Meditations — Page 15
The petty annoyances of injustice or unkindness are looked on by each with the same magnanimity.
Las pequeñas molestias de la injusticia o la crueldad son contempladas por cada uno con la misma magnanimidad.
'Why doth a little thing said or done against thee make thee sorry?
«¿Por qué te entristece una pequeña cosa dicha o hecha en tu contra?
It is no new thing; it is not the first, nor shall it be the last, if thou live long.
No es algo nuevo; no es la primera vez, ni será la última, si vives mucho tiempo.
At best suffer patiently, if thou canst not suffer joyously.'
En el mejor de los casos, sufre con paciencia, si no puedes sufrir con alegría».
The Christian should sorrow more for other men's malice than for our own wrongs; but the Roman is inclined to wash his hands of the offender.
El cristiano debería afligirse más por la malicia de los otros hombres que por nuestras propias ofensas; pero el romano tiende a lavarse las manos del ofensor.
'Study to be patient in suffering and bearing other men's defaults and all manner infirmities,' says the Christian;
«Esfuérzate por ser paciente al sufrir y soportar las faltas de los demás hombres y todo tipo de enfermedades», dice el cristiano;
but the Roman would never have thought to add, 'If all men were perfect, what had we then to suffer of other men for God?'
pero al romano nunca se le hubiera ocurrido añadir: «Si todos los hombres fueran perfectos, ¿qué tendríamos entonces que sufrir de los demás hombres por Dios?».
The virtue of suffering in itself is an idea which does not meet us in the _Meditations_.
La virtud del sufrimiento en sí misma es una idea que no encontramos en las _Meditaciones_.
Both alike realise that man is one of a great community.
Ambos reconocen igualmente que el hombre forma parte de una gran comunidad.
'No man is sufficient to himself,' says the Christian; 'we must bear together, help together, comfort together.'
«Ningún hombre se basta a sí mismo», dice el cristiano; «debemos soportar juntos, ayudarnos juntos, consolarnos juntos».
But while he sees a chief importance in zeal, in exalted emotion that is, and avoidance of lukewarmness, the Roman thought mainly of the duty to be done as well as might be, and less of the feeling which should go with the doing of it.
Pero mientras el cristiano ve una importancia primordial en el fervor, es decir, en la emoción elevada, y en evitar la tibieza, el romano pensaba principalmente en el deber que debía cumplirse lo mejor posible, y menos en el sentimiento que debería acompañar su cumplimiento.
To the saint as to the emperor, the world is a poor thing at best.
Para el santo, al igual que para el emperador, el mundo es, en el mejor de los casos, una cosa pobre.
Vocabulary
- pequeñas
- Small or little, feminine plural adjective.
- molestias
- Annoyances, inconveniences, or minor troubles.
- injusticia
- Injustice; unfair or unjust treatment of others.
- crueldad
- Cruelty; disposition to inflict pain on others.
- contempladas
- Contemplated or regarded; past participle, feminine plural.
- cada
- Each or every; referring to individual members.
- misma
- Same; feminine singular form of 'mismo'.
- magnanimidad
- Magnanimity; generosity of spirit and noble tolerance.
- entristece
- Makes sad; third person singular of 'entristecer'.
- pequeña
- Small or little; feminine singular adjective.
- dicha
- Said or spoken; past participle of 'decir'.
- hecha
- Done or made; past participle of 'hacer'.
- contra
- Against; preposition indicating opposition or adversity.
- algo
- Something; an unspecified or indefinite thing.
- primera
- First; feminine form of the ordinal number 'primero'.
- vez
- Time or instance; occurrence of an event.
- ni
- Nor; negative conjunction linking two elements.
- será
- Will be; future tense of 'ser'.
- última
- Last; feminine form of 'último', final in sequence.
- vives
- You live; second person singular of 'vivir'.
- tiempo
- Time or weather; a fundamental concept of duration.
- mejor
- Best or better; superlative or comparative adjective.
- casos
- Cases or instances; plural of 'caso'.
- sufre
- Suffers; third person singular of 'sufrir'.
- paciencia
- Patience; calm endurance of difficulty or delay.
- sufrir
- To suffer; to endure pain or difficulty.
- alegría
- Joy or happiness; a feeling of great pleasure.
- cristiano
- Christian; a person who follows Christian religion.
