Heart of Darkness — Page 4
It had borne all the ships whose names are like jewels flashing in the night of time, from the _Golden Hind_ returning with her rotund flanks full of treasure, to be visited by the Queen's Highness and thus pass out of the gigantic tale, to the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, bound on other conquests—and that never returned.
Había llevado todos los barcos cuyos nombres son como joyas que destellan en la noche del tiempo, desde el _Golden Hind_ que regresaba con sus flancos repletos de tesoro, para ser visitado por la Alteza de la Reina y así desaparecer del gigantesco relato, hasta el _Erebus_ y el _Terror_, rumbo a otras conquistas—y que nunca regresaron.
It had known the ships and the men.
Había conocido los barcos y a los hombres.
They had sailed from Deptford, from Greenwich, from Erith—the adventurers and the settlers; kings' ships and the ships of men on 'Change; captains, admirals, the dark "interlopers" of the Eastern trade, and the commissioned "generals" of East India fleets.
Habían zarpado desde Deptford, desde Greenwich, desde Erith—los aventureros y los colonos; los barcos de los reyes y los barcos de los hombres de la Bolsa; capitanes, almirantes, los oscuros «intrusos» del comercio oriental, y los «generales» comisionados de las flotas de las Indias Orientales.
Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the land, bearers of a spark from the sacred fire.
Cazadores de oro o perseguidores de la fama, todos habían partido por esa corriente, portando la espada, y a menudo la antorcha, mensajeros del poder que habitaba en la tierra, portadores de una chispa del fuego sagrado.
What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth!...
¡Qué grandeza no había flotado en el reflujo de ese río hacia el misterio de una tierra desconocida!...
The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires.
Los sueños de los hombres, la semilla de las naciones, los gérmenes de los imperios.
The sun set; the dusk fell on the stream, and lights began to appear along the shore.
El sol se puso; el crepúsculo cayó sobre la corriente, y las luces comenzaron a aparecer a lo largo de la orilla.
The Chapman light-house, a three-legged thing erect on a mud-flat, shone strongly.
El faro de Chapman, una estructura de tres patas erguida sobre un lodazal, brillaba con fuerza.
Lights of ships moved in the fairway—a great stir of lights going up and going down.
Las luces de los barcos se movían en el canal—un gran bullicio de luces que subían y bajaban.
And farther west on the upper reaches the place of the monstrous town was still marked ominously on the sky, a brooding gloom in sunshine, a lurid glare under the stars.
Y más al oeste, en los tramos superiores, el lugar de la monstruosa ciudad seguía marcado de manera siniestra en el cielo, una penumbra sombría bajo el sol, un resplandor lúgubre bajo las estrellas.
Vocabulary
- Había
- There was; past imperfect of haber
- llevado
- Carried or taken; past participle of llevar
- todos
- All or every; refers to the entirety of something
- barcos
- Ships or boats used for water travel
- cuyos
- Whose; relative possessive pronoun, masculine plural
- nombres
- Names; words used to identify people or things
- son
- Are; third person plural present of ser
- como
- Like or as; used to make comparisons
- joyas
- Jewels or gems; precious decorative stones
- destellan
- They sparkle or flash; emit brief bright light
- noche
- Night; the dark period after sunset
- tiempo
- Time or weather; a fundamental concept of duration
- desde
- From or since; indicates a starting point
- regresaba
- Was returning; past imperfect of regresar
- flancos
- Flanks or sides; lateral parts of a ship or body
- repletos
- Full or packed; completely filled to capacity
- tesoro
- Treasure; a collection of valuable or precious items
- ser
- To be; fundamental Spanish infinitive of identity
- visitado
- Visited; past participle of visitar, to visit
- Alteza
- Highness; royal title used for monarchs or princes
- Reina
- Queen; female monarch or ruler of a kingdom
- así
- Thus or so; in this way or manner
- desaparecer
- To disappear; to cease being visible or present
- gigantesco
- Gigantic or enormous; of very great size
- relato
- Story or account; a narrative of events
- hasta
- Until or up to; indicates a limit or endpoint
- rumbo
- Course or heading; direction of travel especially nautical
- otras
- Other; feminine plural adjective meaning different ones
- conquistas
- Conquests; victories or territories gained by force
- nunca
- Never; at no time, negation of frequency
- regresaron
- They returned; preterite of regresar, to return
- conocido
- Known or familiar; past participle of conocer
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings
- Habían
- They had; third person plural past perfect of haber
- zarpado
- Set sail; past participle of zarpar, to weigh anchor
- aventureros
- Adventurers; people who seek daring or risky experiences
- colonos
- Colonists or settlers; people who establish new colonies
- reyes
- Kings; male monarchs or rulers of kingdoms
- Bolsa
- Stock exchange or purse; financial market institution
- capitanes
- Captains; commanders of ships or military units
