Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 4
I will tell an old-world story which I heard from an aged man;
Racconterò una storia antica che ho sentito da un vecchio;
for Critias was, as he said, at that time nearly ninety years of age, and I was about ten years of age.
poiché Crizia aveva, come egli disse, a quel tempo quasi novant'anni, e io ne avevo circa dieci.
Now the day was that day of the Apaturia which is called the registration of youth; 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.
Ora, il giorno era quel giorno delle Apaturia che è chiamato la registrazione dei giovani; nel quale, secondo la consuetudine, i nostri genitori davano premi per le recitazioni, e le poesie di vari poeti venivano recitate da noi ragazzi, e molti di noi cantarono le poesie di Solone, che erano nuove a quel tempo.
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 della nostra tribù, o perché questa era la sua vera opinione, o perché pensava di fare cosa gradita a Crizia, disse che, a suo giudizio, Solone era non solo il più saggio degli uomini ma il più nobile dei poeti.
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."
Il vecchio, lo ricordo bene, si animò a queste parole, e disse sorridendo: «Sì, Aminandro, se Solone avesse soltanto, come gli altri poeti, fatto della poesia l'occupazione della sua vita, e avesse completato il racconto che portò con sé dall'Egitto, e non fosse stato costretto, a causa delle fazioni e dei tumulti che trovò in fermento in questo paese al suo ritorno, ad occuparsi di altre faccende, a mio avviso sarebbe stato famoso quanto Omero, o Esiodo, o qualsiasi poeta.»
"And what was that poem about, Critias?" said the person who addressed him.
«E di cosa trattava quel poema, Crizia?» disse la persona che gli si rivolgeva.
Vocabulary
- Racconterò
- I will tell; first person future of raccontare
- una
- A, an; indefinite article feminine singular
- storia
- Story, history; a narrative or account
- antica
- Ancient, old; describing something from long ago
- che
- That, which, who; multipurpose conjunction or pronoun
- ho
- I have; first person singular of avere
- sentito
- Heard, felt; past participle of sentire
- da
- From, by; preposition indicating origin or agent
- un
- A, an; indefinite article masculine singular
- vecchio
- Old man, elderly; adjective or noun for aged person
- poiché
- Since, because; conjunction introducing a causal clause
- aveva
- He/she had; third person singular imperfect of avere
- come
- As, how, like; conjunction or adverb of manner
- egli
- He; third person masculine singular subject pronoun
- disse
- He/she said; third person singular past of dire
- a
- To, at; preposition indicating location or direction
- quel
- That; demonstrative adjective masculine singular
- tempo
- Time, weather; period or moment in general sense
- quasi
- Almost, nearly; adverb indicating approximation
- novant'anni
- Ninety years; contracted form of novanta anni
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- io
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- ne
- Of it, of them; partitive or pronominal particle
- avevo
- I had; first person singular imperfect of avere
- circa
- About, approximately; adverb indicating rough quantity
- dieci
- Ten; the cardinal number 10
- Ora
- Now; adverb indicating the present moment
- il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- giorno
- Day; a 24-hour period or daytime
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- delle
- Of the; preposition di combined with feminine plural article
- è
- Is; third person singular present of essere
- chiamato
- Called, named; past participle of chiamare
- la
- The; definite article feminine singular
- registrazione
- Registration, enrollment; act of officially recording members
- dei
- Of the; preposition di combined with masculine plural article
- giovani
- Young people, youth; plural noun or adjective
- nel
- In the; preposition in combined with masculine singular article
- quale
- Which, who; relative pronoun or interrogative adjective
- secondo
- According to, second; preposition or ordinal number
- consuetudine
- Custom, habit; established practice or tradition
- i
- The; definite article masculine plural
- nostri
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective masculine plural
- genitori
- Parents; plural noun referring to mother and father
- davano
- They were giving; third person plural imperfect of dare
- premi
- Prizes, rewards; plural of premio
- per
- For, through; preposition indicating purpose or means
- le
- The; definite article feminine plural
- recitazioni
- Recitations, performances; plural of recitazione
- poesie
- Poems, poetry; plural of poesia
- di
- Of, by; preposition indicating possession or authorship
- vari
- Various, several; adjective indicating diversity or plurality
- poeti
- Poets; plural of poeta, writers of verse
- venivano
- They were coming, were being; imperfect of venire
- recitate
- Recited, performed; past participle of recitare, feminine plural
- noi
- We, us; first person plural subject pronoun
- ragazzi
- Boys, kids; plural noun for young males or children
