Bleak House — Page 3
On such an afternoon, if ever, the Lord High Chancellor ought to be sitting here—as here he is—with a foggy glory round his head, softly fenced in with crimson cloth and curtains, addressed by a large advocate with great whiskers, a little voice, and an interminable brief, and outwardly directing his contemplation to the lantern in the roof, where he can see nothing but fog.
En una tarde como esta, si acaso, el Lord Alto Canciller debería estar sentado aquí —como aquí está— con una gloria neblinosa en torno a su cabeza, suavemente resguardado entre paños y cortinas de carmesí, siendo interpelado por un abogado corpulento con grandes patillas, una voz pequeña y un alegato interminable, y dirigiendo aparentemente su contemplación hacia el farol del techo, donde no puede ver nada más que niebla.
On such an afternoon some score of members of the High Court of Chancery bar ought to be—as here they are—mistily engaged in one of the ten thousand stages of an endless cause, tripping one another up on slippery precedents, groping knee-deep in technicalities, running their goat-hair and horsehair warded heads against walls of words and making a pretence of equity with serious faces, as players might.
En una tarde como esta, una veintena de miembros del foro del Alto Tribunal de Cancillería deberían estar —como aquí están— nebulosa mente ocupados en una de las diez mil etapas de un pleito interminable, haciéndose tropezar mutuamente con resbaladizos precedentes, tanteando a ciegas hasta las rodillas en tecnicismos, estrellando sus cabezas protegidas por pelucas de pelo de cabra y de caballo contra murallas de palabras, y fingiendo equidad con semblantes serios, como podrían hacerlo los comediantes.
On such an afternoon the various solicitors in the cause, some two or three of whom have inherited it from their fathers, who made a fortune by it, ought to be—as are they not?—ranged in a line, in a long matted well (but you might look in vain for truth at the bottom of it) between the registrar's red table and the silk gowns, with bills, cross-bills, answers, rejoinders, injunctions, affidavits, issues, references to masters, masters' reports, mountains of costly nonsense, piled before them.
En una tarde como esta, los diversos procuradores del pleito, algunos dos o tres de los cuales lo han heredado de sus padres, quienes amasaron una fortuna con él, deberían estar —¿y acaso no lo están?— formados en fila, en un largo y esterado estrado (aunque en vano buscaríais la verdad en el fondo de él), entre la mesa roja del registrador y las togas de seda, con escritos, contrademandas, respuestas, réplicas, interdictos, declaraciones juradas, cuestiones litigiosas, remisiones a magistrados, informes de magistrados y montañas de costosos disparates apilados ante ellos.
Vocabulary
- tarde
- Afternoon or evening; also means late
- acaso
- Perhaps, maybe; used to express uncertainty or doubt
- Alto
- High, tall, elevated in rank or position
- Canciller
- Chancellor, high-ranking government or legal official
- debería
- Should, ought to; conditional of deber
- sentado
- Seated, sitting; past participle of sentar
- gloria
- Glory, splendor, fame, or heavenly bliss
- neblinosa
- Misty, foggy, hazy; full of fine mist
- torno
- Turn, lathe; en torno a means around, surrounding
- cabeza
- Head, the uppermost part of the body
- suavemente
- Softly, gently, smoothly, in a mild manner
- resguardado
- Sheltered, protected, shielded from outside elements
- paños
- Cloths, pieces of fabric or drapery
- cortinas
- Curtains, drapes used to cover windows or spaces
- carmesí
- Crimson, deep red color
- interpelado
- Addressed, questioned, formally challenged or summoned
- abogado
- Lawyer, attorney, legal advocate
- corpulento
- Stout, heavyset, having a large bulky body
- patillas
- Sideburns, side whiskers growing on the cheeks
- voz
- Voice, the sound produced by speaking or singing
- alegato
- Legal argument, plea, or formal statement in court
- interminable
- Endless, never-ending, seeming to have no conclusion
- dirigiendo
- Directing, aiming, guiding; present participle of dirigir
- aparentemente
- Apparently, seemingly, on the surface
- contemplación
- Contemplation, deep thoughtful observation or reflection
- farol
