Coniston — Volume 01 — Page 5
Guess he'll build his'n tight, whatever it is," said Jock, looking after him as Jethro made his way to the little tannery near by.
«Immagino che costruirà la sua bella e solida, qualunque cosa sia» disse Jock, seguendolo con lo sguardo mentre Jethro si dirigeva verso la piccola conceria lì vicino.
Let it be known that there was such a thing as social rank in Coniston; and something which, for the sake of an advantageous parallel, we may call an Established Church.
Sia detto che esisteva qualcosa come il rango sociale a Coniston; e qualcosa che, per il gusto di un parallelo vantaggioso, potremmo chiamare una Chiesa di Stato.
Coniston was a Congregational town still, and the deacons and dignitaries of that church were likewise the pillars of the state.
Coniston era ancora una città congregazionalista, e i diaconi e i dignitari di quella chiesa erano allo stesso tempo i pilastri dello stato.
Not many years before the time of which we write actual disestablishment had occurred, when the town ceased--as a town--to pay the salary of Priest Ware, as the minister was called.
Non molti anni prima del periodo di cui scriviamo era avvenuta la vera e propria separazione tra Chiesa e Stato, quando la città aveva cessato — in quanto città — di pagare lo stipendio al Reverendo Ware, come veniva chiamato il pastore.
The father of Jethro Bass, Nathan the currier, had once, in a youthful lapse, permitted a Baptist preacher to immerse him in Coniston Water.
Il padre di Jethro Bass, Nathan il conciatore, aveva permesso una volta, in un cedimento giovanile, a un predicatore battista di immergerlo nelle acque di Coniston.
This had been the extent of Nathan's religion; Jethro had none at all, and was, for this and other reasons, somewhere near the bottom of the social scale.
Questa era stata tutta la religiosità di Nathan; Jethro non ne aveva alcuna, ed era, per questo e per altri motivi, collocato da qualche parte verso il fondo della scala sociale.
"Fox and geese!" repeated Jock, with his eyes still on Jethro's retreating back.
«Volpe e oche!» ripeté Jock, con gli occhi ancora fissi sulla schiena di Jethro che si allontanava.
The builder of the meetinghouse rubbed a great, brown arm, scratched his head, and turned and came face to face with Cynthia Ware, in a poke bonnet.
Il costruttore della sala delle riunioni si strofinò un grosso braccio abbronzato, si grattò la testa, si girò e si trovò faccia a faccia con Cynthia Ware, con un cappello a visiera.
Contrast is a favorite trick of authors, and no greater contrast is to be had in Coniston than that between Cynthia Ware and Jethro Bass.
Il contrasto è un espediente prediletto dagli autori, e non si potrebbe trovare a Coniston un contrasto maggiore di quello tra Cynthia Ware e Jethro Bass.
In the first place; Cynthia was the minister's daughter, and twenty-one.
Innanzitutto, Cynthia era la figlia del pastore, e aveva ventun anni.
Vocabulary
- Immagino
- I imagine; I suppose something is the case
- che
- That; which; who; a versatile conjunction or pronoun
- costruirà
- He/she/it will build something in the future
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- sua
- His/her/its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- bella
- Beautiful; lovely; feminine singular adjective
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction linking words
- solida
- Solid; sturdy; strong; feminine singular adjective
- qualunque
- Whatever; whichever; any kind of thing
- cosa
- Thing; what; an object or matter
- sia
- May be; let it be; subjunctive of essere
- disse
- Said; past tense of dire, to say
- seguendolo
- Following him; gerund of seguire with pronoun
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- lo
- Him/it; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- sguardo
- Gaze; look; a directed glance or stare
- mentre
- While; whereas; temporal conjunction linking clauses
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself; also impersonal construction
- dirigeva
- Was heading toward; imperfect of dirigersi
- verso
- Toward; in the direction of something
- piccola
- Small; little; feminine singular adjective
- conceria
- Tannery; a place where leather is processed
- lì
- There; in that place; adverb of location
- vicino
- Near; close by; nearby in space
- Sia
- May be; subjunctive of essere; let it be
- detto
- Said; stated; past participle of dire
- esisteva
- There existed; imperfect of esistere, to exist
- qualcosa
- Something; an unspecified thing or matter
- come
- Like; as; how; a comparison conjunction
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- rango
- Rank; social standing; position in hierarchy
- sociale
- Social; relating to society and its structure
- a
- At; to; in; basic Italian preposition
- per
- For; through; in order to; preposition
- gusto
- Taste; pleasure; enjoyment of something
- di
- Of; from; by; very common Italian preposition
- un
- A; an; masculine singular indefinite article
- parallelo
- Parallel; a comparison drawn between two things
- vantaggioso
- Advantageous; beneficial; favorable for comparison
- potremmo
- We could; conditional of potere, to be able
- chiamare
- To call; to name; to refer to something
- una
- A; an; feminine singular indefinite article
- Chiesa
- Church; a Christian place of worship
- Stato
- State; government; a political entity or nation
- era
- Was; imperfect of essere, to be
- ancora
- Still; yet; again; adverb of continuity
- città
- City; town; an urban settlement
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- diaconi
- Deacons; ordained church officers assisting clergy
- dignitari
- Dignitaries; people holding positions of high rank
