Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 6
Through this work I obtained a cursory knowledge of history and a view of the several empires at present existing in the world; it gave me an insight into the manners, governments, and religions of the different nations of the earth.
A través de esta obra obtuve un conocimiento superficial de la historia y una visión de los diversos imperios que existen actualmente en el mundo; me dio una perspectiva de las costumbres, los gobiernos y las religiones de las diferentes naciones de la tierra.
I heard of the slothful Asiatics, of the stupendous genius and mental activity of the Grecians, of the wars and wonderful virtue of the early Romans—of their subsequent degenerating—of the decline of that mighty empire, of chivalry, Christianity, and kings.
Oí hablar de los perezosos asiáticos, del estupendo genio y la actividad mental de los griegos, de las guerras y la maravillosa virtud de los primeros romanos, de su posterior degeneración, de la decadencia de ese poderoso imperio, de la caballería, el cristianismo y los reyes.
I heard of the discovery of the American hemisphere and wept with Safie over the hapless fate of its original inhabitants.
Oí hablar del descubrimiento del hemisferio americano y lloré junto a Safie por el desdichado destino de sus habitantes originales.
"These wonderful narrations inspired me with strange feelings.
"Estas maravillosas narraciones me inspiraron sentimientos extraños.
Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous and magnificent, yet so vicious and base?
¿Era el hombre, en verdad, a la vez tan poderoso, tan virtuoso y magnífico, y sin embargo tan vicioso y vil?
He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle and at another as all that can be conceived of noble and godlike.
En un momento parecía un mero vástago del principio del mal y en otro como todo lo que puede concebirse de noble y divino.
To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honour that can befall a sensitive being; to be base and vicious, as many on record have been, appeared the lowest degradation, a condition more abject than that of the blind mole or harmless worm.
Ser un hombre grande y virtuoso parecía el mayor honor que puede corresponderle a un ser sensible; ser vil y vicioso, como muchos lo han sido según los registros, parecía la más baja degradación, una condición más abyecta que la del topo ciego o el inofensivo gusano.
For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing.
Durante mucho tiempo no pude concebir cómo un hombre podía salir a asesinar a su semejante, ni siquiera por qué existían leyes y gobiernos; pero cuando escuché detalles de vicios y derramamiento de sangre, mi asombro cesó y me aparté con repugnancia y aborrecimiento.
Vocabulary
- través
- Through; across; by means of something
- obra
- Work; literary, artistic, or creative piece
- obtuve
- I obtained; past tense of obtener
- conocimiento
- Knowledge; understanding of a subject or topic
- superficial
- Superficial; shallow; lacking depth or detail
- historia
- History; story; account of past events
- visión
- Vision; perspective; way of seeing something
- diversos
- Diverse; various; different kinds or types
- imperios
- Empires; vast territories under one ruler
- existen
- Exist; are present or in existence currently
- actualmente
- Currently; at the present time; nowadays
- mundo
- World; the earth and all its inhabitants
- dio
- Gave; third person past tense of dar
- perspectiva
- Perspective; viewpoint; way of understanding things
- costumbres
- Customs; traditions; habitual cultural practices
- gobiernos
- Governments; systems ruling nations or states
- religiones
- Religions; systems of spiritual belief and practice
- diferentes
- Different; distinct; not the same as others
- naciones
- Nations; countries; politically organized communities
- tierra
- Earth; land; ground; soil or territory
- Oí
- I heard; past tense of oír
- hablar
- To speak; to talk; verbal communication
- perezosos
- Lazy; idle; lacking energy or motivation
- asiáticos
- Asians; people from or related to Asia
- estupendo
- Stupendous; wonderful; remarkably impressive or great
- genio
- Genius; extraordinary intellectual or creative ability
- actividad
- Activity; action; engagement in tasks or pursuits
- mental
- Mental; relating to the mind or intellect
- griegos
- Greeks; people from or related to Greece
- guerras
- Wars; armed conflicts between nations or groups
- maravillosa
- Marvelous; wonderful; causing admiration or amazement
- virtud
- Virtue; moral excellence; admirable quality or trait
- primeros
