Leviathan — Page 3

English → De Preface Level 9/10

Neither Thomas Hobbes nor his typesetters seem to have had many inhibitions about spelling and punctuation.

Weder Thomas Hobbes noch seine Setzer scheinen viele Hemmungen in Bezug auf Rechtschreibung und Zeichensetzung gehabt zu haben.

I have tried to reproduce both exactly, with the exception of the introduction of quotation marks.

Ich habe versucht, beides genau wiederzugeben, mit Ausnahme der Einführung von Anführungszeichen.

In preparing the text, I have found that it has much more meaning if I read it with sub-vocalization, or aloud, rather than trying to read silently.

Bei der Vorbereitung des Textes habe ich festgestellt, dass er viel mehr Bedeutung hat, wenn ich ihn mit leiser Lippenbewegung oder laut vorlese, anstatt zu versuchen, ihn still zu lesen.

Hobbes' use of emphasis and his eccentric punctuation and construction seem then to work.

Hobbes' Verwendung von Betonung und seine exzentrische Zeichensetzung und Satzkonstruktion scheinen dann zu wirken.

TO MY MOST HONOR'D FRIEND Mr. FRANCIS GODOLPHIN of GODOLPHIN

AN MEINEN HOCHGEEHRTEN FREUND Herrn FRANCIS GODOLPHIN von GODOLPHIN

HONOR'D SIR.

HOCHGEEHRTER HERR.

Your most worthy Brother Mr SIDNEY GODOLPHIN, when he lived, was pleas'd to think my studies something, and otherwise to oblige me, as you know, with reall testimonies of his good opinion, great in themselves, and the greater for the worthinesse of his person.

Ihr höchst würdiger Bruder, Herr SIDNEY GODOLPHIN, war zu Lebzeiten so gütig, meine Studien für etwas zu halten, und mich darüber hinaus, wie Sie wissen, mit echten Beweisen seiner guten Meinung zu verpflichten, die an sich schon bedeutend waren und umso bedeutender durch die Würde seiner Person.

For there is not any vertue that disposeth a man, either to the service of God, or to the service of his Country, to Civill Society, or private Friendship, that did not manifestly appear in his conversation, not as acquired by necessity, or affected upon occasion, but inhaerent, and shining in a generous constitution of his nature.

Denn es gibt keine Tugend, die einen Mann entweder zum Dienst an Gott oder zum Dienst an seinem Land, zur bürgerlichen Gesellschaft oder zur privaten Freundschaft bewegt, die nicht offenkundig in seinem Umgang erschienen wäre, nicht als durch Notwendigkeit erworben oder gelegentlich vorgetäuscht, sondern ihr innewohnend und in einer großzügigen Beschaffenheit seiner Natur leuchtend.

Therefore in honour and gratitude to him, and with devotion to your selfe, I humbly Dedicate unto you this my discourse of Common-wealth.

Daher widme ich Ihnen in Ehren und Dankbarkeit ihm gegenüber und in Ergebenheit Ihnen gegenüber demütig diese meine Abhandlung über das Gemeinwesen.

I know not how the world will receive it, nor how it may reflect on those that shall seem to favour it.

Ich weiß nicht, wie die Welt es aufnehmen wird, noch wie es auf jene zurückfallen mag, die es zu begünstigen scheinen.

