Beyond Good and Evil — Page 9

English → It CHAPTER I. PREJUDICES OF PHILOSOPHERS Level 9/10

In the philosopher, on the contrary, there is absolutely nothing impersonal; and above all, his morality furnishes a decided and decisive testimony as to WHO HE IS,--that is to say, in what order the deepest impulses of his nature stand to each other.

Nel filosofo, al contrario, non vi è assolutamente nulla di impersonale; e soprattutto, la sua moralità fornisce una testimonianza decisa e decisiva su CHI EGLI SIA,-- vale a dire, in quale ordine si dispongano gli impulsi più profondi della sua natura gli uni rispetto agli altri.

7. How malicious philosophers can be!

7. Quanto possono essere malevoli i filosofi!

I know of nothing more stinging than the joke Epicurus took the liberty of making on Plato and the Platonists; he called them Dionysiokolakes.

Non conosco nulla di più pungente della battuta che Epicuro si prese la libertà di fare su Platone e i Platonici; li chiamava Dionysiokolakes.

In its original sense, and on the face of it, the word signifies "Flatterers of Dionysius"--consequently, tyrants' accessories and lick-spittles;

Nel suo senso originale, e a prima vista, la parola significa "Adulatori di Dionisio"-- di conseguenza, complici dei tiranni e leccapiedi;

besides this, however, it is as much as to say, "They are all ACTORS, there is nothing genuine about them" (for Dionysiokolax was a popular name for an actor).

oltre a ciò, tuttavia, equivale a dire, "Sono tutti ATTORI, non vi è nulla di genuino in loro" (poiché Dionysiokolax era un nome popolare per indicare un attore).

And the latter is really the malignant reproach that Epicurus cast upon Plato: he was annoyed by the grandiose manner, the mise en scene style of which Plato and his scholars were masters--of which Epicurus was not a master!

E quest'ultimo è davvero il rimprovero maligno che Epicuro rivolse a Platone: era infastidito dalla maniera grandiosa, dallo stile della mise en scène di cui Platone e i suoi discepoli erano maestri-- di cui Epicuro non era maestro!

He, the old school-teacher of Samos, who sat concealed in his little garden at Athens, and wrote three hundred books, perhaps out of rage and ambitious envy of Plato, who knows!

Lui, il vecchio maestro di scuola di Samo, che sedeva nascosto nel suo piccolo giardino ad Atene, e scrisse trecento libri, forse per rabbia e ambizioso invidia di Platone, chissà!

Greece took a hundred years to find out who the garden-god Epicurus really was.

La Grecia impiegò cento anni per scoprire chi fosse davvero il dio del giardino Epicuro.

Did she ever find out?

Lo scoprì mai?

8. There is a point in every philosophy at which the "conviction" of the philosopher appears on the scene; or, to put it in the words of an ancient mystery:

8. Vi è un punto in ogni filosofia in cui la "convinzione" del filosofo fa la sua comparsa sulla scena; o, per dirlo con le parole di un antico mistero:

Adventavit asinus, Pulcher et fortissimus.