- molti
- Many; adjective or pronoun indicating large quantity
- cantarono
- They sang; third person plural past of cantare
- erano
- They were; third person plural imperfect of essere
- nuove
- New; adjective feminine plural, recently created or unknown
- Uno
- One, someone; indefinite pronoun or cardinal number
- della
- Of the; preposition di combined with feminine singular article
- nostra
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective feminine singular
- tribù
- Tribe, clan; social or political kinship group
- o
- Or; disjunctive coordinating conjunction
- perché
- Because, why; conjunction of cause or interrogative adverb
- questa
- This; demonstrative adjective or pronoun feminine singular
- sua
- His, her, its; third person singular possessive adjective feminine
- vera
- True, real; adjective indicating truth or genuineness
- opinione
- Opinion, view; personal belief or judgment on a matter
- pensava
- He/she thought; third person singular imperfect of pensare
- fare
- To do, to make; basic infinitive verb of action
- cosa
- Thing, what; noun or interrogative pronoun
- gradita
- Pleasing, welcome; past participle of gradire, feminine
- suo
- His, her, its; third person singular possessive adjective masculine
- giudizio
- Judgment, opinion; assessment or verdict on something
- non
- Not; basic negation adverb
- solo
- Only, alone; adverb or adjective indicating singularity
- più
- More, most; adverb of degree or comparison
- saggio
- Wise, wise man; adjective or noun indicating wisdom
- degli
- Of the; preposition di combined with masculine plural article
- uomini
- Men; plural of uomo, adult male human beings
- ma
- But; adversative coordinating conjunction
- nobile
- Noble; adjective indicating high moral or social quality
- Il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- lo
- Him, it; direct object pronoun masculine singular
- ricordo
- I remember, memory; verb or noun related to recollection
- bene
- Well, good; adverb indicating manner or degree
- si
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun third person
- animò
- He/she became animated; third person singular past of animarsi
- queste
- These; demonstrative adjective or pronoun feminine plural
- parole
- Words; plural of parola, units of spoken or written language
- sorridendo
- Smiling; gerund of sorridere, present participle form
- Sì
- Yes; affirmative response particle
- se
- If, himself; conditional conjunction or reflexive pronoun
- avesse
- He/she had; third person singular past subjunctive of avere
- soltanto
- Only, just; adverb indicating exclusivity or limitation
- gli
- The, to him; definite article or indirect object pronoun
- altri
- Others; pronoun or adjective indicating other people
- fatto
- Done, made; past participle of fare
- poesia
- Poetry, poem; literary art form in verse
- l'occupazione
- The occupation, pursuit; one's main activity or work
- vita
- Life; the state of being alive or one's existence
- completato
- Completed, finished; past participle of completare
- racconto
- Story, tale; a short narrative account
- portò
- He/she brought; third person singular past of portare
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- sé
- Himself, herself; stressed reflexive pronoun third person
- fosse
- He/she was; third person singular past subjunctive of essere
- stato
- Been, state; past participle of essere or noun
- costretto
- Forced, compelled; past participle of costringere
- causa
- Cause, reason; noun indicating origin of an event
- fazioni
- Factions; rival political or social groups in conflict
- tumulti
- Tumults, riots; plural of tumulto, violent public disorder
- trovò
- He/she found; third person singular past of trovare
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or state
- fermento
- Ferment, turmoil; state of agitation or unrest
- questo
- This; demonstrative adjective or pronoun masculine singular
- paese
- Country, town, village; place where people live
- al
- To the; preposition a combined with masculine singular article
- ritorno
- Return; the act of coming back to a place
- ad
- To, at; variant of a before vowels
- occuparsi
- To deal with, attend to; reflexive infinitive of occupare
- altre
- Other; adjective feminine plural indicating different things
- faccende
- Affairs, chores; tasks or matters requiring attention
- mio
- My; first person singular possessive adjective masculine
- avviso
- Opinion, notice; one's view or a formal notification
- sarebbe
- He/she would be; third person singular conditional of essere
- famoso
- Famous, renowned; adjective indicating widespread recognition
- quanto
- As much as, how much; comparative or interrogative word
- qualsiasi
- Any, whatever; indefinite adjective indicating any choice
- poeta
- Poet; person who writes poetry or verse
- E
- And; coordinating conjunction
- trattava
- It dealt with; third person singular imperfect of trattare
- poema
- Poem, epic; longer literary work written in verse
- persona
- Person; an individual human being
- rivolgeva
- He/she addressed, turned to; imperfect of rivolgere
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