Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 6
"You may easily believe," said he, "how great was the difficulty to persuade my father that all necessary knowledge was not comprised in the noble art of book-keeping;
"Puedes creer fácilmente", dijo él, "cuán grande fue la dificultad para persuadir a mi padre de que todo el conocimiento necesario no estaba comprendido en el noble arte de la contabilidad;
and, indeed, I believe I left him incredulous to the last, for his constant answer to my unwearied entreaties was the same as that of the Dutch schoolmaster in The Vicar of Wakefield:
y, en verdad, creo que lo dejé incrédulo hasta el final, pues su respuesta constante a mis incansables súplicas era la misma que la del maestro holandés en El vicario de Wakefield:
'I have ten thousand florins a year without Greek, I eat heartily without Greek.'
'Tengo diez mil florines al año sin el griego, como con buen apetito sin el griego.'
But his affection for me at length overcame his dislike of learning, and he has permitted me to undertake a voyage of discovery to the land of knowledge."
Pero su afecto por mí venció al fin su aversión al aprendizaje, y me ha permitido emprender un viaje de descubrimiento hacia la tierra del conocimiento."
"It gives me the greatest delight to see you; but tell me how you left my father, brothers, and Elizabeth."
"Me da el mayor placer verte; pero dime cómo dejaste a mi padre, a mis hermanos y a Elizabeth."
"Very well, and very happy, only a little uneasy that they hear from you so seldom.
"Muy bien, y muy felices, solo un poco inquietos por tener noticias tuyas tan raramente.
By the by, I mean to lecture you a little upon their account myself.
A propósito, tengo la intención de darte yo mismo una pequeña lección en su nombre.
But, my dear Frankenstein," continued he, stopping short and gazing full in my face, "I did not before remark how very ill you appear; so thin and pale; you look as if you had been watching for several nights."
Pero, mi querido Frankenstein", continuó él, deteniéndose de repente y mirándome fijamente al rostro, "no había notado antes lo muy mal que pareces; tan delgado y pálido; pareces como si hubieras pasado varias noches en vela."
"You have guessed right; I have lately been so deeply engaged in one occupation that I have not allowed myself sufficient rest, as you see;
"Has adivinado bien; últimamente he estado tan profundamente ocupado en una tarea que no me he permitido descansar lo suficiente, como ves;
but I hope, I sincerely hope, that all these employments are now at an end and that I am at length free.
pero espero, sinceramente espero, que todas estas ocupaciones hayan llegado ahora a su fin y que por fin sea libre.
Vocabulary
- Puedes
- Second person singular present of 'poder'; you can
- creer
- To believe or think something is true
- fácilmente
- In an easy manner; without difficulty
- dijo
- Third person singular preterite of 'decir'; he/she said
- él
- Third person singular masculine pronoun; he
- cuán
- Exclamatory adverb expressing degree; how very
- grande
- Of considerable size, extent, or importance; big
- fue
- Preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'; was or went
- dificultad
- A situation requiring effort or skill to overcome
- para
- Preposition indicating purpose, destination, or recipient; for
- persuadir
- To convince someone to do or believe something
- padre
- Male parent; father
- todo
- Referring to the whole or entirety of something; all
- conocimiento
- Information, awareness, or understanding gained through experience
- necesario
- Required or indispensable for a purpose; necessary
- estaba
- Imperfect of 'estar'; was (temporary state or condition)
- comprendido
- Past participle of 'comprender'; understood or included within
- noble
- Having high moral qualities or distinguished character; noble
- arte
- Creative skill or discipline; art
- contabilidad
- The practice of keeping financial records; accounting
- verdad
- Conformity with fact or reality; truth
- creo
- First person singular present of 'creer'; I believe
- dejé
- First person singular preterite of 'dejar'; I left
- incrédulo
- Unwilling or unable to believe something; skeptical
- hasta
- Preposition indicating limit or extent; until/up to
- final
- The last part or conclusion of something; end
- pues
- Conjunction or filler indicating reason or continuation; well/since
- respuesta
- A reply or reaction to a question or situation
- constante
- Occurring continuously or regularly without change; constant
- incansables
- Never tiring or giving up; untiring, relentless
- súplicas
- Earnest or humble requests; pleas, entreaties
- era
- Imperfect of 'ser'; was (permanent or habitual state)
- misma
- Feminine form of 'mismo'; same or herself (emphasis)
- maestro
- A person who teaches or is skilled in a subject
- holandés
- Relating to the Netherlands or its people; Dutch
- vicario
- A representative or deputy of a church official; vicar
- Tengo
- First person singular present of 'tener'; I have
- diez
- The cardinal number between nine and eleven; ten
- mil
- The number one thousand; thousand
- florines
- Historical monetary coins used in Europe; florins
- año
