History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 6
This vast design of Gibbon, the magnificent whole into which he has cast the decay and ruin of the ancient civilization, the formation and birth of the new order of things, will of itself, independent of the laborious execution of his immense plan, render "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" an unapproachable subject to the future historian: 101 in the eloquent language of his recent French editor, M. Guizot:—
Este vasto projeto de Gibbon, o magnífico todo no qual ele lançou a decadência e a ruína da civilização antiga, a formação e o nascimento da nova ordem das coisas, por si só, independentemente da laboriosa execução de seu imenso plano, tornará "O Declínio e a Queda do Império Romano" um tema inatingível para o futuro historiador: 101 nas palavras eloquentes de seu recente editor francês, M. Guizot:—
101 (return) [ A considerable portion of this preface has already appeared before us public in the Quarterly Review.]
101 (retorno) [ Uma parte considerável deste prefácio já apareceu diante do público em geral na Quarterly Review.]
"The gradual decline of the most extraordinary dominion which has ever invaded and oppressed the world; the fall of that immense empire, erected on the ruins of so many kingdoms, republics, and states both barbarous and civilized; and forming in its turn, by its dismemberment, a multitude of states, republics, and kingdoms; the annihilation of the religion of Greece and Rome; the birth and the progress of the two new religions which have shared the most beautiful regions of the earth; the decrepitude of the ancient world, the spectacle of its expiring glory and degenerate manners; the infancy of the modern world, the picture of its first progress, of the new direction given to the mind and character of man—such a subject must necessarily fix the attention and excite the interest of men, who cannot behold with indifference those memorable epochs, during which, in the fine language of Corneille—
"O declínio gradual do domínio mais extraordinário que jamais invadiu e oprimiu o mundo; a queda daquele imenso império, erguido sobre as ruínas de tantos reinos, repúblicas e estados, tanto bárbaros quanto civilizados; e que formou, por sua vez, através de seu desmembramento, uma multidão de estados, repúblicas e reinos; a aniquilação da religião da Grécia e de Roma; o nascimento e o progresso das duas novas religiões que partilharam as mais belas regiões da terra; a decrepitude do mundo antigo, o espetáculo de sua glória agonizante e de seus costumes degenerados; a infância do mundo moderno, o quadro de seu primeiro progresso, da nova direção dada à mente e ao caráter do homem — tal tema deve necessariamente fixar a atenção e despertar o interesse dos homens, que não podem contemplar com indiferença essas épocas memoráveis, durante as quais, na bela linguagem de Corneille—
'Un grand destin commence, un grand destin s'achève.
'Um grande destino começa, um grande destino se conclui.
Vocabulary
- Este
- Demonstrative pronoun/adjective meaning 'this'
- vasto
- Vast, enormous, or very large in extent
- projeto
- Project, plan, or proposed undertaking
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'
- o
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular)
- magnífico
- Magnificent, splendid, or impressively grand
- todo
- All, entire, or every; the whole of something
- no
- Contraction of 'em' and 'o,' meaning 'in the'
- qual
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'that'
- ele
- Third-person singular pronoun meaning 'he'
- lançou
- Past tense of 'lançar'; launched, threw, or cast
- a
- Definite article or preposition meaning 'the' or 'to'
- decadência
- Decadence or decline in quality and vitality
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- ruína
- Ruin; destruction or state of decay
- da
- Contraction of 'de' and 'a,' meaning 'of the'
- civilização
- Civilization; organized and developed human society
- antiga
- Old or ancient; referring to earlier historical periods
- formação
- Formation; process of forming or developing something
- nascimento
- Birth or beginning of something new
- nova
- New or recently appeared (feminine form)
- ordem
- Order; arrangement, system, or command
- das
- Contraction of 'de' and 'as,' meaning 'of the' (plural)
- coisas
- Things; objects or matters in general
- por
- Preposition meaning 'by,' 'for,' or 'through'
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'itself' or 'himself/herself'
- só
- Alone, only, or solely; by oneself
- independentemente
- Independently; without reliance on others
- laboriosa
- Laborious; requiring great effort and hard work
- execução
- Execution; carrying out or implementation of a plan
- seu
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its'
- imenso
- Immense, huge, or extraordinarily large
- plano
- Plan, scheme, or detailed proposal for action
- tornará
- Future tense of 'tornar'; will make or become
- O
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular)
- Declínio
- Decline; gradual decrease or deterioration over time
- Queda
- Fall or collapse of something or someone
- do
- Contraction of 'de' and 'o,' meaning 'of the'
- Império
- Empire; large political unit under one ruler
- Romano
- Roman; relating to ancient Rome or its people
- um
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- tema
- Theme or topic of discussion or study
- inatingível
- Unattainable; impossible to reach or surpass
- para
- Preposition meaning 'for,' 'to,' or 'toward'
- futuro
- Future; time that is yet to come
- historiador
- Historian; scholar who studies and writes history
- nas
- Contraction of 'em' and 'as,' meaning 'in the' (plural)
- palavras
- Words; units of spoken or written language
- eloquentes
- Eloquent; expressing ideas fluently and persuasively
- recente
- Recent; happening or appearing not long ago
- editor
- Editor; person who prepares text for publication
- francês
- French; relating to France or its language
- retorno
- Return; act of coming back to a place
- Uma
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one' (feminine)
