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 5
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasee, or a ragoust.
Ein sehr kenntnisreicher Amerikaner meiner Bekanntschaft in London hat mich versichert, dass ein junges gesundes Kind, gut genährt, mit einem Jahr ein höchst köstliches, nahrhaftes und gesundes Nahrungsmittel ist, ob gedünstet, gebraten, gebacken oder gekocht; und ich zweifle nicht daran, dass es ebenso gut als Frikassee oder Ragout dienen wird.
I do therefore humbly offer it to publick consideration, that of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle, or swine, and my reason is, that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore, one male will be sufficient to serve four females.
Ich unterbreite daher demütig der öffentlichen Erwägung, dass von den bereits berechneten hundertzwanzigtausend Kindern zwanzigtausend zur Zucht zurückbehalten werden mögen, wovon nur ein Viertel männlich sein soll; was mehr ist, als wir Schafen, Schwarzvieh oder Schweinen zugestehen, und mein Grund dafür ist, dass diese Kinder selten Früchte der Ehe sind, ein Umstand, dem unsere Wilden wenig Beachtung schenken, weshalb ein männliches Tier ausreichen wird, um vier weiblichen zu dienen.
That the remaining hundred thousand may, at a year old, be offered in sale to the persons of quality and fortune, through the kingdom, always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump, and fat for a good table.
Dass die verbleibenden hunderttausend mit einem Jahr zum Verkauf an die vornehmen und begüterten Personen im ganzen Königreich angeboten werden mögen, wobei der Mutter stets geraten werden sollte, sie im letzten Monat reichlich saugen zu lassen, um sie prall und fett für eine gute Tafel zu machen.
A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter.
Ein Kind wird bei einem Gastmahl für Freunde zwei Gerichte ergeben, und wenn die Familie allein speist, wird das Vorder- oder Hinterviertel ein angemessenes Gericht abgeben, und mit etwas Pfeffer oder Salz gewürzt, wird es am vierten Tag gekocht sehr gut sein, besonders im Winter.
Vocabulary
- sehr
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'much'
- kenntnisreicher
- Knowledgeable, well-informed, possessing extensive knowledge
- Amerikaner
- A person from America, an American
- meiner
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'my', genitive form
- Bekanntschaft
- Acquaintance, a person one knows casually
- hat
- Third person singular of 'haben', meaning 'has'
- mich
- First person accusative pronoun meaning 'me'
- versichert
- Assured or confirmed, past participle of versichern
- dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that', introducing a subordinate clause
- junges
- Adjective meaning 'young', inflected form
- gesundes
- Adjective meaning 'healthy', inflected form
- Kind
- Noun meaning 'child'
- gut
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'good' or 'well'
- genährt
- Nourished, well-fed, past participle of nähren
- mit
- Preposition meaning 'with' or 'by'
- Jahr
- Noun meaning 'year'
- höchst
- Superlative adverb meaning 'most' or 'extremely'
- köstliches
- Delicious, exquisite, highly pleasing to the senses
- nahrhaftes
- Nutritious, nourishing, providing sustenance
- Nahrungsmittel
- Food, foodstuff, substance providing nutritional value
- ob
- Conjunction meaning 'whether' or 'if'
- gedünstet
- Steamed, cooked by steaming, past participle of dünsten
- gebraten
- Roasted or fried, past participle of braten
- gebacken
- Baked, past participle of backen
- gekocht
- Cooked or boiled, past participle of kochen
- zweifle
- First person singular of zweifeln, meaning 'to doubt'
- nicht
- Negation adverb meaning 'not'
- daran
- Pronominal adverb meaning 'about it' or 'in it'
- ebenso
- Adverb meaning 'likewise', 'just as well'
- als
- Conjunction or preposition meaning 'as' or 'than'
- dienen
- To serve, to be useful for a purpose
- wird
- Third person singular of werden, 'will' or 'becomes'
- unterbreite
- Submit or present formally, first person of unterbreiten
- daher
- Adverb meaning 'therefore' or 'hence'
- demütig
- Humble, modest, meek in manner or spirit
- öffentlichen
- Public, relating to the general public, inflected form
- Erwägung
- Consideration, deliberation, careful thought about something
- von
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'by'
- bereits
- Adverb meaning 'already' or 'previously'
- berechneten
- Calculated, estimated, past participle of berechnen
- Kindern
- Children, dative plural of Kind
- Zucht
- Breeding, cultivation, raising of animals or plants
- zurückbehalten
- To retain, keep back, hold in reserve
- werden
- Auxiliary verb meaning 'will' or 'to become'
- mögen
- Modal verb meaning 'may', 'to like', or 'might'
- wovon
