Bleak House — Page 8
Articled clerks have been in the habit of fleshing their legal wit upon it.
Los pasantes han tenido la costumbre de ejercitar su ingenio jurídico a su costa.
The last Lord Chancellor handled it neatly, when, correcting Mr. Blowers, the eminent silk gown who said that such a thing might happen when the sky rained potatoes, he observed, "or when we get through Jarndyce and Jarndyce, Mr. Blowers"—a pleasantry that particularly tickled the maces, bags, and purses.
El último Lord Canciller lo manejó con elegancia cuando, corrigiendo al señor Blowers, el eminente abogado de seda que dijo que tal cosa podría suceder cuando el cielo lloviera patatas, observó: «o cuando terminemos con Jarndyce contra Jarndyce, señor Blowers», una ocurrencia que divirtió especialmente a las mazas, bolsas y bolsones.
How many people out of the suit Jarndyce and Jarndyce has stretched forth its unwholesome hand to spoil and corrupt would be a very wide question.
Cuántas personas ajenas al pleito han sido alcanzadas por la malsana mano de Jarndyce contra Jarndyce para corromperse y degradarse sería una pregunta de muy amplio alcance.
From the master upon whose impaling files reams of dusty warrants in Jarndyce and Jarndyce have grimly writhed into many shapes, down to the copying-clerk in the Six Clerks' Office who has copied his tens of thousands of Chancery folio-pages under that eternal heading, no man's nature has been made better by it.
Desde el magistrado en cuyos expedientes de archivo resmas de polvorientos autos de Jarndyce contra Jarndyce se han retorcido sombríamente adoptando múltiples formas, hasta el copista de la Oficina de los Seis Secretarios que ha copiado sus decenas de miles de páginas en folio de la Cancillería bajo ese eterno encabezamiento, ningún hombre ha mejorado su naturaleza por ello.
In trickery, evasion, procrastination, spoliation, botheration, under false pretences of all sorts, there are influences that can never come to good.
En el engaño, la evasión, la dilación, el expolio y el fastidio, bajo pretextos falsos de toda índole, hay influencias que jamás pueden conducir a nada bueno.
The very solicitors' boys who have kept the wretched suitors at bay, by protesting time out of mind that Mr. Chizzle, Mizzle, or otherwise was particularly engaged and had appointments until dinner, may have got an extra moral twist and shuffle into themselves out of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
Los propios recaderos de los procuradores que han mantenido a raya a los míseros litigantes, alegando desde tiempo inmemorial que el señor Chizzle, Mizzle, o quien fuera, estaba especialmente ocupado y tenía compromisos hasta la hora de cenar, puede que hayan adquirido una retorcida e innoble disposición moral gracias a Jarndyce contra Jarndyce.
The receiver in the cause has acquired a goodly sum of money by it but has acquired too a distrust of his own mother and a contempt for his own kind.
El administrador judicial de la causa ha obtenido de ello una considerable suma de dinero, pero también ha adquirido desconfianza hacia su propia madre y desprecio hacia sus semejantes.
Vocabulary
- pasantes
- Law clerks or interns working in legal offices
- tenido
- Past participle of 'tener': had or held
- costumbre
- Custom or habit practiced regularly over time
- ejercitar
- To exercise or practice a skill or ability
- ingenio
- Wit, cleverness, or natural mental inventiveness
- jurídico
- Related to law or legal matters and proceedings
- costa
- Cost or expense borne by someone
- último
- Last or most recent in a series or order
- Canciller
- Chancellor, a high government or judicial official
- manejó
- Handled or managed a situation skillfully
- elegancia
- Elegance or graceful refinement in manner or style
- corrigiendo
- Correcting someone's error or mistaken statement
- eminente
- Eminent or distinguished, highly respected in a field
- abogado
- Lawyer or attorney who practices law professionally
- seda
- Silk; here used as 'silk' denoting a senior barrister
- dijo
- Said; past tense of 'decir' (to say)
- tal
- Such or that kind of thing or situation
- podría
- Could; conditional form of 'poder' (to be able)
- suceder
- To happen or occur as an event
- cielo
- Sky or heaven; the space above the earth
- lloviera
- Rained; imperfect subjunctive of 'llover' (to rain)
- patatas
- Potatoes, common starchy vegetables
- observó
- Observed or remarked; noted something aloud
- terminemos
- Let us finish or conclude something; first-person plural subjunctive
- contra
- Against; preposition used in legal case names
- ocurrencia
- Witty remark or clever idea that comes to mind
- divirtió
- Amused or entertained; past tense of 'divertir'
- especialmente
- Especially or particularly in a notable degree
- mazas
- Ceremonial maces carried as symbols of authority
- bolsas
- Bags or purses; also official legal document pouches
