Moby Dick; Or, The Whale — Page 3
But gulp down your tears and hie aloft to the royal-mast with your hearts; for your friends who have gone before are clearing out the seven-storied heavens, and making refugees of long-pampered Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, against your coming.
Ma inghiottite le vostre lacrime e salite in cima all'albero maestro con i vostri cuori; poiché i vostri amici che vi hanno preceduto stanno sgomberando i cieli a sette piani, e mettendo in fuga i troppo viziati Gabriele, Michele e Raffaele, in attesa del vostro arrivo.
Here ye strike but splintered hearts together—there, ye shall strike unsplinterable glasses!
Qui non fate che scontrare cuori infranti l'uno contro l'altro—là, farete tintinnare calici infrangibili!
EXTRACTS.
ESTRATTI.
"And God created great whales." —_Genesis_.
«E Dio creò i grandi cetacei.» —_Genesi_.
"Leviathan maketh a path to shine after him; One would think the deep to be hoary." —_Job_.
«Il Leviathan traccia un sentiero luminoso al suo passaggio; si direbbe che il mare profondo sia canuto.» —_Giobbe_.
"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah." —_Jonah_.
«Or il Signore aveva preparato un grande pesce per inghiottire Giona.» —_Giona_.
"There go the ships; there is that Leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein." —_Psalms_.
«Là scorrono le navi; là è il Leviathan che tu hai fatto per giocarvi dentro.» —_Salmi_.
"In that day, the Lord with his sore, and great, and strong sword, shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." —_Isaiah_.
«In quel giorno, il Signore con la sua spada dura, grande e potente, punirà il Leviathan, il serpente guizzante, e il Leviathan, il serpente tortuoso; ed egli ucciderà il drago che è nel mare.» —_Isaia_.
"And what thing soever besides cometh within the chaos of this monster's mouth, be it beast, boat, or stone, down it goes all incontinently that foul great swallow of his, and perisheth in the bottomless gulf of his paunch." —_Holland's Plutarch's Morals_.
«E qualunque altra cosa entri nel caos della bocca di questo mostro, che sia bestia, barca o pietra, giù va tutta d'un tratto in quella sua orribile e grande gola, e perisce nell'abisso senza fondo del suo ventre.» —_Moralia di Plutarco, traduzione di Holland_.
"The Indian Sea breedeth the most and the biggest fishes that are: among which the Whales and Whirlpooles called Balaene, take up as much in length as four acres or arpens of land." —_Holland's Pliny_.
«Il Mare Indiano genera i pesci più numerosi e più grandi che esistano: tra i quali le Balene e i Vortici detti Balaene occupano in lunghezza quanto quattro acri o arpenti di terra.» —_Plinio, traduzione di Holland_.
"Scarcely had we proceeded two days on the sea, when about sunrise a great many Whales and other monsters of the sea, appeared.
«A malapena avevamo percorso due giorni di mare, quando verso l'alba comparvero moltissime Balene e altri mostri marini.
Vocabulary
- inghiottite
- Swallow (imperative plural); gulp down completely.
- lacrime
- Tears; drops of liquid shed when crying.
- salite
- Climb (imperative plural); go upward to a height.
- cima
- Top, summit, or peak of something tall.
- albero
- Tree; a large woody perennial plant.
- maestro
- Master, teacher, or expert in a field.
- cuori
- Hearts; organs or symbols of emotion and love.
- poiché
- Conjunction meaning 'since' or 'because.'
- amici
- Friends; people with whom one has close bonds.
- preceduto
- Preceded; gone before someone in time or order.
- sgomberando
- Clearing out; making space by removing occupants.
- cieli
- Skies or heavens; the expanse above the earth.
- piani
- Floors, levels, or planes; stories of a building.
- fuga
- Flight, escape; act of fleeing from something.
- troppo
- Too much or too many; excessively.
- viziati
- Spoiled, pampered; excessively indulged individuals.
- attesa
- Waiting, expectation; the state of awaiting something.
- arrivo
- Arrival; the act of reaching a destination.
- scontrare
- To collide or clash; meeting with great force.
- infranti
- Shattered, broken; smashed into pieces.
- contro
- Preposition meaning 'against,' indicating opposition.
- tintinnare
- To clink or jingle; make light ringing sounds.
- calici
- Chalices or goblets; cup-shaped drinking vessels.
