Meditations — Page 13
Public spirit was the most splendid political virtue of the ancient world, and it is here made cosmopolitan.
Lo spirito civico era la più splendida virtù politica del mondo antico, e qui viene reso cosmopolita.
It is again instructive to note that Christian sages insisted on the same thing.
È ancora istruttivo notare che i saggi cristiani insistevano sulla stessa cosa.
Christians are taught that they are members of a worldwide brotherhood, where is neither Greek nor Hebrew, bond nor free and that they live their lives as fellow-workers with God.
Ai cristiani viene insegnato che sono membri di una fratellanza mondiale, dove non vi è né greco né ebreo, né schiavo né libero, e che vivono la loro vita come collaboratori di Dio.
Such is the system which underlies the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.
Tale è il sistema che sta alla base delle Meditazioni di Marco Aurelio.
Some knowledge of it is necessary to the right understanding of the book, but for us the chief interest lies elsewhere.
Una certa conoscenza di esso è necessaria per la corretta comprensione del libro, ma per noi l'interesse principale risiede altrove.
We do not come to Marcus Aurelius for a treatise on Stoicism.
Non ci rivolgiamo a Marco Aurelio per un trattato sullo Stoicismo.
He is no head of a school to lay down a body of doctrine for students; he does not even contemplate that others should read what he writes.
Egli non è il capo di una scuola intento a stabilire un corpus di dottrina per gli studenti; non prevede nemmeno che altri debbano leggere ciò che scrive.
His philosophy is not an eager intellectual inquiry, but more what we should call religious feeling.
La sua filosofia non è un'avida ricerca intellettuale, ma piuttosto ciò che chiameremmo sentimento religioso.
The uncompromising stiffness of Zeno or Chrysippus is softened and transformed by passing through a nature reverent and tolerant, gentle and free from guile; the grim resignation which made life possible to the Stoic sage becomes in him almost a mood of aspiration.
L'inflessibile rigidità di Zenone o Crisippo viene addolcita e trasformata passando attraverso una natura reverente e tollerante, gentile e priva di artifici; la cupa rassegnazione che rendeva possibile la vita al saggio stoico diventa in lui quasi un senso di aspirazione.
His book records the innermost thoughts of his heart, set down to ease it, with such moral maxims and reflections as may help him to bear the burden of duty and the countless annoyances of a busy life.
Il suo libro registra i pensieri più intimi del suo cuore, messi per iscritto per alleviarlo, con massime morali e riflessioni tali da aiutarlo a sopportare il peso del dovere e i innumerevoli fastidi di una vita intensa.
It is instructive to compare the _Meditations_ with another famous book, the _Imitation of Christ_.
È istruttivo confrontare le _Meditazioni_ con un altro libro famoso, l'_Imitazione di Cristo_.
Vocabulary
- spirito
- spee-ree-toh — Spirit, soul, or inner essence of a person
- civico
- chee-vee-koh — Relating to citizens or civic life and duties
- era
- eh-rah — Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- più
- pyoo — More; used to form superlatives or comparisons
- splendida
- splen-dee-dah — Splendid, magnificent, or wonderfully impressive
- virtù
- veer-too — Virtue, moral excellence, or admirable quality
- politica
- poh-lee-tee-kah — Political; relating to governance or public affairs
- mondo
- mohn-doh — World; the earth or all of humanity
- antico
- ahn-tee-koh — Ancient, old, or belonging to earlier historical times
- qui
- kwee — Here; indicating this place or location
- viene
- vyeh-neh — Comes; third person singular present of venire
- reso
- reh-zoh — Made, rendered; past participle of rendere
- cosmopolita
- koz-moh-poh-lee-tah — Cosmopolitan; belonging to or embracing the whole world
- ancora
- ahn-koh-rah — Still, yet, or again; indicating continuation
- istruttivo
- ees-troo-ttee-voh — Instructive, informative, or providing useful lessons
- notare
