← Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus

Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 5

English → Spanish Chapter 2 Level 7/10

When I was thirteen years of age we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon; the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn.

Cuando tenía trece años de edad, todos fuimos de excursión a los baños cerca de Thonon; la inclemencia del tiempo nos obligó a permanecer un día confinados en la posada.

In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa.

En esta casa tuve la casualidad de encontrar un volumen de las obras de Cornelio Agripa.

I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm.

Lo abrí con apatía; la teoría que intenta demostrar y los maravillosos hechos que relata pronto transformaron ese sentimiento en entusiasmo.

A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind, and bounding with joy, I communicated my discovery to my father.

Una nueva luz pareció iluminar mi mente y, rebosante de alegría, le comuniqué mi descubrimiento a mi padre.

My father looked carelessly at the title page of my book and said, "Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash."

Mi padre miró distraídamente la portada de mi libro y dijo: «¡Ah! ¡Cornelio Agripa! Mi querido Víctor, no pierdas el tiempo con esto; es una lamentable basura».

If, instead of this remark, my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient, because the powers of the latter were chimerical, while those of the former were real and practical, under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination, warmed as it was, by returning with greater ardour to my former studies.

Si, en lugar de ese comentario, mi padre se hubiera tomado la molestia de explicarme que los principios de Agripa habían sido totalmente refutados y que se había introducido un sistema moderno de ciencia que poseía poderes mucho mayores que el antiguo, porque los poderes de este último eran quiméricos, mientras que los del primero eran reales y prácticos, en tales circunstancias yo ciertamente habría dejado a Agripa de lado y habría contentado mi imaginación, encendida como estaba, volviendo con mayor ardor a mis estudios anteriores.

It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin.

Incluso es posible que el curso de mis ideas nunca hubiera recibido el fatal impulso que me condujo a mi ruina.