- debería
- Should or ought to; conditional of 'deber'.
- afligirse
- To grieve or be distressed; reflexive verb.
- malicia
- Malice; intention to harm or spite others.
- hombres
- Men; plural of 'hombre', adult male humans.
- propias
- Own; feminine plural, indicating personal possession.
- ofensas
- Offenses or insults; acts causing hurt or anger.
- romano
- Roman; relating to Rome or its culture.
- tiende
- Tends to; third person singular of 'tender'.
- lavarse
- To wash oneself; reflexive verb for self-cleaning.
- manos
- Hands; plural of 'mano', the body part.
- ofensor
- Offender; person who commits an offense against another.
- Esfuérzate
- Make an effort; imperative reflexive form of 'esforzarse'.
- paciente
- Patient; able to endure without complaint or frustration.
- soportar
- To bear or tolerate; enduring difficulties patiently.
- faltas
- Faults or shortcomings; failures or moral lapses.
- demás
- Others or the rest; referring to remaining people.
- tipo
- Type or kind; a category or sort of thing.
- enfermedades
- Illnesses or diseases; plural of 'enfermedad'.
- nunca
- Never; at no time, negating frequency entirely.
- hubiera
- Past subjunctive of 'haber'; used in hypotheticals.
- ocurrido
- Occurred or happened; past participle of 'ocurrir'.
- añadir
- To add; to include something extra or additional.
- fueran
- Were; past subjunctive plural form of 'ser'.
- perfectos
- Perfect; masculine plural adjective meaning flawless.
- tendríamos
- We would have; conditional form of 'tener'.
- entonces
- Then; adverb indicating a consequence or that time.
- Dios
- God; the supreme divine being in monotheistic religion.
- virtud
- Virtue; moral excellence or goodness of character.
- sufrimiento
- Suffering; the state of enduring pain or hardship.
- encontramos
- We find or we found; first person plural of 'encontrar'.
- Meditaciones
- Meditations; title of Marcus Aurelius's philosophical writings.
- Ambos
- Both; referring to two people or things together.
- reconocen
- Recognize or acknowledge; third person plural of 'reconocer'.
- igualmente
- Equally or likewise; in the same manner or degree.
- hombre
- Man or human being; adult male or mankind.
- forma
- Form or way; the shape or manner of something.
- parte
- Part; a portion or component of a whole.
- gran
- Great or large; shortened form of 'grande'.
- comunidad
- Community; a group sharing common characteristics or location.
- Ningún
- No or none; masculine singular negative adjective.
- basta
- Is enough; third person singular of 'bastar'.
- mismo
- Same or himself; emphasizing identity or sameness.
- debemos
- We must or we owe; first person plural of 'deber'.
- juntos
- Together; masculine plural adverb or adjective.
- ayudarnos
- To help each other; reflexive infinitive of 'ayudar'.
- consolarnos
- To console each other; reflexive infinitive of 'consolar'.
- mientras
- While or whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous action.
- importancia
- Importance; the quality of being significant or valuable.
- primordial
- Primordial or fundamental; of primary importance or origin.
- fervor
- Fervor; intense and passionate feeling or enthusiasm.
- emoción
- Emotion; a strong feeling such as joy or fear.
- elevada
- Elevated or high; feminine past participle of 'elevar'.
- evitar
- To avoid; to keep away from or prevent something.
- tibieza
- Lukewarmness; lack of enthusiasm or spiritual indifference.
- pensaba
- Was thinking; imperfect tense of 'pensar'.
- principalmente
- Mainly or primarily; above all else or chiefly.
- deber
- Duty or obligation; what one must morally do.
- debía
- Had to or owed; imperfect tense of 'deber'.
- cumplirse
- To be fulfilled; reflexive infinitive of 'cumplir'.
- posible
- Possible; able to be done or achieved.
- menos
- Less or fewer; comparative adverb of quantity.
- sentimiento
- Feeling or sentiment; an emotional state or response.
- acompañar
- To accompany; to go along with or be present.
- cumplimiento
- Fulfillment or compliance; the act of completing duty.
- santo
- Saint; a holy person recognized for virtue.
- igual
- Equal or same; showing equivalence between things.
- emperador
- Emperor; a supreme ruler of an empire.
- mundo
- World; the earth or all of human society.
- pobre
- Poor; lacking wealth or resources, or pitiable.
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