- Lantern, street lamp, light fixture
- techo
- Ceiling or roof of a building or room
- niebla
- Fog, mist, thick hazy atmospheric condition
- veintena
- A group or score of about twenty units
- miembros
- Members, individuals belonging to a group or organization
- foro
- Forum, bar of justice, legal court community
- Tribunal
- Court, tribunal, judicial body that hears cases
- Cancillería
- Chancellery, office or court of the Chancellor
- deberían
- They should, ought to; conditional plural of deber
- nebulosa
- Nebulous, hazy, vague, unclear, cloudy
- mente
- Mind, intellect, mental faculty
- ocupados
- Occupied, busy, engaged in activity
- etapas
- Stages, phases, steps in a process
- pleito
- Lawsuit, legal dispute, litigation between parties
- haciéndose
- Making themselves, becoming; reflexive gerund of hacer
- tropezar
- To trip, stumble, bump into something or someone
- mutuamente
- Mutually, reciprocally, each affecting the other
- resbaladizos
- Slippery, slick, difficult to grip or stand on
- precedentes
- Precedents, prior legal cases used as authority
- tanteando
- Groping, feeling around, probing or testing cautiously
- ciegas
- Blind; a ciegas means blindly, without sight
- rodillas
- Knees, the joint between thigh and lower leg
- tecnicismos
- Technical terms, jargon specific to a field
- estrellando
- Smashing, crashing, shattering against a surface
- cabezas
- Heads; plural of cabeza
- protegidas
- Protected, covered, shielded; feminine plural past participle
- pelucas
- Wigs, artificial hairpieces worn on the head
- pelo
- Hair, a strand or mass of hair
- cabra
- Goat, a horned domesticated farm animal
- caballo
- Horse, a large domesticated animal used for riding
- murallas
- Walls, ramparts, fortified walls surrounding a place
- fingiendo
- Pretending, feigning, simulating a false appearance
- equidad
- Equity, fairness, impartiality in law or judgment
- semblantes
- Faces, expressions, countenances showing emotion or attitude
- serios
- Serious, grave, solemn in expression or manner
- podrían
- They could, would be able to; conditional of poder
- comediantes
- Comedians, actors, performers on a stage
- diversos
- Various, diverse, several, different kinds
- procuradores
- Solicitors, legal representatives, attorneys handling court matters
- heredado
- Inherited; received from ancestors as heir
- amasaron
- They amassed, accumulated; past tense of amasar
- fortuna
- Fortune, wealth, luck, fate
- formados
- Formed, lined up, arranged in a specific order
- fila
- Row, line, queue of people or objects
- largo
- Long, lengthy in extent or duration
- esterado
- Matted, covered with a mat or rush matting
- estrado
- Dais, raised platform in a courtroom or hall
- aunque
- Although, even though, even if
- vano
- Vain, futile, useless, in vain
- buscaríais
- You (plural) would search; conditional of buscar
- verdad
- Truth, reality, what is true or factual
- fondo
- Bottom, depth, background, back of a place
- registrador
- Registrar, recorder, official keeper of court records
- togas
- Robes, gowns worn by judges or lawyers in court
- seda
- Silk, a fine smooth lustrous fabric
- escritos
- Written documents, briefs, legal writings filed in court
- contrademandas
- Counterclaims, legal claims filed against an opposing party
- respuestas
- Answers, responses, replies to questions or claims
- réplicas
- Replicas, replies; legal responses or rebuttals
- interdictos
- Injunctions, legal orders prohibiting or compelling action
- declaraciones
- Declarations, statements, sworn testimonies or announcements
- juradas
- Sworn, under oath; feminine plural past participle
- cuestiones
- Questions, issues, matters under dispute or discussion
- litigiosas
- Litigious, contentious, relating to legal disputes
- remisiones
- Remissions, referrals, submissions to another authority
- magistrados
- Magistrates, judges, high-ranking judicial officers
- informes
- Reports, summaries, formal written accounts
- montañas
- Mountains; here figuratively meaning massive piles
- costosos
- Costly, expensive, requiring great expenditure
- disparates
- Nonsense, absurdities, foolish or ridiculous statements
- apilados
- Piled up, stacked, heaped in a pile
- ante
- Before, in front of, in the presence of
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