- A period of twelve months; year
- sin
- Preposition indicating absence or lack; without
- griego
- Relating to Greece, its language or culture; Greek
- como
- Conjunction or preposition of comparison; as/like
- buen
- Shortened form of 'bueno' before nouns; good
- apetito
- A natural desire to eat food; appetite
- Pero
- Coordinating conjunction expressing contrast; but
- afecto
- A feeling of fondness or warmth toward someone; affection
- por
- Preposition expressing cause, exchange, or duration; for/by/through
- venció
- Third person singular preterite of 'vencer'; overcame/conquered
- fin
- The concluding point of something; end, conclusion
- aversión
- A strong feeling of dislike or opposition; aversion
- aprendizaje
- The process of acquiring knowledge or skills; learning
- permitido
- Past participle of 'permitir'; allowed or permitted
- emprender
- To begin or undertake a project or journey
- viaje
- A journey or trip to a place; travel
- descubrimiento
- The act of finding something previously unknown; discovery
- hacia
- Preposition indicating direction toward a place; toward
- tierra
- The solid surface of the earth; land, ground
- da
- Third person singular present of 'dar'; gives
- mayor
- Of greater size, importance, or degree; greater/older
- placer
- A feeling of happiness or enjoyment; pleasure
- verte
- Infinitive 'ver' + 'te'; to see you
- pero
- Coordinating conjunction expressing contrast; but
- dime
- Imperative of 'decir' + 'me'; tell me
- cómo
- Interrogative adverb asking about manner; how
- dejaste
- Second person singular preterite of 'dejar'; you left
- hermanos
- Male or mixed-gender siblings; brothers or siblings
- Muy
- Adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs; very
- bien
- In a satisfactory or correct manner; well
- muy
- Adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs; very
- felices
- Plural of 'feliz'; feeling or showing happiness; happy
- solo
- Without others; alone or only
- poco
- A small amount or degree; a little
- inquietos
- Feeling anxious or uneasy about something; restless
- tener
- To possess or hold something; to have
- noticias
- Information about recent events; news
- tuyas
- Feminine plural of 'tuyo'; belonging to you; yours
- tan
- Adverb of degree used in comparisons; so/as
- raramente
- Not occurring often; seldom, rarely
- propósito
- The reason for which something is done; purpose
- tengo
- First person singular present of 'tener'; I have
- intención
- A plan or aim to do something; intention
- darte
- Infinitive 'dar' + 'te'; to give you
- mismo
- Emphasizing identity or sameness; myself/same
- pequeña
- Of little size or importance; small, little
- lección
- A period of teaching or something learned; lesson
- nombre
- A word used to identify a person or thing; name
- querido
- Regarded with affection; dear, beloved
- continuó
- Third person singular preterite of 'continuar'; continued
- deteniéndose
- Present participle reflexive of 'detenerse'; stopping himself
- repente
- Used in phrase 'de repente'; suddenly, all at once
- mirándome
- Present participle of 'mirar' + 'me'; looking at me
- fijamente
- In a steady, fixed manner; fixedly, intently
- rostro
- The front part of the human head; face
- había
- Third person singular imperfect of 'haber'; there was/had
- notado
- Past participle of 'notar'; noticed or observed
- antes
- At an earlier time or in front; before
- mal
- In a bad or incorrect way; badly, poorly
- pareces
- Second person singular present of 'parecer'; you seem/look
- delgado
- Having little body fat; thin, slender
- pálido
- Having less color than usual; pale
- si
- Conjunction introducing a conditional clause; if
- hubieras
- Second person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'haber'; had (you)
- pasado
- Past participle of 'pasar'; spent or passed (time)
- varias
- More than two but not very many; several
- noches
- Plural of 'noche'; the dark hours after sunset; nights
- vela
- Staying awake at night; vigil or candle
- adivinado
- Past participle of 'adivinar'; guessed or divined correctly
- últimamente
- In the recent period of time; lately, recently
- estado
- Past participle of 'estar'; been (state or condition)
- profundamente
- To a great depth or degree; deeply, profoundly
- ocupado
- Engaged in activity; busy, occupied
- tarea
- A piece of work assigned or undertaken; task
- descansar
- To stop activity and relax or sleep; to rest
- suficiente
- Enough to meet a need or requirement; sufficient
- ves
- Second person singular present of 'ver'; you see
- espero
- First person singular present of 'esperar'; I hope/wait
- sinceramente
- In a genuine and honest manner; sincerely
- todas
- Feminine plural of 'todo'; all, every (feminine plural)
- estas
- Feminine plural demonstrative adjective; these
- ocupaciones
- Activities that keep one busy; occupations, pursuits
- hayan
- Third person plural present subjunctive of 'haber'; have (subj.)
- llegado
- Past participle of 'llegar'; arrived or reached
- ahora
- At the present time or moment; now
- sea
- Third person singular present subjunctive of 'ser'; be (subj.)
- libre
- Not under control of another; free
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