Vocabulary

Nel: Contraction of 'in il'; in the.
filosofo: A person who studies or practices philosophy.
al: Contraction of 'a il'; to the, at the.
contrario: Opposite; contrary; on the other hand.
non: Negation word meaning not or no.
vi: There; also a reflexive/locative pronoun.
è: Third person singular of essere; is.
assolutamente: Completely, absolutely, without any exception.
nulla: Nothing; not anything at all.
di: Preposition meaning of, from, or about.
impersonale: Lacking personal character; not personal or individual.
e: Conjunction meaning and.
soprattutto: Above all; especially; most importantly.
la: Feminine definite article meaning the.
sua: Possessive adjective meaning his, her, or its.
moralità: The quality of being moral; ethical conduct.
fornisce: Third person singular of fornire; provides or supplies.
una: Feminine indefinite article meaning a or an.
testimonianza: Testimony; evidence or witness to something.
decisa: Decided; firm, resolute, or determined.
decisiva: Decisive; conclusive, critically important or determining.
su: Preposition meaning on, about, or upon.
CHI: Who; interrogative or relative pronoun.
EGLI: He; third person masculine singular subject pronoun.
SIA: Subjunctive form of essere; may be, is.
vale: Third person singular of valere; means, is worth.
a: Preposition meaning to, at, or in.
dire: Infinitive verb meaning to say or tell.
in: Preposition meaning in, into, or within.
quale: Which; what; interrogative or relative adjective.
ordine: Order; arrangement, sequence, or rank.
si: Reflexive pronoun; oneself; used in reflexive verbs.
dispongano: Subjunctive of disporre; arrange or dispose themselves.
gli: Masculine plural definite article; the.
impulsi: Impulses; drives or urges motivating behavior.
più: More; most; used for comparatives and superlatives.
profondi: Deep; profound; intense or far-reaching in nature.
della: Contraction of 'di la'; of the (feminine).
natura: Nature; the inherent character or essence of something.
uni: Some; ones; used in comparative expressions.
rispetto: Respect; also used as 'with respect to' (rispetto a).
agli: Contraction of 'a gli'; to the (masculine plural).
altri: Others; other people or other things.
Quanto: How much; how; to what extent.
possono: Third person plural of potere; they can or may.
essere: To be; the fundamental Italian verb of existence.
malevoli: Malevolent; wishing harm; spiteful or ill-intentioned.
i: Masculine plural definite article meaning the.
filosofi: Philosophers; those who study fundamental questions of existence.
Non: Negation word meaning not or no.
conosco: First person singular of conoscere; I know.
pungente: Stinging; sharp, biting, or caustic in quality.
battuta: Remark; joke; witty or cutting comment.
che: That; which; who; a versatile conjunction or pronoun.
prese: Past tense of prendere; took or seized.
libertà: Liberty; freedom; the state of being free.
fare: To do; to make; a fundamental Italian verb.
li: Them; third person masculine plural object pronoun.
chiamava: Imperfect of chiamare; he/she used to call.
suo: His, her, its; possessive adjective or pronoun.
senso: Sense; meaning; direction or feeling.
originale: Original; first, initial, or not derived from another.
prima: Before; first; earlier in time or order.
vista: Sight; view; the act of seeing something.
parola: Word; a single unit of spoken or written language.
significa: Third person singular of significare; means or signifies.
Adulatori: Flatterers; people who excessively praise others insincerely.
conseguenza: Consequence; result; outcome of an action or event.
complici: Accomplices; partners or associates in wrongdoing.
dei: Contraction of 'di i'; of the (masculine plural).
tiranni: Tyrants; cruel or oppressive rulers or leaders.
leccapiedi: Bootlickers; sycophants who flatter for personal gain.
oltre: Beyond; besides; furthermore; more than.
ciò: This; that; referring to something previously mentioned.
tuttavia: Nevertheless; however; yet; despite that.
equivale: Equals; is equivalent to; amounts to the same.
Sono: They are; first or third person plural of essere.
tutti: All; everyone; every one without exception.
ATTORI: Actors; those who perform or play roles.
genuino: Genuine; authentic; real and not artificial or false.
loro: Their; they; third person plural pronoun or possessive.
poiché: Since; because; given that; a causal conjunction.
era: Imperfect of essere; was; used to describe past states.
un: Masculine indefinite article meaning a or an.
nome: Name; a word used to identify a person or thing.
popolare: Popular; common; widely known or used by people.
per: For; through; by; a versatile Italian preposition.
indicare: To indicate; to point out or denote something.
attore: Actor; a performer who plays roles on stage or screen.
E: And; conjunction linking words, phrases, or clauses.
quest'ultimo: The latter; this last one mentioned.
davvero: Really; truly; indeed; expressing strong affirmation.
il: Masculine singular definite article meaning the.
rimprovero: Reproach; rebuke; expression of disapproval or criticism.
maligno: Malignant; malicious; wicked or harmful in intent.
rivolse: Past tense of rivolgere; addressed or directed toward.
infastidito: Annoyed; irritated; bothered by something or someone.
dalla: Contraction of 'da la'; from the (feminine singular).
maniera: Manner; way; style of doing or presenting something.
grandiosa: Grand; magnificent; impressively large or elaborate in style.
dallo: Contraction of 'da lo'; from the (masculine singular).
stile: Style; distinctive manner of expression or presentation.
cui: Whose; which; whom; relative pronoun in Italian.
suoi: His, her, its; plural possessive adjective or pronoun.
discepoli: Disciples; followers; devoted students of a teacher.
erano: They were; imperfect plural of essere.
maestri: Masters; experts; highly skilled teachers or practitioners.
maestro: Master; teacher; a highly skilled and respected person.
Lui: He; him; third person masculine singular pronoun.
vecchio: Old; elderly; aged in years or appearance.
scuola: School; an institution for learning or a philosophical tradition.
sedeva: Imperfect of sedere; he/she used to sit.
nascosto: Hidden; concealed; kept out of sight.
nel: Contraction of 'in il'; in the (masculine singular).
piccolo: Small; little; not large in size or extent.
giardino: Garden; an outdoor area cultivated with plants.
ad: Variant of 'a' before vowels; to, at, in.
scrisse: Past tense of scrivere; he/she wrote.
trecento: Three hundred; a large quantity of written works.
libri: Books; written or printed works bound together.
forse: Perhaps; maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility.
rabbia: Anger; rage; a strong feeling of fury or displeasure.
ambizioso: Ambitious; having strong desire for success or power.
invidia: Envy; jealousy; resentment of another's advantages.
chissà: Who knows; expressing uncertainty or speculation.
La: Feminine definite article meaning the.
impiegò: Past tense of impiegare; took (time), employed or used.
cento: One hundred; the number 100.
anni: Years; plural of anno; units of time.
scoprire: To discover; to find out or uncover something hidden.
chi: Who; whoever; interrogative or relative pronoun.
fosse: Imperfect subjunctive of essere; were or might be.
dio: God; a divine being or deity.
del: Contraction of 'di il'; of the (masculine singular).
Lo: Him; it; third person masculine singular object pronoun.
scoprì: Past tense of scoprire; he/she discovered or found out.
mai: Never; ever; at no time or at any time.
Vi: There; locative pronoun or particle indicating place.
punto: Point; moment; a specific place, moment, or dot.
ogni: Every; each; all without exception.
filosofia: Philosophy; the study of fundamental questions about existence.
convinzione: Conviction; strong belief or firmly held opinion.
fa: Makes; does; third person singular of fare.
comparsa: Appearance; emergence; the act of appearing on scene.
sulla: Contraction of 'su la'; on the (feminine singular).
scena: Scene; stage; a place where action occurs.
o: Or; a disjunctive conjunction offering alternatives.
dirlo: To say it; infinitive dire combined with object pronoun.
con: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
le: Feminine plural definite article meaning the.
parole: Words; plural of parola; units of language.
antico: Ancient; old; belonging to a distant past time.
mistero: Mystery; something secret, unknown, or not understood.

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