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.
Aveva portato tutte le navi i cui nomi sono come gioielli che brillano nella notte del tempo, dal _Golden Hind_ che tornava con i suoi fianchi rotondi colmi di tesori, per essere visitato dall'Altezza della Regina e passare così fuori dalla gigantesca storia, fino all'_Erebus_ e al _Terror_, diretti verso altre conquiste—e che non tornarono mai.
It had known the ships and the men.
Aveva conosciuto le navi e gli uomini.
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.
Erano salpati da Deptford, da Greenwich, da Erith—gli avventurieri e i coloni; le navi dei re e le navi degli uomini alla Borsa; capitani, ammiragli, i loschi "intrusi" del commercio orientale, e i "generali" in comando delle flotte delle Indie Orientali.
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.
Cacciatori d'oro o inseguitori di gloria, erano andati tutti su quel fiume, portando la spada, e spesso la torcia, messaggeri della potenza insita nella terra, portatori di una scintilla dal fuoco sacro.
What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth!...
Quale grandezza non aveva galleggiato sul riflusso di quel fiume verso il mistero di una terra sconosciuta!...
The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires.
I sogni degli uomini, il seme delle nazioni, i germi degli imperi.
The sun set; the dusk fell on the stream, and lights began to appear along the shore.
Il sole tramontò; il crepuscolo scese sul fiume, e le luci cominciarono ad apparire lungo la riva.
The Chapman light-house, a three-legged thing erect on a mud-flat, shone strongly.
Il faro di Chapman, una struttura a tre gambe eretta su un fondale fangoso, brillava intensamente.
Lights of ships moved in the fairway—a great stir of lights going up and going down.
Le luci delle navi si muovevano nel canale navigabile—un gran fermento di luci che salivano e scendevano.
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.
E più a ovest, nei tratti superiori del fiume, il luogo della mostruosa città era ancora segnato minacciosamente nel cielo, una cupa oscurità alla luce del sole, un lugubre bagliore sotto le stelle.
Vocabulary
- Aveva
- Third person singular imperfect of 'avere' (to have)
- portato
- Past participle of 'portare'; carried or brought
- tutte
- Feminine plural of 'tutto'; all, every one
- le
- Feminine plural definite article; the
- navi
- Plural of 'nave'; ships or vessels
- i
- Masculine plural definite article; the
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning whose, of which
- nomi
- Plural of 'nome'; names or nouns
- sono
- Third person plural present of 'essere'; are
- come
- Conjunction or adverb meaning like, as, how
- gioielli
- Plural of 'gioiello'; jewels or precious gems
- che
- Relative pronoun or conjunction; that, which, who
- brillano
- Third person plural present of 'brillare'; they shine
- nella
- Contraction of 'in' and 'la'; in the (feminine)
- notte
- Feminine noun meaning night or nighttime
- del
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il'; of the (masculine)
- tempo
- Masculine noun meaning time, weather, or era
- dal
- Contraction of 'da' and 'il'; from the (masculine)
- tornava
- Third person singular imperfect; was returning, used to return
- con
- Preposition meaning with or along with
- suoi
- Masculine plural possessive; his, her, its (own)
- fianchi
- Plural of 'fianco'; sides, flanks, or hips
- rotondi
- Masculine plural adjective meaning round or rounded
- di
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about
- tesori
- Plural of 'tesoro'; treasures or riches
- per
- Preposition meaning for, in order to, through
- essere
- Infinitive of the verb to be
- visitato
- Past participle of 'visitare'; visited or inspected
- dall'
- Contraction of 'da' and 'l''; by the (elided)
- Altezza
- Feminine noun meaning Highness, height, or altitude
- della
- Contraction of 'di' and 'la'; of the (feminine)
- Regina
- Feminine noun meaning queen or female monarch
- e
- Conjunction meaning and, connecting words or clauses
- passare
- Infinitive meaning to pass, to go, to spend time
- così
- Adverb meaning so, thus, in this way
- fuori
- Adverb or preposition meaning outside, out, beyond
- dalla
- Contraction of 'da' and 'la'; from the (feminine)
- gigantesca
- Feminine adjective meaning gigantic, enormous, colossal
- storia
- Feminine noun meaning history, story, or tale
- fino
- Preposition or adverb meaning until, up to, as far as
- all'
- Contraction of 'a' and 'l''; to the (elided)
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'il'; to the (masculine)
- diretti
- Masculine plural adjective meaning directed, headed toward
- verso
- Preposition meaning toward, towards, in the direction of
- altre
- Feminine plural adjective meaning other or further
- conquiste
- Plural of 'conquista'; conquests or territorial gains
- non
- Negative adverb meaning not, no
- tornarono
- Third person plural past; they returned (passato remoto)
- mai
- Adverb meaning never or ever depending on context
- conosciuto
- Past participle of 'conoscere'; known or acquainted with
- gli
- Masculine plural definite article or indirect pronoun; the / to him
- uomini
- Plural of 'uomo'; men or human beings
- Erano
- Third person plural imperfect of 'essere'; they were
- salpati
- Past participle plural of 'salpare'; sailed, set sail
- da
- Preposition meaning from, by, since, as
- avventurieri
- Plural of 'avventuriero'; adventurers or bold explorers
- coloni
- Plural of 'colono'; colonists or settlers
