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.
Ma Marlow non era tipico (a parte la sua propensione a raccontare storie), e per lui il significato di un episodio non era all'interno come un nocciolo ma all'esterno, avvolgendo il racconto che lo faceva emergere solo come un bagliore fa emergere una foschia, a somiglianza di uno di quei nebbiosissimi aloni che talvolta vengono resi visibili dall'illuminazione spettrale del chiaro di luna.
His remark did not seem at all surprising.
La sua osservazione non sembrò affatto sorprendente.
It was just like Marlow.
Era proprio da Marlow.
It was accepted in silence.
Fu accettata in silenzio.
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 ....
Nessuno si prese nemmeno la briga di borbottare; e poco dopo disse, molto lentamente: «Stavo pensando a tempi molto antichi, quando i Romani vennero qui per la prima volta, millenovecento anni fa — l'altro giorno ....
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.
Da allora da questo fiume è venuta la luce — dite i Cavalieri? Sì; ma è come un fuoco che corre su una pianura, come un lampo di fulmine tra le nuvole.
We live in the flicker—may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling!
Viviamo nel baluginìo — che duri finché la vecchia terra continua a girare!
But darkness was here yesterday.
Ma ieri qui c'era il buio.
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.
Immaginate i sentimenti di un comandante di una bella — come le chiamate? — trireme nel Mediterraneo, ordinato improvvisamente a nord; correre via terra attraverso le Gallie in fretta; messo a capo di uno di quei natanti che i legionari — dovevano essere anche un gruppo meraviglioso di uomini abili — erano soliti costruire, a quanto pare a centinaia, in un mese o due, se possiamo credere a quello che leggiamo.
Vocabulary
- Ma
- But; however; yet used to introduce contrast.
- non
- Not; negation particle used before verbs.
- era
- Was; past tense of essere for third person.
- tipico
- Typical; characteristic of a particular type.
- parte
- Part; portion or section of something.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- sua
- His or her; possessive adjective for third person.
- propensione
- Propensity; natural inclination or tendency toward something.
- raccontare
- To tell; to narrate or relate stories.
- storie
- Stories; narratives or tales told or written.
- per
- For; by; used to indicate purpose or agent.
- lui
- Him; masculine third person singular pronoun.
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- significato
- Meaning; sense or significance of something.
- di
- Of; preposition indicating possession or relation.
- un
- A or an; indefinite article masculine singular.
- episodio
- Episode; distinct occurrence or event in narrative.
- all
- To the; contraction of a + il.
- interno
- Interior or internal; inside or inner part.
- come
- Like; as; how; used for comparison.
- nocciolo
- Core; hazelnut; central or essential part.
- esterno
- External; outside or outer part of something.
- avvolgendo
- Wrapping; enclosing or surrounding something around.
- racconto
- Story; short narrative account or tale.
- che
- That; which; relative pronoun in Italian.
- lo
- It; him; direct object masculine singular pronoun.
- faceva
- Made; did; past tense of fare.
- emergere
- To emerge; to rise up or become visible.
- solo
- Only; sole; alone or merely.
- bagliore
- Flash; glimmer of light or sudden brightness.
- fa
- Makes; does; third person singular of fare.
- foschia
- Mist; fog or light haze in air.
- somiglianza
- Resemblance; similarity or likeness between things.
- uno
- One; number one or indefinite pronoun.
- quei
- Those; plural masculine demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
- aloni
- Halos; rings of light around celestial body.
- talvolta
- Sometimes; occasionally or now and then.
- vengono
- Come; are; third person plural of venire.
- resi
- Made; rendered; past participle of rendere.
- visibili
- Visible; able to be seen or perceived.
- dall
- From the; contraction of da + il.
- illuminazione
- Illumination; lighting or act of enlightening.
- spettrale
- Spectral; ghostly or relating to spectrum.
- del
- Of the; contraction of di + il.
- chiaro
- Clear; bright or obvious and distinct.
- luna
- Moon; celestial body orbiting earth.
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- osservazione
- Observation; act of observing or remark.
- sembrò
- Seemed; appeared; past tense of sembrare.
- affatto
- At all; in the least; completely.
- sorprendente
- Surprising; astonishing or causing surprise.
- Era
- Was; past tense of essere for third person.
- proprio
- Proper; characteristic or exactly; own.
- da
- From; by; used to indicate origin.
- Fu
- Was; past tense of essere for third person.
- accettata
- Accepted; past participle feminine of accettare.
- in
- In; used to indicate location or state.
- silenzio
- Silence; absence of sound or quiet.
- Nessuno
- No one; nobody; not anyone at all.
- si
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun or negative particle.
- prese
- Took; grasped; past tense of prendere.
- nemmeno
- Not even; not a single person.
- briga
- Trouble; effort or quarrel with someone.
- borbottare
- To mutter; to grumble or speak indistinctly.
- poco
- Little; small amount or a short time.
- dopo
- After; following in time or sequence.
- disse
- Said; told; past tense of dire.
- molto
- Much; very; great quantity or degree.
- lentamente
- Slowly; at a slow pace or speed.
- Stavo
- I was; past imperfect of stare.
- pensando
- Thinking; present participle of pensare.
- tempi
- Times; periods or ages in history.
- antichi
- Ancient; old or of long ago.
- quando
- When; at what time or occasion.
- Romani
- Romans; people of ancient Rome.
- vennero
- Came; arrived; past tense of venire.
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