Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 3
The Egyptian priest had said to Solon, "You have no antiquity of history, and no history of antiquity;" and Solon doubtless realized fully the vast importance of a record which carried human history back, not only thousands of years before the era of Greek civilization, but many thousands of years before even the establishment of the kingdom of Egypt; and he was anxious to preserve for his half-civilized countrymen this inestimable record of the past.
Der ägyptische Priester hatte zu Solon gesagt: „Ihr habt keine Altertümlichkeit der Geschichte und keine Geschichte des Altertums;" und Solon erkannte zweifellos vollständig die immense Bedeutung einer Aufzeichnung, die die menschliche Geschichte nicht nur Tausende von Jahren vor der Ära der griechischen Zivilisation zurückführte, sondern viele Tausende von Jahren selbst vor der Gründung des Königreichs Ägypten; und er war bestrebt, seinen halbzivilisierten Landsleuten dieses unschätzbare Zeugnis der Vergangenheit zu bewahren.
We know of no better way to commence a book about Atlantis than by giving in full the record preserved by Plato.
Wir kennen keinen besseren Weg, ein Buch über Atlantis zu beginnen, als die von Platon überlieferte Aufzeichnung vollständig wiederzugeben.
It is as follows:
Sie lautet wie folgt:
Critias. Then listen, Socrates, to a strange tale, which is, however, certainly true, as Solon, who was the wisest of the seven sages, declared.
Kritias. So höre, Sokrates, einer seltsamen Geschichte zu, die jedoch gewiss wahr ist, wie Solon erklärte, der der weiseste der sieben Weisen war.
He was a relative and great friend of my great-grandfather, Dropidas, as he himself says in several of his poems; and Dropidas told Critias, my grandfather, who remembered, and told us, that there were of old great and marvellous actions of the Athenians, which have passed into oblivion through time and the destruction of the human race and one in particular, which was the greatest of them all, the recital of which will be a suitable testimony of our gratitude to you....
Er war ein Verwandter und enger Freund meines Urgroßvaters Dropidas, wie er selbst in mehreren seiner Gedichte sagt; und Dropidas erzählte Kritias, meinem Großvater, der sich erinnerte und uns berichtete, dass es einst große und wunderbare Taten der Athener gab, die durch die Zeit und die Vernichtung des Menschengeschlechts in Vergessenheit geraten sind, und eine im Besonderen, die die größte von allen war, deren Schilderung ein angemessenes Zeugnis unserer Dankbarkeit Euch gegenüber sein wird....
Socrates. Very good; and what is this ancient famous action of which Critias spoke, not as a mere legend, but as a veritable action of the Athenian State, which Solon recounted!
Sokrates. Sehr gut; und was ist diese altberühmte Tat, von der Kritias sprach, nicht als bloße Legende, sondern als eine wahrhaftige Tat des athenischen Staates, die Solon berichtete!
Critias.
Kritias.
Vocabulary
- ägyptische
- Adjective meaning Egyptian, relating to Egypt
- Priester
- A religious leader or cleric; priest
- hatte
- Past tense of 'haben'; had
- gesagt
- Past participle of 'sagen'; said or spoken
- Ihr
- Second-person plural pronoun meaning you all
- habt
- Second-person plural present of 'haben'; you have
- keine
- Negative article meaning no or not any
- Altertümlichkeit
- Quality of being ancient or antique; antiquity
- Geschichte
- History or story; narrative of past events
- Altertums
- Genitive form of Altertum; of antiquity
- erkannte
- Past tense of 'erkennen'; recognized or realized
- zweifellos
- Adverb meaning without doubt; undoubtedly
- vollständig
- Adjective or adverb meaning completely or fully
- immense
- Adjective meaning immense or enormous in size
- Bedeutung
- Noun meaning importance, significance, or meaning
- Aufzeichnung
- A written record or documentation of something
- menschliche
- Adjective meaning human or relating to humanity
- Tausende
- Noun meaning thousands; large number of something
- Jahren
- Dative plural of Jahr; years
- Ära
- A distinct period in history; era or age
- griechischen
- Adjective meaning Greek, relating to Greece
- Zivilisation
