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The liberal party said that marriage is an institution quite out of date, and that it needs reconstruction; and family life certainly afforded Stepan Arkadyevitch little gratification, and forced him into lying and hypocrisy, which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.
El partido liberal decía que el matrimonio es una institución completamente anticuada y que necesita ser reconstruida; y la vida familiar ciertamente le proporcionaba a Stepan Arkadyevitch escasa satisfacción, y le obligaba a mentir y a la hipocresía, lo cual era tan repulsivo para su naturaleza.
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.
El partido liberal decía, o más bien daba a entender, que la religión no es más que un freno para contener a las clases bárbaras del pueblo; y Stepan Arkadyevitch no podía resistir ni siquiera un oficio breve sin que le doliesen las piernas de estar de pie, y nunca lograba comprender cuál era el propósito de todo aquel lenguaje terrible y grandilocuente sobre otro mundo cuando la vida podía ser tan sumamente divertida en este mundo.
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.
Y con todo esto, Stepan Arkadyevitch, al que le gustaban las bromas, se complacía en desconcertar a los hombres sencillos diciéndoles que si se enorgullecían de su origen, no debían detenerse en Rurik y renegar del primer fundador de su familia: el mono.
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.
Y así el liberalismo se había convertido en un hábito de Stepan Arkadyevitch, y le gustaba su periódico, igual que el cigarro después de cenar, por la ligera neblina que difundía en su cerebro.
Vocabulary
- partido
- Political party or group sharing common beliefs.
- liberal
- Favoring individual freedoms and progressive political views.
- decía
- Past imperfect of 'decir'; was saying or used to say.
- matrimonio
- Legal and social union between two people; marriage.
- institución
- Established organization or social structure in society.
- completamente
- Adverb meaning totally, entirely, or completely.
- anticuada
- Outdated, old-fashioned, or no longer relevant or modern.
- ser
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to be' (permanent states).
- reconstruida
- Rebuilt or restructured; past participle of 'reconstruir'.
- vida
- Life; the existence and experience of a living being.
- familiar
- Related to family; pertaining to household or relatives.
- ciertamente
- Adverb meaning certainly, surely, or without doubt.
- proporcionaba
- Was providing or supplying something to someone; imperfect tense.
- escasa
- Scarce, little, or insufficient in amount or degree.
- satisfacción
- Feeling of pleasure or fulfillment from an experience.
- obligaba
- Was forcing or compelling someone to do something.
- mentir
- To lie; to say something that is not true.
- hipocresía
- Hypocrisy; pretending to have virtues one does not possess.
- cual
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'who'.
- repulsivo
- Disgusting or causing strong feelings of aversion.
- naturaleza
- Nature; the inherent character or essence of someone.
- daba
- Past imperfect of 'dar'; was giving or used to give.
- entender
- To understand; to comprehend meaning or information.
- religión
- Religion; a system of faith and worship practices.
- freno
- Brake or restraint; something that controls or limits behavior.
- contener
- To contain, hold back, or restrain something or someone.
- clases
- Classes; social groups or categories within society.
- bárbaras
- Barbaric or uncivilized; considered primitive or savage.
- pueblo
- The people, common folk, or a small town.
- podía
- Past imperfect of 'poder'; was able to or could.
- resistir
- To resist, endure, or withstand something difficult.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor'; negates options.
- siquiera
- Even; used with 'ni' to mean 'not even'.
- oficio
- Religious service or ceremony; also means trade or occupation.
- breve
- Brief or short in duration or length.
- doliesen
- Past subjunctive of 'doler'; that they would ache or hurt.
- piernas
- Legs; the lower limbs of the human body.
- estar
- To be; used for temporary states, conditions, or locations.
- pie
- Foot; the lower extremity of the leg; also 'standing'.
- nunca
- Never; at no time in the past or future.
- lograba
- Was managing to achieve or succeed in doing something.
- comprender
- To understand or comprehend something fully.
- cuál
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'what'.
- propósito
- Purpose, aim, or intention behind an action.
- aquel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (distant reference).
- lenguaje
- Language or manner of speaking used by people.
- terrible
- Terrible or dreadful; causing fear or strong negative feeling.
- grandilocuente
- Grandiloquent; using pompous or overly elaborate language.
- mundo
- World; the earth or a particular realm of existence.
- sumamente
- Extremely or highly; to the greatest possible degree.
- divertida
- Fun, entertaining, or amusing; enjoyable to experience.
- gustaban
- Past imperfect of 'gustar'; used to please or be liked.
- bromas
- Jokes or pranks intended to amuse or tease others.
- complacía
- Was pleased or delighted in doing something; imperfect tense.
- desconcertar
- To disconcert, confuse, or unsettle someone's composure.
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings.
- sencillos
- Simple, plain, or straightforward people without pretension.
- diciéndoles
- Telling them; gerund of 'decir' with indirect object pronoun.
- enorgullecían
- Were proud of; past imperfect of 'enorgullecerse'.
- origen
- Origin or source; where something or someone comes from.
- debían
- Were obliged to or should; past imperfect of 'deber'.
- detenerse
- To stop oneself; reflexive verb meaning to halt or pause.
- renegar
- To renounce or disown; to deny connection to something.
- fundador
- Founder; person who establishes something for the first time.
- familia
- Family; a group of related people living together.
- mono
- Monkey; a primate; also can mean cute in informal speech.
- así
- Adverb meaning 'thus,' 'so,' or 'in this way'.
- liberalismo
- Liberalism; political ideology emphasizing individual freedoms.
- convertido
- Converted or turned into; past participle of 'convertir'.
- hábito
- Habit; a routine behavior done regularly and automatically.
- gustaba
- Used to like; past imperfect of 'gustar'.
- periódico
- Newspaper; a printed publication of daily or weekly news.
- igual
- Equal, same, or just like; used to draw comparisons.
- cigarro
- Cigarette or cigar; a rolled tobacco product for smoking.
- después
- Adverb meaning 'after' or 'afterwards' in time.
- cenar
- To have dinner; to eat the evening meal.
- ligera
- Light, slight, or mild; not heavy or intense.
- neblina
- Mist or light fog that reduces visibility slightly.
- difundía
- Was spreading or diffusing through something; imperfect tense.
- cerebro
- Brain; the organ responsible for thought and cognition.
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