- infrangibili
- Unbreakable, indestructible; impossible to shatter.
- ESTRATTI
- Extracts, excerpts; selected passages from texts.
- Dio
- God; the supreme being in monotheistic religions.
- creò
- Created; past tense of 'creare,' to bring into existence.
- cetacei
- Cetaceans; marine mammals such as whales and dolphins.
- Leviathan
- Leviathan; a great sea monster from biblical texts.
- traccia
- Trace, track, or trail left behind by movement.
- sentiero
- Path or trail; a narrow way through landscape.
- luminoso
- Luminous, bright; emitting or full of light.
- passaggio
- Passage or passing; movement through a place.
- direbbe
- One would say; conditional of 'dire.'
- mare
- Sea; a large body of salt water.
- profondo
- Deep or profound; extending far below the surface.
- canuto
- White-haired or hoary; appearing old and grey.
- Signore
- Lord or Mister; a title of respect or for God.
- preparato
- Prepared; made ready in advance for a purpose.
- pesce
- Fish; an aquatic vertebrate animal.
- inghiottire
- To swallow; to engulf something whole.
- scorrono
- Flow or sail; third person plural of 'scorrere.'
- navi
- Ships; large vessels that travel on water.
- giocarvi
- To play therein; play combined with locative pronoun.
- dentro
- Inside or within; in the interior of something.
- giorno
- Day; a period of twenty-four hours.
- spada
- Sword; a bladed weapon used in combat.
- dura
- Hard or tough; resistant to force or pressure.
- potente
- Powerful, mighty; having great strength or authority.
- punirà
- Will punish; future tense of 'punire.'
- serpente
- Serpent or snake; a legless reptile.
- guizzante
- Darting, wriggling; moving quickly and sinuously.
- tortuoso
- Tortuous, winding; full of twists and bends.
- ucciderà
- Will kill; future tense of 'uccidere.'
- drago
- Dragon; a mythical fire-breathing creature.
- qualunque
- Whatever, whichever; any at all without distinction.
- entri
- Enters; subjunctive or present of 'entrare.'
- caos
- Chaos; complete disorder and confusion.
- bocca
- Mouth; the opening used for eating and speaking.
- mostro
- Monster; a frightening or enormous creature.
- bestia
- Beast or animal; a large or brutish creature.
- barca
- Boat; a small vessel used for water travel.
- pietra
- Stone or rock; a hard mineral substance.
- giù
- Down; adverb indicating downward direction.
- tratto
- Stretch, tract, or moment; a portion of time or space.
- orribile
- Horrible, dreadful; causing horror or strong disgust.
- gola
- Throat or gorge; narrow passage in body or landscape.
- perisce
- Perishes; third person singular of 'perire,' to die.
- abisso
- Abyss; an immeasurably deep or bottomless chasm.
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack.
- fondo
- Bottom or depth; the lowest part of something.
- ventre
- Belly or womb; the abdomen or interior cavity.
- traduzione
- Translation; rendering text into another language.
- Mare
- Sea; a large body of salt water.
- Indiano
- Indian; relating to India or the Indian Ocean.
- genera
- Generates or produces; third person singular of 'generare.'
- pesci
- Fish (plural); aquatic vertebrate animals.
- numerosi
- Numerous, many; existing in large quantities.
- esistano
- Exist; subjunctive plural of 'esistere.'
- tra
- Among or between; preposition indicating position.
- Balene
- Whales; large marine mammals of the order Cetacea.
- Vortici
- Whirlpools or vortices; swirling masses of water.
- detti
- Called or named; past participle of 'dire,' plural.
- occupano
- Occupy; third person plural present of 'occupare.'
- lunghezza
- Length; the measurement of something from end to end.
- quanto
- As much as or how much; degree or quantity.
- acri
- Acres; units of land area measurement.
- terra
- Land or earth; solid ground or the planet Earth.
- malapena
- Hardly, barely; only just managing to do something.
- percorso
- Traveled, covered; past participle of 'percorrere.'
- quando
- When; conjunction or adverb indicating time.
- verso
- Toward or around; preposition indicating direction or time.
- alba
- Dawn; the time just before sunrise.
- comparvero
- Appeared; past tense plural of 'comparire.'
- moltissime
- Very many; superlative plural of 'molto.'
- mostri
- Monsters; frightening or enormous creatures, plural.
- marini
- Marine; relating to the sea, masculine plural adjective.
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