Vocabulary

Weder: Neither; used in 'weder...noch' (neither...nor) construction
noch: Nor; still; yet; used in neither...nor constructions
seine: His; possessive pronoun referring to a male subject
Setzer: Typesetter; person who arranges text for printing
scheinen: To seem, appear; also to shine (of light)
viele: Many; a large number of things or people
Hemmungen: Inhibitions; reservations; psychological hesitations or restraints
in: In; within; a common German preposition of location
Bezug: Reference; relation; connection to something
auf: On; onto; upon; a common German preposition
Rechtschreibung: Spelling; the correct orthographic writing of words
und: And; the most basic German coordinating conjunction
Zeichensetzung: Punctuation; the use of punctuation marks in writing
gehabt: Had; past participle of 'haben' (to have)
zu: To; too; a preposition or infinitive marker
haben: To have; one of the most essential German verbs
Ich: I; the first-person singular nominative pronoun
habe: Have; first-person singular present form of 'haben'
versucht: Tried; past participle of 'versuchen' (to try, attempt)
beides: Both; referring to two previously mentioned things together
genau: Exactly; precisely; accurately reproducing something
wiederzugeben: To reproduce; to render or convey something accurately
mit: With; a common German preposition indicating accompaniment
Ausnahme: Exception; something excluded from a general rule
der: The; definite article for masculine or genitive feminine nouns
Einführung: Introduction; the act of introducing or bringing in something
von: Of; from; by; a very common German preposition
Anführungszeichen: Quotation marks; punctuation marks enclosing quoted text
Bei: At; near; during; a German preposition of proximity or occasion
Vorbereitung: Preparation; the process of getting something ready
des: Of the; genitive definite article for masculine/neuter nouns
Textes: Of the text; genitive form of 'Text'
ich: I; first-person singular nominative pronoun
festgestellt: Noticed; determined; past participle of 'feststellen'
dass: That; subordinating conjunction introducing a dependent clause
er: He; it; third-person singular masculine pronoun
viel: Much; a lot; indicating a large degree or quantity
mehr: More; a comparative indicating greater quantity or degree
Bedeutung: Meaning; significance; importance of something
hat: Has; third-person singular present form of 'haben'
wenn: When; if; a subordinating conjunction for conditions or time
ihn: Him; it; accusative form of the masculine pronoun 'er'
leiser: More quietly; comparative of 'leise' (quiet, soft)
oder: Or; a coordinating conjunction presenting alternatives
laut: Loud; aloud; audibly; opposite of quiet
vorlese: Read aloud; first-person present of 'vorlesen'
anstatt: Instead of; rather than; a German preposition of substitution
versuchen: To try; to attempt; to endeavor to do something
still: Silently; quietly; without making sound
lesen: To read; to read text silently or aloud
Verwendung: Use; application; the employment of something for a purpose
Betonung: Emphasis; stress; accentuation of words or syllables
exzentrische: Eccentric; unconventional; deviating from the norm
Satzkonstruktion: Sentence construction; the way sentences are grammatically structured
dann: Then; at that time; next in sequence
wirken: To have an effect; to seem; to act upon something
AN: To; addressed to; a preposition used in dedications
MEINEN: My; accusative/dative possessive pronoun first-person singular
HOCHGEEHRTEN: Highly esteemed; greatly honored; a formal honorific adjective
FREUND: Friend; a person with whom one has a close bond
Herrn: Mr.; gentleman; accusative/dative form of 'Herr'
HERR: Sir; Mister; a formal title of address for men
Ihr: Your (formal); possessive pronoun for formal 'Sie'
höchst: Most; highly; superlative intensifier meaning extremely
würdiger: More worthy; more dignified; comparative of 'würdig'
Bruder: Brother; a male sibling
Herr: Mister; sir; formal title for a man
war: Was; simple past of 'sein' (to be)
Lebzeiten: Lifetime; the period during which someone was alive
so: So; thus; in such a way
gütig: Kind; gracious; benevolent in manner or character
meine: My; first-person singular possessive adjective
Studien: Studies; academic or intellectual pursuits and research
für: For; on behalf of; a common German preposition
etwas: Something; somewhat; a small amount or degree
halten: To hold; to consider; to regard something as something
mich: Me; accusative first-person singular reflexive/personal pronoun
darüber: About that; beyond that; over it; a pronominal adverb
hinaus: Beyond; out; past; used in 'darüber hinaus' (beyond that)
wie: How; as; like; a comparative or interrogative particle
