Anna Karenina — Page 3
The liberal party said that marriage is an institution quite out of date, and that it needs reconstruction; and family life certainly afforded Stepan Arkadyevitch little gratification, and forced him into lying and hypocrisy, which was so repulsive to his nature.
Die liberale Partei sagte, dass die Ehe eine völlig veraltete Institution sei und einer Neugestaltung bedürfe; und das Familienleben bot Stepan Arkadjewitch gewiss wenig Befriedigung und zwang ihn zu Lüge und Heuchelei, was seiner Natur so zuwider war.
The liberal party said, or rather allowed it to be understood, that religion is only a curb to keep in check the barbarous classes of the people; and Stepan Arkadyevitch could not get through even a short service without his legs aching from standing up, and could never make out what was the object of all the terrible and high-flown language about another world when life might be so very amusing in this world.
Die liberale Partei sagte, oder ließ vielmehr verstehen, dass die Religion nur ein Zügel sei, um die barbarischen Volksklassen im Zaum zu halten; und Stepan Arkadjewitch konnte selbst einen kurzen Gottesdienst nicht überstehen, ohne dass ihm vom langen Stehen die Beine schmerzten, und konnte nie begreifen, was der Sinn all der schrecklichen und hochgestochenen Worte über eine andere Welt sein sollte, wenn das Leben in dieser Welt so überaus vergnüglich sein konnte.
And with all this, Stepan Arkadyevitch, who liked a joke, was fond of puzzling a plain man by saying that if he prided himself on his origin, he ought not to stop at Rurik and disown the first founder of his family—the monkey.
Und bei alledem pflegte Stepan Arkadjewitch, der gern scherzte, einen schlichten Mann damit in Verlegenheit zu bringen, dass er sagte, wer auf seine Herkunft stolz sei, dürfe nicht bei Rurik haltmachen und den ersten Stammvater seiner Familie — den Affen — verleugnen.
And so Liberalism had become a habit of Stepan Arkadyevitch's, and he liked his newspaper, as he did his cigar after dinner, for the slight fog it diffused in his brain.
Und so war der Liberalismus zur Gewohnheit Stepan Arkadjewittschs geworden, und er mochte seine Zeitung ebenso wie seine Zigarre nach dem Mittagessen, wegen des leichten Nebels, den sie in seinem Gehirn verbreitete.
Vocabulary
- liberale
- Adjective meaning open-minded, progressive, or favoring freedom
- Partei
- A political party or organized group
- sagte
- Past tense of sagen; said or stated
- dass
- Conjunction meaning that, introducing a subordinate clause
- Ehe
- Marriage, the legal union between partners
- völlig
- Completely, entirely, or totally
- veraltete
- Outdated, obsolete, no longer relevant or modern
- Institution
- An established organization or social structure
- sei
- Subjunctive form of sein; be (reported speech)
- Neugestaltung
- Redesign, restructuring, or reshaping of something
- bedürfe
- Subjunctive of bedürfen; to require or need something
- Familienleben
- Family life, domestic existence within a family unit
- bot
- Past tense of bieten; offered or provided something
- gewiss
- Certainly, surely, or a certain degree of something
- wenig
- Little, few, or not much of something
- Befriedigung
- Satisfaction, fulfillment, or gratification
- zwang
- Past tense of zwingen; forced or compelled someone
- Lüge
- A lie, an intentionally false statement
- Heuchelei
- Hypocrisy, pretending to have virtues one lacks
- Natur
- Nature, character, or innate disposition of a person
- zuwider
- Repugnant, contrary to, or deeply unpleasant
- ließ
- Past tense of lassen; let, allowed, or had done
- vielmehr
- Rather, or more precisely, indicating a correction
- verstehen
- To understand or comprehend something
- Religion
- Religion, a system of spiritual belief and practice
- Zügel
- Reins or bridle; figuratively a restraint or check
- barbarischen
- Barbaric, uncivilized, or savage in character
- Volksklassen
- Social classes of the common people or masses
- Zaum
- Bridle; im Zaum halten means to keep in check
- halten
- To hold, keep, or maintain something
- konnte
- Past tense of können; could or was able to
- selbst
- Even or oneself; emphasizing a subject
- kurzen
- Short, brief in duration or length
- Gottesdienst
- Church service, religious worship ceremony
- überstehen
- To endure, survive, or get through something difficult
- Stehen
- Standing, the act of being upright on one's feet
- Beine
- Legs, the lower limbs of the body
- schmerzten
- Past tense of schmerzen; ached or caused pain
- nie
- Never, at no time
- begreifen
- To grasp, comprehend, or understand something
- Sinn
- Sense, meaning, or purpose of something
- schrecklichen
- Terrible, dreadful, or frightening in nature
- hochgestochenen
- Highfalutin, pretentious, or pompous in style
- Worte
- Words, units of spoken or written language
- Welt
- World, the earth or a sphere of existence
- sollte
- Past subjunctive of sollen; should or was supposed to
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning when or if
- Leben
- Life, existence, or the experience of living
- überaus
- Extremely, exceedingly, or very much so
- vergnüglich
- Enjoyable, pleasurable, or delightful
- alledem
- Despite all that, with all of this considered
- pflegte
- Past tense of pflegen; was accustomed to, used to
- gern
- Gladly, willingly, or with pleasure
- scherzte
- Past tense of scherzen; joked or made fun
- schlichten
- Simple, plain, or ordinary in character
- Mann
- Man, an adult male person
- damit
- With that, so that, or in order to
- Verlegenheit
- Embarrassment, awkwardness, or uncomfortable situation
- bringen
- To bring, take, or put into a state
- Herkunft
- Origin, descent, or background of a person
- stolz
- Proud, feeling pride or satisfaction in something
- dürfe
- Subjunctive of dürfen; may or be allowed to
- haltmachen
- To stop, halt, or make a pause
- Stammvater
- Founding ancestor, progenitor of a family lineage
- Familie
- Family, a group of related persons
- Affen
- Apes or monkeys; primates related to humans
- verleugnen
- To deny, disown, or renounce someone or something
- Liberalismus
- Liberalism, political philosophy favoring individual freedoms
- Gewohnheit
- Habit, a regular practice or custom
- geworden
- Past participle of werden; become or have become
- mochte
- Past tense of mögen; liked or may have
- Zeitung
- Newspaper, a daily printed publication of news
- ebenso
- Just as, equally, or in the same way
- Zigarre
- Cigar, a rolled tobacco product for smoking
- Mittagessen
- Lunch, the midday meal
- wegen
- Preposition meaning because of or due to
- leichten
- Light, mild, or slight in degree
- Nebels
- Genitive of Nebel; of the fog or mist
- Gehirn
- Brain, the organ of thought and cognition
- verbreitete
- Past tense of verbreiten; spread or distributed widely
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