Leviathan — Page 10
I say the similitude of Passions, which are the same in all men, Desire, Feare, Hope, &c; not the similitude or The Objects of the Passions, which are the things Desired, Feared, Hoped, &c: for these the constitution individuall, and particular education do so vary, and they are so easie to be kept from our knowledge, that the characters of mans heart, blotted and confounded as they are, with dissembling, lying, counterfeiting, and erroneous doctrines, are legible onely to him that searcheth hearts.
Ich spreche von der Ähnlichkeit der Leidenschaften, die bei allen Menschen dieselben sind, Begierde, Furcht, Hoffnung usw.; nicht von der Ähnlichkeit oder den Gegenständen der Leidenschaften, welche die begehrten, gefürchteten, erhofften Dinge usw. sind: denn diese variieren durch die individuelle Verfassung und die besondere Erziehung so sehr, und sie sind so leicht vor unserer Kenntnis verborgen zu halten, dass die Züge des menschlichen Herzens, so durchstrichen und verwirrt, wie sie sind, durch Verstellung, Lüge, Heuchelei und irrige Lehren, nur demjenigen lesbar sind, der die Herzen erforscht.
And though by mens actions wee do discover their designee sometimes; yet to do it without comparing them with our own, and distinguishing all circumstances, by which the case may come to be altered, is to decypher without a key, and be for the most part deceived, by too much trust, or by too much diffidence; as he that reads, is himselfe a good or evill man.
Und obwohl wir durch die Handlungen der Menschen manchmal ihre Absichten entdecken; so ist es doch, dies zu tun, ohne sie mit unseren eigenen zu vergleichen und alle Umstände zu unterscheiden, durch welche der Fall verändert werden könnte, wie das Entziffern ohne einen Schlüssel, und man wird größtenteils getäuscht, durch zu viel Vertrauen oder durch zu viel Misstrauen; je nachdem, ob derjenige, der liest, selbst ein guter oder böser Mensch ist.
But let one man read another by his actions never so perfectly, it serves him onely with his acquaintance, which are but few.
Aber mag ein Mensch einen anderen durch seine Handlungen noch so vollkommen lesen, so nützt ihm dies nur im Umgang mit seinen Bekannten, welche jedoch nur wenige sind.
He that is to govern a whole Nation, must read in himselfe, not this, or that particular man; but Man-kind; which though it be hard to do, harder than to learn any Language, or Science; yet, when I shall have set down my own reading orderly, and perspicuously, the pains left another, will be onely to consider, if he also find not the same in himselfe.
Wer eine ganze Nation regieren soll, muss in sich selbst lesen, nicht diesen oder jenen einzelnen Menschen, sondern die Menschheit; was zwar schwer zu tun ist, schwerer als irgendeine Sprache oder Wissenschaft zu erlernen; doch wenn ich meine eigene Lektüre geordnet und klar dargelegt haben werde, wird die Mühe, die einem anderen verbleibt, nur darin bestehen zu prüfen, ob er dasselbe nicht auch in sich selbst findet.
For this kind of Doctrine, admitteth no other Demonstration.
Denn diese Art von Lehre lässt keinen anderen Beweis zu.
Vocabulary
- Ich
- First person singular pronoun; I
- spreche
- I speak; present tense first person singular
- von
- Of; from; about; preposition with dative case
- der
- The; feminine singular or plural dative article
- Ähnlichkeit
- Similarity; resemblance between things or people
- Leidenschaften
- Passions; strong emotions or intense feelings
- die
- The; feminine singular or plural nominative article
- bei
- At; by; near; with; preposition with dative
- allen
- All; every; plural dative or accusative form
- Menschen
- People; human beings; plural of Mensch
- dieselben
- The same; identical; plural nominative or accusative
- sind
- Are; present tense plural of sein
- Begierde
- Desire; craving; strong wish for something
- Furcht
- Fear; anxiety; dread or apprehension
- Hoffnung
- Hope; expectation of positive future outcome
- nicht
- Not; negation particle in German sentences
- oder
- Or; conjunction presenting alternatives
- den
- The; masculine singular accusative article
- Gegenständen
- Objects; things; subjects; plural dative form
- welche
- Which; that; relative pronoun for objects
- begehrten
- Desired; craved; past tense of begehren
- gefürchteten
- Feared; dreaded; past tense of fürchten
- erhofften
- Hoped for; past tense of erhoffen
- Dinge
- Things; objects; items; plural of Ding
- denn
- Because; for; causal conjunction or particle
- diese
- These; this; plural nominative or accusative
- variieren
- Vary; differ; change according to circumstances
- durch
- Through; by; via; preposition with accusative
- individuelle
- Individual; personal; particular; relating to one person
- Verfassung
- Constitution; condition; state of being or mood
- und
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- besondere
- Special; particular; distinctive; unique to something
- Erziehung
- Education; upbringing; training in childhood
- so
- So; thus; to such an extent or degree
- sehr
- Very; greatly; to a large degree
- sie
- She; they; feminine singular or plural pronoun
- leicht
- Easily; readily; without difficulty or effort
- vor
- Before; in front of; preposition with dative
- unserer
- Our; feminine singular or plural possessive adjective
- Kenntnis
- Knowledge; understanding; awareness of something
- verborgen
- Hidden; concealed; kept secret or out of sight
- zu
- To; at; toward; preposition with dative
- halten
- Hold; keep; maintain; to grasp or retain
- dass
- That; conjunction introducing subordinate clause
- Züge
- Features; traits; lines; characteristic aspects or marks
- des
- Of the; masculine singular or neuter genitive
- menschlichen
- Human; relating to mankind or humanity
- Herzens
- Heart; center of emotions and feelings
- verwirrt
- Confused; bewildered; disoriented or muddled state
- wie
- Like; as; how; comparative or interrogative word
- Verstellung
- Disguise; pretense; concealment of true feelings
- Lüge
- Lie; falsehood; untrue statement or deception
- Heuchelei
- Hypocrisy; pretense of virtue or righteousness
- Lehren
- Teachings; doctrines; instruction or lessons given
- nur
- Only; merely; exclusively; nothing else but
- lesbar
- Readable; legible; able to be read
- erforscht
- Investigated; explored; examined thoroughly or scientifically
- Und
- And; conjunction at beginning of clause
- obwohl
- Although; even though; despite the fact that
- wir
- We; first person plural pronoun
- Handlungen
- Actions; deeds; acts or behaviors; plural form
- manchmal
- Sometimes; occasionally; at times or now and then
- ihre
- Their; her; feminine or plural possessive adjective
- Absichten
- Intentions; purposes; aims or goals; plural form
- entdecken
- Discover; find out; uncover or reveal something
- ist
- Is; present tense third person singular of sein
- es
- It; neuter singular pronoun or dummy subject
- doch
- Yet; however; nevertheless; contrary to expectation
- dies
- This; that; neuter singular nominative or accusative
- tun
- Do; make; perform an action or deed
- ohne
- Without; lacking; preposition with accusative case
- mit
- With; accompanied by; preposition with dative
- eigenen
- Own; personal; belonging to oneself; one's own
- vergleichen
- Compare; contrast; examine similarities and differences
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