Bleak House — Page 5
"
"
Who happen to be in the Lord Chancellor's court this murky afternoon besides the Lord Chancellor, the counsel in the cause, two or three counsel who are never in any cause, and the well of solicitors before mentioned?
Chi si trova nel tribunale del Lord Cancelliere in questo torbido pomeriggio, oltre al Lord Cancelliere stesso, agli avvocati della causa, a due o tre avvocati che non sono mai in nessuna causa, e alla schiera di procuratori precedentemente menzionata?
There is the registrar below the judge, in wig and gown; and there are two or three maces, or petty-bags, or privy purses, or whatever they may be, in legal court suits.
C'è il cancelliere sotto il giudice, in parrucca e toga; e ci sono due o tre mazze cerimoniali, o borse minute, o borse private, o chiunque essi siano, in abiti legali da tribunale.
These are all yawning, for no crumb of amusement ever falls from Jarndyce and Jarndyce (the cause in hand), which was squeezed dry years upon years ago.
Tutti sbadigliano, poiché non cade mai nemmeno una briciola di divertimento da Jarndyce contro Jarndyce (la causa in corso), che è stata prosciugata anni e anni fa.
The short-hand writers, the reporters of the court, and the reporters of the newspapers invariably decamp with the rest of the regulars when Jarndyce and Jarndyce comes on.
I stenografi, i cronisti del tribunale e i giornalisti dei quotidiani si eclissano invariabilmente insieme agli altri habitué quando viene chiamata la causa Jarndyce contro Jarndyce.
Their places are a blank.
I loro posti rimangono vuoti.
Standing on a seat at the side of the hall, the better to peer into the curtained sanctuary, is a little mad old woman in a squeezed bonnet who is always in court, from its sitting to its rising, and always expecting some incomprehensible judgment to be given in her favour.
In piedi su un sedile ai lati dell'aula, per scrutare meglio nel santuario nascosto dalle tende, c'è una vecchina un po' matta con un cappellino schiacciato che è sempre in tribunale, dall'apertura alla chiusura dell'udienza, e aspetta sempre che le venga emessa qualche incomprensibile sentenza a suo favore.
Some say she really is, or was, a party to a suit, but no one knows for certain because no one cares.
Alcuni dicono che sia, o sia stata, parte in una causa, ma nessuno lo sa con certezza perché a nessuno importa.
She carries some small litter in a reticule which she calls her documents, principally consisting of paper matches and dry lavender.
Porta con sé una piccola accozzaglia di cose in un reticolo che lei chiama i suoi documenti, composti principalmente da fiammiferi di carta e lavanda secca.
Vocabulary
- Chi
- Who; interrogative or relative pronoun referring to a person
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, himself, herself, themselves
- trova
- Finds, is located; third person singular of trovare
- nel
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'
- tribunale
- Court of law; place where legal cases are heard
- del
- Of the; masculine singular contraction of 'di' and 'il'
- Cancelliere
- Chancellor; high-ranking legal or governmental official
- in
- In, at, into; basic Italian preposition of location
- questo
- This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- torbido
- Murky, cloudy, troubled; describing unclear or gloomy conditions
- pomeriggio
- Afternoon; the period of day after noon
- oltre
- Beyond, besides, in addition to; preposition of extension
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'il'
- stesso
- Same, himself, itself; adjective or pronoun of identity
- agli
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'gli' for plural masculine
- avvocati
- Lawyers, attorneys; plural of avvocato
- della
- Of the; feminine singular contraction of 'di' and 'la'
- causa
- Legal case, lawsuit; also means cause or reason
- due
- Two; the cardinal number 2
- tre
- Three; the cardinal number 3
- che
- That, which, who; conjunction or relative pronoun
- non
- Not; basic negation adverb in Italian
- mai
- Never, ever; adverb of time or frequency
- nessuna
- No one, none, not any; feminine indefinite pronoun
- schiera
- Row, group, host; a large organized group of people
- procuratori
- Solicitors, legal agents; plural of procuratore
- precedentemente
- Previously, formerly; referring to something mentioned before
- menzionata
- Mentioned; feminine past participle of menzionare
- cancelliere
- Chancellor; head legal official presiding over court
- sotto
- Under, below, beneath; preposition of position
- giudice
- Judge; official who presides over legal proceedings
- parrucca
- Wig; hairpiece traditionally worn by judges and lawyers
- toga
- Robe, gown; formal garment worn by legal professionals
- ci
- There, us, ourselves; pronoun or locative particle
- cerimoniali
- Ceremonial; adjective relating to formal official ceremonies
- borse
- Bags, purses, briefcases; plural of borsa
- minute
- Minutes, small; tiny documents or brief written records
- private
- Private; adjective meaning personal or not public
- chiunque
- Whoever, anyone; indefinite pronoun referring to any person
- essi
- They; third person plural masculine pronoun
- siano
- Are; subjunctive third person plural of essere
- abiti
- Clothes, suits; garments worn on formal occasions
- legali
- Legal; adjective relating to law or legal profession