- First; earliest; before all others in order
- romanos
- Romans; people from or related to ancient Rome
- posterior
- Later; subsequent; coming after in time or order
- degeneración
- Degeneration; decline in quality or moral standards
- decadencia
- Decadence; decay; moral or cultural deterioration
- poderoso
- Powerful; mighty; having great strength or authority
- imperio
- Empire; territory ruled by an emperor or power
- caballería
- Chivalry; knighthood; mounted military force
- cristianismo
- Christianity; religion based on teachings of Jesus Christ
- reyes
- Kings; male monarchs ruling a kingdom
- descubrimiento
- Discovery; finding something previously unknown or hidden
- hemisferio
- Hemisphere; half of the earth or a sphere
- americano
- American; relating to the Americas or United States
- lloré
- I cried; past tense of llorar
- junto
- Together; alongside; next to someone or something
- desdichado
- Unfortunate; wretched; unhappy; miserable fate
- destino
- Destiny; fate; predetermined course of events
- habitantes
- Inhabitants; residents; people living in a place
- originales
- Original; native; first or earliest inhabitants
- maravillosas
- Marvelous; wonderful; causing great admiration
- narraciones
- Narratives; stories; accounts of events or experiences
- inspiraron
- Inspired; aroused feelings or motivation in someone
- sentimientos
- Feelings; emotions; inner emotional states or reactions
- extraños
- Strange; unusual; foreign; unfamiliar feelings or things
- hombre
- Man; human being; adult male person
- verdad
- Truth; reality; that which is true or real
- vez
- Time; occasion; instance of something occurring
- virtuoso
- Virtuous; morally excellent; having high ethical standards
- magnífico
- Magnificent; splendid; impressively great or wonderful
- embargo
- However; nevertheless; used in sin embargo
- vicioso
- Vicious; wicked; morally depraved or corrupt
- vil
- Vile; base; morally despicable or contemptible
- momento
- Moment; instant; brief period of time
- parecía
- Seemed; appeared; imperfect past of parecer
- mero
- Mere; only; nothing more than something simple
- vástago
- Offspring; descendant; shoot or product of something
- principio
- Principle; beginning; fundamental rule or starting point
- mal
- Evil; bad; moral wrongness or harm
- concebirse
- To be conceived; imagined; thought of mentally
- noble
- Noble; honorable; of high moral or social character
- divino
- Divine; godly; of or relating to a deity
- grande
- Great; large; grand; impressive in size or importance
- mayor
- Greater; larger; older; comparative of grande
- honor
- Honor; respect; high regard or moral integrity
- corresponderle
- To correspond to him; to belong or befit someone
- sensible
- Sensitive; capable of feeling emotions or sensations
- según
- According to; depending on; as stated by someone
- registros
- Records; registers; written accounts or official documents
- baja
- Low; base; inferior in quality or status
- degradación
- Degradation; humiliation; reduction to lower moral state
- condición
- Condition; state; circumstance of being or existence
- abyecta
- Abject; utterly miserable; degraded to lowest state
- topo
- Mole; small burrowing mammal with poor eyesight
- ciego
- Blind; unable to see; lacking vision
- inofensivo
- Harmless; inoffensive; not causing danger or harm
- gusano
- Worm; small crawling invertebrate animal
- Durante
- During; throughout; for the duration of a period
- tiempo
- Time; weather; period or duration of something
- pude
- I could; past tense of poder
- concebir
- To conceive; to imagine; to understand something mentally
- salir
- To leave; to go out; to exit a place
- asesinar
- To murder; to assassinate; to kill deliberately
- semejante
- Such; similar; of that kind or nature
- siquiera
- Even; at least; used in negative contexts
- existían
- Existed; were present; imperfect past of existir
- leyes
- Laws; rules; legal regulations governing society
- escuché
- I listened; I heard; past tense of escuchar
- detalles
- Details; specific particulars or fine points
- vicios
- Vices; immoral behaviors; wicked habits or practices
- derramamiento
- Spilling; shedding; as in bloodshed or spillage
- sangre
- Blood; the red fluid flowing through living bodies
- asombro
- Astonishment; amazement; feeling of great surprise
- cesó
- Ceased; stopped; past tense of cesar
- aparté
- I turned away; I set aside; past of apartar
- repugnancia
- Repugnance; disgust; strong feeling of aversion
- aborrecimiento
- Abhorrence; deep hatred; intense feeling of loathing
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