- noh-tah-reh — To note, notice, or observe something carefully
- saggi
- sahd-jee — Wise men, sages; plural of saggio
- cristiani
- krees-tyah-nee — Christians; plural of cristiano, followers of Christianity
- insistevano
- een-sees-teh-vah-noh — They insisted; imperfect tense of insistere
- stessa
- stes-sah — Same; feminine form of stesso indicating identity
- cosa
- koh-zah — Thing; a general word for an object or matter
- insegnato
- een-sen-yah-toh — Taught; past participle of insegnare
- membri
- mem-bree — Members; plural of membro, parts of a group
- fratellanza
- frah-tel-lahn-tsah — Brotherhood, fraternity; bond among people as equals
- mondiale
- mohn-dyah-leh — Worldwide, global; relating to the entire world
- dove
- doh-veh — Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- vi
- vee — There, you; pronoun or adverb depending on context
- né
- neh — Neither, nor; negative correlative conjunction
- greco
- greh-koh — Greek; relating to Greece or its people
- ebreo
- eh-breh-oh — Jewish, Hebrew; person of Jewish heritage or faith
- schiavo
- skyah-voh — Slave; person owned and forced to work
- libero
- lee-beh-roh — Free; not enslaved, restricted, or constrained
- vivono
- vee-voh-noh — They live; third person plural present of vivere
- vita
- vee-tah — Life; the condition of being alive
- collaboratori
- kol-lah-boh-rah-toh-ree — Collaborators, co-workers; people working together
- Dio
- dee-oh — God; the supreme divine being
- Tale
- tah-leh — Such, this kind of; adjective indicating similarity
- sistema
- sees-teh-mah — System; an organized set of principles or methods
- sta
- stah — Stands, is; third person singular present of stare
- base
- bah-zeh — Base, foundation; the underlying basis of something
- Meditazioni
- meh-dee-tah-tsyoh-nee — Meditations; plural of meditazione, deep reflective thoughts
- certa
- cher-tah — Certain, some; indicating a degree of something
- conoscenza
- koh-noh-shen-tsah — Knowledge, familiarity; understanding of a subject
- esso
- es-soh — It; third person singular neutral pronoun
- necessaria
- neh-ches-sah-ryah — Necessary, essential; required for a purpose
- corretta
- kor-ret-tah — Correct, proper; accurate or without errors
- comprensione
- kom-pren-syoh-neh — Understanding, comprehension; ability to grasp meaning
- libro
- lee-broh — Book; a written or printed literary work
- interesse
- een-teh-res-seh — Interest; attention or curiosity directed toward something
- principale
- preen-chee-pah-leh — Principal, main; most important or primary
- risiede
- ree-zyeh-deh — Resides, lies; third person singular of risiedere
- altrove
- ahl-troh-veh — Elsewhere, somewhere else; in another place
- rivolgiamo
- ree-vohl-jah-moh — We turn to; first person plural present of rivolgersi
- trattato
- traht-tah-toh — Treatise; a formal written work on a subject
- Stoicismo
- stoh-ee-chees-moh — Stoicism; ancient Greek philosophical school of thought
- Egli
- el-yee — He; third person masculine singular subject pronoun
- capo
- kah-poh — Head, leader; chief of a group or movement
- scuola
- skwoh-lah — School; institution or tradition of learning
- intento
- een-ten-toh — Intent on, aiming; focused on a specific goal
- stabilire
- stah-bee-lee-reh — To establish, set up; to found or determine firmly
- corpus
- kor-poos — Corpus; a complete body of writings or texts
- dottrina
- dot-tree-nah — Doctrine; a body of beliefs or teachings
- studenti
- stoo-den-tee — Students; plural of studente, learners in education
- prevede
- preh-veh-deh — Foresees, expects; third person singular of prevedere
- nemmeno
- nem-meh-noh — Not even; stronger negation emphasizing exclusion
- altri
- ahl-tree — Others; other people, plural of altro
- debbano
- deb-bah-noh — Must, should; third person plural subjunctive of dovere
- leggere
- led-jeh-reh — To read; to interpret written or printed text
- ciò
- choh — That, this; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- scrive
- skree-veh — Writes; third person singular present of scrivere
- filosofia
- fee-loh-zoh-fee-ah — Philosophy; the study of fundamental questions about existence
