Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 4
If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us.
Si nuestros impulsos se limitaran al hambre, la sed y el deseo, podríamos ser casi libres; pero ahora nos mueve cada viento que sopla y una palabra o escena fortuita que esa palabra pueda transmitirnos.
We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep.
Descansamos; un sueño tiene el poder de envenenar el sueño.
We rise; one wand'ring thought pollutes the day.
Nos levantamos; un pensamiento errante enturbia el día.
We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep, Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away;
Sentimos, concebimos o razonamos; reímos o lloramos, abrazamos el querido dolor o alejamos nuestras penas;
It is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow, The path of its departure still is free.
Es lo mismo: pues, ya sea alegría o tristeza, el camino de su partida sigue siendo libre.
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability!
El ayer del hombre nunca podrá ser como su mañana; ¡Nada puede perdurar salvo la mutabilidad!
It was nearly noon when I arrived at the top of the ascent.
Era casi mediodía cuando llegué a la cima de la ascensión.
For some time I sat upon the rock that overlooks the sea of ice.
Durante algún tiempo estuve sentado sobre la roca que domina el mar de hielo.
A mist covered both that and the surrounding mountains.
Una neblina cubría tanto ese mar como las montañas circundantes.
Presently a breeze dissipated the cloud, and I descended upon the glacier.
Poco después, una brisa disipó la nube y descendí sobre el glaciar.
The surface is very uneven, rising like the waves of a troubled sea, descending low, and interspersed by rifts that sink deep.
La superficie es muy irregular, elevándose como las olas de un mar agitado, descendiendo hasta lo bajo e intercalada por grietas que se hunden profundamente.
The field of ice is almost a league in width, but I spent nearly two hours in crossing it.
El campo de hielo tiene casi una legua de ancho, pero tardé casi dos horas en cruzarlo.
The opposite mountain is a bare perpendicular rock.
La montaña opuesta es una roca desnuda y perpendicular.
From the side where I now stood Montanvert was exactly opposite, at the distance of a league; and above it rose Mont Blanc, in awful majesty.
Desde el lado donde me encontraba, el Montanvert estaba exactamente enfrente, a la distancia de una legua; y por encima de él se alzaba el Mont Blanc, en imponente majestuosidad.
I remained in a recess of the rock, gazing on this wonderful and stupendous scene.
Permanecí en un recoveco de la roca, contemplando esta escena maravillosa y estupenda.
Vocabulary
- nuestros
- Possessive adjective meaning 'our' for masculine nouns.
- impulsos
- Sudden urges or drives motivating human behavior.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive or passive verbs.
- limitaran
- Past subjunctive of limitar; 'were limited' or 'restricted'.
- hambre
- The physical sensation of needing food; hunger.
- sed
- The physical need to drink liquid; thirst.
- deseo
- A strong feeling of wanting something; desire or wish.
- podríamos
- Conditional form of poder; 'we could' or 'we would be able'.
- ser
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to be' in a permanent sense.
- casi
- Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly'.
- libres
- Adjective meaning 'free', unrestrained, or independent.
- ahora
- Adverb meaning 'now', referring to the present moment.
- nos
- First-person plural object pronoun meaning 'us' or 'ourselves'.
- mueve
- Third-person singular of mover; 'moves' or 'stirs'.
- cada
- Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every'.
- viento
- The natural movement of air; wind.
- sopla
- Third-person singular of soplar; 'blows', as wind does.
- palabra
- A single unit of spoken or written language; word.
- escena
- A scene, setting, or situation observed or experienced.
- fortuita
- Adjective meaning happening by chance; accidental or random.
- esa
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'that'.
- pueda
- Present subjunctive of poder; 'can' or 'may be able'.
- transmitirnos
- To transmit or convey something to us; communicate.
- Descansamos
- We rest or sleep; first-person plural of descansar.
- sueño
- A dream experienced during sleep, or sleepiness itself.
- tiene
- Third-person singular of tener; 'has' or 'holds'.
- poder
- Ability or capacity to do something; power.
- envenenar
- To poison or corrupt something or someone.
- levantamos
- We get up or rise; first-person plural of levantarse.
- pensamiento
- A thought, idea, or the act of thinking.
- errante
- Adjective meaning wandering, roaming, or straying.
- enturbia
- To cloud, muddy, or obscure something; third-person singular.
- día
- A period of twenty-four hours; day.
- Sentimos
- We feel or sense; first-person plural of sentir.
- concebimos
- We conceive or form ideas; first-person plural of concebir.
- razonamos
- We reason or think logically; first-person plural of razonar.
- reímos
- We laugh; first-person plural of reír.
- lloramos
- We cry or weep; first-person plural of llorar.
- abrazamos
- We embrace or hug; first-person plural of abrazar.
- querido
- Adjective meaning beloved, dear, or cherished.
- dolor
- Physical or emotional suffering, pain, or grief.
- alejamos
- We move away from or distance ourselves; first-person plural.
- nuestras
- Possessive adjective meaning 'our' for feminine nouns.
- penas
- Sorrows, griefs, or troubles causing emotional pain.
- lo
- Neuter article or pronoun meaning 'it' or 'the thing'.
- mismo
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'same' or 'itself'.
- pues
- Conjunction meaning 'since', 'then', or 'well'.
- ya
- Adverb meaning 'already', 'now', or 'yet'.
- sea
- Present subjunctive of ser; 'be' in conditional contexts.
- alegría
- A feeling of great happiness or joy.
- tristeza
- A feeling of sadness or sorrow; melancholy.
- camino
- A path, road, or way to travel somewhere.
