Bleak House — Page 2
The Close of Esther's Narrative
O Fim da Narrativa de Esther
PREFACE
PREFÁCIO
A Chancery judge once had the kindness to inform me, as one of a company of some hundred and fifty men and women not labouring under any suspicions of lunacy, that the Court of Chancery, though the shining subject of much popular prejudice (at which point I thought the judge's eye had a cast in my direction), was almost immaculate.
Um juiz da Chancelaria teve uma vez a bondade de me informar, como a um membro de uma companhia de cerca de cento e cinquenta homens e mulheres que não padeciam de quaisquer suspeitas de loucura, que o Tribunal da Chancelaria, embora sendo o brilhante objeto de muitos preconceitos populares (momento em que pensei que o olhar do juiz se voltou na minha direção), era quase imaculado.
There had been, he admitted, a trivial blemish or so in its rate of progress, but this was exaggerated and had been entirely owing to the "parsimony of the public," which guilty public, it appeared, had been until lately bent in the most determined manner on by no means enlarging the number of Chancery judges appointed—I believe by Richard the Second, but any other king will do as well.
Tinha havido, ele admitiu, uma falha trivial ou algo assim na sua taxa de progresso, mas isso foi exagerado e devia-se inteiramente à "parcimônia do público", o qual público culpado, ao que parecia, estivera até há pouco determinado da maneira mais resoluta a de modo algum aumentar o número de juízes da Chancelaria nomeados — creio que por Ricardo II, mas qualquer outro rei serve igualmente.
This seemed to me too profound a joke to be inserted in the body of this book or I should have restored it to Conversation Kenge or to Mr. Vholes, with one or other of whom I think it must have originated.
Isso me pareceu uma piada demasiado profunda para ser inserida no corpo deste livro, ou eu deveria tê-la atribuído ao Kenge das Conversações ou ao Sr. Vholes, com um ou outro dos quais penso que ela deve ter se originado.
In such mouths I might have coupled it with an apt quotation from one of Shakespeare's sonnets:
Em tais bocas eu poderia tê-la associado a uma citação adequada de um dos sonetos de Shakespeare:
"My nature is subdued To what it works in, like the dyer's hand: Pity me, then, and wish I were renewed!
"Minha natureza está subjugada Àquilo em que trabalha, como a mão do tintureiro: Tem pena de mim, então, e deseja que eu fosse renovado!
Vocabulary
- Fim
- End or conclusion of something
- Narrativa
- Narrative or story being told
- PREFÁCIO
- Preface or introductory section of a book
- juiz
- Judge; official who presides over legal cases
- Chancelaria
- Chancery; court handling equity or administrative matters
- teve
- Past tense of 'ter': had or possessed something
- vez
- Time or occasion; instance of an event
- bondade
- Kindness or goodness shown toward others
- informar
- To inform or tell someone about something
- membro
- Member; person belonging to a group
- companhia
- Company; group of people or business entity
- cerca
- About or approximately a certain quantity
- cento
- One hundred; used in compound numbers
- cinquenta
- Fifty; the number 50
- homens
- Men; plural of 'homem'
- mulheres
- Women; plural of 'mulher'
- padeciam
- Suffered or endured, third-person plural imperfect
- quaisquer
- Any whatsoever; plural form of 'qualquer'
- suspeitas
- Suspicions; doubts about someone's sanity or honesty
- loucura
- Madness or insanity; mental instability
- Tribunal
- Court or tribunal; official judicial body
- embora
- Although or even though; concessive conjunction
- sendo
- Being; present participle of 'ser'
- brilhante
- Brilliant or bright; highly intelligent or shining
- objeto
- Object or subject of attention or discussion
- muitos
- Many; a large number of things or people
- preconceitos
- Prejudices or biases held against something or someone
- populares
- Popular; widely held among common people
- momento
- Moment; a brief point in time
- pensei
- I thought; first-person singular preterite of 'pensar'
- olhar
- To look or gaze; also the act of looking
- voltou
- Turned or returned; third-person singular preterite
- direção
