Heart of Darkness — Page 9
It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.
Era simplemente robo con violencia, asesinato agravado a gran escala, y hombres lanzándose a ello a ciegas—como es muy apropiado para quienes se enfrentan a una oscuridad.
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.
La conquista de la tierra, que en su mayor parte significa arrebatársela a quienes tienen una tez diferente o narices algo más chatas que las nuestras, no es algo agradable cuando se examina demasiado.
What redeems it is the idea only.
Lo que lo redime es únicamente la idea.
An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea—something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to....
Una idea detrás de todo ello; no una pretensión sentimental sino una idea; y una creencia desinteresada en la idea—algo ante lo que puedes erigirte, inclinarte, y ofrecer un sacrificio....
He broke off.
Se interrumpió.
Flames glided in the river, small green flames, red flames, white flames, pursuing, overtaking, joining, crossing each other—then separating slowly or hastily.
Llamas se deslizaban por el río, pequeñas llamas verdes, llamas rojas, llamas blancas, persiguiéndose, adelantándose, uniéndose, cruzándose entre sí—luego separándose lenta o apresuradamente.
The traffic of the great city went on in the deepening night upon the sleepless river.
El tráfico de la gran ciudad continuaba en la noche que se hacía más profunda sobre el río que nunca dormía.
We looked on, waiting patiently—there was nothing else to do till the end of the flood; but it was only after a long silence, when he said, in a hesitating voice, "I suppose you fellows remember I did once turn fresh-water sailor for a bit," that we knew we were fated, before the ebb began to run, to hear about one of Marlow's inconclusive experiences.
Observábamos, esperando con paciencia—no había nada más que hacer hasta el fin de la marea; pero fue solo después de un largo silencio, cuando él dijo, con voz vacilante, «Supongo que ustedes recuerdan que una vez me hice marinero de agua dulce por un tiempo», que supimos que estábamos destinados, antes de que comenzara el reflujo, a escuchar una de las experiencias inconclusas de Marlow.
Vocabulary
- Era
- Past tense of 'to be'; it was/he was
- simplemente
- Simply, merely, just
- robo
- Theft, robbery, act of stealing
- con
- With, preposition indicating accompaniment
- violencia
- Violence, use of physical force harmfully
- asesinato
- Murder, intentional killing of a person
- agravado
- Aggravated, made more serious or severe
- a
- To, at; basic Spanish preposition
- gran
- Great, large, big in scale
- escala
- Scale, level, extent of something
- y
- And, basic coordinating conjunction
- hombres
- Men, plural of man
- lanzándose
- Throwing oneself, rushing blindly into something
- ello
- It, neuter pronoun referring to a concept
- ciegas
- Blind, without sight; a ciegas means blindly
- como
- As, like, how; comparative conjunction
- es
- Is, third-person singular present of ser
- muy
- Very, extremely; intensifying adverb
- apropiado
- Appropriate, fitting, suitable for a situation
- para
- For, in order to; purpose preposition
- quienes
- Who, those who; relative pronoun for people
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, themselves
- enfrentan
- Face, confront, deal with a challenge
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- oscuridad
- Darkness, absence of light or clarity
- La
- The, feminine definite article
- conquista
- Conquest, act of taking territory by force
- de
- Of, from; basic Spanish preposition
- la
- The, feminine singular definite article
- tierra
- Land, earth, ground, territory
- que
- That, which, who; relative conjunction
- en
- In, on, at; locative preposition
- su
- His, her, its, their; possessive adjective
- mayor
- Greater, larger, older; comparative adjective
- parte
- Part, portion, section of something
- significa
- Means, signifies, indicates a meaning
- arrebatársela
- To snatch it away from someone forcibly
- tienen
- They have; third-person plural of tener
- tez
- Complexion, skin tone of a person's face
- diferente
- Different, distinct, not the same
- o
- Or, alternative coordinating conjunction
- narices
- Noses, plural of nariz; facial feature
- algo
- Something, somewhat, a little bit
- más
- More, most; comparative adverb
- chatas
- Flat, snub; describing flat-shaped noses
- las
- The, feminine plural definite article
- nuestras
- Ours, our; first-person plural possessive pronoun
- no
- No, not; basic negation word
- agradable
- Pleasant, agreeable, enjoyable experience
- cuando
- When, temporal conjunction or adverb
- examina
- Examines, looks at closely, inspects carefully
- demasiado
- Too much, excessively, beyond what is needed
