Heart of Darkness — Page 6
But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.
Pero Marlow no era típico (si exceptuamos su propensión a contar historias), y para él el significado de un episodio no estaba dentro como un núcleo sino afuera, envolviendo el relato que lo sacaba a la luz solo como un resplandor saca a la luz una neblina, a semejanza de esos halos brumosos que a veces se hacen visibles por la iluminación espectral de la luz de la luna.
His remark did not seem at all surprising.
Su observación no pareció sorprendente en absoluto.
It was just like Marlow.
Era exactamente como Marlow.
It was accepted in silence.
Fue aceptada en silencio.
No one took the trouble to grunt even; and presently he said, very slow—"I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago—the other day ....
Nadie se tomó la molestia de gruñir siquiera; y poco después dijo, muy despacio: «Estaba pensando en tiempos muy antiguos, cuando los romanos llegaron aquí por primera vez, hace novecientos años —el otro día....
Light came out of this river since—you say Knights? Yes; but it is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds.
De este río ha salido luz desde entonces —¿dicen ustedes caballeros? Sí; pero es como un fuego que corre por una llanura, como un relámpago en las nubes.
We live in the flicker—may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!
Vivimos en el parpadeo —¡que dure tanto como la vieja tierra siga girando!
But darkness was here yesterday.
Pero aquí hubo oscuridad ayer.
Imagine the feelings of a commander of a fine—what d'ye call 'em?—trireme in the Mediterranean, ordered suddenly to the north; run overland across the Gauls in a hurry; put in charge of one of these craft the legionaries—a wonderful lot of handy men they must have been, too—used to build, apparently by the hundred, in a month or two, if we may believe what we read.
Imaginen los sentimientos de un comandante de una hermosa —¿cómo las llaman?— trirreme en el Mediterráneo, al que de repente se le ordena ir al norte; cruzar por tierra las Galias a toda prisa; puesto al mando de una de esas embarcaciones que los legionarios —un grupo extraordinario de hombres hábiles que también debían de haber sido— solían construir, aparentemente por centenares, en uno o dos meses, si hemos de creer lo que leemos.
Vocabulary
- Pero
- But; however; yet (conjunction)
- no
- No; not (negation)
- era
- Was; past tense of ser (to be)
- típico
- Typical; characteristic; usual or standard
- si
- If (conditional conjunction)
- exceptuamos
- We except; we exclude from a rule
- su
- His, her, its, your (possessive adjective)
- propensión
- Propensity; tendency; inclination toward something
- contar
- To tell; to narrate; to count
- historias
- Stories; histories; narratives or accounts
- para
- For; to; in order to (preposition)
- él
- He; him (masculine pronoun)
- el
- The (masculine singular article)
- significado
- Meaning; significance; what something means
- de
- Of; from; belonging to (preposition)
- un
- A; an (masculine singular article)
- episodio
- Episode; a distinct part of a story
- estaba
- Was; past continuous tense of estar
- dentro
- Inside; within; in the interior of
- como
- Like; as; how (comparison or manner)
- núcleo
- Nucleus; core; central part of something
- sino
- But rather; on the contrary (conjunction)
- afuera
- Outside; out; exterior or external area
- envolviendo
- Enveloping; wrapping; surrounding or enclosing
- relato
- Narrative; account; story or tale
- que
- That; which; who (relative pronoun)
- lo
- It; him (masculine direct object pronoun)
- sacaba
- Drew out; pulled; took from something
- la
- The (feminine singular article)
- luz
- Light; illumination; brightness or daylight
- solo
- Only; alone; solely or just
- resplandor
- Splendor; radiance; shining brightness or glow
- saca
- Draws out; pulls; takes from something
- una
- A; an (feminine singular article)
- neblina
- Mist; fog; light obscuring atmospheric condition
- semejanza
- Resemblance; similarity; likeness between things
- esos
- Those; those ones (plural masculine demonstrative)
- halos
- Halos; rings of light around objects
- brumosos
- Misty; foggy; obscured by mist or fog
- veces
- Times; occasions; instances or occurrences
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, itself, oneself
- hacen
- Make; do; become (third person plural)
- visibles
- Visible; able to be seen; perceptible
- por
- By; through; for (preposition)
- iluminación
- Illumination; lighting; act of providing light
- espectral
- Spectral; ghostly; relating to spectra or ghosts
- luna
- Moon; celestial body orbiting the earth
- Su
- His, her, its, your (possessive adjective)
- observación
- Observation; remark; act of observing carefully
- pareció
- Seemed; appeared; looked like to someone
- sorprendente
- Surprising; astonishing; causing surprise or wonder
- en
- In; on; at (preposition)
- absoluto
- Absolute; complete; total or unconditional
- Era
- Was; past tense of ser (to be)
- exactamente
- Exactly; precisely; in exact manner or degree
- Fue
- Was; went; past tense of ser or ir
- aceptada
- Accepted; received; taken or welcomed willingly
- silencio
- Silence; quiet; absence of sound or noise
- Nadie
- Nobody; no one; not a single person
- tomó
- Took; grasped; seized or took hold of
- molestia
- Trouble; bother; inconvenience or annoyance
- gruñir
- Growl; grunt; make low sound of complaint
- siquiera
- Even; at least; used in emphatic negation
- poco
- Little; small amount; not much
- después
- After; later; subsequently in time
- dijo
- Said; spoke; uttered words
- muy
- Very; greatly; to a high degree
- despacio
- Slowly; at slow speed; without hurrying
- Estaba
- Was; past continuous of estar (to be)
- pensando
- Thinking; reflecting; considering or meditating
- tiempos
- Times; periods; eras or epochs
- antiguos
- Ancient; old; from a long time ago
- cuando
- When; at what time; during which
- los
- The (masculine plural article)
- romanos
- Romans; people of ancient Rome
- llegaron
- Arrived; came; reached a destination
- aquí
- Here; in this place; at this location
- primera
- First; foremost; coming before all others
- vez
- Time; occasion; instance or occurrence
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