History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 15
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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.
L'attuale editore ha seguito le tracce di Gibbon attraverso molte parti della sua opera; ha letto le sue fonti con costante riferimento alle sue pagine, e deve pronunciare il suo giudizio ponderato, in termini della più alta ammirazione riguardo alla sua accuratezza generale.
Many of his seeming errors are almost inevitable from the close condensation of his matter.
Molti dei suoi apparenti errori sono quasi inevitabili a causa della fitta condensazione della sua 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.
Data l'immensa portata della sua storia, era a volte necessario comprimere in un'unica frase un'intera pagina vaga e diffusa di 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.
Forse qualcosa di importante può essere così sfuggito, e le sue espressioni potrebbero non contenere del tutto la sostanza del passo da cui sono tratte.
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.
I suoi limiti, a volte, lo costringono a tratteggiare; in tal caso, non è giusto aspettarsi i dettagli completi del quadro finito.
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 volte può occuparsi solo dei risultati importanti; e nel suo resoconto di una guerra, occorre talvolta grande attenzione per scoprire che gli eventi che sembrano compresi in un'unica campagna occupano diversi anni.
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.
Ma questa ammirevole abilità nel selezionare e nel dare risalto ai punti di reale peso e importanza — questa distribuzione di luce e ombra — sebbene possa forse talvolta tradirlo in affermazioni vaghe e imperfette, è una delle più alte eccellenze del modo storico di Gibbon.
Vocabulary
- attuale
- Current, present-day, or existing now
- editore
- Publisher or editor of a book or work
- ha
- Has (third person singular present of avere)
- seguito
- Followed, or a following; retinue or suite
- le
- The (feminine plural article or pronoun)
- tracce
- Traces, tracks, or signs left behind
- di
- Of, from, or belonging to (preposition)
- attraverso
- Through, across, or by means of
- molte
- Many (feminine plural form)
- parti
- Parts, sections, or roles in a work
- della
- Of the (feminine singular contraction)
- sua
- His, her, or its (feminine singular possessive)
- opera
- Work, opera, or composition of art
- letto
- Read (past participle) or bed (noun)
- sue
- His, her, or its (feminine plural possessive)
- fonti
- Sources, fountains, or origins
- con
- With (preposition)
- costante
- Constant, steady, or persistent
- riferimento
- Reference, allusion, or mention
- alle
- To the (feminine plural contraction)
- pagine
- Pages of a book or document
- deve
- Must, has to, or owes (verb)
- pronunciare
- To pronounce, utter, or declare formally
- il
- The (masculine singular article)
- suo
- His, her, or its (masculine singular)
- giudizio
- Judgment, opinion, or decision
- ponderato
- Weighed, considered, or deliberate
- in
- In, into, or within (preposition)
- termini
- Terms, expressions, or words
- più
- More or most (comparative/superlative)
- alta
- High, tall, or elevated (feminine)
- ammirazione
- Admiration or wonder
- riguardo
- Regard, respect, or concerning
- alla
- To the (feminine singular contraction)
- accuratezza
- Accuracy, precision, or exactness
- generale
- General, overall, or universal
- Molti
- Many (masculine plural)
- dei
- Of the (masculine plural contraction)
- suoi
- His, her, or its (masculine plural)
- apparenti
- Apparent, seeming, or obvious
- errori
- Errors, mistakes, or faults
- sono
- Are (third person plural of essere)
- quasi
- Almost, nearly, or practically
- inevitabili
- Inevitable, unavoidable, or necessary
- causa
- Cause, reason, or lawsuit
- fitta
- Dense, thick, or tightly packed
- condensazione
- Condensation, compression, or reduction
- materia
- Matter, material, or subject
- Data
- Given, considering, or date
- immensa
- Immense, vast, or enormous
- portata
- Scope, reach, or capacity
- storia
- History or story
- era
- Was (imperfect tense) or age/era
- volte
- Times, occasions, or turned
- necessario
- Necessary, essential, or required
- comprimere
- To compress, squeeze, or condense
- un
- A, an, or one (indefinite article)
- unica
- Only, sole, or unique (feminine)
- frase
- Phrase, sentence, or expression
- intera
- Entire, whole, or complete (feminine)
- vaga
- Vague, uncertain, or hazy (feminine)
- diffusa
- Spread, widespread, or diffuse (feminine)
- cronista
- Chronicler or historian
- bizantino
- Byzantine or related to Byzantium
- Forse
- Perhaps, maybe, or possibly
- qualcosa
- Something, anything, or a thing
- importante
- Important, significant, or considerable
- può
- Can, may, or is able to
- essere
- To be or existence
- così
- Thus, so, or in this way
- sfuggito
- Escaped, eluded, or slipped away
- espressioni
- Expressions, phrases, or utterances
- potrebbero
- Could, might, or would be able
- non
- Not (negation)
- contenere
- To contain, hold, or comprise
- del
- Of the (masculine singular contraction)
- tutto
- All, everything, or entirely
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