Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 6
By degrees the calm and heavenly scene restored me, and I continued my journey towards Geneva.
Poco a poco la tranquila y celestial escena me restauró, y continué mi viaje hacia Ginebra.
The road ran by the side of the lake, which became narrower as I approached my native town.
El camino transcurría a orillas del lago, que se iba estrechando a medida que me acercaba a mi ciudad natal.
I discovered more distinctly the black sides of Jura, and the bright summit of Mont Blanc.
Distinguí con mayor claridad las oscuras laderas del Jura y la brillante cima del Mont Blanc.
I wept like a child.
Lloré como un niño.
"Dear mountains! my own beautiful lake! how do you welcome your wanderer?
«¡Queridas montañas! ¡Mi hermoso lago! ¿Cómo acogéis a vuestro peregrino?
Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid.
Vuestras cimas están despejadas; el cielo y el lago son azules y apacibles.
Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?"
¿Es esto un presagio de paz, o una burla de mi desdicha?»
I fear, my friend, that I shall render myself tedious by dwelling on these preliminary circumstances; but they were days of comparative happiness, and I think of them with pleasure.
Me temo, amigo mío, que me haré tedioso deteniéndome en estas circunstancias preliminares; pero fueron días de relativa felicidad, y los recuerdo con placer.
My country, my beloved country! who but a native can tell the delight I took in again beholding thy streams, thy mountains, and, more than all, thy lovely lake!
¡Mi patria, mi amada patria! ¿Quién sino un hijo de esta tierra puede expresar el deleite que sentí al contemplar de nuevo tus arroyos, tus montañas y, sobre todo, tu hermoso lago!
Yet, as I drew nearer home, grief and fear again overcame me.
Sin embargo, a medida que me acercaba a casa, el dolor y el miedo volvieron a apoderarse de mí.
Night also closed around; and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I felt still more gloomily.
La noche también se cerró a mi alrededor; y cuando apenas podía distinguir las oscuras montañas, me sentí aún más sombrío.
The picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings.
El panorama se me antojaba una vasta y tenebrosa escena de maldad, y presentí oscuramente que estaba destinado a convertirme en el más desgraciado de los seres humanos.
Alas! I prophesied truly, and failed only in one single circumstance, that in all the misery I imagined and dreaded, I did not conceive the hundredth part of the anguish I was destined to endure.
¡Ay! Profeticé con verdad, y solo me equivoqué en una única circunstancia: que en toda la miseria que imaginé y temí, no concebí ni la centésima parte de la angustia que estaba destinado a soportar.
Vocabulary
- Poco
- A small amount; not much
- a
- To; preposition indicating direction or indirect object
- poco
- A small amount; not much
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- tranquila
- Calm, peaceful, quiet in nature or mood
- y
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- celestial
- Heavenly, relating to the sky or divine realm
- escena
- Scene, setting, or visual spectacle observed
- me
- Me; first-person singular object pronoun
- restauró
- Restored, renewed, or revived someone's condition
- continué
- I continued, kept going on a journey
- mi
- My; first-person singular possessive adjective
- viaje
- Journey, trip, or travel from place to place
- hacia
- Toward, in the direction of a place
- El
- The; masculine singular definite article
- camino
- Road, path, or route traveled on foot
- transcurría
- Was passing by or unfolding along a route
- orillas
- Shores, banks, or edges of a body of water
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el
- lago
- Lake; a large inland body of water
- que
- That, which, who; relative or subordinating conjunction
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- iba
- Was going; imperfect tense of ir
- estrechando
- Narrowing, becoming increasingly narrow or tight
- medida
- Measure; used in phrase 'a medida que' meaning as
- acercaba
- Was approaching, drawing near to a place
- ciudad
- City, town, urban settlement or municipality
- natal
- Native, relating to one's place of birth
- Distinguí
- I distinguished, made out, or clearly perceived
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- mayor
- Greater, larger, or more significant in degree
- claridad
- Clarity, clearness, or brightness of perception
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- oscuras
- Dark, dim, shadowy in appearance or atmosphere
- laderas
- Hillsides, slopes of a mountain or hill
- brillante
- Brilliant, shining, bright in appearance
- cima
- Summit, peak, or top of a mountain
- Lloré
- I cried, shed tears from emotion or grief
- como
- Like, as; used for comparisons or examples
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- niño
- Child, boy, young person of little age
- Queridas
- Dear, beloved; affectionate feminine plural address
- montañas
- Mountains; large natural elevations of earth's surface
- Mi
- My; first-person singular possessive adjective
- hermoso
- Beautiful, lovely, handsome in appearance
- Cómo
- How; interrogative or exclamatory adverb
- acogéis
- You welcome, receive, or greet a returning person
- vuestro
- Your; second-person plural possessive adjective (Spain)
- peregrino
- Pilgrim, wanderer, traveler on a journey
- Vuestras
- Your; second-person plural feminine possessive adjective
- cimas
- Summits, peaks, tops of mountains or hills
- están
- They are; third-person plural of estar
- despejadas
- Clear, free of clouds; unobstructed sky above
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- cielo
- Sky; the atmosphere seen from earth's surface
- son
- They are; third-person plural of ser
- azules
- Blue; plural adjective describing color of sky
- apacibles
- Gentle, mild, calm, and peaceful in character
- Es
