Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 1
"Such was the history of my beloved cottagers. It impressed me deeply.
"Tal era la historia de mis queridos aldeanos. Me impresionó profundamente.
I learned, from the views of social life which it developed, to admire their virtues and to deprecate the vices of mankind.
Aprendí, a partir de las perspectivas de la vida social que desarrollaba, a admirar sus virtudes y a deplorar los vicios de la humanidad.
"As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed.
"Hasta entonces yo consideraba el crimen como un mal lejano; la benevolencia y la generosidad estaban siempre presentes ante mí, incitando en mí el deseo de convertirme en un actor en la animada escena donde tantas cualidades admirables eran evocadas y exhibidas.
But in giving an account of the progress of my intellect, I must not omit a circumstance which occurred in the beginning of the month of August of the same year.
Pero al dar cuenta del progreso de mi intelecto, no debo omitir una circunstancia que ocurrió a principios del mes de agosto del mismo año.
"One night during my accustomed visit to the neighbouring wood where I collected my own food and brought home firing for my protectors, I found on the ground a leathern portmanteau containing several articles of dress and some books.
"Una noche, durante mi acostumbrada visita al bosque vecino donde recogía mi propio alimento y traía leña a casa para mis protectores, encontré en el suelo una maleta de cuero que contenía varios artículos de ropa y algunos libros.
I eagerly seized the prize and returned with it to my hovel.
Me apoderé ávidamente del hallazgo y regresé con él a mi cabaña.
Fortunately the books were written in the language, the elements of which I had acquired at the cottage; they consisted of _Paradise Lost_, a volume of _Plutarch's Lives_, and the _Sorrows of Werter_.
Afortunadamente, los libros estaban escritos en la lengua cuyos elementos había adquirido en la cabaña; consistían en el _Paraíso Perdido_, un volumen de las _Vidas de Plutarco_ y las _Penas del joven Werther_.
The possession of these treasures gave me extreme delight; I now continually studied and exercised my mind upon these histories, whilst my friends were employed in their ordinary occupations.
La posesión de estos tesoros me produjo un deleite extremo; ahora estudiaba continuamente y ejercitaba mi mente con estas historias, mientras mis amigos se ocupaban en sus tareas ordinarias.
"I can hardly describe to you the effect of these books.
"Apenas puedo describirles el efecto de estos libros.
Vocabulary
- Tal
- Such, of that kind or degree
- era
- Was; past tense of 'ser' (to be)
- historia
- Story, history, or narrative account
- queridos
- Dear, beloved; affectionate term for cherished people
- aldeanos
- Villagers; people who live in a small village
- impresionó
- Impressed; had a strong effect on someone
- profundamente
- Deeply, profoundly; to a great extent or degree
- Aprendí
- I learned; past tense of 'aprender' (to learn)
- partir
- To split; also used in 'a partir de' meaning 'from'
- perspectivas
- Perspectives, viewpoints; ways of considering something
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive or one's existence
- social
- Social; relating to society or community interactions
- desarrollaba
- Was developing; imperfect tense of 'desarrollar'
- admirar
- To admire; to regard with wonder and respect
- virtudes
- Virtues; positive moral qualities or admirable traits
- deplorar
- To deplore; to strongly disapprove or lament something
- vicios
- Vices; immoral or wicked habits and behaviors
- humanidad
- Humanity; all human beings collectively or human nature
- Hasta
- Until, up to; preposition indicating a limit or point
- entonces
- Then, at that time; referring to a past moment
- consideraba
- Considered; imperfect tense of 'considerar' (to consider)
- crimen
- Crime; a serious illegal or immoral act
- mal
- Evil, bad; something harmful or morally wrong
- lejano
- Distant, far away; not near in space or relation
- benevolencia
- Benevolence; the quality of being kind and generous
- generosidad
- Generosity; willingness to give freely to others
- estaban
- Were; imperfect tense of 'estar' (to be)
- siempre
- Always; at all times without exception
- presentes
- Present; existing or available in a given situation
- ante
- Before, in front of; preposition indicating position
- incitando
- Inciting, urging; stimulating someone toward an action
- deseo
- Desire, wish; a strong feeling of wanting something
- convertirme
- To become; reflexive infinitive meaning to turn oneself into
- actor
- Actor, participant; one who acts or takes part
- animada
- Animated, lively; full of energy and activity
- escena
- Scene; a setting or situation where events unfold
- donde
- Where; relative adverb indicating place or location
- tantas
- So many; indicating a large quantity, feminine plural
- cualidades
