Heart of Darkness — Page 8
Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him—all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.
Atterrare in una palude, marciare attraverso i boschi, e in qualche posto dell'entroterra sentire la barbarie, la totale barbarie, che si era chiusa intorno a lui—tutta quella misteriosa vita della natura selvaggia che si agita nella foresta, nelle giungle, nei cuori degli uomini selvaggi.
There's no initiation either into such mysteries.
Non c'è nemmeno alcuna iniziazione a tali misteri.
He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable.
Deve vivere in mezzo all'incomprensibile, che è anche detestabile.
And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him.
E ha anche un fascino, che si mette all'opera su di lui.
The fascination of the abomination—you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate."
Il fascino dell'abominio—sapete, immaginate i rimpianti crescenti, il desiderio di fuggire, il disgusto impotente, la resa, l'odio."
He paused.
Si fermò.
"Mind," he began again, lifting one arm from the elbow, the palm of the hand outwards, so that, with his legs folded before him, he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus-flower—"Mind, none of us would feel exactly like this.
«Badate,» ricominciò, alzando un braccio dal gomito, con il palmo della mano rivolto verso l'esterno, così che, con le gambe piegate davanti a lui, aveva la posa di un Buddha che predica in abiti europei e senza un fiore di loto—«Badate, nessuno di noi si sentirebbe esattamente così.
What saves us is efficiency—the devotion to efficiency.
Ciò che ci salva è l'efficienza—la dedizione all'efficienza.
But these chaps were not much account, really.
Ma questi tizi non valevano molto, in realtà.
They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect.
Non erano colonizzatori; la loro amministrazione era semplicemente uno sfruttamento, e nient'altro, suppongo.
They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.
Erano conquistatori, e per questo occorre solo la forza bruta—nulla di cui vantarsi, quando la si possiede, poiché la vostra forza è solo un accidente derivante dalla debolezza degli altri.
They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got.
Prendevano tutto ciò che potevano ottenere per il gusto di ottenerlo.
Vocabulary
- Atterrare
- To land; to cause to fall to ground
- in
- In; into; at; during
- una
- A; an; one (feminine)
- palude
- Swamp; marsh; wetland area
- marciare
- To march; to walk; to proceed forward
- attraverso
- Through; across; by means of
- boschi
- Woods; forests; wooded areas
- qualche
- Some; a few; a certain
- posto
- Place; position; spot; location
- entroterra
- Inland; interior; land away from coast
- sentire
- To feel; to hear; to sense
- la
- The (feminine); her; it
- barbarie
- Barbarity; savagery; brutality; uncivilized behavior
- totale
- Total; complete; entire; whole
- che
- That; which; who; what
- si
- Oneself; himself; herself; itself; themselves
- era
- Was; existed; formed (past tense)
- chiusa
- Closed; shut; enclosed; locked
- intorno
- Around; about; round; surrounding
- lui
- He; him; that man
- tutta
- All; whole; entire; complete (feminine)
- quella
- That; that one (feminine)
- misteriosa
- Mysterious; enigmatic; puzzling; secretive
- vita
- Life; living; existence; lifetime
- della
- Of the; from the (feminine)
- natura
- Nature; character; essence; natural world
- selvaggia
- Wild; savage; untamed; uncivilized
- agita
- Agitates; disturbs; shakes; stirs up
- nella
- In the; into the (feminine)
- foresta
- Forest; woods; large wooded area
- nelle
- In the; into the (feminine plural)
- giungle
- Jungles; tropical forests; dense vegetation
- nei
- In the; into the (masculine plural)
- cuori
- Hearts; centers; cores; innermost parts
- degli
- Of the; from the (masculine plural)
- uomini
- Men; humans; mankind; male persons
- selvaggi
- Savages; wild men; uncivilized people
- Non
- Not; no; none; never
- nemmeno
- Not even; not at all; neither
- alcuna
- Any; some; a certain (feminine)
- iniziazione
- Initiation; introduction; beginning; commencement
- tali
- Such; such ones; like these
- misteri
- Mysteries; secrets; enigmas; puzzles
- Deve
- Must; has to; ought to; should
- vivere
- To live; to exist; to dwell
- mezzo
- Middle; center; half; means
- incomprensibile
- Incomprehensible; unintelligible; hard to understand
- anche
- Also; too; as well; even
- detestabile
- Detestable; hateful; abominable; loathsome
- ha
- Has; have; possesses; owns
- un
- A; an; one (masculine)
- fascino
- Charm; fascination; allure; appeal
- mette
- Puts; places; sets; causes
- opera
- Work; opus; operation; deed
- su
- On; upon; up; above
- di
- Of; from; by; for
- Il
- The (masculine singular); that
- abominio
- Abomination; horror; detestable thing; curse
- sapete
- Know; you know; understand; are aware
- immaginate
- Imagine; picture; conceive; visualize; suppose
- rimpianti
- Regrets; sorrows; remorse; pining; yearnings
- crescenti
- Growing; increasing; rising; mounting; swelling
- il
- The (masculine singular); that one
- desiderio
- Desire; wish; longing; craving; yearning
- fuggire
- To flee; to escape; to run away
- disgusto
- Disgust; repugnance; distaste; aversion
- impotente
- Powerless; helpless; impotent; unable to act
- resa
- Surrender; yielding; giving up; defeat
- odio
- Hate; hatred; intense dislike; enmity
- Si
- Oneself; himself; herself; itself; themselves
- fermò
- Stopped; halted; ceased; came to rest
- Badate
- Pay attention; heed; mind; notice carefully
- ricominciò
- Began again; recommenced; started over; restarted
- alzando
- Raising; lifting; elevating; hoisting upward
- braccio
- Arm; limb; branch; reach
- dal
- From the; by the (masculine)
- gomito
- Elbow; joint of arm; bend
- con
- With; by means of; together
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