Heart of Darkness — Page 5
The worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class.
Das Schlimmste, was man über ihn sagen konnte, war, dass er seine Klasse nicht verkörperte.
He was a seaman, but he was a wanderer, too, while most seamen lead, if one may so express it, a sedentary life.
Er war ein Seemann, aber er war auch ein Wanderer, während die meisten Seeleute, wenn man es so ausdrücken darf, ein sesshaftes Leben führen.
Their minds are of the stay-at-home order, and their home is always with them—the ship; and so is their country—the sea.
Ihr Geist ist häuslicher Natur, und ihr Zuhause ist stets bei ihnen – das Schiff; und ebenso ihre Heimat – das Meer.
One ship is very much like another, and the sea is always the same.
Ein Schiff gleicht dem anderen, und das Meer ist immer dasselbe.
In the immutability of their surroundings the foreign shores, the foreign faces, the changing immensity of life, glide past, veiled not by a sense of mystery but by a slightly disdainful ignorance; for there is nothing mysterious to a seaman unless it be the sea itself, which is the mistress of his existence and as inscrutable as Destiny.
In der Unveränderlichkeit ihrer Umgebung gleiten die fremden Küsten, die fremden Gesichter, die wechselvolle Weite des Lebens vorbei, verschleiert nicht durch ein Gefühl des Geheimnisses, sondern durch eine leicht geringschätzige Unwissenheit; denn für einen Seemann gibt es nichts Geheimnisvolles, es sei denn das Meer selbst, das die Herrin seines Daseins und so unergründlich wie das Schicksal ist.
For the rest, after his hours of work, a casual stroll or a casual spree on shore suffices to unfold for him the secret of a whole continent, and generally he finds the secret not worth knowing.
Im Übrigen genügt ihm nach seinen Arbeitsstunden ein beiläufiger Spaziergang oder ein ungezwungenes Vergnügen an Land, um ihm das Geheimnis eines ganzen Kontinents zu enthüllen, und gewöhnlich findet er, dass das Geheimnis es nicht wert ist, gekannt zu werden.
The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut.
Die Geschichten der Seeleute besitzen eine unmittelbare Schlichtheit, deren gesamte Bedeutung im Inneren einer aufgeknackten Nuss liegt.
Vocabulary
- Schlimmste
- The worst thing or aspect of something
- man
- Impersonal pronoun meaning 'one' or 'people'
- über
- Preposition meaning 'about', 'over', or 'above'
- sagen
- To say or to tell something
- konnte
- Past tense of 'können', meaning 'could'
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that'
- Klasse
- Class, category, or social group
- verkörperte
- Embodied or personified a quality or idea
- Seemann
- A sailor or seaman who works at sea
- aber
- Coordinating conjunction meaning 'but' or 'however'
- Wanderer
- A wanderer, traveler, or roamer
- während
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'while' or 'during'
- meisten
- Superlative meaning 'most' of a group
- Seeleute
- Plural of Seemann; sailors or seafarers
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- ausdrücken
- To express or articulate something in words
- darf
- Present tense of 'dürfen', meaning 'may' or 'is allowed'
- sesshaftes
- Settled, sedentary lifestyle in one place
- Leben
- Life or a way of living
- führen
- To lead, conduct, or live a certain life
- Geist
- Mind, spirit, or intellectual essence
- häuslicher
- Domestic in nature; relating to home and household
- Natur
- Nature or inherent character of something
- Zuhause
- Home; the place where one lives
- stets
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'constantly'
- bei
- Preposition meaning 'with', 'near', or 'at'
- Schiff
- A ship or large seafaring vessel
- ebenso
- Adverb meaning 'likewise' or 'just as'
- Heimat
- Homeland or place of origin and belonging
- Meer
- The sea or ocean
- gleicht
- Third-person singular of 'gleichen'; resembles or equals
- immer
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'ever'
- dasselbe
- The same thing; identical to what was mentioned
- Unveränderlichkeit
- Immutability; the quality of never changing
- Umgebung
- Surroundings or environment around a person
- gleiten
- To glide or slide smoothly past something
- fremden
- Foreign, strange, or unfamiliar places or people
- Küsten
- Plural of Küste; coastlines or shores
- Gesichter
- Plural of Gesicht; faces of people
- wechselvolle
- Varied or changeful; full of change and variety
- Weite
- Vastness or expanse of space
- vorbei
- Adverb meaning 'past' or 'by'
- verschleiert
- Veiled or obscured; hidden behind a veil
- durch
- Preposition meaning 'through' or 'by means of'
- Gefühl
- A feeling, emotion, or sense of something
- Geheimnisses
- Genitive of Geheimnis; 'of mystery' or 'of secret'
- sondern
- Conjunction meaning 'but rather' after negation
- leicht
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'light', 'easy', or 'slightly'
- geringschätzige
- Contemptuous or dismissive; showing low regard
- Unwissenheit
- Ignorance; lack of knowledge or awareness
- denn
- Conjunction meaning 'for', 'because', or 'since'
- gibt
- Third-person singular of 'geben'; 'there is/are'
- nichts
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing'
- Geheimnisvolles
- Something mysterious or enigmatic in nature
- sei
- Subjunctive of 'sein'; meaning 'be' or 'is supposedly'
- selbst
- Pronoun meaning 'itself', 'herself', or 'itself'
- Herrin
- Mistress or female master of something
- Daseins
- Genitive of Dasein; 'of existence' or 'of being'
- unergründlich
- Unfathomable or inscrutable; impossible to fully understand
- Schicksal
- Fate or destiny that determines one's life
- Übrigen
- The rest; used in 'im Übrigen' meaning 'moreover'
- genügt
- Suffices; is enough for a purpose
- nach
- Preposition meaning 'after', 'to', or 'according to'
- Arbeitsstunden
- Working hours; time spent performing labor
- beiläufiger
- Casual or incidental; done without much effort
- Spaziergang
- A leisurely walk or stroll outdoors
- ungezwungenes
- Unconstrained, relaxed, or informal enjoyment
- Vergnügen
- Pleasure, fun, or enjoyable activity
- Land
- Land or country; as opposed to the sea
- um
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'around' or 'in order to'
- Geheimnis
- A secret or mystery
- ganzen
- Adjective meaning 'whole' or 'entire'
- Kontinents
- Genitive of Kontinent; 'of a continent'
- enthüllen
- To reveal or uncover something hidden
- gewöhnlich
- Usually or ordinarily; in a typical manner
- findet
- Third-person singular of 'finden'; finds or considers
- wert
- Worth or deserving of something
- gekannt
- Past participle of 'kennen'; known or acquainted with
- werden
- To become or auxiliary for future/passive constructions
- Geschichten
- Plural of Geschichte; stories or tales
- besitzen
- To possess or own something
- unmittelbare
- Direct or immediate without intermediary
- Schlichtheit
- Simplicity or plainness in style or manner
- deren
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose' or 'of which'
- gesamte
- Entire or total; all of something
- Bedeutung
- Meaning, significance, or importance of something
- Inneren
- The interior or inner part of something
- aufgeknackten
- Cracked open, as a nut that has been split
- Nuss
- A nut; hard-shelled seed or fruit
- liegt
- Third-person singular of 'liegen'; lies or is located
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