- dei
- Contraction of 'di' and 'i'; of the (masculine plural)
- re
- Masculine noun meaning king; invariable in Italian
- degli
- Contraction of 'di' and 'gli'; of the (masculine plural)
- alla
- Contraction of 'a' and 'la'; to the, at the (feminine)
- Borsa
- Feminine noun meaning stock exchange or bag, purse
- capitani
- Plural of 'capitano'; captains or commanding officers
- ammiragli
- Plural of 'ammiraglio'; admirals of a naval fleet
- loschi
- Masculine plural adjective meaning shady, sinister, suspicious
- intrusi
- Plural of 'intruso'; intruders or uninvited persons
- commercio
- Masculine noun meaning commerce, trade, or business
- orientale
- Adjective meaning eastern or oriental
- generali
- Plural of 'generale'; generals or military commanders
- in
- Preposition meaning in, into, at, by
- comando
- Masculine noun meaning command, control, or order
- flotte
- Plural of 'flotta'; fleets of ships or aircraft
- Cacciatori
- Plural of 'cacciatore'; hunters or pursuers of something
- oro
- Masculine noun meaning gold or golden color
- gloria
- Feminine noun meaning glory, fame, or great honor
- erano
- Third person plural imperfect of 'essere'; they were
- andati
- Past participle plural of 'andare'; gone or having gone
- tutti
- Masculine plural adjective meaning all, every, everyone
- su
- Preposition meaning on, upon, up, over
- quel
- Masculine singular demonstrative adjective meaning that
- fiume
- Masculine noun meaning river or large waterway
- portando
- Gerund of 'portare'; carrying, bearing, or bringing
- la
- Feminine singular definite article; the
- spada
- Feminine noun meaning sword or blade weapon
- spesso
- Adverb meaning often, frequently; also thick (adjective)
- torcia
- Feminine noun meaning torch or flaming light source
- messaggeri
- Plural of 'messaggero'; messengers or bearers of news
- potenza
- Feminine noun meaning power, might, or strength
- terra
- Feminine noun meaning earth, land, ground, or soil
- portatori
- Plural of 'portatore'; bearers, carriers of something
- una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning a, an
- scintilla
- Feminine noun meaning spark or tiny flash of fire
- fuoco
- Masculine noun meaning fire, flame, or heat source
- sacro
- Masculine adjective meaning sacred, holy, or consecrated
- Quale
- Interrogative or relative pronoun meaning which, what
- grandezza
- Feminine noun meaning greatness, grandeur, or magnitude
- aveva
- Third person singular imperfect of 'avere'; had
- galleggiato
- Past participle of 'galleggiare'; floated on water
- il
- Masculine singular definite article; the
- mistero
- Masculine noun meaning mystery or secret unknown thing
- sconosciuta
- Feminine adjective meaning unknown, unfamiliar, mysterious
- sogni
- Plural of 'sogno'; dreams or visions during sleep
- seme
- Masculine noun meaning seed or germ of something
- nazioni
- Plural of 'nazione'; nations or sovereign countries
- imperi
- Plural of 'impero'; empires or vast ruling dominions
- sole
- Masculine noun meaning sun or sunlight
- tramontò
- Third person singular past; the sun set (passato remoto)
- crepuscolo
- Masculine noun meaning twilight, dusk, or dawn
- scese
- Third person singular passato remoto of 'scendere'; descended
- luci
- Plural of 'luce'; lights or sources of illumination
- cominciarono
- Third person plural passato remoto; they began or started
- ad
- Variant of preposition 'a' used before vowels; to, at
- apparire
- Infinitive meaning to appear, to come into view
- lungo
- Preposition or adjective meaning along, long, or extended
- riva
- Feminine noun meaning riverbank, shore, or waterside
- faro
- Masculine noun meaning lighthouse or guiding beacon light
- struttura
- Feminine noun meaning structure, framework, or building
- gambe
- Plural of 'gamba'; legs of a person or structure
- eretta
- Past participle feminine of 'erigere'; erected, built upright
- brillava
- Third person singular imperfect of 'brillare'; was shining
- intensamente
- Adverb meaning intensely, strongly, with great force
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning oneself, themselves, each other
- muovevano
- Third person plural imperfect of 'muoversi'; were moving
- canale
- Masculine noun meaning channel, canal, or waterway passage
- gran
- Shortened form of 'grande'; great or large (before nouns)
- salivano
- Third person plural imperfect of 'salire'; were going up
- scendevano
- Third person plural imperfect of 'scendere'; were going down
- più
- Adverb meaning more, most, or no longer
- ovest
- Masculine noun meaning west or western direction
- nei
- Contraction of 'in' and 'i'; in the (masculine plural)
- tratti
- Plural of 'tratto'; stretches, sections, or traits
- superiori
- Plural adjective meaning upper, higher, or superior
- luogo
- Masculine noun meaning place, location, or spot
- mostruosa
- Feminine adjective meaning monstrous, enormous, or dreadful
- città
- Feminine noun meaning city or town; invariable form
- ancora
- Adverb meaning still, yet, again; also anchor (noun)
- segnato
- Past participle of 'segnare'; marked, indicated, or scored
- cielo
- Masculine noun meaning sky or heaven above
- cupa
- Feminine adjective meaning gloomy, dark, or somber
- oscurità
- Feminine noun meaning darkness, obscurity, or gloom
- luce
- Feminine noun meaning light or source of illumination
- sotto
- Preposition or adverb meaning under, below, beneath
- stelle
- Plural of 'stella'; stars in the night sky
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