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.
El sacerdote egipcio le había dicho a Solón: «No tenéis antigüedad en la historia, ni historia de la antigüedad»; y Solón sin duda comprendió plenamente la enorme importancia de un registro que remontaba la historia humana no solo miles de años antes de la era de la civilización griega, sino muchos miles de años antes incluso del establecimiento del reino de Egipto; y estaba ansioso por preservar para sus compatriotas semicivilizados este inestimable registro del pasado.
We know of no better way to commence a book about Atlantis than by giving in full the record preserved by Plato.
No conocemos mejor manera de comenzar un libro sobre la Atlántida que ofreciendo íntegramente el registro conservado por Platón.
It is as follows:
Es el siguiente:
Critias. Then listen, Socrates, to a strange tale, which is, however, certainly true, as Solon, who was the wisest of the seven sages, declared.
Critias. Escucha entonces, Sócrates, una extraña historia que es, sin embargo, ciertamente verdadera, según declaró Solón, el más sabio de los siete sabios.
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....
Era pariente y gran amigo de mi bisabuelo Dropidas, según él mismo afirma en varios de sus poemas; y Dropidas le contó a Critias, mi abuelo, quien lo recordó y nos contó, que hubo en la antigüedad grandes y maravillosas hazañas de los atenienses que han caído en el olvido con el paso del tiempo y la destrucción de la raza humana, y una en particular, que fue la más grande de todas, cuyo relato será un testimonio adecuado de nuestra gratitud hacia ti....
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!
Sócrates. Muy bien; ¿y cuál es esta antigua y famosa hazaña de la que habló Critias, no como una mera leyenda, sino como una acción verídica del Estado ateniense, que Solón relató?
Critias.
Critias.
Vocabulary
- sacerdote
- A priest or religious minister
- egipcio
- Relating to or from Egypt; Egyptian
- le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to him/her/you'
- había
- Past perfect auxiliary verb 'had' (from haber)
- dicho
- Past participle of decir; 'said' or 'told'
- tenéis
- Second person plural present of tener; 'you all have'
- antigüedad
- Antiquity; the quality of being ancient or old
- historia
- History or story; account of past events
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither'
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- duda
- Doubt; uncertainty about something
- comprendió
- Third person singular preterite of comprender; 'understood'
- plenamente
- Fully, completely, in an entire or total manner
- enorme
- Enormous; very large in size or degree
- importancia
- Importance; the quality of being significant
- registro
- A record, log, or official written account
- remontaba
- Imperfect of remontar; 'went back' or 'dated back'
- humana
- Feminine adjective meaning 'human'; relating to humanity
- solo
- Only, alone; not accompanied or not merely
- miles
- Thousands; plural of mil meaning one thousand
- años
- Years; plural of año meaning one calendar year
- antes
- Before; previously in time or order
- era
- An era or age; a long distinct period of history
- civilización
- Civilization; an advanced stage of human society
- griega
- Feminine adjective meaning 'Greek'; relating to Greece
- sino
- Conjunction meaning 'but rather' or 'but instead'
- muchos
- Many; a large number of people or things
- incluso
- Even; including something unexpected or additional
- establecimiento
- Establishment; the founding or setting up of something
- reino
- A kingdom; territory ruled by a king or queen
- estaba
- Imperfect of estar; 'was' indicating a state or condition
- ansioso
- Anxious or eager; feeling strong desire or worry
- preservar
- To preserve; to keep something safe from harm
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'their'
- compatriotas
- Compatriots; fellow citizens of the same country
- semicivilizados
- Half-civilized; only partially developed culturally
- este
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' (masculine)
- inestimable
- Invaluable; too precious to be measured or estimated
- pasado
- The past; time that has already occurred
- conocemos
- First person plural present of conocer; 'we know'
- mejor
- Better or best; superior in quality or degree
- manera
- Manner or way; a method of doing something
- comenzar
- To begin or start; to initiate an action
- libro
