Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 4
I will tell an old-world story which I heard from an aged man;
Voy a contar una historia del mundo antiguo que escuché de un anciano;
for Critias was, as he said, at that time nearly ninety years of age,
pues Critias tenía, según él mismo decía, en aquel entonces casi noventa años de edad,
and I was about ten years of age.
y yo tenía alrededor de diez años de edad.
Now the day was that day of the Apaturia which is called the registration of youth;
Pues bien, el día en cuestión era aquel día de las Apatuiras que se llama el registro de la juventud;
at which, according to custom, our parents gave prizes for recitations, and the poems of several poets were recited by us boys, and many of us sung the poems of Solon, which were new at the time.
en el cual, según la costumbre, nuestros padres otorgaban premios por las recitaciones, y nosotros los muchachos recitábamos los poemas de varios poetas, y muchos de nosotros cantamos los poemas de Solón, que eran nuevos en aquella época.
One of our tribe, either because this was his real opinion, or because he thought that he would please Critias, said that, in his judgment, Solon was not only the wisest of men but the noblest of poets.
Uno de nuestra tribu, ya fuera porque esta era su opinión sincera, o porque pensó que agradaría a Critias, dijo que, a su juicio, Solón no era solo el más sabio de los hombres sino el más noble de los poetas.
The old man, I well remember, brightened up at this, and said, smiling: "Yes, Amynander, if Solon had only, like other poets, made poetry the business of his life, and had completed the tale which he brought with him from Egypt, and had not been compelled, by reason of the factions and troubles which he found stirring in this country when he came home, to attend to other matters, in my opinion he would have been as famous as Homer, or Hesiod, or any poet."
El anciano, lo recuerdo bien, se animó ante esto y dijo, sonriendo: «Sí, Aminandro, si Solón hubiera hecho, como otros poetas, de la poesía el oficio de su vida, y hubiera completado el relato que trajo consigo de Egipto, y no se hubiera visto obligado, a causa de las facciones y los conflictos que encontró agitándose en este país cuando regresó a casa, a ocuparse de otros asuntos, en mi opinión habría sido tan famoso como Homero, o Hesíodo, o cualquier poeta».
"And what was that poem about, Critias?" said the person who addressed him.
«¿Y de qué trataba ese poema, Critias?», dijo la persona que le habló.
Vocabulary
- Voy
- First person singular present of 'ir'; I go
- a
- Preposition indicating direction or infinitive marker
- contar
- To tell, narrate, or count something
- una
- Indefinite article, feminine singular; a, an
- historia
- Story, history, or narrative account
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el'; of the
- mundo
- The world or a particular realm of existence
- antiguo
- Ancient, old, or from a former time
- que
- Relative pronoun or conjunction meaning that, which, who
- escuché
- First person past tense of 'escuchar'; I heard
- de
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about
- un
- Indefinite article, masculine singular; a, an
- anciano
- An elderly man; old man
- pues
- Conjunction meaning well, since, or because
- tenía
- Third person imperfect of 'tener'; he/she had
- según
- Preposition meaning according to or depending on
- él
- Third person singular masculine pronoun; he
- mismo
- Adjective meaning same or himself, itself
- decía
- Third person imperfect of 'decir'; he/she was saying
- en
- Preposition meaning in, on, or at
- aquel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning that (distant); that particular
- entonces
- Adverb meaning then, at that time
- casi
- Adverb meaning almost, nearly, approximately
- noventa
- The number ninety
- años
- Years; plural of año
- edad
- Age; the number of years a person has lived
- y
- Conjunction meaning and
- yo
- First person singular pronoun; I
- alrededor
- Adverb meaning around, approximately, about a number
- diez
- The number ten
- Pues
- Discourse marker meaning well, so, then
- bien
- Adverb meaning well, good, or all right
- el
- Definite article, masculine singular; the
- día
- Day; a 24-hour period
- cuestión
- Question, matter, or issue under consideration
- era
- Third person imperfect of 'ser'; it/he/she was
- las
- Definite article, feminine plural; the
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or passive verbs
- llama
- Third person singular of 'llamar'; is called, named
- registro
- Registry, record, or formal enrollment of members
- la
- Definite article or pronoun, feminine singular; the, her
- juventud
- Youth; the period or quality of being young
- cual
- Relative pronoun meaning which or who
- costumbre
- Custom, habit, or tradition practiced regularly
- nuestros
- Possessive adjective, masculine plural; our
- padres
- Fathers or parents; plural of padre
- otorgaban
- Third person plural imperfect of 'otorgar'; they awarded
- premios
- Prizes, awards, or rewards given for achievement