- Noun meaning civilization; organized human society
- zurückführte
- Past tense of 'zurückführen'; traced back to origin
- sondern
- Conjunction meaning but rather; correcting a negation
- viele
- Adjective or pronoun meaning many or numerous
- selbst
- Reflexive pronoun or adverb meaning even or itself
- Gründung
- Founding or establishment of an organization or state
- Königreichs
- Genitive of Königreich; of the kingdom
- Ägypten
- The country Egypt in northern Africa
- bestrebt
- Adjective meaning eager or striving to do something
- halbzivilisierten
- Adjective meaning half-civilized or partially civilized
- Landsleuten
- Dative plural of Landsmann; fellow countrymen
- unschätzbare
- Adjective meaning invaluable or inestimably precious
- Zeugnis
- A testimony, certificate, or piece of evidence
- Vergangenheit
- Noun meaning the past; time already elapsed
- bewahren
- Verb meaning to preserve, protect, or keep safe
- kennen
- Verb meaning to know or be familiar with
- keinen
- Accusative negative article meaning no or not any
- besseren
- Comparative adjective meaning better in comparison
- Weg
- Noun meaning way, path, or method
- Buch
- Noun meaning book; written or printed work
- beginnen
- Verb meaning to begin or start something
- überlieferte
- Past tense of 'überliefern'; handed down or transmitted
- wiederzugeben
- Infinitive meaning to reproduce or recount something
- lautet
- Third-person singular of 'lauten'; reads or states
- folgt
- Third-person singular of 'folgen'; follows
- höre
- Imperative or first-person of 'hören'; listen or hear
- seltsamen
- Adjective meaning strange, odd, or peculiar
- jedoch
- Conjunction or adverb meaning however or yet
- gewiss
- Adjective or adverb meaning certain or certainly
- wahr
- Adjective meaning true or genuine
- erklärte
- Past tense of 'erklären'; declared or explained
- weiseste
- Superlative of 'weise'; wisest
- sieben
- The number seven
- Weisen
- Plural of Weise; wise men or sages
- Verwandter
- Noun meaning relative or family relation
- enger
- Comparative adjective meaning closer or narrower
- Freund
- Noun meaning friend or close companion
- Urgroßvaters
- Genitive of Urgroßvater; of the great-grandfather
- mehreren
- Adjective meaning several or various
- Gedichte
- Plural of Gedicht; poems or poetic works
- erzählte
- Past tense of 'erzählen'; narrated or told a story
- Großvater
- Noun meaning grandfather; father's or mother's father
- erinnerte
- Past tense of 'erinnern'; remembered or recalled
- berichtete
- Past tense of 'berichten'; reported or informed
- einst
- Adverb meaning once or at one time in past
- große
- Adjective meaning great or large
- wunderbare
- Adjective meaning wonderful or marvelous
- Taten
- Plural of Tat; deeds or acts performed
- Athener
- Noun meaning Athenians; inhabitants of Athens
- gab
- Past tense of 'geben'; gave or there were
- Zeit
- Noun meaning time; duration or period
- Vernichtung
- Noun meaning destruction or annihilation
- Menschengeschlechts
- Genitive of Menschengeschlecht; of the human race
- Vergessenheit
- Noun meaning oblivion or state of being forgotten
- geraten
- Past participle of 'geraten'; fallen into a state
- Besonderen
- Noun form of 'besonders'; in particular or especially
- größte
- Superlative of 'groß'; greatest or largest
- deren
- Genitive relative pronoun meaning whose or of which
- Schilderung
- Noun meaning description or depiction of events
- angemessenes
- Adjective meaning appropriate or fitting
- Dankbarkeit
- Noun meaning gratitude or thankfulness
- Euch
- Second-person plural object pronoun meaning you all
- gegenüber
- Preposition meaning toward or opposite; regarding
- gut
- Adjective or adverb meaning good or well
- altberühmte
- Adjective meaning long-famous or renowned since antiquity
- Tat
- Noun meaning deed, act, or action performed
- sprach
- Past tense of 'sprechen'; spoke
- bloße
- Adjective meaning mere, bare, or only
- Legende
- Noun meaning legend; traditional story or myth
- wahrhaftige
- Adjective meaning truthful, genuine, or authentic
- athenischen
- Adjective meaning Athenian, relating to Athens
- Staates
- Genitive of Staat; of the state or nation
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