A Tale of Two Cities — Page 7

English → De CHAPTER I. Level 8/10

You've got a dutiful mother, you have, my son.

Du hast eine pflichtbewusste Mutter, das hast du, mein Sohn.

You've got a religious mother, you have, my boy: going and flopping herself down, and praying that the bread-and-butter may be snatched out of the mouth of her only child."

Du hast eine fromme Mutter, das hast du, mein Junge: die hingeht und sich niederwirft und betet, dass das tägliche Brot aus dem Mund ihres einzigen Kindes gerissen werden möge."

Master Cruncher (who was in his shirt) took this very ill, and, turning to his mother, strongly deprecated any praying away of his personal board.

Junger Cruncher (der nur im Hemd war) nahm dies sehr übel und wandte sich an seine Mutter, wobei er jegliches Wegbeten seiner persönlichen Verpflegung entschieden missbilligte.

"And what do you suppose, you conceited female," said Mr. Cruncher, with unconscious inconsistency, "that the worth of _your_ prayers may be?

„Und was glaubst du wohl, du eingebildetes Weib," sagte Mr. Cruncher mit unbewusster Widersprüchlichkeit, „was deine Gebete wert sein mögen?

Name the price that you put _your_ prayers at!"

Nenn den Preis, den du deinen Gebeten beimisst!""

"They only come from the heart, Jerry. They are worth no more than that."

„Sie kommen nur von Herzen, Jerry. Sie sind nicht mehr wert als das."

"Worth no more than that," repeated Mr. Cruncher. "They ain't worth much, then.

„Nicht mehr wert als das," wiederholte Mr. Cruncher. „Dann taugen sie ja nicht viel.

Whether or no, I won't be prayed agin, I tell you.

Wie dem auch sei, ich lasse mich nicht wegbeten, das sage ich dir.

I can't afford it.

Das kann ich mir nicht leisten.

I'm not a going to be made unlucky by _your_ sneaking.

Ich werde mir nicht durch dein heimliches Treiben Unglück einhandeln lassen.

If you must go flopping yourself down, flop in favour of your husband and child, and not in opposition to 'em.

Wenn du dich schon niederzuwerfen hast, dann wirf dich zugunsten deines Mannes und deines Kindes nieder, und nicht gegen sie.

If I had had any but a unnat'ral wife, and this poor boy had had any but a unnat'ral mother, I might have made some money last week instead of being counter-prayed and countermined and religiously circumwented into the worst of luck.

Hätte ich irgendeine andere als eine naturwidrige Frau gehabt, und hätte dieser arme Junge irgendeine andere als eine naturwidrige Mutter gehabt, hätte ich letzte Woche vielleicht etwas Geld verdient, anstatt weggebetet und untergraben und auf religiöse Weise in das schlimmste Unglück hineingezwungen zu werden.

B-u-u-ust me!" said Mr.

V-e-e-erdammt mich!" sagte Mr.

Vocabulary

pflichtbewusste: Conscientious, having a strong sense of duty
fromme: Pious, devoutly religious or deeply reverent
hingeht: Goes there, third person singular of 'hingehen'
niederwirft: Prostrates oneself, throws oneself down in prayer
betet: Prays, third person singular of 'beten'
tägliche: Daily, occurring or needed every day
einzigen: Only, sole, the one and no other
gerissen: Past participle of 'reißen', meaning torn or snatched away
möge: Subjunctive form of 'mögen', expressing a wish or hope
Hemd: Shirt, a garment worn on the upper body
übel: Bad, ill, or offensive; 'übel nehmen' means to take offense
wandte: Past tense of 'wenden', meaning 'turned'
wobei: Relative adverb meaning 'whereby' or 'in doing so'
jegliches: Any, every kind of, all forms of something
Wegbeten: Praying away, removing something through prayer
persönlichen: Personal, relating to or affecting an individual person
Verpflegung: Provisions, food supply, or catering for sustenance
entschieden: Decidedly, firmly, in a resolute or determined manner
missbilligte: Disapproved of, expressed disapproval or objection toward
wohl: Modal particle meaning 'probably' or 'I suppose'
eingebildetes: Conceited, arrogant, or self-important
Weib: Old or derogatory term for woman or wife
unbewusster: Unconscious, unaware, without conscious intention
Widersprüchlichkeit: Contradictoriness, the quality of being contradictory
Gebete: Prayers, spoken or mental addresses to a deity
wert: Worth, having a certain value or merit
mögen: Modal verb meaning 'to like' or 'may'
Nenn: Imperative of 'nennen', meaning 'name' or 'tell'
Preis: Price or prize, the cost or value of something
Gebeten: Dative plural of 'Gebet', meaning prayers
beimisst: Assigns or attributes value to something
Herzen: Dative of 'Herz', heart; 'von Herzen' means sincerely
wiederholte: Repeated, past tense of 'wiederholen'
taugen: To be good for, to be useful or of value
sei: Subjunctive form of 'sein', meaning 'be'
wegbeten: To pray away, to remove something by means of prayer
leisten: To afford or achieve; 'sich leisten' means to afford something
heimliches: Secret, covert, done without others' knowledge
Treiben: Doings, activities, scheming, or carrying-on
Unglück: Misfortune, bad luck, or a disaster
einhandeln: To bring upon oneself, to acquire something unwanted
niederzuwerfen: To prostrate oneself, to throw oneself down
wirf: Imperative of 'werfen', meaning 'throw'
zugunsten: In favor of, for the benefit of someone
nieder: Down, low; separable prefix meaning downward
Hätte: Subjunctive past of 'haben', meaning 'would have had'
irgendeine: Any, some (unspecified), some kind of
naturwidrige: Unnatural, contrary to nature or the natural order
hätte: Subjunctive past of 'haben', meaning 'would have'
verdient: Earned or deserved; past participle of 'verdienen'
anstatt: Instead of, in place of something else
weggebetet: Prayed away, removed through persistent prayer
untergraben: Undermined, weakened something from beneath or covertly
religiöse: Religious, relating to or concerning religion
Weise: Way, manner, or means of doing something
schlimmste: Worst, the most terrible or severe degree
hineingezwungen: Forced into, compelled to enter a difficult situation
V-e-e-erdammt: Damn, a profanity spelled out for dramatic emphasis

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