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', 'its', or 'their'.
- partida
- A departure or leaving; the act of going away.
- sigue
- Third-person singular of seguir; 'continues' or 'follows'.
- siendo
- Gerund of ser; 'being', used in progressive constructions.
- libre
- Adjective meaning free, unrestrained, or independent.
- ayer
- Adverb or noun meaning 'yesterday' or the recent past.
- hombre
- An adult male person; also used to mean humankind.
- nunca
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'not ever'.
- podrá
- Future tense of poder; 'will be able to'.
- como
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as', 'like', or 'how'.
- mañana
- The day after today; tomorrow, or the near future.
- Nada
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'not anything'.
- puede
- Third-person singular of poder; 'can' or 'is able to'.
- perdurar
- To last or endure over a long period of time.
- salvo
- Preposition meaning 'except', 'save', or 'apart from'.
- mutabilidad
- The quality of being subject to constant change; mutability.
- Era
- Imperfect tense of ser; 'it was' or 'there was'.
- mediodía
- The middle of the day; noon or midday.
- cuando
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'.
- llegué
- First-person preterite of llegar; 'I arrived' or 'I reached'.
- cima
- The highest point of a mountain or hill; summit.
- ascensión
- The act of climbing or ascending to a higher point.
- Durante
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'throughout a period'.
- algún
- Indefinite adjective meaning 'some' or 'any'.
- tiempo
- The progression of events; time, or weather.
- estuve
- First-person preterite of estar; 'I was' in a state.
- sentado
- Past participle of sentar; in a seated or sitting position.
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'over', 'about', or 'upon'.
- roca
- A large, solid mass of stone; rock or boulder.
- domina
- Third-person singular of dominar; 'dominates' or 'overlooks'.
- mar
- A large body of saltwater; the sea or ocean.
- hielo
- Water frozen into a solid state; ice.
- neblina
- A light mist or thin fog reducing visibility.
- cubría
- Imperfect of cubrir; 'was covering' or 'covered'.
- tanto
- Adverb meaning 'so much' or 'as much'.
- ese
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'that'.
- montañas
- Large natural elevations of earth and rock; mountains.
- circundantes
- Adjective meaning surrounding or encircling on all sides.
- Poco
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'little', 'few', or 'shortly'.
- después
- Adverb meaning 'after', 'later', or 'afterward'.
- brisa
- A gentle, light wind; breeze.
- disipó
- Preterite of disipar; 'dispersed' or 'dissolved' the cloud.
- nube
- A visible mass of water vapor in the sky; cloud.
- descendí
- First-person preterite of descender; 'I descended' or 'I went down'.
- glaciar
- A large, slow-moving mass of ice on land.
- superficie
- The outer or uppermost layer or face of something.
- muy
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'extremely'.
- irregular
- Not smooth or uniform; uneven in shape or pattern.
- elevándose
- Gerund of elevar; rising or lifting upward continuously.
- olas
- Waves of water moving across a surface.
- agitado
- Adjective meaning agitated, rough, or turbulently disturbed.
- descendiendo
- Gerund of descender; going or moving downward continuously.
- hasta
- Preposition meaning 'until', 'up to', or 'as far as'.
- bajo
- Adjective meaning 'low'; also preposition meaning 'under'.
- e
- Variant of 'y' (and), used before words starting with 'i'.
- intercalada
- Adjective meaning interspersed or inserted between other things.
- por
- Preposition meaning 'by', 'for', 'through', or 'because of'.
- grietas
- Narrow openings or splits in rock or ice; cracks, crevices.
- hunden
- Third-person plural of hundir; 'sink' or 'plunge' deeply.
- profundamente
- Adverb meaning deeply, profoundly, or to a great depth.
- campo
- An open area of land; field or countryside.
- legua
- An old unit of distance, roughly three miles or five kilometers.
- ancho
- Adjective meaning wide or broad in measurement.
- tardé
- First-person preterite of tardar; 'I took' a certain time.
- horas
- Units of time, each consisting of sixty minutes; hours.
- cruzarlo
- To cross it; infinitive cruzar with attached pronoun.
- montaña
- A large natural elevation of rock and earth; mountain.
- opuesta
- Adjective meaning opposite, facing, or on the other side.
- desnuda
- Adjective meaning bare, exposed, or stripped of covering.
- perpendicular
- At a right angle; vertical or straight up and down.
- Desde
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'since' a point in space.
- lado
- A side or edge of an object, space, or position.
- donde
- Adverb meaning 'where', indicating a place or location.
- encontraba
- Imperfect of encontrar; 'I was' located or situated.
- estaba
- Imperfect of estar; 'was' in a temporary state or location.
- exactamente
- Adverb meaning exactly, precisely, or with perfect accuracy.
- enfrente
- Adverb meaning 'in front', 'opposite', or 'facing'.
- distancia
- The amount of space between two points; distance.
- encima
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'above', 'on top of'.
- alzaba
- Imperfect of alzar; 'rose' or 'was rising' upward.
- imponente
- Adjective meaning imposing, impressive, or commanding in appearance.
- majestuosidad
- The quality of being majestic, grand, or stately.
- Permanecí
- First-person preterite of permanecer; 'I remained' or 'I stayed'.
- recoveco
- A nook, hidden corner, or secluded recess in a space.
- contemplando
- Gerund of contemplar; gazing at or meditating upon something.
- esta
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' for feminine nouns.
- maravillosa
- Adjective meaning wonderful, marvelous, or astonishing.
- estupenda
- Adjective meaning stupendous, magnificent, or extraordinarily impressive.
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