- Direction; the way toward which something points
- quase
- Almost or nearly; not quite reaching a state
- imaculado
- Immaculate; spotless, without flaw or corruption
- Tinha
- Had; third-person singular pluperfect of 'ter'
- havido
- Past participle of 'haver': occurred or existed
- admitiu
- Admitted; acknowledged something was true
- falha
- Flaw or failure; a shortcoming or defect
- trivial
- Trivial; unimportant or minor in significance
- algo
- Something; an unspecified thing or matter
- assim
- Thus or so; in this manner or way
- taxa
- Rate or fee; measure of speed or charge
- progresso
- Progress; forward advancement or improvement
- exagerado
- Exaggerated; overstated beyond what is accurate
- devia-se
- Was owed to or due to a cause
- inteiramente
- Entirely or completely; without any exception
- parcimônia
- Parsimony; excessive frugality or stinginess with resources
- público
- Public; relating to people or community at large
- culpado
- Guilty; responsible for a fault or offense
- parecia
- Seemed; third-person singular imperfect of 'parecer'
- estivera
- Had been; third-person singular pluperfect of 'estar'
- até
- Until or up to; preposition indicating a limit
- há
- There is or ago; form of 'haver'
- pouco
- Little or few; a small amount of something
- determinado
- Determined or resolved; firmly decided on an action
- maneira
- Manner or way; method of doing something
- resoluta
- Resolute; firmly decided and unwavering in purpose
- modo
- Mode or way; manner in which something happens
- algum
- Some or any; indefinite masculine singular adjective
- aumentar
- To increase or raise the amount of something
- número
- Number; a count or quantity of items
- juízes
- Judges; plural of 'juiz,' legal decision-makers
- nomeados
- Appointed or nominated; designated for an official role
- creio
- I believe; first-person singular present of 'crer'
- qualquer
- Any or whichever; indefinite adjective without preference
- outro
- Other or another; different from what was mentioned
- rei
- King; male monarch ruling a kingdom
- serve
- Serves or suffices; third-person singular present of 'servir'
- igualmente
- Equally or likewise; in the same manner or degree
- pareceu
- Seemed; third-person singular preterite of 'parecer'
- piada
- Joke or jest; something said to amuse others
- demasiado
- Too much; exceeding an appropriate or expected degree
- profunda
- Deep or profound; having great depth or meaning
- inserida
- Inserted or included; placed within something larger
- corpo
- Body or main body; central part of a text
- livro
- Book; a written or printed literary work
- deveria
- Should or ought to; conditional of 'dever'
- atribuído
- Attributed or assigned; credited to a particular source
- Conversações
- Conversations; plural of conversation or dialogue
- Sr
- Abbreviation for 'Senhor': Mister or Sir
- penso
- I think; first-person singular present of 'pensar'
- deve
- Must or should; third-person singular present of 'dever'
- originado
- Originated; past participle of 'originar,' to arise from
- tais
- Such; plural demonstrative adjective meaning 'such as'
- bocas
- Mouths; plural of 'boca,' referring to speakers
- poderia
- Could; conditional form of 'poder,' expressing possibility
- associado
- Associated or linked; connected to something else
- citação
- Quotation or citation; a passage quoted from a source
- adequada
- Adequate or appropriate; suitable for the situation
- sonetos
- Sonnets; short poems of fourteen lines
- natureza
- Nature; the essential character or natural world
- subjugada
- Subjugated; overcome and brought under domination
- Àquilo
- To that; contraction of 'a' and 'aquilo'
- trabalha
- Works; third-person singular present of 'trabalhar'
- mão
- Hand; the human body part used for grasping
- tintureiro
- Dyer; a person who dyes cloth or fabric
- pena
- Pity or penalty; sorrow felt for someone's suffering
- então
- Then or so; temporal or consequential conjunction
- deseja
- Wishes or desires; third-person singular present of 'desejar'
- fosse
- Were; imperfect subjunctive of 'ser' or 'ir'
- renovado
- Renewed or restored; made new again
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