A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick — Page 4
For we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture; they neither build houses, (I mean in the country) nor cultivate land: they can very seldom pick up a livelihood by stealing till they arrive at six years old; except where they are of towardly parts, although I confess they learn the rudiments much earlier; during which time they can however be properly looked upon only as probationers; as I have been informed by a principal gentleman in the county of Cavan, who protested to me, that he never knew above one or two instances under the age of six, even in a part of the kingdom so renowned for the quickest proficiency in that art.
Denn wir können sie weder im Handwerk noch in der Landwirtschaft beschäftigen; sie bauen weder Häuser (ich meine auf dem Land) noch bebauen sie das Land: sie können sich nur sehr selten durch Stehlen einen Lebensunterhalt verdienen, bis sie sechs Jahre alt sind; außer wenn sie besonders begabt sind, obwohl ich zugebe, dass sie die Grundlagen viel früher erlernen; während dieser Zeit können sie jedoch nur als Probanden betrachtet werden; wie mir ein angesehener Herr in der Grafschaft Cavan mitgeteilt hat, der mir versicherte, dass er niemals mehr als ein oder zwei Fälle unter dem Alter von sechs Jahren kannte, selbst in einem Teil des Königreichs, der für die schnellsten Fortschritte in dieser Kunst bekannt ist.
I am assured by our merchants, that a boy or a girl, before twelve years old, is no saleable commodity, and even when they come to this age, they will not yield above three pounds, or three pounds and half a crown at most, on the exchange; which cannot turn to account either to the parents or kingdom, the charge of nutriments and rags having been at least four times that value.
Unsere Kaufleute versichern mir, dass ein Junge oder ein Mädchen vor dem zwölften Lebensjahr keine verkäufliche Ware ist, und selbst wenn sie dieses Alter erreichen, werden sie auf dem Markt nicht mehr als drei Pfund, oder höchstens drei Pfund und eine halbe Krone einbringen; was weder für die Eltern noch für das Königreich von Nutzen sein kann, da die Kosten für Nahrung und Lumpen mindestens den vierfachen Wert betragen haben.
I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.
Ich werde daher nun bescheiden meine eigenen Gedanken darlegen, von denen ich hoffe, dass sie nicht dem geringsten Einwand ausgesetzt sein werden.
Vocabulary
- Denn
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- wir
- First person plural pronoun meaning 'we'
- können
- Modal verb meaning 'can' or 'to be able'
- sie
- Pronoun meaning 'she', 'they', or formal 'you'
- weder
- Used in 'weder...noch' meaning 'neither...nor'
- im
- Contraction of 'in dem', meaning 'in the'
- Handwerk
- Skilled manual trade or craft work
- noch
- Means 'nor', 'still', or 'yet' in context
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'
- der
- Definite article or relative pronoun meaning 'the'
- Landwirtschaft
- Agriculture or farming as an occupation or industry
- beschäftigen
- To employ or occupy someone with a task
- bauen
- To build or construct structures
- Häuser
- Plural of Haus; buildings used as dwellings
- ich
- First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- meine
- Means 'I mean' or possessive 'my'
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'upon', or 'at'
- dem
- Dative form of definite article 'the'
- Land
- Countryside, land, or country as a place
- bebauen
- To cultivate or develop a piece of land
- das
- Neuter definite article or demonstrative meaning 'the'
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'themselves'
- nur
- Adverb meaning 'only' or 'just'
- sehr
- Adverb meaning 'very' intensifying adjectives or adverbs
- selten
- Meaning 'rarely' or 'seldom', infrequently occurring
- durch
- Preposition meaning 'through' or 'by means of'
- Stehlen
- The act of stealing or theft
- einen
- Indefinite article in accusative case meaning 'a'
- Lebensunterhalt
- Livelihood or means of supporting one's life
- verdienen
- To earn money or deserve something
- bis
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'until' or 'up to'
- sechs
- The number six
- Jahre
- Plural of Jahr; years as units of time
- alt
- Adjective meaning 'old' referring to age
- sind
- Third person plural of 'sein', meaning 'are'
- außer
- Preposition meaning 'except', 'besides', or 'apart from'
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- besonders
- Adverb meaning 'especially' or 'particularly'
- begabt
- Adjective meaning 'gifted' or 'talented'
- obwohl
- Conjunction meaning 'although' or 'even though'
- zugebe
- First person singular of zugeben; 'I admit'
- dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that' introducing subordinate clause
- die
- Feminine or plural definite article meaning 'the'
- Grundlagen
- Fundamentals or foundations of a subject
- viel
- Meaning 'much' or 'a lot of'
- früher
- Meaning 'earlier' or 'formerly' in time
- erlernen
- To learn or acquire a skill through practice
- während