Vocabulary

Cuando: Conjunction meaning 'when,' introducing time clauses.
tenía: Past imperfect of 'tener'; meaning 'had' or 'was having'.
trece: The number thirteen.
años: Years; used to express age or duration.
de: Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'.
edad: Age; the number of years a person has lived.
todos: Everyone or all; referring to an entire group.
fuimos: Past tense of 'ir'; meaning 'we went'.
excursión: An outing or short trip taken for leisure.
a: Preposition meaning 'to' or 'at'.
los: Definite article 'the' for masculine plural nouns.
baños: Baths or bathing spots; also bathrooms.
cerca: Near or close to a place or object.
la: Definite article 'the' for feminine singular nouns.
inclemencia: Harshness or severity, especially of weather conditions.
del: Contraction of 'de' and 'el,' meaning 'of the'.
tiempo: Time or weather; context determines which meaning applies.
nos: Reflexive or object pronoun meaning 'us' or 'ourselves'.
obligó: Past tense of 'obligar'; forced or compelled someone.
permanecer: To remain or stay in a place or condition.
un: Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
día: Day; a 24-hour period or daytime hours.
confinados: Confined or restricted to a specific place.
en: Preposition meaning 'in,' 'on,' or 'at'.
posada: An inn or lodging house for travelers.
En: Preposition meaning 'in,' 'on,' or 'at'.
esta: Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' for feminine nouns.
casa: House or home; a building where people live.
tuve: Past tense of 'tener'; meaning 'I had'.
casualidad: Chance or coincidence; an unexpected fortunate occurrence.
encontrar: To find or encounter something or someone.
volumen: A volume or book; one book in a series.
las: Definite article 'the' for feminine plural nouns.
obras: Works or writings, especially of an author.
Lo: Direct object pronoun meaning 'it' or 'him'.
abrí: Past tense of 'abrir'; meaning 'I opened'.
con: Preposition meaning 'with'.
apatía: Apathy; lack of interest or enthusiasm toward something.
teoría: Theory; a set of ideas explaining something.
que: Relative pronoun or conjunction meaning 'that' or 'which'.
intenta: Present tense of 'intentar'; tries or attempts something.
demostrar: To demonstrate or prove a point or fact.
y: Conjunction meaning 'and,' connecting words or phrases.
maravillosos: Wonderful or marvelous; inspiring amazement or admiration.
hechos: Facts or deeds; things that have occurred or been done.
relata: Present tense of 'relatar'; narrates or recounts events.
pronto: Soon or quickly; in a short amount of time.
transformaron: Past tense of 'transformar'; transformed or changed completely.
ese: Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' for masculine nouns.
sentimiento: Feeling or sentiment; an emotional state or reaction.
entusiasmo: Enthusiasm; intense eagerness or excitement about something.
Una: Indefinite article meaning 'a' for feminine singular nouns.
nueva: New; recently made, discovered, or introduced.
luz: Light; illumination from a natural or artificial source.
pareció: Past tense of 'parecer'; seemed or appeared to be.
iluminar: To illuminate or light up a space or idea.
mi: Possessive adjective meaning 'my'.
mente: Mind; the faculty of thought and consciousness.
rebosante: Overflowing or brimming; full to excess with something.
alegría: Joy or happiness; a strong feeling of pleasure.
le: Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to him,' 'to her,' or 'to you'.
comuniqué: Past tense of 'comunicar'; I communicated or shared something.
descubrimiento: Discovery; the act of finding something new.
padre: Father; a male parent.
Mi: Possessive adjective meaning 'my'.
miró: Past tense of 'mirar'; looked at or gazed at.
distraídamente: Absently or distractedly; without paying full attention.
portada: Cover or title page of a book.
libro: Book; a written or printed literary work.
dijo: Past tense of 'decir'; said or told something.
Ah: Exclamation expressing realization, surprise, or acknowledgment.
querido: Dear or beloved; used as a term of affection.
no: Negation word meaning 'no' or 'not'.
pierdas: Subjunctive of 'perder'; lose or waste something.
el: Definite article 'the' for masculine singular nouns.
esto: Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this thing'.
es: Present tense of 'ser'; is, third person singular.
una: Indefinite article meaning 'a' for feminine singular nouns.
lamentable: Lamentable or deplorable; deserving regret or criticism.
basura: Trash or rubbish; something worthless or of poor quality.
Si: Conditional conjunction meaning 'if'.
lugar: Place or location; also used in 'en lugar de' meaning instead.
comentario: Comment or remark made about something.
se: Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or impersonal verbs.
hubiera: Past subjunctive of 'haber'; used in conditional sentences.
tomado: Past participle of 'tomar'; taken or undertaken something.
molestia: Trouble or bother; the effort of doing something inconvenient.
explicarme: To explain to me; infinitive with attached pronoun.
principios: Principles or beginnings; fundamental rules or starting points.
habían: Past perfect auxiliary 'had'; third person plural of 'haber'.
sido: Past participle of 'ser'; been, used in perfect tenses.
totalmente: Totally or completely; in every respect or aspect.
refutados: Refuted; proven wrong or disproved by evidence.
había: Past imperfect of 'haber'; there was or had been.
introducido: Past participle of 'introducir'; introduced or brought into use.
sistema: System; an organized set of principles or methods.
moderno: Modern; relating to the present or recent times.
ciencia: Science; systematic study of the natural world.
poseía: Past imperfect of 'poseer'; possessed or owned something.
poderes: Powers; abilities or capacities to do things.
mucho: Much or a lot; a large quantity or degree.
mayores: Greater or larger; comparative of 'grande' or 'mayor'.
antiguo: Old or ancient; belonging to earlier times.
porque: Because; conjunction giving a reason or cause.
este: Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' for masculine nouns.
último: Last or latter; the final one in a series.
eran: Past imperfect of 'ser'; were, third person plural.
quiméricos: Chimerical or fantastical; unrealistically imaginary and unfounded.
mientras: While or whereas; introducing simultaneous or contrasting situations.
primero: First; the one before all others in order.
reales: Real; actually existing or true, not imaginary.
prácticos: Practical; concerned with actual use or application.
tales: Such; of the kind or degree mentioned.
circunstancias: Circumstances; conditions or facts surrounding an event.
yo: First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
ciertamente: Certainly or surely; without doubt or question.
habría: Conditional of 'haber'; would have, used in conditionals.
dejado: Past participle of 'dejar'; left or abandoned something.
lado: Side; one of the surfaces or edges of something.
contentado: Past participle of 'contentar'; satisfied or pleased with something.
imaginación: Imagination; the ability to form mental images or ideas.
encendida: Lit up or inflamed; excited or aroused intensely.
como: As or like; used for comparison or manner.
estaba: Past imperfect of 'estar'; was, describing a state.
volviendo: Present participle of 'volver'; returning or turning back to.
mayor: Greater or older; comparative form indicating more intensity.
ardor: Ardor or fervor; intense passion or enthusiasm for something.
mis: Possessive adjective meaning 'my' for plural nouns.
estudios: Studies; academic work or subjects being learned.
anteriores: Previous or earlier; coming before in time or order.
Incluso: Even or including; used to add emphasis or surprise.
posible: Possible; able to happen or be done.
curso: Course or direction; path taken by events or studies.
ideas: Ideas; thoughts or concepts formed in the mind.
nunca: Never; not at any time or on any occasion.
recibido: Past participle of 'recibir'; received or gotten something.
fatal: Fatal or fateful; causing disaster or very negative consequences.
impulso: Impulse; a sudden urge or driving force.
me: Reflexive or object pronoun meaning 'me' or 'myself'.
condujo: Past tense of 'conducir'; led or drove someone somewhere.
ruina: Ruin; destruction or the remains of something destroyed.

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