- avida
- ah-vee-dah — Avid, eager; showing intense desire or enthusiasm
- ricerca
- ree-cher-kah — Research, search; systematic investigation or inquiry
- intellettuale
- een-tel-let-twah-leh — Intellectual; relating to thought, reason, or the mind
- piuttosto
- pyoot-tohs-toh — Rather, quite; used to express preference or degree
- chiameremmo
- kyah-meh-rem-moh — We would call; first person plural conditional of chiamare
- sentimento
- sen-tee-men-toh — Feeling, sentiment; an emotional response or attitude
- religioso
- reh-lee-joh-zoh — Religious; relating to faith, belief, or spiritual practice
- inflessibile
- een-fles-see-bee-leh — Inflexible, unyielding; unable to be bent or changed
- rigidità
- ree-jee-dee-tah — Rigidity, stiffness; strict adherence to rules or principles
- addolcita
- ahd-dohl-chee-tah — Softened, sweetened; made gentler or less harsh
- trasformata
- trahs-for-mah-tah — Transformed, changed; altered into a different form
- passando
- pahs-sahn-doh — Passing; gerund of passare indicating transition
- attraverso
- aht-trah-ver-soh — Through, across; preposition indicating passage
- natura
- nah-too-rah — Nature; the innate character or the natural world
- reverente
- reh-veh-ren-teh — Reverent; showing deep respect or veneration
- tollerante
- tol-leh-rahn-teh — Tolerant; accepting of differing views or behaviors
- gentile
- jen-tee-leh — Kind, gentle; courteous and considerate toward others
- priva
- pree-vah — Devoid of, lacking; without a particular quality
- artifici
- ahr-tee-fee-chee — Artifices, tricks; devices used to deceive or impress
- cupa
- koo-pah — Gloomy, dark; somber in mood or appearance
- rassegnazione
- rahs-sen-yah-tsyoh-neh — Resignation; acceptance of hardship without complaint
- rendeva
- ren-deh-vah — Made, rendered; third person singular imperfect of rendere
- possibile
- pos-see-bee-leh — Possible; capable of happening or being done
- saggio
- sahd-joh — Wise man, sage; a person of great wisdom
- stoico
- stoh-ee-koh — Stoic; relating to Stoicism or enduring hardship calmly
- diventa
- dee-ven-tah — Becomes; third person singular present of diventare
- quasi
- kwah-zee — Almost, nearly; indicating approximation
- senso
- sen-soh — Sense, feeling; meaning or direction of something
- aspirazione
- ahs-pee-rah-tsyoh-neh — Aspiration; strong desire or ambition toward a goal
- registra
- reh-jees-trah — Records, registers; third person singular present of registrare
- pensieri
- pen-syeh-ree — Thoughts; plural of pensiero, mental reflections
- intimi
- een-tee-mee — Intimate, private; deeply personal and innermost
- cuore
- kwoh-reh — Heart; the organ or emotional center of a person
- messi
- mes-see — Put, placed; plural past participle of mettere
- iscritto
- ees-krit-toh — Written down; past participle of iscrivere
- alleviarlo
- ahl-leh-vyahr-loh — To relieve it; infinitive of alleviare with pronoun
- massime
- mahs-see-meh — Maxims; plural of massima, short moral principles
- morali
- moh-rah-lee — Moral; relating to ethics, right conduct, or values
- riflessioni
- ree-fles-syoh-nee — Reflections; plural of riflessione, thoughtful considerations
- tali
- tah-lee — Such, these kinds of; plural demonstrative adjective
- aiutarlo
- ah-yoo-tahr-loh — To help him; infinitive of aiutare with pronoun
- sopportare
- sop-por-tah-reh — To bear, endure; to tolerate hardship or difficulty
- peso
- peh-zoh — Weight, burden; a heavy load or responsibility
- dovere
- doh-veh-reh — Duty, obligation; must or to have to do something
- innumerevoli
- een-noo-meh-reh-voh-lee — Innumerable, countless; too many to be counted
- fastidi
- fahs-tee-dee — Annoyances, troubles; plural of fastidio, irritating problems
- intensa
- een-ten-sah — Intense; very strong in degree or feeling
- confrontare
- kohn-frohn-tah-reh — To compare; to examine similarities and differences
- altro
- ahl-troh — Other, another; indicating a different thing or person
- famoso
- fah-moh-zoh — Famous, well-known; widely recognized or celebrated
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