A Tale of Two Cities — Page 1
The Period
Il Periodo
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Era il migliore dei tempi, era il peggiore dei tempi, era l'età della saggezza, era l'età della follia, era l'epoca della fede, era l'epoca dell'incredulità, era la stagione della Luce, era la stagione delle Tenebre, era la primavera della speranza, era l'inverno della disperazione, avevamo tutto davanti a noi, non avevamo nulla davanti a noi, stavamo andando tutti direttamente in Paradiso, stavamo andando tutti direttamente dall'altra parte -- in breve, quel periodo assomigliava talmente al periodo presente, che alcune delle sue autorità più rumorose insistevano che venisse accolto, nel bene o nel male, soltanto nel grado superlativo di paragone.
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France.
C'erano un re con una mascella pronunciata e una regina con un viso insignificante, sul trono d'Inghilterra; c'erano un re con una mascella pronunciata e una regina con un bel viso, sul trono di Francia.
In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.
In entrambi i paesi era più chiaro del cristallo per i signori delle riserve statali di pani e pesci, che le cose in generale fossero sistemate per sempre.
It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five.
Era l'anno del Signore millesettecentosettantacinque.
Spiritual revelations were conceded to England at that favoured period, as at this.
Rivelazioni spirituali erano concesse all'Inghilterra in quel periodo favorito, come in questo.
Mrs. Southcott had recently attained her five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of whom a prophetic private in the Life Guards had heralded the sublime appearance by announcing that arrangements were made for the swallowing up of London and Westminster.
La signora Southcott aveva recentemente compiuto il suo venticinquesimo benedetto compleanno, della quale un profetico soldato semplice delle Guardie del Corpo aveva preannunciato la sublime comparsa annunciando che erano stati presi accordi per l'inghiottimento di Londra e Westminster.
Vocabulary
- Periodo
- A span or stretch of time; a period
- Era
- A long and distinct historical age or era
- migliore
- Better or best; superlative/comparative of good
- dei
- Contraction of 'di' and 'i'; meaning 'of the'
- tempi
- Plural of tempo; times or periods in history
- era
- Third person singular imperfect of 'essere'; was
- peggiore
- Worse or worst; comparative/superlative of bad
- età
- Age, era, or period in a person's life or history
- della
- Contraction of 'di' and 'la'; meaning 'of the'
- saggezza
- The quality of being wise; wisdom or good judgment
- follia
- A state of madness or extreme foolishness; folly
- epoca
- A particular period of history; an epoch or era
- fede
- Strong belief or trust in someone or something; faith
- incredulità
- The state of being unwilling to believe; incredulity
- stagione
- One of the four divisions of the year; season
- Luce
- The natural brightness from the sun; light
- Tenebre
- Absence of light; darkness or gloom
- primavera
- The season between winter and summer; spring
- speranza
- A feeling of expectation and desire; hope
- inverno
- The coldest season of the year; winter
- disperazione
- A complete loss of hope; despair or desperation
- avevamo
- First person plural imperfect of avere; we had
- tutto
- The whole amount or quantity of something; everything
- davanti
- In front of or ahead of something; before
- nulla
- The complete absence of anything; nothing
- stavamo
- First person plural imperfect of stare; we were
- andando
- Gerund of andare; going or moving toward somewhere
- tutti
- Plural of tutto; all people or everyone together
- direttamente
- In a straight line or manner; directly
- Paradiso
- The place of ultimate happiness after death; paradise
- altra
- Feminine form of altro; different or another one
- parte
- A portion or side of something; part or direction
- breve
- Short in duration or length; brief
- quel
- Masculine singular demonstrative adjective; that
- periodo
- A span or stretch of time; a period
- assomigliava
- Third person singular imperfect of assomigliare; resembled
- talmente
- To such a degree or extent; so much or so
- presente
- The current moment or time; the present
- alcune
- Feminine plural of alcuno; some or a few
- autorità
- The power or right to give orders; authority
- più
- To a greater degree; more or most
- rumorose
- Making or characterized by a lot of noise; loud
- insistevano
- Third person plural imperfect of insistere; insisted
- venisse
- Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of venire; would come
- accolto
- Past participle of accogliere; received or welcomed
- bene
- In a good or satisfactory way; well or good
- male
- In a bad or unsatisfactory way; badly or evil
- soltanto
- No more than; only or just
- grado
- A level or degree of intensity or comparison
- superlativo
- The highest degree of a quality; superlative
- paragone
- An act of comparing things to evaluate them; comparison
- erano
- Third person plural imperfect of essere; they were
- re
- A male monarch who rules a kingdom; king
- mascella
- The lower part of the face; jaw or jawbone
- pronunciata
- Strongly marked or noticeable; pronounced or prominent
- regina
- A female monarch or king's wife; queen
- viso
- The front part of a person's head; face
- insignificante
- Having little or no importance or meaning; insignificant
- trono
- A ceremonial chair for a monarch; throne
- Inghilterra
- The country occupying the southern part of Britain; England
- bel
- Shortened form of bello; beautiful or handsome
- Francia
- A country in Western Europe; France
- entrambi
- Referring to two things together; both
- paesi
- Plural of paese; countries, nations, or villages
- chiaro
- Easy to perceive or understand; clear or bright
- cristallo
- A transparent glasslike mineral or material; crystal
- signori
- Plural of signore; gentlemen or lords
- riserve
- Plural of riserva; reserves or stored supplies
- statali
- Adjective relating to the state or government; state-owned
- pani
- Plural of pane; loaves of bread
- pesci
- Plural of pesce; fish as food or animals
- cose
- Plural of cosa; things, objects, or matters
- generale
- Affecting or concerning all or most; general
- fossero
- Third person plural imperfect subjunctive of essere; were
- sistemate
- Past participle plural of sistemare; arranged or sorted out
- sempre
- At all times or on every occasion; always
- anno
- A period of twelve months; year
- Signore
- A respectful title or reference to God; Lord
- millesettecentosettantacinque
- The number 1775; seventeen hundred and seventy-five
- Rivelazioni
- Plural of rivelazione; divine disclosures or revelations
- spirituali
- Relating to the spirit or religion; spiritual
- concesse
- Third person singular past of concedere; granted or allowed
- favorito
- A person preferred above others; favorite or favored one
- come
- In the same way as; like or as
- questo
- Masculine singular demonstrative pronoun; this one here
- signora
- A polite title for a woman; Mrs. or lady
- aveva
- Third person singular imperfect of avere; had
- recentemente
- Not long ago in time; recently
- compiuto
- Past participle of compiere; completed or turned an age
- venticinquesimo
- The ordinal number for twenty-five; twenty-fifth
- benedetto
- Declared holy or fortunate; blessed
- compleanno
- The anniversary of one's birth; birthday
- quale
- Relative pronoun meaning which or what; which
- profetico
- Relating to or containing a prophecy; prophetic
- soldato
- A person who serves in an army; soldier
- semplice
- Not elaborate or complicated; simple or plain
- Guardie
- Plural of guardia; guards protecting an important person
- Corpo
- An organized body of troops; corps or body
- preannunciato
- Past participle of preannunciare; announced or foretold in advance
- sublime
- Of great excellence or grandeur; sublime
- comparsa
- An appearance or arrival on a scene; appearance
- annunciando
- Gerund of annunciare; announcing or proclaiming publicly
- stati
- Plural of stato; states or past participle of essere
- presi
- Past participle plural of prendere; taken or seized
- accordi
- Plural of accordo; agreements or arrangements made together
- inghiottimento
- The act of swallowing or engulfing something completely
- Londra
- The capital city of England and the United Kingdom
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