- Is; third-person singular present tense of ser
- esto
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun referring to something
- presagio
- Omen, portent, or sign of future events
- de
- Of, from; very common Spanish preposition
- paz
- Peace; state of calm, tranquility, or absence of conflict
- o
- Or; basic coordinating disjunctive conjunction
- una
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- burla
- Mockery, jest, cruel joke played on someone
- desdicha
- Misfortune, unhappiness, wretchedness, or misery
- Me
- Me; first-person singular reflexive or object pronoun
- temo
- I fear, I'm afraid; from verb temer
- amigo
- Friend; a person with whom one has friendship
- mío
- Mine; first-person singular possessive pronoun
- haré
- I will make or do; future tense of hacer
- tedioso
- Tedious, boring, or excessively tiresome to endure
- deteniéndome
- Stopping myself, pausing, dwelling on a subject
- en
- In, on, at; common Spanish preposition of location
- estas
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
- circunstancias
- Circumstances, conditions, or situational details surrounding events
- preliminares
- Preliminary, introductory, coming before main content
- pero
- But; coordinating adversative conjunction indicating contrast
- fueron
- They were; third-person plural preterite of ser/ir
- días
- Days; plural of día, units of time
- relativa
- Relative, comparative, not absolute in degree
- felicidad
- Happiness, joy, state of being content and joyful
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- recuerdo
- I remember; memory, recollection of past events
- placer
- Pleasure, enjoyment, delight felt in an experience
- patria
- Homeland, native country, fatherland one belongs to
- amada
- Beloved, cherished, dearly loved feminine noun or adjective
- Quién
- Who; interrogative pronoun asking about a person
- sino
- But rather, except; used after negation for contrast
- hijo
- Son, child; male offspring of a parent
- esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- tierra
- Land, earth, soil, or native ground
- puede
- Can, is able to; third-person singular of poder
- expresar
- To express, convey, or articulate feelings or thoughts
- deleite
- Delight, intense pleasure or joy experienced keenly
- sentí
- I felt; first-person singular preterite of sentir
- al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- contemplar
- To contemplate, gaze upon, or observe thoughtfully
- nuevo
- New; also used in 'de nuevo' meaning again
- tus
- Your; second-person singular plural possessive adjective
- arroyos
- Streams, brooks, small flowing bodies of water
- sobre
- On, over, about; preposition with multiple uses
- todo
- Everything, all; used in 'sobre todo' meaning especially
- tu
- Your; second-person singular possessive adjective (informal)
- Sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo' meaning however or nevertheless
- casa
- House, home; a building where people live
- dolor
- Pain, grief, sorrow, or physical or emotional hurt
- miedo
- Fear, fright, or dread of something threatening
- volvieron
- They returned; also 'volvieron a' meaning did again
- apoderarse
- To take hold of, seize, or overcome someone
- mí
- Me; stressed first-person singular prepositional pronoun
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- noche
- Night; the dark hours after sunset
- también
- Also, too; additive adverb connecting similar ideas
- cerró
- Closed in, shut; third-person singular preterite of cerrar
- alrededor
- Around, surrounding; indicating encircling of something
- cuando
- When; temporal conjunction or interrogative adverb
- apenas
- Hardly, barely, scarcely; indicating minimal degree
- podía
- Could, was able to; imperfect of poder
- distinguir
- To distinguish, make out, or perceive clearly
- aún
- Still, yet; adverb indicating continuation or emphasis
- más
- More; comparative adverb or adjective of quantity
- sombrío
- Gloomy, dark, somber in mood or appearance
- panorama
- Panorama, wide view, or overall visible landscape
- antojaba
- Seemed, appeared; imperfect of antojarse (to seem)
- vasta
- Vast, immense, enormous in extent or scale
- tenebrosa
- Dark, gloomy, sinister, or shadowy in character
- maldad
- Evil, wickedness, malice as an abstract concept
- presentí
- I sensed, had a premonition or foreboding feeling
- oscuramente
- Darkly, dimly, vaguely in a shadowy or unclear way
- estaba
- Was; first/third-person singular imperfect of estar
- destinado
- Destined, fated, predetermined to a particular outcome
- convertirme
- To become, to turn myself into something else
- desgraciado
- Wretched, unfortunate, miserable person or state
- seres
- Beings, creatures, living entities of any kind
- humanos
- Human; relating to people or humankind generally
- Ay
- Alas, oh; exclamation expressing pain or lamentation
- Profeticé
- I prophesied, foretold; preterite of profetizar
- verdad
- Truth; that which is accurate, real, or correct
- solo
- Only, alone, just; adverb or adjective of solitude
- equivoqué
- I was mistaken, made an error; preterite of equivocarse
- única
- Unique, only, sole; feminine singular adjective
- circunstancia
- Circumstance, particular condition or situational detail
- toda
- All, entire; feminine singular of todo
- miseria
- Misery, wretchedness, extreme suffering or poverty
- imaginé
- I imagined, pictured in mind; preterite of imaginar
- temí
- I feared; first-person singular preterite of temer
- no
- No, not; basic negation word in Spanish
- concebí
- I conceived, grasped, or imagined; preterite of concebir
- ni
- Nor, not even; negative coordinating conjunction
- centésima
- Hundredth; fractional ordinal indicating one of hundred parts
- parte
- Part, portion, fraction of a whole thing
- angustia
- Anguish, distress, acute emotional or mental suffering
- soportar
- To bear, endure, or tolerate hardship or suffering
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