- Lo
- It, him; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- lo
- It; neuter or masculine direct object pronoun
- redime
- Redeems, saves, makes something worthwhile
- únicamente
- Only, solely, exclusively
- idea
- Idea, concept, thought in someone's mind
- Una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- detrás
- Behind, at the back of something
- todo
- Everything, all, the whole of something
- pretensión
- Pretension, false claim, sentimental notion
- sentimental
- Sentimental, overly emotional, feeling-based
- sino
- But rather, but instead; contrasting conjunction
- creencia
- Belief, conviction, something firmly held true
- desinteresada
- Selfless, disinterested, not motivated by self-gain
- ante
- Before, in front of; preposition of position
- puedes
- You can, you are able to do something
- erigirte
- To erect yourself, stand tall before something
- inclinarte
- To bow, bend toward something in reverence
- ofrecer
- To offer, give, present something to someone
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- sacrificio
- Sacrifice, offering up something of value
- Se
- Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, itself
- interrumpió
- Interrupted, stopped suddenly, broke off speaking
- Llamas
- Flames, tongues of fire; also 'you call'
- deslizaban
- Were gliding, sliding smoothly past something
- por
- Through, by, along; preposition of movement
- el
- The, masculine singular definite article
- río
- River, large flowing body of water
- pequeñas
- Small, little, tiny; feminine plural adjective
- llamas
- Flames, small tongues of fire
- verdes
- Green, plural adjective for green color
- rojas
- Red, plural feminine adjective for red color
- blancas
- White, plural feminine adjective for white color
- persiguiéndose
- Chasing each other, pursuing one another
- adelantándose
- Moving ahead, overtaking, advancing forward
- uniéndose
- Joining together, merging with one another
- cruzándose
- Crossing each other, intersecting paths
- entre
- Between, among; preposition of position
- sí
- Each other, themselves; reflexive pronoun
- luego
- Then, later, afterward; temporal adverb
- separándose
- Separating, moving apart from each other
- lenta
- Slowly, at a slow pace; feminine adjective
- apresuradamente
- Hurriedly, quickly, in a rushed manner
- El
- The, masculine singular definite article
- tráfico
- Traffic, movement of vehicles on roads
- ciudad
- City, large urban inhabited area
- continuaba
- Continued, kept going, persisted over time
- noche
- Night, the dark hours after sunset
- hacía
- Made, did; imperfect of hacer
- profunda
- Deep, profound, intense; feminine adjective
- sobre
- Over, above, on top of something
- nunca
- Never, at no time; negative adverb
- dormía
- Slept, was sleeping; imperfect of dormir
- Observábamos
- We were observing, watching attentively over time
- esperando
- Waiting, hoping; present participle of esperar
- paciencia
- Patience, calm endurance of waiting
- había
- There was/were; imperfect of haber
- nada
- Nothing, not anything at all
- hacer
- To do, to make; common infinitive verb
- hasta
- Until, up to; preposition of limit
- fin
- End, finish, conclusion of something
- marea
- Tide, rising and falling of seawater
- pero
- But, however; adversative conjunction
- fue
- Was, went; preterite of ser or ir
- solo
- Only, alone, just; adverb or adjective
- después
- After, afterward, later in time
- largo
- Long, lengthy; adjective describing duration
- silencio
- Silence, absence of sound or speech
- él
- He, him; third-person masculine singular pronoun
- dijo
- Said, spoke; preterite of decir
- voz
- Voice, the sound produced when speaking
- vacilante
- Hesitant, wavering, uncertain in manner
- Supongo
- I suppose, I assume, I imagine
- ustedes
- You all, plural you; formal second person
- recuerdan
- They remember, you all remember something
- vez
- Time, instance, occasion of something occurring
- me
- Me, myself; first-person reflexive/object pronoun
- hice
- I made, I did; preterite of hacer
- marinero
- Sailor, seaman who works on a vessel
- agua
- Water, the clear liquid essential for life
- dulce
- Fresh, sweet; agua dulce means freshwater
- tiempo
- Time, weather; common Spanish noun
- supimos
- We found out, we knew; preterite of saber
- estábamos
- We were; imperfect of estar
- destinados
- Destined, fated to do or experience something
- antes
- Before, previously, earlier in time
- comenzara
- Would begin, started; subjunctive of comenzar
- reflujo
- Ebb tide, outgoing tidal flow of water
- escuchar
- To listen, to hear attentively
- experiencias
- Experiences, things personally lived through
- inconclusas
- Unfinished, inconclusive, left without a proper ending
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