← 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

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 9

English → Pt Full Text Level 9/10

But in order to justify my friend, he confessed, that this expedient was put into his head by the famous Psalmanaazor, a native of the island Formosa, who came from thence to London, above twenty years ago, and in conversation told my friend, that in his country, when any young person happened to be put to death, the executioner sold the carcass to persons of quality, as a prime dainty; and that, in his time, the body of a plump girl of fifteen, who was crucified for an attempt to poison the Emperor, was sold to his imperial majesty's prime minister of state, and other great mandarins of the court in joints from the gibbet, at four hundred crowns.

Mas a fim de justificar o meu amigo, ele confessou que esse expediente lhe foi sugerido pelo famoso Psalmanaazor, natural da ilha Formosa, que de lá veio a Londres há mais de vinte anos, e em conversa disse ao meu amigo que, em seu país, quando algum jovem era condenado à morte, o carrasco vendia o cadáver a pessoas de qualidade, como uma iguaria de primeira; e que, em seu tempo, o corpo de uma jovem rechonchuda de quinze anos, que foi crucificada por tentativa de envenenamento do Imperador, foi vendido ao primeiro-ministro de estado de sua majestade imperial, e a outros grandes mandarins da corte, em postas retiradas da forca, por quatrocentas coroas.

Neither indeed can I deny, that if the same use were made of several plump young girls in this town, who without one single groat to their fortunes, cannot stir abroad without a chair, and appear at a playhouse and assemblies in foreign fineries which they never will pay for, the kingdom would not be the worse.

Na verdade, também não posso negar que, se o mesmo uso fosse feito de várias jovens rechonchudas desta cidade, que sem um único vintém de fortuna, não podem sair sem uma cadeirinha, e aparecem no teatro e em assembleias com adornos estrangeiros pelos quais jamais pagarão, o reino não ficaria pior.

Some persons of a desponding spirit are in great concern about that vast number of poor people, who are aged, diseased, or maimed; and I have been desired to employ my thoughts what course may be taken, to ease the nation of so grievous an incumbrance.

Algumas pessoas de espírito abatido estão muito preocupadas com o vasto número de pobres que são idosos, doentes ou mutilados; e fui solicitado a empregar meus pensamentos sobre que medidas poderiam ser tomadas para aliviar a nação de tão pesado fardo.

