Bleak House — Page 4
Well may the court be dim, with wasting candles here and there; well may the fog hang heavy in it, as if it would never get out; well may the stained-glass windows lose their colour and admit no light of day into the place; well may the uninitiated from the streets, who peep in through the glass panes in the door, be deterred from entrance by its owlish aspect and by the drawl, languidly echoing to the roof from the padded dais where the Lord High Chancellor looks into the lantern that has no light in it and where the attendant wigs are all stuck in a fog-bank!
Wohl mag der Gerichtssaal düster sein, mit flackernden Kerzen hier und dort; wohl mag der Nebel schwer darin hängen, als würde er nie mehr weichen; wohl mögen die Buntglasfenster ihre Farbe verlieren und kein Tageslicht in den Raum lassen; wohl mögen die Uneingeweihten von der Straße, die durch die Glasscheiben der Tür hereinspähen, durch sein eulenartiges Aussehen und durch das schleppende Gemurmel abgeschreckt werden, das träge bis zur Decke hallt von dem gepolsterten Podium, wo der Lord-Großkanzler in die Laterne blickt, die kein Licht enthält, und wo die Perücken der Beisitzer allesamt in einer Nebelbank stecken!
This is the Court of Chancery, which has its decaying houses and its blighted lands in every shire, which has its worn-out lunatic in every madhouse and its dead in every churchyard, which has its ruined suitor with his slipshod heels and threadbare dress borrowing and begging through the round of every man's acquaintance, which gives to monied might the means abundantly of wearying out the right, which so exhausts finances, patience, courage, hope, so overthrows the brain and breaks the heart, that there is not an honourable man among its practitioners who would not give—who does not often give—the warning, "Suffer any wrong that can be done you rather than come here!
Dies ist das Kanzleigericht, das in jeder Grafschaft seine verfallenden Häuser und sein verdorrtes Land hat, das in jedem Irrenhaus seinen entkräfteten Wahnsinnigen und auf jedem Kirchhof seine Toten hat, das seinen ruinierten Kläger mit schlurfenden Absätzen und fadenscheinigem Rock durch den Bekanntenkreis eines jeden hat betteln und borgen lassen, das der Macht des Geldes reichlich die Mittel gibt, das Recht zu zermürben, das Finanzen, Geduld, Mut und Hoffnung so sehr erschöpft, das Gehirn so sehr zerrüttet und das Herz so sehr bricht, dass es keinen ehrenwerten Mann unter seinen Praktikern gibt, der nicht die Warnung aussprechen würde – der sie nicht oft ausspricht –: „Ertragt jedes Unrecht, das euch angetan werden kann, lieber als hierher zu kommen!
Vocabulary
- Wohl
- Well-being or welfare; probably or perhaps.
- mag
- May or might; third person singular of mögen.
- der
- The; definite article for masculine nouns.
- Gerichtssaal
- Courtroom where legal proceedings take place.
- düster
- Dark, gloomy, or dismal in appearance.
- sein
- To be; fundamental auxiliary and main verb.
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association.
- flackernden
- Flickering; present participle of flackern.
- Kerzen
- Candles; plural of Kerze used for lighting.
- hier
- Here; adverb indicating location or place.
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses.
- dort
- There; adverb indicating a distant location.
- wohl
- Indeed; probably; particle expressing assumption.
- Nebel
- Fog or mist; atmospheric water vapor.
- schwer
- Heavy or difficult; adjective or adverb.
- darin
- In it; therein; prepositional adverb.
- hängen
- To hang; to suspend or depend upon.
- als
- As; when; conjunction of time or manner.
- würde
- Would; conditional form of werden.
- er
- He; masculine singular personal pronoun.
- nie
- Never; adverb negating occurrence or repetition.
- mehr
- More; additional quantity or greater degree.
- weichen
- To give way or retreat; to yield.
- mögen
- To like; may; modal verb expressing preference.
- die
- The; definite article for feminine nouns.
- ihre
- Their; possessive pronoun for third person plural.
- Farbe
- Color; the visual property of objects.
- verlieren
- To lose; to cease to have or possess.
- kein
- No or not a; negation article.
- Tageslicht
- Daylight; natural light from the sun.
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or time.
- den
- The; definite article accusative masculine.
- Raum
- Room or space; an enclosed area.
- lassen
- To let or allow; to leave behind.
- von
- From; preposition indicating origin or possession.
- Straße
- Street; public road in a town or city.
- durch
- Through; preposition indicating passage or agency.
- Glasscheiben
- Glass panes; sheets of glass in windows.
- Tür
- Door; entrance or exit to a space.
- Aussehen
- Appearance or look; outward aspect of something.
- das
- The; definite article for neuter nouns.
- schleppende
- Dragging or sluggish; moving slowly or tediously.
- abgeschreckt
- Deterred or discouraged; put off from something.
- werden
- To become; auxiliary verb for future tense.
- träge
- Sluggish or lethargic; lacking energy or vigor.
- bis
- Until; up to a point in time.
- zur
- To the; contraction of zu and der.
- Decke
- Ceiling or blanket; upper surface of a room.
- hallt
- Echoes; resounds; reverberates in a space.
- dem
- The; definite article dative masculine.
- gepolsterten
- Padded or upholstered; cushioned for comfort.
- Podium
- Podium or platform; raised surface for speaking.
- wo
- Where; adverb indicating location or place.
- Laterne
- Lantern or lamp; device for producing light.
- blickt
- Looks or gazes; observes with the eyes.
- Licht
- Light; illumination or source of brightness.
- enthält
- Contains or holds; includes as a component.
- Perücken
- Wigs; artificial hair worn on the head.
- allesamt
- All together; every single one without exception.
- einer
- One or a; indefinite article feminine dative.
- stecken
- To stick or be stuck; to embed in.
- Dies
- This; demonstrative pronoun for specific thing.
- ist
- Is; third person singular present of sein.
- jeder
- Every or each; distributive adjective or pronoun.
- Grafschaft
- County; administrative division of a region.
- seine
- His; possessive pronoun for masculine singular.
- verfallenden
- Decaying or deteriorating; falling into disrepair.
- Häuser
- Houses; plural of Haus, buildings for living.
- verdorrtes
- Withered or dried up; shriveled vegetation.
- Land
- Land or country; territory or rural area.
- hat
- Has; third person singular of haben.
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