- bolsones
- Large bags or sacks, augmentative of 'bolsa'
- Cuántas
- How many; interrogative adjective for quantity
- ajenas
- Foreign or unrelated; belonging to someone else
- pleito
- Lawsuit or legal dispute between parties
- alcanzadas
- Reached or touched; affected by something undesirable
- malsana
- Unhealthy or unwholesome, harmful to well-being
- corromperse
- To become corrupt or morally degraded over time
- degradarse
- To degrade oneself or fall to a lower moral state
- sería
- Would be; conditional form of 'ser' (to be)
- amplio
- Broad, wide, or extensive in scope or range
- alcance
- Reach or scope; the extent something covers
- Desde
- From or since; preposition indicating a starting point
- magistrado
- Magistrate or judge holding judicial authority
- cuyos
- Whose; relative possessive pronoun, masculine plural
- expedientes
- Case files or official dossiers kept in legal offices
- archivo
- Archive or file storage for official documents
- resmas
- Reams of paper; large quantities of printed documents
- polvorientos
- Dusty; covered with dust from long neglect
- autos
- Legal proceedings or court records in written form
- retorcido
- Twisted or contorted, morally or physically warped
- sombríamente
- Gloomily or darkly, in a somber manner
- adoptando
- Adopting or taking on various forms or roles
- múltiples
- Multiple or numerous; more than one in variety
- copista
- Copyist or scribe who manually copies documents
- Secretarios
- Secretaries or clerks handling official correspondence and records
- copiado
- Copied; past participle of 'copiar' (to copy)
- decenas
- Tens or dozens; groups of approximately ten units
- miles
- Thousands; plural of 'mil' indicating large numbers
- folio
- Folio; a large-format page or sheet of paper
- Cancillería
- Chancellery; the office or court of the Chancellor
- eterno
- Eternal or everlasting; lasting without end
- encabezamiento
- Heading or header at the top of a document
- ningún
- No or not any; negative adjective before nouns
- mejorado
- Improved or bettered in condition or quality
- naturaleza
- Nature; the essential character or natural world
- ello
- It; neuter pronoun referring to a general idea
- engaño
- Deception or deceit; the act of misleading others
- evasión
- Evasion or avoidance, especially of legal obligations
- dilación
- Delay or procrastination in legal or official matters
- expolio
- Plunder or spoliation; stripping someone of possessions
- fastidio
- Annoyance or vexation; something causing irritation
- pretextos
- Pretexts or excuses used to justify actions
- falsos
- False or untrue; not genuine or honest
- índole
- Nature or kind; the character or type of something
- influencias
- Influences or forces that affect outcomes or behavior
- jamás
- Never or ever; strong negative temporal adverb
- conducir
- To lead or drive; to result in or guide toward
- propios
- Own; belonging specifically to the subject mentioned
- recaderos
- Errand runners or messengers carrying legal documents
- procuradores
- Legal representatives or solicitors acting for clients
- mantenido
- Kept or maintained; past participle of 'mantener'
- raya
- Line or limit; kept at bay or under control
- míseros
- Wretched or miserable; pitifully poor or unfortunate
- litigantes
- Litigants; parties involved in a legal lawsuit
- alegando
- Alleging or claiming; putting forward a legal argument
- inmemorial
- Immemorial; extending beyond the reach of memory or record
- fuera
- Was outside or away; imperfect subjunctive of 'ser/estar'
- ocupado
- Busy or occupied; engaged in an activity
- compromisos
- Commitments or obligations previously arranged with others
- cenar
- To have dinner or eat the evening meal
- hayan
- Have; third-person plural present subjunctive of 'haber'
- adquirido
- Acquired or obtained; past participle of 'adquirir'
- retorcida
- Twisted or warped; morally distorted in character
- innoble
- Ignoble or base; lacking honor or moral dignity
- disposición
- Disposition or tendency; a person's habitual inclination
- moral
- Moral; relating to principles of right and wrong conduct
- administrador
- Administrator or manager overseeing legal or financial affairs
- judicial
- Judicial; relating to courts of law and justice
- causa
- Cause or legal case being tried in court
- obtenido
- Obtained or gained; past participle of 'obtener'
- considerable
- Considerable; notably large in amount or degree
- suma
- Sum or amount of money; a total quantity
- desconfianza
- Distrust or mistrust; lack of confidence in someone
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or attitude
- propia
- Own; one's very own, emphasizing personal possession
- desprecio
- Contempt or scorn; strong disregard for others
- semejantes
- Fellow human beings or similar others around oneself
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