Vocabulary

Mas: mahz — Conjunction meaning 'but,' introducing contrast.
a: ah — Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine).
fim: feeng — Noun meaning 'end' or 'purpose.'
de: deh — Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from.'
justificar: zhoos-tee-fee-kar — Verb meaning 'to justify' or 'to explain.'
o: oh — Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine).
meu: meh-oo — Possessive pronoun meaning 'my' (masculine).
amigo: ah-mee-goo — Noun meaning 'friend' (masculine).
ele: eh-leh — Personal pronoun meaning 'he.'
confessou: kon-feh-soh — Verb meaning 'he confessed' or 'he admitted.'
que: keh — Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which.'
esse: eh-seh — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' (near listener).
expediente: es-peh-dee-en-teh — Noun meaning 'expedient,' 'device,' or 'means.'
lhe: lyeh — Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to him/her/you.'
foi: foy — Verb meaning 'was' or 'went' (past tense).
sugerido: soo-zheh-ree-doo — Past participle meaning 'suggested' or 'proposed.'
pelo: peh-loo — Contraction of 'por' and 'o,' meaning 'by the.'
famoso: fah-moh-zoo — Adjective meaning 'famous' or 'well-known.'
natural: nah-too-ral — Adjective meaning 'native' or 'natural.'
da: dah — Contraction of 'de' and 'a,' meaning 'of the.'
ilha: ee-lyah — Noun meaning 'island.'
lá: lah — Adverb meaning 'there' (distant location).
veio: veh-yoo — Verb meaning 'came' (third person singular past).
há: ah — Verb meaning 'there is/are' or 'ago.'
mais: mah-ees — Adverb meaning 'more' or 'most.'
vinte: veen-teh — Number meaning 'twenty.'
anos: ah-noosh — Noun meaning 'years' (plural).
e: eh — Conjunction meaning 'and.'
em: eng — Preposition meaning 'in' or 'at.'
conversa: kon-vehr-zah — Noun meaning 'conversation' or 'talk.'
disse: dee-seh — Verb meaning 'said' (third person singular past).
ao: ow — Contraction of 'a' and 'o,' meaning 'to the.'
seu: seh-oo — Possessive pronoun meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'your.'
país: pah-eesh — Noun meaning 'country' or 'nation.'
quando: kwan-doo — Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when.'
algum: al-goom — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'some' or 'any.'
jovem: zhoh-veng — Adjective or noun meaning 'young' or 'young person.'
era: eh-rah — Verb meaning 'was' (imperfect past tense).
condenado: kon-deh-nah-doo — Past participle meaning 'condemned' or 'sentenced.'
à: ah — Contraction of 'a' and 'a,' meaning 'to the' (feminine).
morte: mor-teh — Noun meaning 'death.'
carrasco: kah-hras-koo — Noun meaning 'executioner' or 'hangman.'
vendia: ven-dee-ah — Verb meaning 'used to sell' (imperfect past).
cadáver: kah-dah-vehr — Noun meaning 'corpse' or 'dead body.'
pessoas: peh-soh-ahsh — Noun meaning 'people' or 'persons' (plural).
qualidade: kwah-lee-dah-deh — Noun meaning 'quality' or 'grade.'
como: koh-moo — Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as' or 'like.'
uma: oo-mah — Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (feminine).
iguaria: ee-gwah-ree-ah — Noun meaning 'delicacy' or 'special dish.'
primeira: pree-meh-rah — Adjective meaning 'first' (feminine form).
tempo: tem-poo — Noun meaning 'time' or 'weather.'
corpo: kor-poo — Noun meaning 'body' (human or animal).
rechonchuda: heh-shon-shoo-dah — Adjective meaning 'plump' or 'chubby' (feminine).
quinze: keen-zeh — Number meaning 'fifteen.'
crucificada: kroo-see-fee-kah-dah — Past participle meaning 'crucified' (feminine form).
por: por — Preposition meaning 'for,' 'by,' or 'through.'
tentativa: ten-tah-tee-vah — Noun meaning 'attempt' or 'try.'
envenenamento: en-veh-neh-nah-men-too — Noun meaning 'poisoning' or 'act of poisoning.'
do: doo — Contraction of 'de' and 'o,' meaning 'of the.'
Imperador: eem-peh-rah-dor — Noun meaning 'Emperor,' a supreme ruler.
vendido: ven-dee-doo — Past participle meaning 'sold.'
primeiro-ministro: pree-meh-roo mee-nees-troo — Noun meaning 'prime minister,' head of government.
estado: es-tah-doo — Noun meaning 'state,' 'condition,' or 'estate.'
sua: soo-ah — Possessive pronoun meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'your' (feminine).
majestade: mah-zhes-tah-deh — Noun meaning 'majesty,' used for royalty.
imperial: eem-peh-ree-al — Adjective meaning 'imperial,' relating to an empire.
outros: oh-troosh — Pronoun meaning 'others' or 'other' (masculine plural).
grandes: gran-desh — Adjective meaning 'great' or 'large' (plural).
corte: kor-teh — Noun meaning 'court' (royal or judicial).
postas: pos-tahsh — Noun meaning 'slices' or 'cuts' of meat.
retiradas: heh-tee-rah-dahsh — Past participle meaning 'removed' or 'taken out' (feminine plural).