- Qualities; characteristics or attributes of a person
- admirables
- Admirable; worthy of admiration and high regard
- eran
- Were; imperfect tense of 'ser', third-person plural
- evocadas
- Evoked, called forth; brought to mind or displayed
- exhibidas
- Exhibited, displayed; shown openly for others to see
- dar
- To give; also used in expressions like 'dar cuenta'
- cuenta
- Account, count; 'dar cuenta' means to give an account
- progreso
- Progress; forward movement or advancement in development
- intelecto
- Intellect; the faculty of reasoning and understanding
- debo
- I must, I should; first-person present of 'deber'
- omitir
- To omit; to leave out or fail to mention something
- circunstancia
- Circumstance; a condition or fact surrounding an event
- ocurrió
- Occurred, happened; past tense of 'ocurrir'
- principios
- Principles; also beginning, as in 'a principios de'
- mes
- Month; a unit of time in a calendar year
- agosto
- August; the eighth month of the year
- mismo
- Same, himself; used for emphasis or to indicate identity
- año
- Year; a period of twelve months
- noche
- Night; the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
- durante
- During; throughout the course of a time period
- acostumbrada
- Accustomed, usual; something done habitually or regularly
- visita
- Visit; an act of going to see a place or person
- bosque
- Forest, woods; a large area covered with trees
- vecino
- Neighboring, neighbor; nearby or living close by
- recogía
- Was gathering; imperfect tense of 'recoger' (to collect)
- propio
- Own, proper; belonging specifically to oneself
- alimento
- Food, nourishment; substance consumed to sustain life
- traía
- Was bringing; imperfect tense of 'traer' (to bring)
- leña
- Firewood; wood cut and gathered for burning as fuel
- protectores
- Protectors; those who defend or care for others
- encontré
- I found, I encountered; preterite of 'encontrar'
- suelo
- Ground, floor, soil; the surface underfoot
- maleta
- Suitcase, bag; a case used for carrying belongings
- cuero
- Leather; animal hide used to make goods
- contenía
- Contained; imperfect tense of 'contener' (to contain)
- varios
- Several, various; more than one of different kinds
- artículos
- Articles, items; individual objects or pieces of writing
- ropa
- Clothing, clothes; garments worn on the body
- algunos
- Some, a few; an indefinite small number of things
- apoderé
- I seized, took possession; from 'apoderarse' (to take hold)
- ávidamente
- Eagerly, avidly; with great enthusiasm and desire
- hallazgo
- Find, discovery; something valuable found unexpectedly
- regresé
- I returned; preterite tense of 'regresar' (to return)
- cabaña
- Cabin, hut; a small simple shelter or dwelling
- Afortunadamente
- Fortunately; in a lucky or favorable manner
- escritos
- Writings, written texts; documents or literary works
- lengua
- Language, tongue; a system of communication or body part
- cuyos
- Whose, of which; relative possessive pronoun, masculine plural
- elementos
- Elements, basics; fundamental parts or components of something
- había
- Had; past perfect auxiliary form of 'haber'
- adquirido
- Acquired; past participle of 'adquirir' (to acquire)
- consistían
- Consisted; imperfect of 'consistir' (to consist of)
- Paraíso
- Paradise; a place or state of perfect happiness
- Perdido
- Lost; past participle of 'perder', also a title word
- volumen
- Volume; a book or one book of a multi-part work
- Vidas
- Lives; plural of 'vida', referring to biographical accounts
- Penas
- Sorrows, pains; sufferings or causes of distress
- joven
- Young; a person or thing of a relatively young age
- posesión
- Possession; the state of having or owning something
- tesoros
- Treasures; highly valued or cherished objects or things
- produjo
- Produced, caused; preterite of 'producir' (to produce)
- deleite
- Delight, pleasure; a feeling of great joy or satisfaction
- extremo
- Extreme; of the greatest degree or intensity
- ahora
- Now; at the present time or moment
- estudiaba
- Was studying; imperfect tense of 'estudiar' (to study)
- continuamente
- Continuously; without stopping or interruption
- ejercitaba
- Was exercising, training; imperfect of 'ejercitar'
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thinking and reasoning
- historias
- Stories, histories; narrative accounts of events
- mientras
- While, whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- amigos
- Friends; people with whom one has a close bond
- ocupaban
- Were occupied with; imperfect of 'ocuparse' (to be busy)
- tareas
- Tasks, chores; duties or assignments to be completed
- ordinarias
- Ordinary, routine; normal or everyday in nature
- Apenas
- Hardly, scarcely; only just or with great difficulty
- puedo
- I can; first-person present of 'poder' (to be able)
- describirles
- To describe to you all; infinitive with indirect object pronoun
- efecto
- Effect; a result or impact produced by a cause
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