Heart of Darkness — Page 1
Heart of Darkness
Herz der Finsternis
by Joseph Conrad
von Joseph Conrad
Contents
Inhalt
I
I
II
II
III
III
I
I
The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.
Die Nellie, eine kreuzende Yawl, schwang sich an ihren Anker, ohne dass die Segel sich auch nur regten, und lag in Ruhe.
The flood had made, the wind was nearly calm, and being bound down the river, the only thing for it was to come to and wait for the turn of the tide.
Die Flut hatte eingesetzt, der Wind war fast still, und da wir flussabwärts gebunden waren, blieb uns nichts anderes übrig, als beizudrehen und auf den Gezeitenwechsel zu warten.
The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.
Die Seemündung der Themse erstreckte sich vor uns wie der Beginn eines endlosen Wasserweges.
In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a joint, and in the luminous space the tanned sails of the barges drifting up with the tide seemed to stand still in red clusters of canvas sharply peaked, with gleams of varnished sprits.
In der Ferne waren Meer und Himmel nahtlos miteinander verschmolzen, und in dem leuchtenden Raum schienen die gebräunten Segel der mit der Flut herantreibenden Lastkähne stillzustehen, in roten Gruppen scharf zugespitzter Leinwand, mit dem Schimmer lackierter Sprieten.
A haze rested on the low shores that ran out to sea in vanishing flatness.
Ein Dunst lag über den flachen Ufern, die in schwindender Flachheit ins Meer hinausliefen.
The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth.
Die Luft war dunkel über Gravesend, und weiter dahinter schien sie sich noch zu einem traurigen Düster zu verdichten, das reglos über der größten und gewaltigsten Stadt der Erde brütete.
The Director of Companies was our captain and our host.
Der Direktor der Gesellschaften war unser Kapitän und unser Gastgeber.
We four affectionately watched his back as he stood in the bows looking to seaward.
Wir vier betrachteten seinen Rücken mit Zuneigung, während er im Bug stand und seewärts schaute.
On the whole river there was nothing that looked half so nautical.
Auf dem ganzen Fluss gab es nichts, das auch nur halb so seemännisch ausgesehen hätte.
He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified.
Er glich einem Lotsen, der für einen Seemann die Vertrauenswürdigkeit in Person ist.
It was difficult to realize his work was not out there in the luminous estuary, but behind him, within the brooding gloom.
Es war schwer zu begreifen, dass seine Arbeit nicht dort draußen in der leuchtenden Flussmündung lag, sondern hinter ihm, in dem brütenden Düster.
Between us there was, as I have already said somewhere, the bond of the sea.
Zwischen uns bestand, wie ich es bereits irgendwo gesagt habe, das Band des Meeres.
Vocabulary
- Herz
- Heart; the organ that pumps blood through body.
- der
- The; definite article for masculine nouns.
- Finsternis
- Darkness; absence of light or illumination.
- von
- Of; from; preposition indicating origin or possession.
- Inhalt
- Content; substance or subject matter of something.
- Die
- The; definite article for feminine/plural nouns.
- eine
- A; indefinite article for feminine nouns.
- kreuzende
- Crossing; moving diagonally across a space.
- schwang
- Swung; past tense of swing or sway.
- sich
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun for all persons.
- an
- At; on; preposition indicating position or location.
- ihren
- Their; possessive pronoun for feminine/plural nouns.
- Anker
- Anchor; device for holding vessel in place.
- ohne
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack.
- dass
- That; conjunction introducing subordinate clauses.
- Segel
- Sail; cloth catching wind to propel vessel.
- auch
- Also; even; conjunction indicating addition or emphasis.
- nur
- Only; merely; adverb restricting to one thing.
- regten
- Stirred; moved slightly or caused movement.
- und
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses.
- lag
- Lay; past tense of lie or recline.
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or position.
- Ruhe
- Rest; calm; state of quiet or stillness.
- Flut
- Flood; rising tide or surge of water.
- hatte
- Had; past tense of have or possess.
- eingesetzt
- Set in; begun or started; deployed or used.
- Wind
- Wind; movement of air in atmosphere.
- war
- Was; past tense singular of be or exist.
- fast
- Almost; nearly; adverb indicating near completion.
- still
- Still; calm; quiet; without motion or sound.
- da
- There; then; adverb of place or time.
- wir
- We; first person plural pronoun.
- flussabwärts
- Downstream; in direction water flows in river.
- gebunden
- Bound; tied; constrained or held in place.
- waren
- Were; past tense plural of be or exist.
- blieb
- Remained; stayed; past tense of remain or stay.
- uns
- Us; objective form of we pronoun.
- nichts
- Nothing; not anything; absence of something.
- anderes
- Other; different; alternative or distinct things.
- übrig
- Left; remaining; what is left over.
- als
- Than; as; conjunction in comparisons or descriptions.
- auf
- On; upon; preposition indicating position or placement.
- den
- The; definite article for masculine accusative nouns.
- zu
- To; towards; preposition indicating direction or purpose.
- warten
- Wait; remain in place expecting something.
- erstreckte
- Extended; stretched; spread out over distance.
- vor
- Before; in front; preposition of location.
- wie
- Like; as; how; conjunction or adverb.
- Beginn
- Beginning; start; commencement of something.
- eines
- Of a; possessive form of one.
- endlosen
- Endless; infinite; without end or boundary.
- Wasserweges
- Waterway; navigable route for water transport.
- In
- In; preposition indicating location or position.
- Ferne
- Distance; far away place; remoteness or space.
- Meer
- Sea; large body of salt water.
- Himmel
- Sky; heaven; atmosphere above earth.
- nahtlos
- Seamless; without seams or visible joints.
- miteinander
- With each other; together; in combination.
- verschmolzen
- Merged; blended; fused together into one.
- dem
- The; definite article for dative masculine nouns.
- leuchtenden
- Luminous; shining; emitting or reflecting light.
- Raum
- Space; room; area or expanse of something.
- schienen
- Seemed; appeared; past tense of seem.
- gebräunten
- Browned; tanned; darkened by sun or age.
- mit
- With; by; preposition indicating accompaniment.
- herantreibenden
- Drifting; floating towards; moving along surface.
- stillzustehen
- Stand still; remain motionless or stationary.
- roten
- Red; color of blood or fire.
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