- Relative pronoun meaning 'of which' or 'from which'
- nur
- Adverb meaning 'only' or 'just'
- Viertel
- Noun meaning 'quarter', one fourth of something
- männlich
- Adjective meaning 'male' or 'masculine'
- sein
- To be; also possessive pronoun 'his' or 'its'
- soll
- Modal verb meaning 'shall', 'should', or 'is supposed to'
- was
- Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'
- mehr
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'more'
- Schafen
- Sheep, dative plural of Schaf
- Schweinen
- Pigs, swine, dative plural of Schwein
- zugestehen
- To concede, grant, allow or admit something
- mein
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'my'
- Grund
- Reason, cause, ground or foundation for something
- dafür
- Pronominal adverb meaning 'for it' or 'for that'
- diese
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'these' or 'this'
- Kinder
- Children, plural of Kind
- selten
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'rarely' or 'rare'
- Früchte
- Fruits, plural of Frucht; also figurative results
- Ehe
- Marriage, the state of being married
- Umstand
- Circumstance, condition, a surrounding fact or situation
- unsere
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'our'
- Wilden
- Savages, wild people, dative plural of Wilde
- wenig
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'little' or 'few'
- Beachtung
- Attention, heed, regard paid to something
- schenken
- To give as a gift; also to pay attention to
- weshalb
- Conjunction meaning 'why' or 'for which reason'
- männliches
- Male, masculine, adjective in inflected neuter form
- Tier
- Animal, a living creature other than a human
- ausreichen
- To suffice, be enough, be adequate for a purpose
- um
- Preposition meaning 'around', 'at', or 'in order to'
- vier
- The number four
- weiblichen
- Female, feminine, adjective in inflected form
- zu
- Preposition or particle meaning 'to', 'too', or 'at'
- Dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that', introducing a subordinate clause
- verbleibenden
- Remaining, the ones left over, inflected participle
- Verkauf
- Sale, the act of selling something
- an
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'on', or 'to'
- vornehmen
- Distinguished, noble, upper-class, inflected form
- begüterten
- Wealthy, affluent, well-to-do, inflected adjective
- Personen
- Persons, people, plural of Person
- ganzen
- Whole, entire, complete, adjective in inflected form
- Königreich
- Kingdom, a country ruled by a king or queen
- angeboten
- Offered, presented for sale, past participle of anbieten
- wobei
- Conjunction meaning 'whereby', 'in which', 'with which'
- Mutter
- Mother, a female parent
- stets
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'constantly'
- geraten
- Advised, recommended; also past participle of geraten
- sollte
- Should, past subjunctive of sollen
- letzten
- Last, final, most recent, inflected adjective
- Monat
- Month, one of twelve divisions of the calendar year
- reichlich
- Abundantly, plentifully, more than enough
- saugen
- To suckle, nurse, or suck; to feed on milk
- lassen
- To let, allow, or have something done
- prall
- Plump, full, tightly rounded, well-filled out
- fett
- Fat, fatty, greasy, or obese
- für
- Preposition meaning 'for'
- gute
- Adjective meaning 'good', inflected feminine form
- Tafel
- Table, dining table; also a formal meal or board
- machen
- To make, do, or create something
- bei
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'near', or 'with'
- Gastmahl
- Banquet, feast, a formal celebratory dinner
- Freunde
- Friends, plural of Freund
- zwei
- The number two
- Gerichte
- Dishes, courses of a meal; also courts of law
- ergeben
- To yield, produce, result in something
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- Familie
- Family, a group of related people living together
- allein
- Alone, by oneself, without others present
- speist
- Dines, eats a meal, third person of speisen
- Vorder-
- Front, fore-, referring to the front part of something
- Hinterviertel
- Hindquarter, the rear section of an animal carcass
- angemessenes
- Appropriate, suitable, adequate, inflected adjective
- Gericht
- Dish, course of a meal; also a court of law
- abgeben
- To give off, yield, produce or hand over
- etwas
- Pronoun or adverb meaning 'something' or 'somewhat'
- Pfeffer
- Pepper, a common spice used in cooking
- Salz
- Salt, a mineral used to season and preserve food
- gewürzt
- Seasoned, spiced, past participle of würzen
- vierten
- Fourth, ordinal number in inflected form
- Tag
- Day, a 24-hour period of time
- besonders
- Especially, particularly, in a special manner
- Winter
- Winter, the coldest season of the year
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