual reserve? ||||||||||||gewohnte| |||||||||bounds|||| S'est-il laissé emporter, a-t-il dépassé les limites de sa réserve habituelle ? Had he said too much? For a few moments he strolled up and down, all aquiver. |||||spazierte|||||ganz aufgeregt |||||strolled|||||trembling Durante unos instantes se paseó arriba y abajo, muy animado. Then his nerves grew calmer, his facial features recovered their usual icy composure, and turning to me: ||||||||||||Gelassenheit||||

"Now, professor," he said, "if you'd like to inspect the Nautilus , I'm yours to command."