History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 10
Both these writers adhere, almost entirely, to chronological order; the consequence is, that we are twenty times called upon to break off, and resume the thread of six or eight wars in different parts of the empire; to suspend the operations of a military expedition for a court intrigue; to hurry away from a siege to a council; and the same page places us in the middle of a campaign against the barbarians, and in the depths of the Monophysite controversy.
Ambos escritores se adhieren, casi por completo, al orden cronológico; la consecuencia es que se nos llama veinte veces a interrumpir y retomar el hilo de seis u ocho guerras en diferentes partes del imperio; a suspender las operaciones de una expedición militar por una intriga cortesana; a alejarnos precipitadamente de un asedio para asistir a un consejo; y la misma página nos sitúa en medio de una campaña contra los bárbaros y en las profundidades de la controversia monofisita.
In Gibbon it is not always easy to bear in mind the exact dates but the course of events is ever clear and distinct; like a skilful general, though his troops advance from the most remote and opposite quarters, they are constantly bearing down and concentrating themselves on one point—that which is still occupied by the name, and by the waning power of Rome.
En Gibbon no siempre es fácil tener presentes las fechas exactas, pero el curso de los acontecimientos es siempre claro y nítido; como un general hábil, aunque sus tropas avancen desde los puntos más remotos y opuestos, convergen y se concentran constantemente en un solo punto: aquel que aún ocupa el nombre y el poder menguante de Roma.
Whether he traces the progress of hostile religions, or leads from the shores of the Baltic, or the verge of the Chinese empire, the successive hosts of barbarians—though one wave has hardly burst and discharged itself, before another swells up and approaches—all is made to flow in the same direction, and the impression which each makes upon the tottering fabric of the Roman greatness, connects their distant movements, and measures the relative importance assigned to them in the panoramic history.
Ya sea que rastree el avance de religiones hostiles, o que conduzca desde las orillas del Báltico o los confines del imperio chino a los sucesivos ejércitos de bárbaros —aunque apenas una ola ha reventado y se ha disipado antes de que otra se eleve y se aproxime—, todo fluye en la misma dirección, y la impresión que cada uno deja en la tambaleante estructura de la grandeza romana conecta sus lejanos movimientos y mide la importancia relativa que se les asigna en la historia panorámica.
Vocabulary
- Ambos
- Both; referring to two people or things together
- escritores
- Writers; people who write literary or journalistic works
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with verbs in Spanish
- adhieren
- They adhere or stick closely to something
- casi
- Almost; very nearly but not completely
- por
- By, for, or through; versatile Spanish preposition
- completo
- Complete; total, entire, or fully done
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'el' meaning 'to the'
- orden
- Order; sequence, arrangement, or command
- cronológico
- Chronological; arranged according to time sequence
- la
- The; feminine definite article in Spanish
- consecuencia
- Consequence; result or outcome of an action
- es
- Is; third person singular of verb 'ser'
- que
- That, which, or who; common subordinating conjunction
- nos
- Us; first person plural object pronoun
- llama
- Calls or summons; third person singular of llamar
- veinte
- Twenty; the cardinal number between nineteen and twenty-one
- veces
- Times; instances or occurrences of something happening
- a
- To, at, or toward; common Spanish preposition
- interrumpir
- To interrupt; to break or stop something momentarily
- y
- And; basic Spanish coordinating conjunction
- retomar
- To resume or pick up again something previously stopped
- el
- The; masculine definite article in Spanish
- hilo
- Thread; also narrative thread or connecting line
- de
- Of, from; extremely common Spanish preposition
- seis
- Six; the cardinal number between five and seven
- u
- Or; variant of 'o' used before words starting with o
- ocho
- Eight; the cardinal number between seven and nine
- guerras
- Wars; armed conflicts between nations or groups
- en
- In, on, at; common Spanish preposition of location
- diferentes
- Different; distinct or varied from one another
- partes
- Parts; sections, regions, or portions of something
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'el'
- imperio
- Empire; vast territory under one ruler's authority
- suspender
- To suspend or temporarily halt an activity
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article in Spanish
- operaciones
- Operations; military or organized coordinated activities
- una
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- expedición
- Expedition; organized journey for military or exploration purposes
- militar
- Military; relating to armed forces or warfare
- intriga
- Intrigue; scheming or plotting for political advantage
- cortesana
- Courtly; relating to a royal or imperial court
- alejarnos
- To move ourselves away or distance ourselves from something
- precipitadamente
- Hastily; done rapidly and without careful consideration
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- asedio
- Siege; prolonged military blockade of a fortified place
- para
- For, in order to; Spanish preposition of purpose
- asistir
