History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 14
A second attentive and regular perusal of the entire work, of the notes of the author, and of those which I had thought it right to subjoin, showed me how much I had exaggerated the importance of the reproaches which Gibbon really deserved;
Eine zweite aufmerksame und sorgfältige Durchsicht des gesamten Werkes, der Anmerkungen des Autors und jener, die ich für angemessen gehalten hatte hinzuzufügen, zeigte mir, wie sehr ich die Bedeutung der Vorwürfe übertrieben hatte, die Gibbon wirklich verdiente;
I was struck with the same errors, the same partiality on certain subjects;
Ich stieß auf dieselben Fehler, dieselbe Parteilichkeit in bestimmten Fragen;
but I had been far from doing adequate justice to the immensity of his researches, the variety of his knowledge, and above all, to that truly philosophical discrimination (_justesse d'esprit_) which judges the past as it would judge the present;
aber ich hatte der Unermesslichkeit seiner Forschungen, der Vielfalt seines Wissens und vor allem jener wahrhaft philosophischen Unterscheidungsgabe (_justesse d'esprit_) bei weitem nicht genügend Gerechtigkeit widerfahren lassen, die die Vergangenheit so beurteilt, wie sie die Gegenwart beurteilen würde;
which does not permit itself to be blinded by the clouds which time gathers around the dead, and which prevent us from seeing that, under the toga, as under the modern dress, in the senate as in our councils, men were what they still are, and that events took place eighteen centuries ago, as they take place in our days.
die sich nicht von den Wolken blenden lässt, die die Zeit um die Toten ansammelt, und die uns daran hindern zu sehen, dass die Menschen unter der Toga wie unter dem modernen Gewand, im Senat wie in unseren Räten das waren, was sie noch immer sind, und dass sich Ereignisse vor achtzehn Jahrhunderten zugetragen haben, wie sie sich in unseren Tagen zutragen.
I then felt that his book, in spite of its faults, will always be a noble work—and that we may correct his errors and combat his prejudices, without ceasing to admit that few men have combined, if we are not to say in so high a degree, at least in a manner so complete, and so well regulated, the necessary qualifications for a writer of history.
Ich empfand dann, dass sein Buch trotz seiner Mängel stets ein edles Werk sein wird – und dass wir seine Fehler korrigieren und seine Vorurteile bekämpfen können, ohne aufzuhören zuzugeben, dass nur wenige Männer, wenn nicht in so hohem Maße, so doch zumindest auf so vollständige und so wohl geordnete Weise die notwendigen Qualifikationen eines Geschichtsschreibers in sich vereint haben.
Vocabulary
- zweite
- Ordinal number meaning 'second'.
- aufmerksame
- Attentive, careful, paying close attention.
- sorgfältige
- Thorough, careful, meticulous in approach.
- Durchsicht
- A review or examination of a document or text.
- gesamten
- Entire, whole, complete in scope.
- Werkes
- Work, as in a literary or artistic creation.
- Anmerkungen
- Notes or annotations added to a text.
- Autors
- Genitive form of 'Autor', meaning 'of the author'.
- jener
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' or 'of those'.
- angemessen
- Appropriate, suitable, fitting for a given purpose.
- gehalten
- Past participle of 'halten', meaning 'considered' or 'held'.
- hinzuzufügen
- To add or append something to a text or list.
- zeigte
- Past tense of 'zeigen', meaning 'showed' or 'revealed'.
- Bedeutung
- Meaning, significance, or importance of something.
- Vorwürfe
- Accusations or reproaches directed at someone.
- übertrieben
- Exaggerated, overstated beyond what is accurate.
- wirklich
- Adverb meaning 'really' or 'truly'.
- verdiente
- Past tense of 'verdienen', meaning 'deserved' or 'earned'.
- stieß
- Past tense of 'stoßen', meaning 'encountered' or 'came upon'.
- dieselben
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the same ones'.
- Fehler
- Errors or mistakes found in a work.
- dieselbe
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the same' (feminine).
- Parteilichkeit
- Bias or partiality toward a particular side or view.
- bestimmten
- Certain, specific, particular questions or matters.
- Fragen
- Questions or issues under discussion.
- Unermesslichkeit
- Immensity, vastness, or boundlessness of something.
