Moby Dick; Or, The Whale — Page 10
"The aorta of a whale is larger in the bore than the main pipe of the water-works at London Bridge, and the water roaring in its passage through that pipe is inferior in impetus and velocity to the blood gushing from the whale's heart." —_Paley's Theology_.
"L'aorta di una balena è più grande nel diametro del tubo principale dell'acquedotto di London Bridge, e l'acqua che ruggisce nel suo passaggio attraverso quel tubo è inferiore per impeto e velocità al sangue che zampilla dal cuore della balena." —_Teologia di Paley_.
"The whale is a mammiferous animal without hind feet." —_Baron Cuvier_.
"La balena è un animale mammifero privo di zampe posteriori." —_Barone Cuvier_.
"In 40 degrees south, we saw Spermacetti Whales, but did not take any till the first of May, the sea being then covered with them." —_Colnett's Voyage for the Purpose of Extending the Spermaceti Whale Fishery_.
"A 40 gradi di latitudine sud, avvistammo balene spermaceti, ma non ne catturammo alcuna fino al primo di maggio, poiché il mare ne era allora coperto." —_Il Viaggio di Colnett allo Scopo di Estendere la Pesca delle Balene Spermaceti_.
"In the free element beneath me swam, Floundered and dived, in play, in chace, in battle, Fishes of every colour, form, and kind; Which language cannot paint, and mariner Had never seen; from dread Leviathan To insect millions peopling every wave: Gather'd in shoals immense, like floating islands, Led by mysterious instincts through that waste And trackless region, though on every side Assaulted by voracious enemies, Whales, sharks, and monsters, arm'd in front or jaw, With swords, saws, spiral horns, or hooked fangs." —_Montgomery's World before the Flood_.
"Nel libero elemento sotto di me nuotavano, si dibattevano e si tuffavano, in gioco, in caccia, in battaglia, pesci di ogni colore, forma e specie; che il linguaggio non può descrivere, e che il marinaio non aveva mai visto; dal tremendo Leviatano a milioni di insetti che popolano ogni onda: radunati in banchi immensi, come isole galleggianti, guidati da misteriosi istinti attraverso quella regione desolata e senza tracce, benché da ogni parte assaliti da voraci nemici, balene, squali e mostri, armati di fronte o di mascelle, con spade, seghe, corna spiraliformi o zanne adunche." —_Il Mondo di Montgomery prima del Diluvio_.
"Io! Paean! Io! sing. To the finny people's king. Not a mightier whale than this In the vast Atlantic is; Not a fatter fish than he, Flounders round the Polar Sea." —_Charles Lamb's Triumph of the Whale_.
"Io! Peana! Io! cantate. Al re del popolo pinnuto. Non vi è balena più possente di questa nel vasto Atlantico; non vi è pesce più grasso di lui, che si aggira intorno al Mare Polare." —_Il Trionfo della Balena di Charles Lamb_.
Vocabulary
- L'
- Contraction of 'il' or 'la' before vowels
- di
- Of, from; common Italian preposition
- una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- balena
- A large marine mammal; whale
- è
- Third person singular of 'essere'; means 'is'
- più
- More; used in comparisons or to indicate greater degree
- grande
- Large, big, great in size or importance
- nel
- Contraction of 'in' and 'il'; meaning 'in the'
- del
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il'; meaning 'of the'
- tubo
- A hollow cylindrical pipe or tube
- principale
- Main, primary, most important
- dell'
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il/la' before vowels
- acqua
- Water; the common liquid essential for life
- che
- That, which, who; common conjunction and pronoun
- suo
- His, her, its; possessive adjective or pronoun
- passaggio
- Passage, transit, or movement through a space
- attraverso
- Through, across; preposition indicating movement
- quel
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- inferiore
- Lower, inferior in position or rank
- per
- For, through, by; common Italian preposition
- velocità
- Speed, velocity; rate of movement
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'il'; meaning 'to the'
- sangue
- Blood; the red fluid circulating in the body
- dal
- Contraction of 'da' and 'il'; meaning 'from the'
- cuore
- Heart; the organ pumping blood through the body
- della
- Contraction of 'di' and 'la'; meaning 'of the'
- animale
- Animal; a living creature; member of the animal kingdom
- mammifero
- A warm-blooded vertebrate that nurses its young
- privo
- Lacking, deprived of, without a certain feature
- zampe
- Paws or legs of an animal
- gradi
- Degrees; units of measurement for angles or temperature
- sud
- South; the cardinal direction opposite to north
- balene
- Plural of 'balena'; whales
- ma
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- non
- Not; negation particle in Italian
- ne
- Of them, some; partitive or pronoun particle
- alcuna
- Any, none; feminine singular indefinite adjective
- fino
- Until, up to; indicates a limit in time or space
