Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 9
"Be assured, sir," said he, "no pains or exertions on my part shall be spared to discover the villain."
«Tenga la seguridad, señor», dijo él, «no se escatimarán esfuerzos ni diligencias de mi parte para descubrir al villano».
"I thank you," replied I; "listen, therefore, to the deposition that I have to make.
«Le doy las gracias», respondí; «escuche, pues, la declaración que tengo que hacer.
It is indeed a tale so strange that I should fear you would not credit it were there not something in truth which, however wonderful, forces conviction.
Es en verdad una historia tan extraña que temería que usted no la creyera, si no hubiera en ella algo que, por maravilloso que sea, obliga a la convicción.
The story is too connected to be mistaken for a dream, and I have no motive for falsehood."
La historia es demasiado coherente para confundirla con un sueño, y no tengo ningún motivo para mentir».
My manner as I thus addressed him was impressive but calm; I had formed in my own heart a resolution to pursue my destroyer to death, and this purpose quieted my agony and for an interval reconciled me to life.
Mi actitud al dirigirme a él de ese modo era imponente pero serena; había formado en mi propio corazón la resolución de perseguir a mi destructor hasta la muerte, y este propósito calmó mi agonía y por un tiempo me reconcilió con la vida.
I now related my history briefly but with firmness and precision, marking the dates with accuracy and never deviating into invective or exclamation.
Relaté entonces mi historia brevemente pero con firmeza y precisión, señalando las fechas con exactitud y sin desviarme nunca hacia el improperio o la exclamación.
The magistrate appeared at first perfectly incredulous, but as I continued he became more attentive and interested; I saw him sometimes shudder with horror; at others a lively surprise, unmingled with disbelief, was painted on his countenance.
El magistrado parecía al principio perfectamente incrédulo, pero a medida que yo continuaba se fue mostrando más atento e interesado; lo vi estremecerse de horror en algunos momentos; en otros, una viva sorpresa, sin mezcla de incredulidad, se dibujaba en su semblante.
When I had concluded my narration, I said, "This is the being whom I accuse and for whose seizure and punishment I call upon you to exert your whole power.
Cuando hube concluido mi narración, dije: «Este es el ser al que acuso y por cuya captura y castigo le insto a que ejerza todo su poder.
It is your duty as a magistrate, and I believe and hope that your feelings as a man will not revolt from the execution of those functions on this occasion.
Es su deber como magistrado, y creo y espero que sus sentimientos como hombre no se rebelarán contra el cumplimiento de esas funciones en esta ocasión.
Vocabulary
- Tenga
- Have; formal imperative of tener
- seguridad
- Security, certainty, or assurance about something
- señor
- Sir, mister; formal title for a man
- dijo
- Said; third person singular preterite of decir
- escatimarán
- Will spare or skimp on; future tense of escatimar
- esfuerzos
- Efforts; attempts or exertions toward a goal
- ni
- Nor, neither; negative conjunction linking options
- diligencias
- Diligent efforts, inquiries, or official procedures
- parte
- Part, side; portion or behalf of someone
- descubrir
- To discover or uncover something hidden
- villano
- Villain; a wicked or despicable person
- doy
- I give; first person singular present of dar
- gracias
- Thanks; expression of gratitude toward someone
- respondí
- I responded; first person preterite of responder
- escuche
- Listen; formal imperative of escuchar
- pues
- Well, then, since; discourse connector or conjunction
- declaración
- Declaration or statement given formally to someone
- verdad
- Truth; the quality of being true or real
- historia
- Story or history; a narrative account of events
- tan
- So, such; adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs
- extraña
- Strange, odd; unusual or hard to explain
- temería
- Would fear; conditional tense of temer
- usted
- You; formal second person singular pronoun
- creyera
- Believed; past subjunctive of creer
- hubiera
- Had; past perfect subjunctive auxiliary of haber
- algo
- Something; indefinite pronoun for an unspecified thing
- maravilloso
- Marvelous, wonderful; astonishing or exceptionally impressive
- sea
- Be; present subjunctive of ser
- obliga
- Obliges, compels; forces someone to do something
- convicción
- Conviction; firm belief or certainty about something
- demasiado
- Too, too much; exceeding a desirable degree
- coherente
- Coherent; logically consistent and easy to follow
- confundirla
- To confuse it; to mistake it for something else
- sueño
- Dream or sleep; vision experienced while sleeping
- ningún
- No, none; adjective indicating absence of something
- motivo
- Motive, reason; cause behind an action
- mentir
- To lie; to say something false intentionally