Sie: You (formal); third-person plural or formal second-person pronoun
wissen: To know; to have knowledge of facts
echten: Genuine; real; authentic; dative/accusative form of 'echt'
Beweisen: Proofs; evidence; demonstrations of something being true
seiner: His; genitive/dative masculine possessive pronoun
guten: Good; inflected form of 'gut' in various cases
Meinung: Opinion; view; someone's personal judgment or belief
verpflichten: To oblige; to commit; to bind by duty or obligation
die: The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
an: At; on; to; a common German preposition of position
sich: Himself; herself; itself; reflexive pronoun for third person
schon: Already; even; an emphatic particle in German
bedeutend: Significant; considerable; important in degree or quality
waren: Were; simple past plural of 'sein' (to be)
umso: All the more; so much the more; intensifying comparative conjunction
bedeutender: More significant; comparative of 'bedeutend'
durch: Through; by means of; a common German preposition
Würde: Dignity; worth; the quality of being noble or honorable
Person: Person; an individual human being
Denn: For; because; a coordinating conjunction giving reason
es: It; the neuter third-person singular pronoun
gibt: Gives; there is/are; third-person singular of 'geben'
keine: No; not any; negating article for feminine/plural nouns
Tugend: Virtue; a moral excellence or admirable quality
einen: A; one; accusative masculine indefinite article
Mann: Man; a male adult person
entweder: Either; used in 'entweder...oder' (either...or) construction
zum: To the; contraction of 'zu dem'
Dienst: Service; duty; the act of serving someone or something
Gott: God; the supreme divine being
seinem: His; its; dative masculine/neuter possessive pronoun
Land: Country; land; nation or territory
zur: To the; contraction of 'zu der' (dative feminine)
bürgerlichen: Civil; civic; bourgeois; pertaining to citizens or society
Gesellschaft: Society; company; a group of people living together
privaten: Private; personal; not public or official
Freundschaft: Friendship; the state of being close friends with someone
bewegt: Moves; motivates; past participle or third-person of 'bewegen'
nicht: Not; the standard German negation word
offenkundig: Obvious; evident; manifestly clear to everyone
Umgang: Association; dealings; interaction with other people
erschienen: Appeared; seemed; past participle of 'erscheinen'
wäre: Would be; subjunctive II form of 'sein' (to be)
als: As; than; when; a conjunction or comparative particle
Notwendigkeit: Necessity; something that is absolutely required or essential
erworben: Acquired; earned; past participle of 'erwerben'
gelegentlich: Occasionally; sometimes; happening from time to time
vorgetäuscht: Feigned; pretended; past participle of 'vortäuschen'
sondern: But rather; but instead; a corrective conjunction after negation
ihr: Her; their; you (plural informal); pronoun or possessive
innewohnend: Inherent; intrinsic; naturally residing within something
einer: A; one; genitive/dative feminine or nominative indefinite article
großzügigen: Generous; magnanimous; liberal in giving or nature
Beschaffenheit: Nature; constitution; the inherent quality or character of something
Natur: Nature; the innate character or quality of something
leuchtend: Shining; radiant; glowing brightly
Daher: Therefore; hence; for that reason
widme: Dedicate; first-person singular of 'widmen' (to dedicate)
Ihnen: You (formal dative); the formal indirect object pronoun
Ehren: To honor; honors; in honor of; related to 'Ehre' (honor)
Dankbarkeit: Gratitude; thankfulness; feeling of appreciation toward someone
ihm: Him; it; dative masculine/neuter third-person pronoun
gegenüber: Toward; opposite; in relation to someone or something
Ergebenheit: Devotion; submission; loyal dedication to a person or cause
demütig: Humble; meek; showing modesty and respect
diese: This; these; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
Abhandlung: Treatise; essay; a detailed written discussion of a subject
über: About; over; above; a common German preposition
das: The; it; definite article or pronoun for neuter nouns
Gemeinwesen: Commonwealth; polity; the organized body of a community
weiß: Knows; white; first/third-person singular of 'wissen'
Welt: World; the earth and all people or things in it
aufnehmen: To receive; to accept; to take in or record something
wird: Will; becomes; third-person singular of 'werden'
jene: Those; that; a demonstrative pronoun pointing to distant things
zurückfallen: To fall back; to revert; to relapse into a previous state
mag: May; might; third-person singular of 'mögen' (to like, may)
begünstigen: To favor; to benefit; to give an advantage to someone

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