- por
- Preposition meaning for, by, through, or because of
- recitaciones
- Recitations; formal verbal performances of memorized texts
- nosotros
- First person plural pronoun; we, us
- los
- Definite article or pronoun, masculine plural; the, them
- muchachos
- Boys, young men, or lads
- recitábamos
- First person plural imperfect of 'recitar'; we recited
- poemas
- Poems; plural of poema
- varios
- Various, several, or different ones
- poetas
- Poets; plural of poeta
- muchos
- Many, a lot of; referring to large quantity
- cantamos
- First person plural of 'cantar'; we sang or we sing
- eran
- Third person plural imperfect of 'ser'; they were
- nuevos
- New; masculine plural adjective meaning recently created
- aquella
- Demonstrative adjective, feminine; that (distant) one
- época
- Era, epoch, or period of time
- Uno
- One; the number one or a single person
- nuestra
- Possessive adjective, feminine singular; our
- tribu
- Tribe; a social group sharing common ancestry
- ya
- Adverb meaning already, now, or soon
- fuera
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'ser/ir'; were, might be
- porque
- Conjunction meaning because, for the reason that
- esta
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun, feminine; this
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning his, her, its, your, their
- opinión
- Opinion, view, or personal judgment on something
- sincera
- Sincere, genuine, honest; feminine form of sincero
- o
- Conjunction meaning or, offering an alternative
- pensó
- Third person singular preterite of 'pensar'; he/she thought
- agradaría
- Conditional of 'agradar'; it would please or be pleasing
- dijo
- Third person singular preterite of 'decir'; he/she said
- juicio
- Judgment, trial, or opinion about something
- no
- Negation adverb meaning no or not
- solo
- Alone, only, or sole; by oneself
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- sabio
- Wise, learned; a wise or knowledgeable person
- hombres
- Men or humans; plural of hombre
- sino
- Conjunction meaning but rather, but instead
- noble
- Noble; of high moral character or aristocratic rank
- El
- Definite article, masculine singular; the
- lo
- Direct object pronoun, masculine; him, it
- recuerdo
- Memory, recollection; or first person singular to remember
- animó
- Third person singular preterite of 'animar'; encouraged, cheered up
- ante
- Preposition meaning before, in front of, faced with
- esto
- Neuter demonstrative pronoun; this thing
- sonriendo
- Present participle of 'sonreír'; smiling
- Sí
- Affirmative adverb meaning yes
- si
- Conditional conjunction meaning if
- hubiera
- Past subjunctive of 'haber'; had (hypothetical or conditional)
- hecho
- Past participle of 'hacer'; done, made
- como
- Conjunction or adverb meaning like, as, or how
- otros
- Others; masculine plural of otro, meaning other people
- poesía
- Poetry; the art of writing poems
- oficio
- Trade, craft, occupation, or profession
- vida
- Life; the existence of a living being
- completado
- Past participle of 'completar'; completed, finished
- relato
- Story, account, or narrative report
- trajo
- Third person singular preterite of 'traer'; he/she brought
- consigo
- Reflexive pronoun meaning with himself/herself/itself
- Egipto
- Egypt; the country in northeastern Africa
- visto
- Past participle of 'ver'; seen
- obligado
- Obliged, forced, compelled to do something
- causa
- Cause, reason, or motive for something
- facciones
- Factions; rival political or social groups in conflict
- conflictos
- Conflicts; struggles or disagreements between opposing sides
- encontró
- Third person singular preterite of 'encontrar'; found, encountered
- agitándose
- Present participle of 'agitarse'; stirring up, becoming agitated
- este
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun, masculine; this
- país
- Country, nation; a sovereign state or territory
- cuando
- Conjunction or adverb meaning when
- regresó
- Third person singular preterite of 'regresar'; returned, came back
- casa
- House, home; a place where someone lives
- ocuparse
- Reflexive infinitive of 'ocupar'; to occupy oneself, deal with
- asuntos
- Affairs, matters, or issues to be dealt with
- mi
- Possessive adjective, first person singular; my
- habría
- Conditional of 'haber'; would have (auxiliary verb)
- sido
- Past participle of 'ser'; been
- tan
- Adverb meaning so, as, such; used in comparisons
- famoso
- Famous, well-known, celebrated for achievements
- cualquier
- Any, whichever; used before a noun to mean any one
- poeta
- Poet; a person who writes poems
- Y
- Conjunction meaning and
- qué
- Interrogative pronoun meaning what
- trataba
- Third person imperfect of 'tratar'; was about, dealt with
- ese
- Demonstrative adjective, masculine singular; that (nearby)
- poema
- Poem; a literary composition in verse form
- persona
- Person; a human individual
- le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning to him, to her, to you
- habló
- Third person singular preterite of 'hablar'; spoke, talked
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