- A book; a written or printed literary work
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'about,' 'on,' or 'over'
- ofreciendo
- Gerund of ofrecer; 'offering' or 'presenting'
- íntegramente
- Entirely, completely, in full without omissions
- conservado
- Preserved or conserved; kept intact over time
- siguiente
- Following or next; the one that comes after
- Escucha
- Imperative of escuchar; 'listen' as a command
- entonces
- Then; at that time or as a consequence
- extraña
- Strange or unusual; not normal or familiar
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo' meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'
- ciertamente
- Certainly; without doubt, in a sure manner
- verdadera
- Feminine adjective meaning 'true' or 'genuine'
- según
- According to; as stated by someone or something
- declaró
- Preterite of declarar; 'declared' or 'stated'
- más
- More; a greater quantity, degree, or extent
- sabio
- Wise man or sage; a person of great wisdom
- siete
- The number seven
- sabios
- Wise men or sages; plural of sabio
- Era
- Imperfect of ser; 'was' indicating a permanent state
- pariente
- A relative or family member; kin
- gran
- Great; large or important before a noun
- amigo
- A friend; a person one has a bond with
- mi
- Possessive adjective meaning 'my'
- bisabuelo
- Great-grandfather; grandfather's or grandmother's father
- él
- Subject pronoun meaning 'he'
- mismo
- Same or himself; used for emphasis or identity
- afirma
- Third person singular present of afirmar; 'affirms'
- varios
- Several or various; more than two but not many
- poemas
- Poems; plural of poema, literary verse compositions
- contó
- Preterite of contar; 'told' or 'recounted'
- abuelo
- Grandfather; the father of one's parent
- quien
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'whom'
- lo
- Direct object pronoun meaning 'it' or 'him'
- recordó
- Preterite of recordar; 'remembered' or 'recalled'
- nos
- First person plural object pronoun meaning 'us'
- hubo
- Preterite of haber; 'there was/were' (events occurred)
- grandes
- Great or large; plural adjective of gran/grande
- maravillosas
- Marvelous or wonderful; causing admiration and wonder
- hazañas
- Feats or exploits; remarkable or heroic deeds
- atenienses
- Athenians; citizens or inhabitants of ancient Athens
- han
- Third person plural present of haber; auxiliary 'have'
- caído
- Past participle of caer; 'fallen' into a state
- olvido
- Oblivion or forgetfulness; state of being forgotten
- paso
- Passage or step; the passing or movement of something
- tiempo
- Time or weather; the passage of moments or duration
- destrucción
- Destruction; the act of ruining or demolishing something
- raza
- Race or lineage; a group sharing common ancestry
- particular
- Particular or specific; relating to one specific thing
- fue
- Preterite of ser/ir; 'was' or 'went'
- grande
- Great or large; impressive in size or importance
- todas
- All; every one of a feminine plural group
- cuyo
- Relative possessive pronoun meaning 'whose'
- relato
- A story, account, or narrative of events
- será
- Future of ser; 'will be'
- testimonio
- Testimony or witness; evidence or proof of something
- adecuado
- Adequate or appropriate; sufficient for a purpose
- nuestra
- Possessive adjective meaning 'our' (feminine singular)
- gratitud
- Gratitude; the feeling of being thankful
- hacia
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'
- ti
- Object pronoun meaning 'you' after a preposition
- Muy
- Very; used to intensify an adjective or adverb
- bien
- Well or good; in a satisfactory manner
- cuál
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'what'
- esta
- Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'this'
- antigua
- Ancient or old; existing from a long time ago
- famosa
- Famous or renowned; widely known and celebrated
- hazaña
- A feat or heroic deed; a remarkable achievement
- habló
- Preterite of hablar; 'spoke' or 'talked'
- como
- As or like; used for comparison or manner
- mera
- Mere or simple; nothing more than what is stated
- leyenda
- A legend; a traditional story of mythical origin
- acción
- Action or deed; something done or carried out
- verídica
- Truthful or factual; based on actual truth
- Estado
- State; a political community or governmental body
- ateniense
- Athenian; relating to or from the city of Athens
- relató
- Preterite of relatar; 'narrated' or 'related'
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