- To attend or be present at an event
- consejo
- Council or advice; advisory body or recommendation
- misma
- Same; identical, the very same thing or person
- página
- Page; one side of a leaf in a book
- sitúa
- Places or situates; puts something in a specific location
- medio
- Middle, half, or midst; center of something
- campaña
- Campaign; organized military or political series of operations
- contra
- Against; in opposition to someone or something
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article in Spanish
- bárbaros
- Barbarians; uncivilized peoples outside a dominant civilization
- profundidades
- Depths; the deepest or most complex parts of something
- controversia
- Controversy; prolonged public dispute or heated disagreement
- En
- In; Spanish preposition indicating location or context
- no
- No, not; basic Spanish negation word
- siempre
- Always; at all times or on every occasion
- fácil
- Easy; not difficult or requiring little effort
- tener
- To have; to possess or hold something
- presentes
- Present; having something clearly in mind or awareness
- fechas
- Dates; specific days or times of events
- exactas
- Exact; precise and accurate without error
- pero
- But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast
- curso
- Course; flow or progression of events over time
- acontecimientos
- Events; significant occurrences or happenings in history
- claro
- Clear; easy to understand or perceive
- nítido
- Sharp, crisp, or clearly defined in detail
- como
- Like, as, or how; comparison or manner conjunction
- general
- General; military commander or broadly applicable concept
- hábil
- Skilled or capable; having great ability or dexterity
- aunque
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction in Spanish
- sus
- His, her, their, your; third person possessive adjective
- tropas
- Troops; soldiers or military personnel in a group
- avancen
- Advance; they move forward toward a goal
- desde
- From, since; indicates starting point in space or time
- puntos
- Points; specific locations or particular aspects
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- remotos
- Remote; distant or far away in space
- opuestos
- Opposite; contrary or facing in different directions
- convergen
- Converge; they come together toward a single point
- concentran
- Concentrate; they gather or focus in one place
- constantemente
- Constantly; continuously without stopping or interruption
- solo
- Only, sole; just one thing or person
- punto
- Point; a specific location, moment, or argument
- aquel
- That; demonstrative pronoun referring to distant thing
- aún
- Still, yet; indicating continuation of a state
- ocupa
- Occupies; holds or takes up a position or space
- nombre
- Name; word by which someone or something is known
- poder
- Power; ability, authority, or capacity to act
- menguante
- Waning; declining or diminishing in strength or size
- Roma
- Rome; capital city of Italy and ancient empire
- Ya
- Already, now; indicates something has occurred
- sea
- May be; subjunctive form of 'ser' meaning 'to be'
- rastree
- Trace or track; subjunctive form of rastrear
- avance
- Advance; forward movement or progress of something
- religiones
- Religions; systems of belief and worship practices
- hostiles
- Hostile; unfriendly, aggressive, or antagonistic
- o
- Or; coordinating conjunction expressing alternatives
- conduzca
- Leads or guides; subjunctive form of conducir
- orillas
- Shores or banks; edges of a body of water
- confines
- Confines; borders, limits, or outermost edges of territory
- chino
- Chinese; relating to China or its people
- sucesivos
- Successive; following one after another in sequence
- ejércitos
- Armies; large organized military land forces
- apenas
- Barely, hardly; only just or scarcely
- ola
- Wave; a moving ridge of water on the sea
- ha
- Has; auxiliary verb used in perfect tenses
- reventado
- Burst or broken; past participle of reventar
- disipado
- Dissipated; scattered or dispersed completely
- antes
- Before; earlier in time or in front of
- otra
- Another, other; a different or additional one
- eleve
- Rise or elevate; subjunctive form of elevar
- aproxime
- Approach or draw near; subjunctive of aproximar
- todo
- Everything, all; the totality of something
- fluye
- Flows; moves steadily and continuously in one direction
- dirección
- Direction; the path or course something moves toward
- impresión
- Impression; effect or feeling left by an experience
- cada
- Each, every; referring to individual members of a group
- uno
- One; the number one or a single unit
- deja
- Leaves; allows or causes something to remain
- tambaleante
- Tottering or swaying; unstable and about to collapse
- estructura
- Structure; organized arrangement forming a complex whole
- grandeza
- Greatness; magnificent splendor or noble majesty
- romana
- Roman; relating to ancient Rome or its civilization
- conecta
- Connects; links or joins things together
- lejanos
- Distant or remote; far away in space or time
- movimientos
- Movements; acts of moving or changing position
- mide
- Measures; determines the size or importance of something
- importancia
- Importance; significance or value of something
- relativa
- Relative; considered in relation to something else
- les
- To them; indirect object pronoun for third person plural
- asigna
- Assigns; allocates or designates something to someone
- historia
- History; record of past events and human experience
- panorámica
- Panoramic; offering a wide comprehensive overview of events
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