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'during' or 'while'
- dieser
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' in genitive/dative
- Zeit
- Noun meaning 'time' as a concept or period
- jedoch
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'however' or 'yet'
- als
- Conjunction meaning 'as', 'than', or 'when'
- Probanden
- Test subjects or participants in an experiment
- betrachtet
- Regarded or viewed as something in particular
- werden
- Auxiliary verb meaning 'to become' or future marker
- wie
- Meaning 'how', 'as', or 'like' in comparisons
- mir
- Dative form of 'ich', meaning 'to me'
- ein
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- angesehener
- Respected or esteemed person of high standing
- Herr
- Mister or gentleman, a title of address
- Grafschaft
- County or earldom as an administrative region
- mitgeteilt
- Past participle of mitteilen; communicated or informed
- hat
- Third person singular of haben; 'has'
- versicherte
- Assured or confirmed something as being true
- er
- Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he'
- niemals
- Adverb meaning 'never' under any circumstances
- mehr
- Meaning 'more' indicating greater quantity or degree
- oder
- Conjunction meaning 'or' offering an alternative
- zwei
- The number two
- Fälle
- Plural of Fall; cases or instances of something
- unter
- Preposition meaning 'under', 'below', or 'among'
- Alter
- Age or old age as a stage of life
- von
- Preposition meaning 'from', 'of', or 'by'
- Jahren
- Dative plural of Jahr; years in a time period
- kannte
- Past tense of kennen; 'knew' someone or something
- selbst
- Meaning 'even', 'self', or 'oneself' for emphasis
- einem
- Indefinite article in dative case meaning 'a'
- Teil
- Part or portion of a larger whole
- des
- Genitive form of definite article meaning 'of the'
- Königreichs
- Genitive of Königreich; of the kingdom
- für
- Preposition meaning 'for' indicating purpose or benefit
- schnellsten
- Superlative of schnell; fastest or most rapid
- Fortschritte
- Progress or advances made in a field
- Kunst
- Art or a particular skill or craft
- bekannt
- Known or well-known, familiar to people
- ist
- Third person singular of sein; meaning 'is'
- Unsere
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'our'
- Kaufleute
- Merchants or traders engaged in commerce
- versichern
- To assure or insure; to affirm something confidently
- Junge
- Boy or young male person
- Mädchen
- Girl or young female person
- vor
- Preposition meaning 'before', 'in front of', or 'ago'
- zwölften
- Ordinal form of twelve; meaning 'twelfth'
- Lebensjahr
- Year of life referring to a person's age
- keine
- Negative article meaning 'no' or 'none'
- verkäufliche
- Saleable or marketable, able to be sold
- Ware
- Goods or merchandise available for sale
- und
- Conjunction meaning 'and' connecting elements
- dieses
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' in neuter form
- erreichen
- To reach or achieve a goal or destination
- Markt
- Market or marketplace where goods are sold
- nicht
- Negation adverb meaning 'not'
- drei
- The number three
- Pfund
- Pound as a unit of currency or weight
- höchstens
- At most or at the highest possible amount
- eine
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- halbe
- Adjective meaning 'half' of something
- Krone
- Crown as a coin or royal headpiece
- einbringen
- To yield or bring in a return or profit
- was
- Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'
- Eltern
- Parents, both mother and father together
- Königreich
- Kingdom or realm ruled by a monarch
- Nutzen
- Benefit, use, or utility derived from something
- sein
- To be; infinitive of the verb 'to be'
- kann
- Third person singular of können; 'can' or 'is able'
- da
- Meaning 'there', 'since', or 'because' in context
- Kosten
- Costs or expenses required for something
- Nahrung
- Food or nourishment necessary for survival
- Lumpen
- Rags or tattered old pieces of clothing
- mindestens
- At least the minimum amount or number
- den
- Accusative or dative definite article meaning 'the'
- vierfachen
- Fourfold or four times the amount
- Wert
- Value or worth of an object or concept
- betragen
- To amount to or total a certain sum
- haben
- To have; auxiliary and main verb of possession
- Ich
- First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'
- werde
- First person singular of werden; future auxiliary 'will'
- daher
- Therefore or for that reason, consequently
- nun
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'then' at this point
- bescheiden
- Modest or humble; also to notify officially
- eigenen
- Own or personal, belonging to oneself
- Gedanken
- Thoughts or ideas in one's mind
- darlegen
- To set forth or explain something in detail
- denen
- Relative pronoun meaning 'to which' or 'those'
- hoffe
- First person singular of hoffen; 'I hope'
- geringsten
- Superlative of gering; slightest or smallest
- Einwand
- Objection or opposition raised against something
- ausgesetzt
- Exposed to or subjected to something
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