- almirantes
- Admirals; highest-ranking naval military officers
- oscuros
- Dark or obscure; lacking light or fame
- intrusos
- Intruders; those who enter without permission
- comercio
- Commerce or trade; buying and selling of goods
- oriental
- Eastern or oriental; relating to the East
- generales
- Generals; high-ranking military commanders
- comisionados
- Commissioners; officials appointed for a specific duty
- flotas
- Fleets; groups of ships traveling together
- Indias
- Indies; historical name for South and East Asia
- Orientales
- Eastern; relating to eastern regions or the Orient
- Cazadores
- Hunters; those who pursue and capture prey
- oro
- Gold; precious yellow metal of high value
- perseguidores
- Pursuers; those who chase or seek after something
- fama
- Fame or reputation; being widely known or celebrated
- habían
- They had; auxiliary verb in past perfect tense
- partido
- Departed; past participle of partir, to leave
- esa
- That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- corriente
- Current; flow of water or electricity in a direction
- portando
- Carrying or bearing; present participle of portar
- espada
- Sword; a bladed weapon used in combat
- menudo
- Often; a menudo means frequently or very often
- antorcha
- Torch; a stick burned to provide portable light
- mensajeros
- Messengers; people who carry or deliver messages
- poder
- Power or to be able; authority or capability
- habitaba
- Inhabited or dwelt; past imperfect of habitar
- tierra
- Earth or land; solid ground or a territory
- portadores
- Bearers or carriers; those who carry or bear something
- chispa
- Spark; a small fiery particle or flash of light
- fuego
- Fire; combustion producing heat and light
- sagrado
- Sacred or holy; dedicated to a divine purpose
- Qué
- What or how; used in exclamations and questions
- grandeza
- Greatness or grandeur; the quality of being magnificent
- había
- There had been; past imperfect of haber
- flotado
- Floated; past participle of flotar, to float
- reflujo
- Ebb or reflux; receding flow of water or tide
- ese
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- río
- River; a large natural flowing body of water
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction of movement
- misterio
- Mystery; something unexplained or secret
- desconocida
- Unknown; not known or familiar, feminine form
- sueños
- Dreams; images or thoughts experienced during sleep
- semilla
- Seed; a plant's reproductive unit from which growth begins
- naciones
- Nations; large communities of people sharing territory
- gérmenes
- Germs or seeds; origins or microbes causing growth
- imperios
- Empires; vast territories under a single authority
- sol
- Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
- puso
- Set or put; preterite of poner, the sun set
- crepúsculo
- Twilight or dusk; the dim light after sunset
- cayó
- Fell; preterite of caer, to fall or descend
- sobre
- Over or on; preposition indicating position above
- luces
- Lights; sources of illumination or brightness
- comenzaron
- They began; preterite of comenzar, to start
- aparecer
- To appear; to become visible or come into sight
- largo
- Long; of great length; a lo largo means along
- orilla
- Shore or bank; the edge of a river or sea
- faro
- Lighthouse; a tower with a light to guide ships
- estructura
- Structure; the way something is built or organized
- patas
- Legs or paws; limbs of an animal or object
- erguida
- Upright or erect; standing straight and tall
- lodazal
- Muddy ground or quagmire; an area of deep mud
- brillaba
- Was shining; past imperfect of brillar, to shine
- fuerza
- Force or strength; power exerted on or by something
- movían
- Were moving; past imperfect of mover, to move
- canal
- Canal or channel; a waterway for navigation
- gran
- Great or large; adjective indicating size or importance
- bullicio
- Bustle or noise; lively commotion and activity
- subían
- Were going up; past imperfect of subir, to rise
- bajaban
- Were going down; past imperfect of bajar, to descend
- más
- More; indicates a greater degree or quantity
- oeste
- West; the cardinal direction opposite to east
- tramos
- Stretches or sections; portions of a route or structure
- superiores
- Upper or superior; higher in position or rank
- lugar
- Place or location; a specific spot or area
- monstruosa
- Monstrous; shockingly large or horrifying
- ciudad
- City; a large populated urban settlement
- seguía
- Was still or continued; past imperfect of seguir
- marcado
- Marked; indicated or made distinct in some way
- manera
- Manner or way; the method or style of doing something
- siniestra
- Sinister or ominous; suggesting evil or danger
- cielo
- Sky or heaven; the expanse above the earth
- penumbra
- Penumbra or dim light; partial shadow between light and dark
- sombría
- Gloomy or somber; dark and depressing in atmosphere
- bajo
- Under or low; beneath something or of low height
- resplandor
- Glow or radiance; a bright or dazzling light
- lúgubre
- Lugubrious or gloomy; mournful and dismal in character
- estrellas
- Stars; luminous celestial bodies visible in the night sky
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →