Beyond Good and Evil — Page 4
Had the wicked Socrates really corrupted him?
Il malvagio Socrate lo aveva davvero corrotto?
Was Socrates after all a corrupter of youths, and deserved his hemlock?
Era Socrate dopotutto un corruttore di giovani, e meritava la sua cicuta?
But the struggle against Plato, or--to speak plainer, and for the "people"--the struggle against the ecclesiastical oppression of millenniums of Christianity (FOR CHRISTIANITY IS PLATONISM FOR THE "PEOPLE"), produced in Europe a magnificent tension of soul, such as had not existed anywhere previously;
Ma la lotta contro Platone, o--per parlare più chiaramente, e per il "popolo"--la lotta contro l'oppressione ecclesiastica di millenni di Cristianesimo (PERCHÉ IL CRISTIANESIMO È IL PLATONISMO PER IL "POPOLO"), ha prodotto in Europa una magnifica tensione dell'anima, quale non era mai esistita altrove in precedenza;
with such a tensely strained bow one can now aim at the furthest goals.
con un arco così teso si può ora mirare agli obiettivi più lontani.
As a matter of fact, the European feels this tension as a state of distress, and twice attempts have been made in grand style to unbend the bow: once by means of Jesuitism, and the second time by means of democratic enlightenment--which, with the aid of liberty of the press and newspaper-reading, might, in fact, bring it about that the spirit would not so easily find itself in "distress"!
In effetti, l'europeo sente questa tensione come uno stato di angoscia, e due volte sono stati fatti tentativi in grande stile per allentare l'arco: una volta per mezzo del gesuitismo, e la seconda volta per mezzo dell'illuminismo democratico--il quale, con l'aiuto della libertà di stampa e della lettura dei giornali, potrebbe, in effetti, far sì che lo spirito non si trovasse così facilmente in "angoscia"!
(The Germans invented gunpowder--all credit to them! but they again made things square--they invented printing.)
(I Tedeschi inventarono la polvere da sparo--tutto il merito a loro! ma poi rimisero le cose in pari--inventarono la stampa.)
But we, who are neither Jesuits, nor democrats, nor even sufficiently Germans, we GOOD EUROPEANS, and free, VERY free spirits--we have it still, all the distress of spirit and all the tension of its bow!
Ma noi, che non siamo né gesuiti, né democratici, né abbastanza Tedeschi, noi BUONI EUROPEI, e liberi, MOLTO liberi spiriti--lo abbiamo ancora, tutta l'angoscia dello spirito e tutta la tensione del suo arco!
And perhaps also the arrow, the duty, and, who knows? THE GOAL TO AIM AT....
E forse anche la freccia, il dovere, e, chi lo sa? LA META A CUI MIRARE....
Sils Maria Upper Engadine, JUNE, 1885.
Sils Maria Alta Engadina, GIUGNO, 1885.
Vocabulary
- malvagio
- Wicked, evil, morally corrupt person or thing
- davvero
- Truly, really, indeed; used for emphasis
- corrotto
- Corrupted, morally depraved, bribed or debased
- dopotutto
- After all, when everything is considered
- corruttore
- Corrupter, one who corrupts or morally debases others
- giovani
- Young people, youth; plural of 'giovane'
- meritava
- Deserved, was worthy of; imperfect of 'meritare'
- cicuta
- Hemlock, poisonous plant used to execute Socrates
- lotta
- Struggle, fight, battle against something or someone
- contro
- Preposition meaning 'against', in opposition to
- parlare
- To speak, to talk; infinitive of common Italian verb
- chiaramente
- Clearly, plainly, in an easy-to-understand manner
- popolo
- People, common folk, populace of a nation
- oppressione
- Oppression, harsh and unjust exercise of authority
- ecclesiastica
- Ecclesiastical, relating to the Christian church or clergy
- millenni
- Millennia, periods of one thousand years each
- Cristianesimo
- Christianity, the religion based on teachings of Jesus
- PLATONISMO
- Platonism, philosophical system derived from Plato's teachings
- prodotto
- Produced, generated, brought about; past participle of 'produrre'
- magnifica
- Magnificent, splendid, wonderful, of great quality
- tensione
- Tension, mental or emotional strain, tautness
- anima
- Soul, spirit, inner self of a person
- mai
- Never, ever; adverb used with negation or questions
- esistita
- Existed; feminine past participle of 'esistere'
- altrove
- Elsewhere, in another place, somewhere else
- precedenza
- Before, previously; precedence or priority in order
- arco
- Bow, arc; instrument for shooting arrows
- teso
- Tense, stretched, taut; past participle of 'tendere'
- mirare
- To aim, to take aim at a target or goal
- obiettivi
- Objectives, goals, targets to be aimed at
- lontani
- Distant, far away, remote; plural of 'lontano'
- effetti
- Effects; 'in effetti' means 'in fact', 'indeed'
- europeo
- European, relating to or from the continent of Europe
- sente
- Feels, hears, senses; third person singular of 'sentire'
- stato
- State, condition; also past participle of 'essere'
- angoscia
- Anguish, distress, deep anxiety or dread
- volte
- Times, occasions; plural of 'volta'
- tentativi
- Attempts, tries, efforts to accomplish something
- stile
- Style, manner, distinctive way of doing something
- allentare
- To loosen, to relax tension, to slacken
- volta
- Time, occasion, turn; also means 'vault' or 'arch'
- mezzo
- Means, medium, middle; by means of something
- gesuitismo
- Jesuitism, practices or principles of the Jesuit order
- illuminismo
- The Enlightenment, 18th-century philosophical movement emphasizing reason
- democratico
- Democratic, relating to or supporting democracy and equality
- aiuto
- Help, aid, assistance provided to someone
- libertà
- Freedom, liberty, the state of being free
- stampa
- Press, printing, newspapers; freedom of the press
- lettura
- Reading, the act of reading written material
- giornali
- Newspapers, daily publications with news and articles
- potrebbe
- Could, might; conditional of 'potere'
- spirito
- Spirit, mind, wit; inner vitality or character
- trovasse
- Would find; imperfect subjunctive of 'trovare'
- facilmente
- Easily, without difficulty, in a simple manner
- inventarono
- Invented, created; third person plural past of 'inventare'
- polvere
- Powder, dust; 'polvere da sparo' means gunpowder
- sparo
- Shot, gunshot; 'polvere da sparo' means gunpowder
- merito
- Merit, credit, deserved recognition for achievement
- rimisero
- Put back, restored; third plural past of 'rimettere'
- pari
- Equal, even, on par; 'rimettere le cose pari' means to even things out
- né
- Neither, nor; negative correlative conjunction
- gesuiti
- Jesuits, members of the Society of Jesus religious order
- democratici
- Democrats, democratic; plural of 'democratico'
- abbastanza
- Enough, sufficiently, quite; adverb of degree
- EUROPEI
- Europeans; plural of 'europeo'
- liberi
- Free, liberated; plural of 'libero'
- spiriti
- Spirits, minds; plural of 'spirito'
- ancora
- Still, yet, again; temporal or emphatic adverb
- freccia
- Arrow, the pointed projectile shot from a bow
- dovere
- Duty, obligation; also infinitive 'must, to have to'
- META
- Goal, destination, aim, target to reach
- CUI
- Which, whom; relative pronoun used after prepositions
- MIRARE
- To aim at, to strive toward a goal or target
- Alta
- High, upper; feminine adjective indicating elevation
- GIUGNO
- June, the sixth month of the year
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