- Tutti
- Everyone, all; indefinite pronoun or adjective meaning all
- sbadigliano
- They yawn; third person plural of sbadigliare
- poiché
- Since, because; conjunction introducing a causal clause
- cade
- Falls; third person singular of cadere
- nemmeno
- Not even; emphatic negation particle
- una
- A, one; feminine indefinite article or numeral
- briciola
- Crumb, bit, scrap; tiny fragment of something
- divertimento
- Entertainment, amusement, fun; enjoyable activity or event
- contro
- Against, versus; preposition indicating opposition
- corso
- Course, avenue; also run or proceeded
- stata
- Been; feminine past participle of essere
- prosciugata
- Drained, dried up; feminine past participle of prosciugare
- anni
- Years; plural of anno
- fa
- Ago; used with time expressions to indicate the past
- cronisti
- Reporters, chroniclers; journalists covering current events
- giornalisti
- Journalists; people who write for newspapers or media
- quotidiani
- Daily newspapers; adjective also meaning daily or everyday
- eclissano
- Eclipse, vanish; they slip away or disappear quietly
- invariabilmente
- Invariably, always; without exception every single time
- insieme
- Together; adverb meaning in company with others
- altri
- Others; plural masculine pronoun or adjective meaning other
- quando
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- viene
- Comes; third person singular of venire
- chiamata
- Called, summoned; feminine past participle of chiamare
- loro
- Their, they, them; third person plural pronoun or adjective
- posti
- Seats, places, spots; plural of posto
- rimangono
- Remain, stay; third person plural of rimanere
- vuoti
- Empty, vacant; plural adjective meaning unoccupied
- piedi
- Feet; plural of piede; in piedi means standing up
- sedile
- Seat, bench; a surface designed for sitting on
- ai
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'i' for masculine plural
- lati
- Sides; plural of lato meaning side or flank
- aula
- Courtroom, hall; room where legal proceedings take place
- per
- For, in order to; preposition of purpose or means
- scrutare
- To scrutinize, peer at; to examine something carefully
- meglio
- Better, best; comparative adverb of bene
- santuario
- Sanctuary; a sacred or protected inner space
- nascosto
- Hidden, concealed; past participle of nascondere
- dalle
- From the, by the; feminine plural contraction of 'da' and 'le'
- tende
- Curtains; fabric hangings used to cover windows or spaces
- vecchina
- Little old woman; diminutive affectionate form of vecchia
- po'
- A little, a bit; abbreviated form of poco
- matta
- Crazy, mad; adjective describing an eccentric or irrational person
- cappellino
- Little hat; diminutive of cappello referring to a small bonnet
- schiacciato
- Squashed, flattened; past participle of schiacciare
- sempre
- Always, ever; adverb indicating constant or habitual action
- apertura
- Opening; the start or commencement of a session
- chiusura
- Closing, closure; the end or conclusion of a session
- udienza
- Hearing, court session; official legal proceeding or audience
- aspetta
- Waits, expects; third person singular of aspettare
- venga
- Comes; subjunctive third person singular of venire
- emessa
- Issued, delivered; feminine past participle of emettere
- qualche
- Some, any; indefinite adjective used before singular nouns
- incomprensibile
- Incomprehensible; impossible to understand or make sense of
- sentenza
- Sentence, verdict, ruling; official legal judgment or decision
- suo
- His, her, its, one's; possessive adjective third person singular
- favore
- Favor; in suo favore means in her favor or benefit
- Alcuni
- Some, a few; indefinite pronoun or adjective plural
- dicono
- They say; third person plural of dire
- sia
- Is; subjunctive third person singular of essere
- parte
- Part, party; participant in a legal case or portion
- ma
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast
- nessuno
- Nobody, no one; indefinite pronoun of negation
- lo
- It, him; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- sa
- Knows; third person singular of sapere
- certezza
- Certainty; the state of being absolutely sure about something
- perché
- Why, because; used as question word or conjunction
- importa
- Matters, is important; third person singular of importare
- Porta
- Carries, brings; third person singular of portare
- sé
- Herself, himself, itself; reflexive pronoun used with prepositions
- piccola
- Small, little; feminine adjective indicating small size
- accozzaglia
- Jumble, hodgepodge; a disorderly collection of mixed things
- cose
- Things; plural of cosa meaning object, item, or matter
- reticolo
- Network, mesh, grid; an interlaced or net-like structure
- chiama
- Calls; third person singular of chiamare
- suoi
- Her, his; masculine plural possessive adjective third person
- documenti
- Documents, papers; official or important written records
- composti
- Composed of, made up; past participle plural of comporre
- principalmente
- Mainly, principally; used to indicate the primary component
- fiammiferi
- Matches; small sticks used for lighting fire
- carta
- Paper, card; material used for writing or documents
- lavanda
- Lavender; aromatic herb or its dried flowers
- secca
- Dry, dried; feminine adjective describing lack of moisture
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →