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.
Il sacerdote egiziano aveva detto a Solone: «Voi non avete antichità della storia, né storia dell'antichità;» e Solone senza dubbio comprese pienamente la vasta importanza di una cronaca che riportava la storia umana indietro, non solo di migliaia di anni prima dell'era della civiltà greca, ma di molte migliaia di anni prima persino della fondazione del regno d'Egitto; ed egli era ansioso di preservare per i suoi concittadini semi-civilizzati questo inestimabile documento del passato.
We know of no better way to commence a book about Atlantis than by giving in full the record preserved by Plato.
Non conosciamo modo migliore per iniziare un libro sull'Atlantide che riportare per intero la cronaca conservata da Platone.
It is as follows:
È la seguente:
Critias. Then listen, Socrates, to a strange tale, which is, however, certainly true, as Solon, who was the wisest of the seven sages, declared.
Crizia. Ascolta dunque, Socrate, uno strano racconto, che è tuttavia certamente vero, come dichiarò Solone, che era il più saggio dei sette sapienti.
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....
Egli era un parente e grande amico del mio bisnonno, Dropida, come egli stesso afferma in varie sue poesie; e Dropida raccontò a Crizia, mio nonno, il quale ricordava, e ci riferì, che un tempo vi furono grandi e meravigliose imprese degli Ateniesi, cadute nell'oblio con il passare del tempo e la distruzione della razza umana, e una in particolare, che era la più grande di tutte, il cui racconto sarà una testimonianza adeguata della nostra gratitudine verso di te....
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!
Socrate. Molto bene; e qual è questa antica e famosa impresa di cui parlò Crizia, non come una semplice leggenda, ma come una vera e propria azione dello Stato ateniese, che Solone narrò!
Critias.
Crizia.
Vocabulary
- sacerdote
- A priest or religious minister
- egiziano
- Relating to or originating from Egypt
- aveva
- Third person singular past tense of 'avere' (to have)
- detto
- Past participle of 'dire'; said or spoken
- antichità
- The quality or state of being ancient; antiquity
- storia
- History or a narrative story
- né
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither'
- senza
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- dubbio
- Doubt or uncertainty about something
- comprese
- Third person singular past tense of 'comprendere' (to understand)
- pienamente
- Fully or completely, without reservation
- vasta
- Vast, wide, or extensive in scope
- importanza
- The quality of being significant or important
- cronaca
- A chronicle or detailed historical record of events
- riportava
- Imperfect tense of 'riportare'; was bringing back or reporting
- umana
- Feminine adjective meaning 'human' or 'humane'
- indietro
- Adverb meaning 'back' or 'backward' in time or space
- solo
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'only' or 'alone'
- migliaia
- Plural noun meaning 'thousands' of something
- anni
- Plural of 'anno'; years of time
- prima
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'before' or 'earlier'
- era
- Third person singular imperfect of 'essere' (to be)
- civiltà
- Civilization or an advanced stage of human society
- greca
- Feminine adjective meaning 'Greek' or relating to Greece
- molte
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'many' or 'much'
- persino
- Adverb meaning 'even' emphasizing an extreme case
- fondazione
- The founding or establishment of something new
- regno
- A kingdom or domain ruled by a monarch
- Egitto
- Egypt, the ancient and modern North African country
- egli
- Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he'
- ansioso
- Feeling anxious, eager, or desirous to do something
- preservare
- To preserve, protect, or maintain something intact
- suoi
- Masculine plural possessive adjective meaning 'his/her/its'
- concittadini
- Fellow citizens sharing the same city or country
- semi
- Prefix meaning 'half' or 'partially' when combined
- civilizzati
- Civilized; having reached an advanced level of culture
- questo
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this'
- inestimabile
- Invaluable or priceless; impossible to estimate in value
- documento
- A document or written record containing important information
- passato
- The past; time that has already occurred
- conosciamo
- First person plural present of 'conoscere' (to know)
- modo
- A way, manner, or method of doing something
- migliore
- Comparative adjective meaning 'better' or 'best'
- iniziare
- To begin, start, or initiate something
- libro
