History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 15
"
"
The present editor has followed the track of Gibbon through many parts of his work; he has read his authorities with constant reference to his pages, and must pronounce his deliberate judgment, in terms of the highest admiration as to his general accuracy.
El presente editor ha seguido la pista de Gibbon a través de muchas partes de su obra; ha leído sus fuentes con constante referencia a sus páginas, y debe pronunciar su juicio deliberado, en términos de la más alta admiración en cuanto a su exactitud general.
Many of his seeming errors are almost inevitable from the close condensation of his matter.
Muchos de sus aparentes errores son casi inevitables debido a la estrecha condensación de su materia.
From the immense range of his history, it was sometimes necessary to compress into a single sentence, a whole vague and diffuse page of a Byzantine chronicler.
Dada la inmensa amplitud de su historia, a veces era necesario comprimir en una sola oración toda una página vaga y difusa de un cronista bizantino.
Perhaps something of importance may have thus escaped, and his expressions may not quite contain the whole substance of the passage from which they are taken.
Quizás algo de importancia haya escapado de este modo, y sus expresiones pueden no contener del todo la sustancia completa del pasaje del que fueron tomadas.
His limits, at times, compel him to sketch; where that is the case, it is not fair to expect the full details of the finished picture.
Sus limitaciones, a veces, le obligan a esbozar; cuando ese es el caso, no es justo esperar los detalles completos del cuadro terminado.
At times he can only deal with important results; and in his account of a war, it sometimes requires great attention to discover that the events which seem to be comprehended in a single campaign, occupy several years.
A veces solo puede ocuparse de los resultados importantes; y en su relato de una guerra, a veces se requiere gran atención para descubrir que los eventos que parecen estar comprendidos en una sola campaña ocupan varios años.
But this admirable skill in selecting and giving prominence to the points which are of real weight and importance—this distribution of light and shade—though perhaps it may occasionally betray him into vague and imperfect statements, is one of the highest excellencies of Gibbon's historic manner.
Pero esta admirable habilidad para seleccionar y dar prominencia a los puntos que son de verdadero peso e importancia —esta distribución de luz y sombra— aunque quizás ocasionalmente pueda llevarlo a declaraciones vagas e imperfectas, es una de las más altas excelencias del estilo histórico de Gibbon.
Vocabulary
- El
- Definite article meaning 'the' for masculine nouns.
- presente
- Current or present; existing at this time.
- editor
- Person who edits or prepares a text for publication.
- ha
- Third-person singular present of 'haber'; has.
- seguido
- Followed or tracked; past participle of 'seguir'.
- la
- Definite article meaning 'the' for feminine nouns.
- pista
- Track, trail, or clue leading somewhere.
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'.
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to' or 'at'.
- través
- Used in 'a través de' meaning 'through' or 'across'.
- muchas
- Many; feminine plural form of 'mucho'.
- partes
- Parts or sections of something larger.
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
- obra
- Work, especially a literary or artistic creation.
- leído
- Read; past participle of 'leer'.
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'their'.
- fuentes
- Sources or references used in research.
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with'.
- constante
- Constant, steady, or uninterrupted in nature.
- referencia
- Reference; act of consulting or citing a source.
- páginas
- Pages of a book or document.
- y
- Conjunction meaning 'and'.
- debe
- Must or should; third-person singular of 'deber'.
- pronunciar
- To pronounce or deliver a judgment or speech.
- juicio
- Judgment, opinion, or verdict on a matter.
- deliberado
- Deliberate; carefully considered and intentional.
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'on'.
- términos
- Terms or words used to express a concept.
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree.
- alta
- High; feminine form of 'alto'.
- admiración
- Admiration; feeling of respect and approval.
- cuanto
- As much as; used in comparisons.
- exactitud
- Accuracy or precision in facts or details.
- general
- General; applying broadly or in most cases.
- Muchos
- Many; masculine plural form of 'mucho'.
- aparentes
- Apparent; seeming true but not necessarily so.
- errores
- Errors or mistakes in a text or argument.
- son
- Are; third-person plural present of 'ser'.
- casi
- Almost or nearly; close to but not quite.
- inevitables
- Inevitable; impossible to avoid or prevent.
- debido
- Due to; caused by something mentioned.
- estrecha
- Tight or close; narrow condensation of content.
- condensación
- Condensation; act of compressing content into less.
- materia
- Subject matter or material being discussed.
- Dada
- Given; considering the circumstances described.
- inmensa
- Immense; extremely large in size or scope.
- amplitud
- Breadth or scope of a subject or work.
- historia
- History or story being told or studied.
- veces
- Times; occasions when something occurs.
- era
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of 'ser'.
- necesario
- Necessary; required or essential in a situation.
- comprimir
- To compress or condense into a smaller form.
- una
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' for feminine nouns.
- sola
- Single or alone; only one of something.
- oración
- Sentence or prayer; unit of written expression.
