Middlemarch — Page 1
Who that cares much to know the history of man, and how the mysterious mixture behaves under the varying experiments of Time, has not dwelt, at least briefly, on the life of Saint Theresa, has not smiled with some gentleness at the thought of the little girl walking forth one morning hand-in-hand with her still smaller brother, to go and seek martyrdom in the country of the Moors?
¿Quién que se preocupe mucho por conocer la historia del hombre, y cómo la misteriosa mezcla se comporta bajo los variados experimentos del Tiempo, no se ha detenido, al menos brevemente, en la vida de Santa Teresa, no ha sonreído con cierta ternura ante el pensamiento de la niña que salió una mañana de la mano de su hermano aún más pequeño, para ir a buscar el martirio en el país de los moros?
Out they toddled from rugged Avila, wide-eyed and helpless-looking as two fawns, but with human hearts, already beating to a national idea; until domestic reality met them in the shape of uncles, and turned them back from their great resolve.
Salieron tambaleándose de la agreste Ávila, con los ojos muy abiertos y con aspecto indefenso como dos cervatillos, pero con corazones humanos, que ya latían al ritmo de una idea nacional; hasta que la realidad doméstica les salió al paso en forma de unos tíos, y los hizo volver de su gran resolución.
That child-pilgrimage was a fit beginning.
Aquella peregrinación infantil fue un comienzo apropiado.
Theresa's passionate, ideal nature demanded an epic life: what were many-volumed romances of chivalry and the social conquests of a brilliant girl to her?
La naturaleza apasionada e idealista de Teresa exigía una vida épica: ¿qué significaban para ella los romances de caballería en múltiples volúmenes y las conquistas sociales de una joven brillante?
Her flame quickly burned up that light fuel; and, fed from within, soared after some illimitable satisfaction, some object which would never justify weariness, which would reconcile self-despair with the rapturous consciousness of life beyond self.
Su llama consumió rápidamente ese ligero combustible; y, alimentada desde dentro, se elevó en busca de una satisfacción ilimitada, de algún objeto que nunca justificara el cansancio, que reconciliara la desesperación de sí misma con la conciencia arrebatadora de una vida más allá del yo.
She found her epos in the reform of a religious order.
Encontró su epopeya en la reforma de una orden religiosa.
That Spanish woman who lived three hundred years ago, was certainly not the last of her kind.
Aquella mujer española que vivió hace trescientos años no fue, ciertamente, la última de su estirpe.
Vocabulary
- Quién
- Who; which person or people
- que
- That; which; what (relative pronoun)
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself; itself; themselves
- preocupe
- Worries; concerns; to be worried about something
- mucho
- Much; a lot; very; greatly in quantity
- por
- For; by; through; because of; per
- conocer
- To know; to be acquainted with a person
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- historia
- History; story; account of past events
- del
- Of the; from the (contraction of de+el)
- hombre
- Man; human being; mankind in general
- cómo
- How; in what way; what manner
- misteriosa
- Mysterious; enigmatic; difficult to understand
- mezcla
- Mixture; blend; combination of different things
- comporta
- Behaves; conducts oneself; acts in certain way
- bajo
- Under; beneath; below; low in position
- los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- variados
- Varied; diverse; different in many ways
- experimentos
- Experiments; tests; trials to discover something
- Tiempo
- Time; period; weather; season or epoch
- no
- No; not; negation particle in Spanish
- ha
- Has; auxiliary verb for perfect tenses
- detenido
- Stopped; halted; arrested; paused temporarily
- al
- To the; at the (contraction of a+el)
- menos
- Less; least; at least; fewer in number
- brevemente
- Briefly; shortly; in a concise manner
- en
- In; on; at; inside a place or time
- vida
- Life; living; existence; lifespan or biography
- de
- Of; from; belonging to; made from
- Santa
- Saint; holy woman; feminine form of santo
- sonreído
- Smiled; has smiled; past participle of sonreír
- con
- With; accompanied by; in company of
- cierta
- Certain; sure; a specific but unnamed thing
- ternura
- Tenderness; affection; gentle loving care feelings
- ante
- Before; in front of; in the face of
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- pensamiento
- Thought; thinking; idea; mind or opinion
- niña
- Girl; young female child; little girl
- salió
- Left; went out; departed from a place
- una
- A; an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- mañana
- Morning; tomorrow; the next day early
- mano
- Hand; arm; control; skill in doing
- su
- His; her; its; their; your (formal)
- hermano
- Brother; male sibling; fellow member
- aún
- Still; yet; even; moreover or furthermore
- más
- More; most; greater quantity or degree
- pequeño
- Small; little; young; tiny in size
- para
- For; in order to; toward; to purpose
- ir
- To go; to travel; to move to
- buscar
- To seek; to search for; to look for
- martirio
- Martyrdom; suffering; agony; painful experience
- país
- Country; nation; land; geographic political region
- moros
- Moors; Muslim inhabitants; people from Moorish lands
- Salieron
- They left; went out; departed together
- tambaleándose
- Staggering; swaying; moving unsteadily side to side
- agreste
- Wild; rustic; rural; uncultivated landscape or area
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight; visual perception
- muy
- Very; much; greatly; to great extent
- abiertos
- Open; opened; unclosed; spread apart widely
- aspecto
- Aspect; appearance; look; how something seems
- indefenso
- Defenseless; helpless; unprotected; vulnerable undefended
- como
- Like; as; similar to; such as
- dos
- Two; the number 2; pair of
- cervatillos
- Young deer; fawns; small tender young animals
- pero
- But; however; yet; on other hand
- corazones
- Hearts; centers; cores; emotional feeling centers
- humanos
- Human; human beings; people; of mankind
- ya
- Already; now; yet; at this point
- latían
- Beat; pulsed; throbbed; vibrated rhythmically
- ritmo
- Rhythm; beat; pulse; regular recurring pattern
- idea
- Idea; thought; concept; mental image notion
- nacional
- National; patriotic; of the nation state
- hasta
- Until; till; up to; even including
- realidad
- Reality; truth; fact; actual state being
- doméstica
- Domestic; home; household; relating to home
- les
- Them; to them; indirect object pronoun
- paso
- Step; pace; passage; way to proceed
- forma
- Form; shape; manner; way something appears
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