- actitud
- Attitude or bearing; manner of conducting oneself
- dirigirme
- To address or direct myself toward someone
- ese
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- modo
- Manner, way; method or style of doing something
- imponente
- Imposing, impressive; commanding or awe-inspiring in manner
- serena
- Calm, serene; peaceful and untroubled in demeanor
- formado
- Formed; past participle of formar
- propio
- Own; belonging to or characteristic of oneself
- corazón
- Heart; center of emotion and deep feeling
- resolución
- Resolution; firm decision or determination to act
- perseguir
- To pursue or chase; to follow relentlessly
- destructor
- Destroyer; one who destroys or causes great harm
- hasta
- Until, up to; preposition indicating limit or endpoint
- muerte
- Death; the end of life
- este
- This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- propósito
- Purpose, intention; goal one aims to achieve
- calmó
- Calmed; third person preterite of calmar
- agonía
- Agony; extreme physical or emotional suffering
- tiempo
- Time, weather; period or duration of something
- reconcilió
- Reconciled; third person preterite of reconciliar
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive
- Relaté
- I recounted; first person preterite of relatar
- entonces
- Then, at that time; temporal adverb of sequence
- brevemente
- Briefly; in a short or concise manner
- firmeza
- Firmness, steadiness; determined and resolute quality
- precisión
- Precision; exactness and accuracy in detail
- señalando
- Pointing out or indicating; gerund of señalar
- fechas
- Dates; specific calendar days or time references
- exactitud
- Exactitude; the quality of being exact or precise
- sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- desviarme
- To deviate or stray from a course or topic
- nunca
- Never; adverb indicating something does not occur
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or tendency
- improperio
- Insult, offensive remark; abusive or contemptuous expression
- exclamación
- Exclamation; sudden emotional outcry or expression
- magistrado
- Magistrate; a civil or judicial official with authority
- parecía
- Seemed; imperfect tense of parecer indicating appearance
- principio
- Beginning, principle; start or fundamental rule
- perfectamente
- Perfectly, completely; in a thorough or total manner
- incrédulo
- Incredulous; unwilling or unable to believe something
- medida
- Measure; extent or degree, often in phrase a medida
- continuaba
- Was continuing; imperfect tense of continuar
- mostrando
- Showing; gerund of mostrar
- atento
- Attentive; carefully listening or paying close attention
- interesado
- Interested; showing curiosity or concern about something
- vi
- I saw; first person singular preterite of ver
- estremecerse
- To shudder or tremble; to shake from strong emotion
- horror
- Horror; intense feeling of fear or disgust
- algunos
- Some; masculine plural indefinite adjective or pronoun
- momentos
- Moments; brief periods or instants of time
- viva
- Lively, vivid; intense and striking in quality
- sorpresa
- Surprise; unexpected event or feeling of astonishment
- mezcla
- Mixture, blend; combination of different elements
- incredulidad
- Incredulity; inability or refusal to believe something
- dibujaba
- Was drawing, was depicting; imperfect of dibujar
- semblante
- Countenance, face; expression or appearance of the face
- Cuando
- When; conjunction introducing a time clause
- hube
- Had; first person preterite of haber
- concluido
- Concluded; past participle of concluir
- narración
- Narration; the act of telling a story or account
- dije
- I said; first person singular preterite of decir
- Este
- This; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun
- ser
- Being, creature; entity or person, also infinitive of ser
- acuso
- I accuse; first person singular present of acusar
- cuya
- Whose; feminine singular relative possessive pronoun
- captura
- Capture; the act of catching or apprehending someone
- castigo
- Punishment; penalty imposed for wrongdoing
- insto
- I urge, insist; first person present of instar
- ejerza
- Exercise, exert; present subjunctive of ejercer
- poder
- Power; ability, authority, or to be able to
- deber
- Duty, obligation; responsibility or to owe something
- creo
- I believe; first person singular present of creer
- espero
- I hope, I wait; first person present of esperar
- sentimientos
- Feelings, emotions; inner emotional states or sensations
- rebelarán
- Will rebel; future tense of rebelarse
- contra
- Against; preposition indicating opposition or conflict
- cumplimiento
- Fulfillment, compliance; carrying out of a duty
- esas
- Those; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
- funciones
- Functions, duties; official roles or responsibilities
- esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- ocasión
- Occasion; a particular time or opportunity
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