- toda
- All or entire; feminine form of 'todo'.
- página
- Page of a book or document.
- vaga
- Vague; lacking clarity or precision in meaning.
- difusa
- Diffuse; spread out and lacking focus or concision.
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' for masculine nouns.
- cronista
- Chronicler; writer who records historical events.
- bizantino
- Byzantine; relating to the Byzantine Empire.
- Quizás
- Perhaps or maybe; expressing uncertainty.
- algo
- Something or somewhat; an unspecified thing.
- importancia
- Importance; significance of something.
- haya
- Present subjunctive of 'haber'; may have.
- escapado
- Escaped or slipped away; gone unnoticed.
- este
- This; demonstrative adjective for masculine nouns.
- modo
- Mode or way; manner in which something is done.
- expresiones
- Expressions; phrases conveying ideas or meaning.
- pueden
- Can or may; third-person plural of 'poder'.
- no
- No or not; negation in Spanish.
- contener
- To contain or hold within.
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el' meaning 'of the'.
- todo
- All or everything; complete without exception.
- sustancia
- Substance; essential content or meaning.
- completa
- Complete; whole without missing parts.
- pasaje
- Passage; section of a text or piece of writing.
- que
- That or which; conjunction or relative pronoun.
- fueron
- Were; third-person plural preterite of 'ser'.
- tomadas
- Taken; past participle of 'tomar' in feminine plural.
- Sus
- Its or their; possessive adjective in plural form.
- limitaciones
- Limitations; restrictions constraining what is possible.
- le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'him', 'her', 'it'.
- obligan
- Oblige or force; compel someone to do something.
- esbozar
- To sketch or outline briefly without full detail.
- cuando
- When; conjunction indicating time.
- ese
- That; demonstrative adjective for masculine nouns.
- es
- Is; third-person singular present of 'ser'.
- el
- Definite article meaning 'the' for masculine nouns.
- caso
- Case or situation; a particular instance.
- justo
- Fair or just; right and reasonable.
- esperar
- To expect or wait for something.
- los
- Definite article 'the' for masculine plural nouns.
- detalles
- Details; specific pieces of information.
- completos
- Complete; full without missing elements.
- cuadro
- Picture or tableau; a complete finished scene.
- terminado
- Finished or completed; no longer in progress.
- A
- Preposition meaning 'to' or 'at'.
- solo
- Only or alone; without others involved.
- puede
- Can; third-person singular present of 'poder'.
- ocuparse
- To deal with or concern oneself with something.
- resultados
- Results or outcomes of actions or events.
- importantes
- Important; significant and worthy of attention.
- relato
- Account or narrative of events.
- guerra
- War; armed conflict between groups or nations.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs.
- requiere
- Requires; demands or makes necessary.
- gran
- Great; large in degree or importance.
- atención
- Attention; careful focus on a subject.
- para
- For or in order to; indicating purpose.
- descubrir
- To discover or uncover something hidden.
- eventos
- Events; occurrences or happenings in history.
- parecen
- Seem or appear; third-person plural of 'parecer'.
- estar
- To be; used for temporary states or conditions.
- comprendidos
- Included or encompassed within a larger category.
- campaña
- Campaign; military operation over a period.
- ocupan
- Occupy or span; take up time or space.
- varios
- Various or several; more than two.
- años
- Years; units of time equal to twelve months.
- Pero
- But; conjunction introducing contrast.
- esta
- This; demonstrative adjective for feminine nouns.
- admirable
- Admirable; deserving praise and respect.
- habilidad
- Ability or skill in performing a task.
- seleccionar
- To select or choose from among options.
- dar
- To give; providing something to someone.
- prominencia
- Prominence; state of being important or noticeable.
- puntos
- Points; key ideas or locations in a text.
- verdadero
- True or real; genuine and not false.
- peso
- Weight or importance given to an idea.
- e
- And; variant of 'y' used before 'i' or 'hi'.
- distribución
- Distribution; arrangement or allocation of elements.
- luz
- Light; illumination used as a metaphor here.
- sombra
- Shadow; darkness used as a stylistic metaphor.
- aunque
- Although or even though; introduces a concession.
- quizás
- Perhaps or maybe; indicating uncertainty.
- ocasionalmente
- Occasionally; happening sometimes but not regularly.
- pueda
- Can or may; present subjunctive of 'poder'.
- llevarlo
- Lead him or carry it; combined verb and pronoun.
- declaraciones
- Declarations or statements made formally.
- vagas
- Vague; imprecise or unclear in expression.
- imperfectas
- Imperfect; flawed or incomplete in some way.
- las
- Definite article 'the' for feminine plural nouns.
- altas
- High; elevated in quality or status.
- excelencias
- Excellences; outstanding qualities or virtues.
- estilo
- Style; distinctive manner of writing or expression.
- histórico
- Historical; relating to history or past events.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →