Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 8
At that age I became acquainted with the celebrated poets of our own country; but it was only when it had ceased to be in my power to derive its most important benefits from such a conviction that I perceived the necessity of becoming acquainted with more languages than that of my native country.
In diesem Alter lernte ich die gefeierten Dichter unseres eigenen Landes kennen; aber erst als es mir nicht mehr möglich war, die wichtigsten Vorteile aus einer solchen Überzeugung zu ziehen, erkannte ich die Notwendigkeit, mich mit mehr Sprachen als der meines Heimatlandes vertraut zu machen.
Now I am twenty-eight and am in reality more illiterate than many schoolboys of fifteen.
Jetzt bin ich achtundzwanzig und bin in Wirklichkeit ungebildeter als viele Schuljungen von fünfzehn Jahren.
It is true that I have thought more and that my daydreams are more extended and magnificent, but they want (as the painters call it) _keeping;_ and I greatly need a friend who would have sense enough not to despise me as romantic, and affection enough for me to endeavour to regulate my mind.
Es stimmt, dass ich mehr nachgedacht habe und dass meine Tagträume ausgedehnter und prächtiger sind, aber ihnen fehlt (wie die Maler es nennen) die _Haltung;_ und ich brauche dringend einen Freund, der Verstand genug hätte, mich nicht als romantisch zu verachten, und Zuneigung genug für mich, um zu versuchen, meinen Geist zu ordnen.
Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, among merchants and seamen.
Nun, das sind nutzlose Klagen; ich werde gewiss keinen Freund auf dem weiten Ozean finden, noch nicht einmal hier in Archangel, unter Kaufleuten und Seemännern.
Yet some feelings, unallied to the dross of human nature, beat even in these rugged bosoms.
Und doch schlagen einige Gefühle, die nichts mit dem Abschaum der menschlichen Natur zu tun haben, selbst in diesen rauen Herzen.
My lieutenant, for instance, is a man of wonderful courage and enterprise; he is madly desirous of glory, or rather, to word my phrase more characteristically, of advancement in his profession.
Mein Leutnant zum Beispiel ist ein Mann von wunderbarem Mut und Unternehmungsgeist; er ist wahnsinnig begierig nach Ruhm, oder vielmehr, um es treffender auszudrücken, nach dem Aufstieg in seinem Beruf.
He is an Englishman, and in the midst of national and professional prejudices, unsoftened by cultivation, retains some of the noblest endowments of humanity.
Er ist Engländer, und inmitten nationaler und beruflicher Vorurteile, die durch Bildung nicht gemildert wurden, bewahrt er einige der edelsten Gaben der Menschheit.
I first became acquainted with him on board a whale vessel; finding that he was unemployed in this city, I easily engaged him to assist in my enterprise.
Ich lernte ihn zuerst an Bord eines Walfangschiffes kennen; da ich feststellte, dass er in dieser Stadt ohne Beschäftigung war, gewann ich ihn leicht dafür, mir bei meinem Vorhaben zu helfen.
Vocabulary
- In
- In; at; within; during
- diesem
- This; these (dative masculine/neuter)
- Alter
- Age; period of life or era
- lernte
- Learned; studied (past tense of lernen)
- ich
- I; first person singular pronoun
- die
- The; feminine article or plural article
- gefeierten
- Celebrated; acclaimed; renowned (past participle)
- Dichter
- Poet; writer of poetry or literature
- unseres
- Our; possessive pronoun (genitive neuter)
- eigenen
- Own; belonging to oneself (accusative/dative)
- Landes
- Country; land; nation (genitive singular)
- kennen
- To know; to be familiar with person/place
- aber
- But; however; yet; nevertheless
- erst
- Only; not until; first; just
- als
- When; as; than; in the capacity of
- es
- It; this; that (neuter pronoun)
- mir
- Me; to me; myself (dative pronoun)
- nicht
- Not; no; negation particle
- mehr
- More; anymore; any longer; further
- möglich
- Possible; feasible; able to be done
- war
- Was; past tense of sein (to be)
- wichtigsten
- Most important; chief; primary (superlative)
- Vorteile
- Advantages; benefits; profits; gains
- aus
- From; out of; made of; by means of
- einer
- A; an; one (feminine or dative singular)
- solchen
- Such; such a; that kind of (dative)
- Überzeugung
- Conviction; belief; persuasion; opinion
- zu
- To; at; too; in order to; up to
- ziehen
- To draw; to pull; to extract; to derive
- erkannte
- Recognized; acknowledged; realized (past tense)
- Notwendigkeit
- Necessity; need; requirement; essential quality
- mich
- Me; myself (accusative pronoun)
- mit
- With; by means of; along with
- Sprachen
- Languages; tongues; ways of speaking
- der
- The; of the; to the (definite article)
- meines
- Mine; of mine; my (genitive possessive)
- Heimatlandes
- Native country; homeland (genitive singular)
- vertraut
- Familiar; intimate; acquainted; trusted
- machen
- To make; to do; to create; to produce
- Jetzt
- Now; at present; at this moment
- bin
- Am; present tense of sein (to be)
- und
- And; plus; in addition to; with
- in
- In; at; within; during a period
- Wirklichkeit
- Reality; actuality; truth; in fact
- ungebildeter
- More uneducated; less cultured (comparative)
- viele
- Many; a lot of; numerous; several
- Schuljungen
- Schoolboys; boys attending school
- von
- Of; from; by; concerning; about
- Jahren
- Years; ages; period of time (plural)
- Es
- It; this; that (neuter pronoun)
- stimmt
- Is correct; is true; agrees; fits
- dass
- That; in order that; so that
- nachgedacht
- Reflected; thought about; considered deeply
- habe
- Have; present tense of haben
- meine
- My; mine; my own (feminine/plural)
- Tagträume
- Daydreams; reveries; fantasies; pipe dreams
- ausgedehnter
- More extensive; vaster; wider; broader
- prächtiger
- More magnificent; more splendid; grander
- sind
- Are; present tense of sein
- ihnen
- Them; to them; theirs (dative pronoun)
- fehlt
- Lacks; is missing; is absent; needs
- wie
- How; as; like; in what way
- Maler
- Painter; artist who paints pictures
- nennen
- To call; to name; to designate as
- Haltung
- Posture; bearing; attitude; composure; stance
- brauche
- Need; require; have need of something
- dringend
- Urgent; pressing; desperately; urgently needed
- einen
- A; an; one (masculine accusative)
- Freund
- Friend; companion; mate; friendly person
- Verstand
- Mind; intellect; reason; common sense
- genug
- Enough; sufficient; adequate; plenty of
- hätte
- Would have; had (subjunctive past)
- romantisch
- Romantic; relating to romance or idealism
- verachten
- To despise; to scorn; to disdain
- Zuneigung
- Affection; fondness; attachment; inclination
- für
- For; in favor of; towards; about
- um
- Around; at; for; in order to
- versuchen
- To try; to attempt; to test; to taste
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