- primo
- First; ordinal number indicating the initial position
- maggio
- May; the fifth month of the year
- poiché
- Since, because; conjunction indicating cause or reason
- il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'
- mare
- Sea; a large body of saltwater
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- allora
- Then, at that time; temporal adverb
- coperto
- Covered, overcast; past participle of 'coprire'
- Viaggio
- Journey, voyage, trip
- allo
- Contraction of 'a' and 'lo'; meaning 'to the'
- Scopo
- Purpose, aim, goal, objective
- Estendere
- To extend, expand, or stretch something further
- la
- Feminine singular definite article meaning 'the'
- Pesca
- Fishing; the activity of catching fish
- libero
- Free, unrestricted, open; not confined or occupied
- elemento
- Element; a fundamental part or natural environment
- sotto
- Under, below, beneath; spatial preposition
- me
- Me; first person singular pronoun used after prepositions
- nuotavano
- They were swimming; imperfect tense of 'nuotare'
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, themselves, each other
- tuffavano
- They were diving or plunging into water
- in
- In, into; common preposition of location or motion
- gioco
- Play, game; recreational activity or amusement
- caccia
- Hunt, hunting; pursuit of prey
- battaglia
- Battle, fight; armed conflict or struggle
- pesci
- Fish; plural of 'pesce'
- ogni
- Every, each; referring to all members of a group
- colore
- Color; visual property of objects reflecting light
- forma
- Form, shape; the external appearance of something
- specie
- Species; a biological classification of living organisms
- linguaggio
- Language, speech; system of communication
- può
- Can, is able to; third person singular of 'potere'
- descrivere
- To describe; to give a detailed account of something
- marinaio
- Sailor, seaman; a person who works on ships
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of 'avere'
- mai
- Never, ever; temporal adverb of negation or emphasis
- visto
- Seen; past participle of 'vedere'
- tremendo
- Tremendous, terrifying, awesome in scale or force
- milioni
- Millions; plural of 'milione', a very large number
- insetti
- Insects; small invertebrate animals with six legs
- popolano
- Inhabit, populate; they fill or live in a place
- onda
- Wave; a moving ridge of water on the sea
- radunati
- Gathered, assembled; past participle of 'radunarsi'
- immensi
- Immense, vast, enormous in size or extent
- come
- Like, as, how; conjunction or adverb of comparison
- isole
- Islands; land masses surrounded by water
- galleggianti
- Floating; present participle of 'galleggiare'
- guidati
- Guided, led; past participle of 'guidare'
- da
- By, from; preposition indicating origin or agent
- misteriosi
- Mysterious, enigmatic; having an unknown or secret nature
- istinti
- Instincts; innate behavioral tendencies in animals
- quella
- That; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- regione
- Region, area; a geographic or administrative zone
- desolata
- Desolate, deserted, bleak; uninhabited and dreary
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- tracce
- Traces, tracks; marks or signs left behind
- benché
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction
- parte
- Part, portion; a section or share of something
- nemici
- Enemies, foes; those hostile or opposed to another
- squali
- Sharks; large predatory fish of the ocean
- mostri
- Monsters; frightening, grotesque, or threatening creatures
- armati
- Armed, equipped with weapons or natural defenses
- fronte
- Front, forehead; the forward-facing surface or part
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- spade
- Swords; bladed weapons used for cutting or thrusting
- corna
- Horns; hard projections on the heads of animals
- Mondo
- World; the earth or a realm of existence
- prima
- Before, first; earlier in time or sequence
- Io
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- cantate
- Sing; second person plural imperative of 'cantare'
- re
- King; a male monarch or ruler
- popolo
- People, nation; a group sharing culture or governance
- Non
- Not; basic negation word in Italian
- vi
- There, you; pronoun or adverb depending on context
- questa
- This; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- vasto
- Vast, immense, wide; covering a great area
- Atlantico
- Atlantic; referring to the Atlantic Ocean
- pesce
- Fish; an aquatic vertebrate animal
- grasso
- Fat, thick, greasy; having a lot of body fat
- lui
- He, him; third person masculine singular pronoun
- intorno
- Around, surrounding; in a circular path nearby
- Mare
- Sea; a large body of saltwater
- Polare
- Polar; relating to the North or South Pole region
- Trionfo
- Triumph, victory; a great success or celebration
- Balena
- Whale; a large marine mammal
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