forca: for-kah — Noun meaning 'gallows' or 'hanging apparatus.'
quatrocentas: kwah-troo-sen-tahsh — Number meaning 'four hundred' (feminine form).
coroas: koh-roh-ahsh — Noun meaning 'crowns,' a currency or royal symbol.
Na: nah — Contraction of 'em' and 'a,' meaning 'in the' (feminine).
verdade: vehr-dah-deh — Noun meaning 'truth.'
também: tam-beng — Adverb meaning 'also' or 'too.'
não: now — Adverb meaning 'no' or 'not.'
posso: poh-soo — Verb meaning 'I can' or 'I am able.'
negar: neh-gar — Verb meaning 'to deny' or 'to refuse.'
se: seh — Conjunction meaning 'if' or reflexive pronoun 'oneself.'
mesmo: mez-moo — Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even.'
uso: oo-zoo — Noun meaning 'use' or 'custom.'
fosse: foh-seh — Verb meaning 'were' (subjunctive imperfect of 'ser/ir').
feito: feh-ee-too — Past participle meaning 'done' or 'made.'
várias: vah-ree-ahsh — Adjective meaning 'various' or 'several' (feminine plural).
jovens: zhoh-vengsh — Noun or adjective meaning 'young people' or 'young.'
rechonchudas: heh-shon-shoo-dahsh — Adjective meaning 'plump' or 'chubby' (feminine plural).
desta: des-tah — Contraction of 'de' and 'esta,' meaning 'of this' (feminine).
cidade: see-dah-deh — Noun meaning 'city' or 'town.'
sem: seng — Preposition meaning 'without.'
único: oo-nee-koo — Adjective meaning 'only' or 'unique.'
vintém: veen-teng — Noun meaning a small coin; 'a penny' historically.
fortuna: for-too-nah — Noun meaning 'fortune' or 'wealth.'
podem: poh-deng — Verb meaning 'they can' or 'they are able.'
sair: sah-eer — Verb meaning 'to go out' or 'to leave.'
cadeirinha: kah-deh-ee-ree-nyah — Noun meaning 'sedan chair' or 'small chair.'
aparecem: ah-pah-reh-seng — Verb meaning 'they appear' or 'they show up.'
no: noo — Contraction of 'em' and 'o,' meaning 'in the' (masculine).
teatro: teh-ah-troo — Noun meaning 'theater' or 'theatre.'
assembleias: ah-sem-bleh-yahsh — Noun meaning 'assemblies' or 'gatherings' (plural).
adornos: ah-dor-noosh — Noun meaning 'adornments' or 'decorations' (plural).
estrangeiros: es-tran-zheh-roosh — Adjective or noun meaning 'foreign' or 'foreigners.'
pelos: peh-loosh — Contraction of 'por' and 'os,' meaning 'by the' (plural).
quais: kwah-ees — Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom' (plural).
jamais: zhah-mah-ees — Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever.'
pagarão: pah-gah-row — Verb meaning 'they will pay' (future tense).
reino: heh-ee-noo — Noun meaning 'kingdom' or 'realm.'
ficaria: fee-kah-ree-ah — Verb meaning 'would be' or 'would remain.'
pior: pee-or — Adjective meaning 'worse' or 'worst.'
Algumas: al-goo-mahsh — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'some' (feminine plural).
espírito: es-pee-ree-too — Noun meaning 'spirit' or 'mind.'
abatido: ah-bah-tee-doo — Adjective meaning 'downcast,' 'dejected,' or 'depressed.'
estão: es-tow — Verb meaning 'they are' (present tense of 'estar').
muito: mwee-too — Adverb meaning 'very' or 'much.'
preocupadas: preh-oh-koo-pah-dahsh — Adjective meaning 'worried' or 'concerned' (feminine plural).
vasto: vahs-too — Adjective meaning 'vast' or 'large.'
número: noo-meh-roo — Noun meaning 'number' or 'quantity.'
pobres: poh-breh-sh — Adjective or noun meaning 'poor' or 'poor people.'
são: sow — Verb meaning 'they are' (present tense of 'ser').
idosos: ee-doh-zoosh — Noun or adjective meaning 'elderly' or 'old people.'
doentes: doo-en-tesh — Adjective or noun meaning 'sick' or 'ill people.'
ou: oh — Conjunction meaning 'or.'
mutilados: moo-tee-lah-doosh — Adjective or noun meaning 'mutilated' or 'disabled people.'
fui: fwee — Verb meaning 'I was' or 'I went' (past tense).
solicitado: soh-lee-see-tah-doo — Past participle meaning 'requested' or 'asked.'
empregar: em-preh-gar — Verb meaning 'to employ' or 'to use.'
meus: meh-oosh — Possessive pronoun meaning 'my' (masculine plural).
pensamentos: pen-sah-men-toosh — Noun meaning 'thoughts' or 'ideas' (plural).
sobre: soh-breh — Preposition meaning 'about,' 'on,' or 'over.'
medidas: meh-dee-dahsh — Noun meaning 'measures' or 'steps' (plural).
poderiam: poh-deh-ree-ang — Verb meaning 'they could' or 'they might' (conditional).
ser: sehr — Verb meaning 'to be' (permanent or essential states).
tomadas: toh-mah-dahsh — Past participle meaning 'taken' or 'adopted' (feminine plural).
para: pah-rah — Preposition meaning 'for,' 'to,' or 'in order to.'
aliviar: ah-lee-vee-ar — Verb meaning 'to relieve' or 'to alleviate.'
nação: nah-sow — Noun meaning 'nation' or 'country.'
tão: tow — Adverb meaning 'so' or 'as' (degree).
pesado: peh-zah-doo — Adjective meaning 'heavy' or 'burdensome.'
fardo: far-doo — Noun meaning 'burden,' 'load,' or 'bale.'

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