- A book, written or printed literary work
- riportare
- To report, bring back, or reproduce information
- intero
- Entire, whole, or complete without omission
- conservata
- Preserved or kept intact over time
- seguente
- Following or coming next in sequence
- Ascolta
- Imperative of 'ascoltare'; listen or pay attention
- dunque
- Adverb or conjunction meaning 'therefore' or 'so then'
- strano
- Strange, odd, or unusual in nature
- racconto
- A story, tale, or short narrative account
- tuttavia
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'nevertheless' or 'however'
- certamente
- Adverb meaning 'certainly' or 'without a doubt'
- vero
- True or real; corresponding to fact or reality
- dichiarò
- Third person singular past tense of 'dichiarare' (to declare)
- più
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'most' in comparisons
- saggio
- Wise, or a wise person; also an essay or test
- sette
- The number seven
- sapienti
- Wise men or sages with great knowledge
- Egli
- Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he'
- parente
- A relative or family member
- grande
- Adjective meaning 'great', 'large', or 'important'
- amico
- A friend or close companion
- mio
- First person singular possessive adjective meaning 'my'
- bisnonno
- A great-grandfather, two generations above a grandparent
- stesso
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'same' or 'himself/itself'
- afferma
- Third person singular present of 'affermare' (to affirm/state)
- varie
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'various' or 'several'
- sue
- Feminine plural possessive adjective meaning 'his/her/its'
- poesie
- Poems or poetic compositions; plural of 'poesia'
- raccontò
- Third person singular past tense of 'raccontare' (to tell)
- nonno
- A grandfather or elderly male ancestor
- quale
- Relative pronoun or adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'
- ricordava
- Imperfect tense of 'ricordare'; used to remember something
- ci
- First person plural pronoun meaning 'us' or 'to us'
- riferì
- Third person singular past tense of 'riferire' (to report)
- tempo
- Time, or a specific period of weather or duration
- vi
- Second person plural or locative pronoun meaning 'there'
- furono
- Third person plural past tense of 'essere' (to be)
- grandi
- Plural adjective meaning 'great', 'large', or 'important'
- meravigliose
- Wonderful, marvelous, or extraordinarily impressive
- imprese
- Enterprises, deeds, or great undertakings; plural of 'impresa'
- Ateniesi
- The Athenians; inhabitants or citizens of ancient Athens
- cadute
- Fallen or dropped; past participle of 'cadere' (to fall)
- oblio
- Oblivion; the state of being completely forgotten
- passare
- To pass, go by, or elapse (said of time)
- distruzione
- Destruction; the act of destroying or ruining completely
- razza
- Race, breed, or species of people or animals
- particolare
- Particular, specific, or especially noteworthy detail
- tutte
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'all' or 'every'
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'of which', or 'whom'
- sarà
- Third person singular future tense of 'essere' (to be)
- testimonianza
- Testimony, evidence, or witness to an event
- adeguata
- Adequate, sufficient, or appropriately fitting
- nostra
- Feminine singular possessive adjective meaning 'our'
- gratitudine
- Gratitude; the feeling of being thankful toward someone
- verso
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'
- te
- Second person singular stressed pronoun meaning 'you'
- Molto
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'very' or 'much/many'
- bene
- Adverb meaning 'well'; noun meaning 'good' or 'asset'
- qual
- Shortened form of 'quale' meaning 'which' or 'what'
- questa
- Feminine demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this'
- antica
- Feminine adjective meaning 'ancient' or 'old'
- famosa
- Famous or well-known; celebrated for achievements
- impresa
- A deed, enterprise, or remarkable undertaking
- parlò
- Third person singular past tense of 'parlare' (to speak)
- semplice
- Simple, plain, or uncomplicated in nature
- leggenda
- A legend or traditional story of uncertain historical truth
- vera
- Feminine adjective meaning 'true', 'real', or 'genuine'
- propria
- Feminine adjective meaning 'own', 'proper', or 'one's own'
- azione
- An action, act, or deed performed deliberately
- Stato
- The State or government as a political entity
- ateniese
- Adjective meaning 'Athenian'; relating to Athens
- narrò
- Third person singular past tense of 'narrare' (to narrate)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →