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.
O sacerdote egípcio havia dito a Sólon: "Vós não tendes antiguidade da história, nem história da antiguidade;" e Sólon sem dúvida compreendeu plenamente a vasta importância de um registro que levava a história humana de volta, não apenas milhares de anos antes da era da civilização grega, mas muitos milhares de anos antes mesmo do estabelecimento do reino do Egito; e ele estava ansioso para preservar para seus compatriotas semicivilizados este inestimável registro do passado.
We know of no better way to commence a book about Atlantis than by giving in full the record preserved by Plato.
Não conhecemos maneira melhor de começar um livro sobre a Atlântida do que apresentando na íntegra o registro preservado por Platão.
It is as follows:
É o seguinte:
Critias. Then listen, Socrates, to a strange tale, which is, however, certainly true, as Solon, who was the wisest of the seven sages, declared.
Crítias. Então ouça, Sócrates, uma história estranha, que é, no entanto, certamente verdadeira, como declarou Sólon, que era o mais sábio dos sete sábios.
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....
Ele era parente e grande amigo do meu bisavô, Drópidas, como ele próprio afirma em vários de seus poemas; e Drópidas contou a Crítias, meu avô, que se lembrava, e nos contou, que houve antigamente grandes e maravilhosas ações dos atenienses, que caíram no esquecimento com o tempo e a destruição da raça humana, e uma em particular, que foi a maior de todas, cuja narrativa será um testemunho adequado da nossa gratidão para convosco....
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. Muito bem; e qual é esta antiga e famosa ação da qual Crítias falou, não como uma mera lenda, mas como uma ação verídica do Estado ateniense, que Sólon narrou!
Critias.
Crítias.
Vocabulary
- sacerdote
- A priest or religious official
- egípcio
- Relating to or from Egypt; Egyptian
- havia
- Past form of 'haver'; had, there had been
- dito
- Past participle of 'dizer'; said, told
- Vós
- Second person plural pronoun: 'you all'
- tendes
- Second person plural of 'ter'; you all have
- antiguidade
- The quality or state of being ancient; antiquity
- história
- A narrative of past events; history or story
- nem
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'not even'
- sem
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- dúvida
- Uncertainty or lack of certainty; doubt
- compreendeu
- Past tense of 'compreender'; he/she understood
- plenamente
- In a full or complete manner; fully, thoroughly
- vasta
- Of great extent or size; vast, immense
- importância
- The quality of being significant or valuable; importance
- registro
- An official written account or record
- levava
- Imperfect tense of 'levar'; was carrying or taking
- humana
- Relating to people or mankind; human
- volta
- A return or turn; back to a previous point
- apenas
- Adverb limiting quantity or scope; only, just
- milhares
- Plural of 'milhar'; thousands of units
- antes
- Adverb or preposition indicating prior time; before
- era
- A distinct period of history; era, age
- civilização
- An advanced stage of human social development; civilization
- grega
- Relating to or from Greece; Greek (feminine)
- muitos
- Adjective or pronoun indicating large number; many
- mesmo
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'
- estabelecimento
- The act of founding or creating something; establishment
- reino
- A territory ruled by a king or queen; kingdom
- estava
- Imperfect tense of 'estar'; was (in a state)
- ansioso
- Feeling worry or eagerness about something; anxious
- preservar
- To keep something safe from harm or loss; to preserve
- compatriotas
- People from the same country as oneself; compatriots
- semicivilizados
- Partially or incompletely civilized; semi-civilized
- inestimável
- Too valuable to be measured or priced; invaluable
- passado
- The period of time that has already occurred; past
- conhecemos
- First person plural of 'conhecer'; we know or are acquainted
- maneira
- A method or mode of doing something; way, manner
- melhor
- Comparative adjective meaning superior in quality; better
- começar
- To initiate or start an action; to begin
- livro
- A written or printed work; book
- apresentando
- Gerund of 'apresentar'; presenting or introducing something
- íntegra
- Complete and unaltered version of a text; full text
- preservado
- Past participle of 'preservar'; kept safe, preserved
- seguinte
- Coming immediately after; following, next
- Então
- Adverb indicating time or consequence; then, so
- ouça
- Imperative of 'ouvir'; listen! (formal command)
- estranha
- Unusual or unfamiliar in character; strange, odd
- entanto
- Used in 'no entanto' meaning 'nevertheless' or 'however'
- certamente
- Without doubt or uncertainty; certainly, surely
- verdadeira
- Conforming to reality or fact; true, genuine
- declarou
- Past tense of 'declarar'; he/she declared or stated
- sábio
- Having great wisdom or knowledge; wise, sage
- sábios
- Plural of 'sábio'; wise men, sages
- parente
- A person related by blood or marriage; relative
- bisavô
- The father of one's grandparent; great-grandfather
- próprio
- Belonging to oneself; own, proper, self
- afirma
- Third person singular of 'afirmar'; he/she affirms
- vários
- Adjective meaning more than one; various, several
- poemas
- Plural of 'poema'; pieces of literary verse; poems
- contou
- Past tense of 'contar'; he/she told or recounted
- avô
- The father of one's parent; grandfather
- lembrava
- Imperfect of 'lembrar'; was remembering or used to remember
- houve
- Past tense of 'haver'; there was, there occurred
- antigamente
- In former or ancient times; long ago, formerly
- maravilhosas
- Causing wonder or admiration; wonderful, marvelous
- ações
- Plural of 'ação'; deeds, actions, or acts
- atenienses
- Plural adjective referring to inhabitants of Athens
- caíram
- Past tense of 'cair'; they fell or dropped
- esquecimento
- The state of being forgotten; oblivion, forgetfulness
- destruição
- The act of causing severe damage or ruin; destruction
- raça
- A group of people sharing common ancestry; race
- particular
- Relating to a specific individual or case; particular
- foi
- Past tense of 'ser' or 'ir'; was or went
- maior
- Comparative of 'grande'; greater or largest
- cuja
- Relative possessive pronoun meaning 'whose' (feminine)
- narrativa
- A spoken or written account of events; narrative
- será
- Future tense of 'ser'; will be
- testemunho
- Evidence or attestation given about something; testimony
- adequado
- Satisfactory or sufficient for a purpose; adequate
- gratidão
- The feeling of thankfulness for kindness received; gratitude
- convosco
- Prepositional pronoun meaning 'with you all'
- qual
- Interrogative or relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'what'
- antiga
- Existing since a long time ago; ancient, old
- famosa
- Well known by many people; famous, renowned
- ação
- Something done or performed; action, deed
- falou
- Past tense of 'falar'; he/she spoke or said
- mera
- Used to emphasize smallness or insignificance; mere
- lenda
- A traditional story from the past; legend
- verídica
- Based on truth or real events; truthful, authentic
- Estado
- An organized political community or government; state
- ateniense
- Relating to or a native of Athens; Athenian
- narrou
- Past tense of 'narrar'; he/she narrated or recounted
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