- parte
- Part or portion of a larger whole
- considerável
- Considerable; large enough to be noteworthy
- deste
- Contraction of 'de' and 'este,' meaning 'of this'
- prefácio
- Preface; introductory section of a book
- já
- Already or now; indicating prior occurrence
- apareceu
- Past tense of 'aparecer'; appeared or showed up
- diante
- Before or in front of something or someone
- público
- Public; the general population or common people
- em
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'at,' or 'on'
- geral
- General; relating to the whole rather than specifics
- na
- Contraction of 'em' and 'a,' meaning 'in the'
- declínio
- Decline; gradual weakening or deterioration over time
- gradual
- Gradual; happening slowly step by step
- domínio
- Domain or dominion; territory under one's control
- mais
- More or most; comparative degree in Portuguese
- extraordinário
- Extraordinary; remarkable and beyond what is ordinary
- que
- Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that,' 'which,' or 'than'
- jamais
- Never or ever; absolute negation in time
- invadiu
- Past tense of 'invadir'; invaded or encroached upon
- oprimiu
- Past tense of 'oprimir'; oppressed or suppressed forcibly
- mundo
- World; the earth or all of human civilization
- queda
- Fall or collapse; sudden drop or downfall
- daquele
- Contraction of 'de' and 'aquele,' meaning 'of that'
- império
- Empire; vast territory ruled by an emperor
- erguido
- Past participle of 'erguer'; raised or built up
- sobre
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'over,' or 'about'
- as
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine plural)
- ruínas
- Ruins; remains of destroyed or decayed structures
- tantos
- So many; referring to a large number
- reinos
- Kingdoms; territories ruled by kings or queens
- repúblicas
- Republics; states governed by elected representatives
- estados
- States; political units or organized governing entities
- tanto
- So much or as much; indicating large quantity
- bárbaros
- Barbarians; peoples considered uncivilized or primitive
- quanto
- As much as; used in comparisons of quantity
- civilizados
- Civilized; having advanced social and cultural development
- formou
- Past tense of 'formar'; formed or gave shape to
- sua
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its' (feminine)
- vez
- Time or turn; one instance or occasion
- através
- Through or across; by means of something
- desmembramento
- Dismemberment; breaking apart into separate fragments
- uma
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one' (feminine)
- multidão
- Multitude or crowd; a very large number
- aniquilação
- Annihilation; complete destruction of something or someone
- religião
- Religion; organized system of faith and worship
- progresso
- Progress; forward movement or development over time
- duas
- Two (feminine form); the number 2
- novas
- New (feminine plural); recently emerged or created
- religiões
- Religions; plural of religion, systems of belief
- partilharam
- Past tense of 'partilhar'; shared or divided among parties
- belas
- Beautiful (feminine plural); aesthetically pleasing regions
- regiões
- Regions; defined geographical or administrative areas
- terra
- Earth, land, or ground; the physical world
- decrepitude
- Decrepitude; state of severe decline due to age
- antigo
- Ancient or old; belonging to earlier historical periods
- espetáculo
- Spectacle; an impressive or dramatic public display
- glória
- Glory; great honor, fame, or admiration
- agonizante
- Agonizing or dying; in the final throes
- seus
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' 'their' (plural)
- costumes
- Customs or habits; traditional practices of a society
- degenerados
- Degenerated; having declined in quality or morality
- infância
- Infancy or childhood; earliest stage of development
- moderno
- Modern; relating to the present or recent era
- quadro
- Picture, frame, or tableau; a descriptive scene
- primeiro
- First; preceding all others in order or time
- direção
- Direction; path or course toward a goal
- dada
- Past participle of 'dar'; given or provided
- à
- Contraction of 'a' and 'a'; to the (feminine)
- mente
- Mind; the seat of thought and consciousness
- ao
- Contraction of 'a' and 'o'; to the (masculine)
- caráter
- Character; moral qualities and personality of a person
- homem
- Man or human being; adult male person
- tal
- Such or so; referring to something previously mentioned
- deve
- Must or should; expresses obligation or expectation
- necessariamente
- Necessarily; in a way that cannot be avoided
- fixar
- To fix or hold firmly; to focus attention
- atenção
- Attention; act of focusing one's mind on something
- despertar
- To awaken or arouse; to stir interest or feeling
- interesse
- Interest; feeling of curiosity or concern about something
- dos
- Contraction of 'de' and 'os'; of the (masculine plural)
- homens
- Men or humans; plural of 'homem'
- não
- No or not; negation in Portuguese
- podem
- Third-person plural of 'poder'; can or are able to
- contemplar
- To contemplate; to observe or think deeply about
- com
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- indiferença
- Indifference; lack of interest or concern
- essas
- Those (feminine plural); demonstrative adjective nearby
- épocas
- Epochs or eras; significant periods in history
- memoráveis
- Memorable; worth remembering due to significance
- durante
- During; throughout the course of a time period
- quais
- Plural of 'qual'; which or that (relative pronoun)
- bela
- Beautiful (feminine singular); visually or aesthetically pleasing
- linguagem
- Language or manner of expression used in communication
- Um
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one' (masculine)
- grande
- Great or large; impressive in size or importance
- destino
- Destiny or fate; predetermined course of events
- começa
- Third-person singular of 'começar'; begins or starts
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'itself,' 'oneself,' or 'each other'
- conclui
- Third-person singular of 'concluir'; concludes or ends
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