- Forschungen
- Research studies or scholarly investigations conducted.
- Vielfalt
- Variety, diversity, or breadth of something.
- Wissens
- Genitive form of 'Wissen', meaning 'of knowledge'.
- allem
- Dative of 'alles', used in 'vor allem' meaning 'above all'.
- wahrhaft
- Truly, genuinely, in a truly authentic manner.
- philosophischen
- Philosophical, relating to deep rational inquiry or thought.
- Unterscheidungsgabe
- Power of discernment, ability to distinguish subtle differences.
- weitem
- Used in 'bei weitem' meaning 'by far' or 'not nearly'.
- genügend
- Sufficient, adequate, enough of something required.
- Gerechtigkeit
- Justice, fairness given to someone or something.
- widerfahren
- To happen to someone, to be given or accorded.
- lassen
- To let, allow, or cause something to happen.
- Vergangenheit
- The past, referring to earlier times or history.
- beurteilt
- Judged or evaluated according to certain criteria.
- Gegenwart
- The present time or current era.
- beurteilen
- To judge or evaluate based on available criteria.
- würde
- Conditional form of 'werden', meaning 'would'.
- Wolken
- Clouds in the sky; used metaphorically here.
- blenden
- To blind or dazzle, to obscure one's vision or judgment.
- lässt
- Third-person singular of 'lassen', meaning 'lets' or 'allows'.
- Zeit
- Time, period, or era being referred to.
- Toten
- The dead, deceased persons from history.
- ansammelt
- Accumulates or gathers around something over time.
- daran
- Adverb meaning 'at it', 'from it', or 'therein'.
- hindern
- To prevent or hinder someone from doing something.
- sehen
- To see or perceive something visually or mentally.
- Menschen
- People, human beings in general.
- Toga
- Ancient Roman garment worn as official dress.
- modernen
- Modern, contemporary, relating to the current era.
- Gewand
- Garment or robe worn as clothing or attire.
- Senat
- Senate, a legislative or governing assembly body.
- Räten
- Councils or advisory bodies in governance.
- noch
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'even'.
- immer
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'.
- Ereignisse
- Events or occurrences taking place over time.
- achtzehn
- The number eighteen.
- Jahrhunderten
- Dative plural of 'Jahrhundert', meaning 'centuries'.
- zugetragen
- Past participle of 'zutragen', meaning 'occurred' or 'taken place'.
- Tagen
- Dative plural of 'Tag', meaning 'days'.
- zutragen
- To occur or take place; to carry or bring about.
- empfand
- Past tense of 'empfinden', meaning 'felt' or 'perceived'.
- Buch
- Book, a written or printed literary work.
- trotz
- Preposition meaning 'despite' or 'in spite of'.
- Mängel
- Flaws, deficiencies, or shortcomings in a work.
- stets
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'consistently'.
- edles
- Noble, distinguished, of admirable quality or character.
- Werk
- Work, a literary, artistic, or intellectual creation.
- korrigieren
- To correct or fix errors in something written.
- Vorurteile
- Prejudices or biases held without sufficient reason.
- bekämpfen
- To fight against or combat something unwanted.
- aufzuhören
- To stop or cease doing a particular action.
- zuzugeben
- To admit or concede a point or fact.
- wenige
- Few, a small number of people or things.
- Männer
- Men, adult male human beings.
- hohem
- Dative of 'hoch', meaning 'high' or 'great degree'.
- Maße
- Dative of 'Maß', meaning 'measure' or 'degree'.
- doch
- Adverb meaning 'yet', 'still', or 'after all'.
- zumindest
- Adverb meaning 'at least' in a given situation.
- vollständige
- Complete, full, lacking nothing necessary or required.
- wohl
- Adverb meaning 'probably', 'well', or 'indeed'.
- geordnete
- Ordered, well-organized, arranged in a systematic manner.
- Weise
- Manner or way in which something is done.
- notwendigen
- Necessary, required, essential for a particular purpose.
- Qualifikationen
- Qualifications or skills required for a particular role.
- Geschichtsschreibers
- Genitive of 'Geschichtsschreiber', meaning 'of a historian'.
- vereint
- United or combined together in one person or place.
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