- quella
- That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective/pronoun
- chiesa
- Church; a Christian religious building or institution
- erano
- Were; imperfect plural of essere, to be
- allo
- At the; contraction of a and lo
- stesso
- Same; very; identical; emphatic adjective
- tempo
- Time; weather; a period or duration
- pilastri
- Pillars; columns; key supporters of a structure
- dello
- Of the; masculine singular contraction of di and lo
- stato
- State; also past participle of essere, been
- Non
- Not; basic Italian negation adverb
- molti
- Many; a large number of; masculine plural
- anni
- Years; plural of anno; units of time
- prima
- Before; earlier; first; adverb of time
- del
- Of the; masculine singular contraction of di and il
- periodo
- Period; era; a span of time
- cui
- Which; whom; of which; relative pronoun
- scriviamo
- We write; present of scrivere; we are writing
- avvenuta
- Occurred; happened; past participle of avvenire
- vera
- True; real; genuine; feminine singular adjective
- propria
- Own; proper; one's very own; feminine adjective
- separazione
- Separation; a split or division between things
- tra
- Between; among; within; Italian preposition
- quando
- When; at what time; temporal conjunction
- aveva
- Had; imperfect singular of avere, to have
- cessato
- Ceased; stopped; past participle of cessare
- in
- In; into; within; basic Italian preposition
- quanto
- As much as; how much; in that; conjunction
- pagare
- To pay; to make a payment for something
- stipendio
- Salary; wages; regular pay for work done
- al
- To the; contraction of a and il
- Reverendo
- Reverend; honorific title for a Christian minister
- veniva
- Was coming; imperfect of venire, to come
- chiamato
- Called; named; past participle of chiamare
- pastore
- Pastor; shepherd; a minister of a congregation
- Il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- padre
- Father; a male parent or priest
- conciatore
- Tanner; a person who processes animal hides
- permesso
- Permission; allowed; past participle of permettere
- volta
- Time; occasion; once; a single instance
- cedimento
- Yielding; giving in; a moment of weakness
- giovanile
- Youthful; juvenile; relating to young people
- predicatore
- Preacher; someone who delivers religious sermons
- battista
- Baptist; relating to the Baptist Christian denomination
- immergerlo
- To immerse him; to plunge him into water
- nelle
- In the; feminine plural contraction of in and le
- acque
- Waters; plural of acqua; bodies of water
- Questa
- This; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun/adjective
- stata
- Been; past participle of essere, feminine form
- tutta
- All; entire; whole; feminine singular adjective
- religiosità
- Religiosity; devoutness; depth of religious feeling
- non
- Not; basic Italian negation adverb
- ne
- Of it; any; partitive or replacing pronoun
- alcuna
- Any; none; feminine singular indefinite adjective
- ed
- And; variant of e used before vowels
- questo
- This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective/pronoun
- altri
- Other; others; masculine plural adjective/pronoun
- motivi
- Reasons; motives; causes for something
- collocato
- Placed; positioned; located; past participle of collocare
- da
- By; from; since; Italian preposition
- qualche
- Some; a few; an unspecified quantity
- parte
- Part; side; place; a portion of something
- fondo
- Bottom; depth; background; lowest point of something
- della
- Of the; feminine singular contraction of di and la
- scala
- Scale; ladder; staircase; a graduated ranking
- Volpe
- Fox; a cunning wild animal
- oche
- Geese; plural of oca; web-footed birds
- ripeté
- Repeated; said again; past tense of ripetere
- gli
- The; to him; masculine plural article or pronoun
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio; organs of sight
- fissi
- Fixed; staring; locked in one direction; adjective
- sulla
- On the; feminine singular contraction of su and la
- schiena
- Back; the posterior side of the torso
- allontanava
- Was moving away; imperfect of allontanarsi
- costruttore
- Builder; constructor; one who builds things
- sala
- Hall; room; a large indoor gathering space
- delle
- Of the; feminine plural contraction of di and le
- riunioni
- Meetings; gatherings; plural of riunione
- strofinò
- Rubbed; scrubbed; past tense of strofinare
- grosso
- Large; big; thick; masculine singular adjective
- braccio
- Arm; the upper limb of the human body
- abbronzato
- Tanned; bronzed; darkened by sun exposure
- grattò
- Scratched; scraped; past tense of grattare
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the body
- girò
- Turned; rotated; past tense of girare
- trovò
- Found; came across; past tense of trovare
- faccia
- Face; the front part of the head
- cappello
- Hat; a head covering worn outdoors
- visiera
- Visor; brim of a cap shading the eyes
- contrasto
- Contrast; opposition; difference between two things
- è
- Is; third person singular present of essere
- espediente
- Expedient; device; a convenient trick or method
- prediletto
- Favorite; preferred; most beloved above others
- dagli
- By the; from the; masculine plural contraction
- autori
- Authors; writers; creators of literary works
- potrebbe
- Could; might; conditional of potere, to be able
- trovare
- To find; to locate; to discover something
- maggiore
- Greater; larger; major; comparative adjective
- quello
- That; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun/adjective
- Innanzitutto
- First of all; above all; to begin with
- figlia
- Daughter; a female offspring of parents
- ventun
- Twenty-one; truncated form of ventuno
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