Moby Dick; Or, The Whale — Page 13
"The Cachalot" (Sperm Whale) "is not only better armed than the True Whale" (Greenland or Right Whale) "in possessing a formidable weapon at either extremity of its body, but also more frequently displays a disposition to employ these weapons offensively and in manner at once so artful, bold, and mischievous, as to lead to its being regarded as the most dangerous to attack of all the known species of the whale tribe." —_Frederick Debell Bennett's Whaling Voyage Round the Globe_, 1840.
"Il Capodoglio" (Sperm Whale) "non è solo meglio armato della Vera Balena" (Balena della Groenlandia o Balena Franca) "nel possedere un'arma formidabile a ciascuna estremità del suo corpo, ma manifesta anche più frequentemente una disposizione ad impiegare queste armi in modo offensivo e in una maniera al tempo stesso così astuta, audace e maliziosa, da indurre a considerarla come la più pericolosa da attaccare tra tutte le specie conosciute della famiglia delle balene." —_Frederick Debell Bennett's Whaling Voyage Round the Globe_, 1840.
October 13. "There she blows," was sung out from the mast-head. "Where away?" demanded the captain. "Three points off the lee bow, sir." "Raise up your wheel. Steady!" "Steady, sir." "Mast-head ahoy! Do you see that whale now?" "Ay ay, sir! A shoal of Sperm Whales! There she blows! There she breaches!" "Sing out! sing out every time!" "Ay Ay, sir! There she blows! there—there—_thar_ she blows—bowes—bo-o-os!" "How far off?" "Two miles and a half." "Thunder and lightning! so near! Call all hands." —_J. Ross Browne's Etchings of a Whaling Cruize_. 1846.
13 ottobre. "Là soffia!" fu gridato dall'alto dell'albero di maestra. "Da che parte?" chiese il capitano. "Tre quarti di vento a babordo, signore." "Alzate il timone. Stabili!" "Stabili, signore." "Vedetta in cima all'albero! Vedete quella balena adesso?" "Sì sì, signore! Un branco di Capodogli! Là soffia! Là salta fuori dall'acqua!" "Gridate! gridate ogni volta!" "Sì sì, signore! Là soffia! là—là—_là_ soffia—soffia—so-o-offia!" "A quanta distanza?" "Due miglia e mezzo." "Tuoni e fulmini! così vicino! Chiamate tutto l'equipaggio." —_J. Ross Browne's Etchings of a Whaling Cruize_. 1846.
"The Whale-ship Globe, on board of which vessel occurred the horrid transactions we are about to relate, belonged to the island of Nantucket." —"_Narrative of the Globe Mutiny_," _by Lay and Hussey survivors. A.D._ 1828.
"La nave baleniera Globe, a bordo della quale si verificarono i terribili avvenimenti che stiamo per raccontare, apparteneva all'isola di Nantucket." —"_Narrazione dell'Ammutinamento del Globe_," _di Lay e Hussey superstiti. Anno Domini_ 1828.
Vocabulary
- Il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'
- Capodoglio
- Sperm whale, the largest toothed predator
- non
- Negation word meaning 'not'
- è
- Third person singular of 'essere', meaning 'is'
- solo
- Meaning 'only' or 'alone', limiting or exclusive sense
- meglio
- Comparative adverb meaning 'better'
- armato
- Past participle of 'armare', meaning 'armed'
- della
- Contraction of 'di' and 'la', meaning 'of the'
- Vera
- Adjective meaning 'true' or 'genuine'
- Balena
- Noun meaning 'whale', large marine mammal
- Groenlandia
- Italian name for Greenland, large Arctic island
- Franca
- Adjective meaning 'frank' or 'free', also proper noun
- nel
- Contraction of 'in' and 'il', meaning 'in the'
- possedere
- Verb meaning 'to possess' or 'to own'
- un
- Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- arma
- Noun meaning 'weapon' or 'arm'
- formidabile
- Adjective meaning 'formidable', impressively powerful or strong
- ciascuna
- Feminine pronoun meaning 'each one' or 'every'
- estremità
- Noun meaning 'extremity' or 'end', tip of something
- corpo
- Noun meaning 'body', physical structure of organism
- ma
- Conjunction meaning 'but', introducing contrast
- manifesta
- Third person singular of 'manifestare', meaning 'manifests'
- anche
- Adverb meaning 'also' or 'too'
- più
- Adverb meaning 'more', used in comparisons
- frequentemente
- Adverb meaning 'frequently' or 'often'
- una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- disposizione
- Noun meaning 'disposition' or 'tendency', inclination toward something
- impiegare
- Verb meaning 'to use' or 'to employ'
- queste
- Feminine plural demonstrative pronoun meaning 'these'
- armi
- Plural of 'arma', meaning 'weapons' or 'arms'
- modo
- Noun meaning 'way' or 'manner', method of doing
- offensivo
- Adjective meaning 'offensive', attacking in nature
- maniera
- Noun meaning 'manner' or 'style', way of acting
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'il', meaning 'at the'
- tempo
- Noun meaning 'time' or 'weather'
- stesso
- Adjective meaning 'same' or 'itself'
- così
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'thus', indicating degree
- astuta
- Feminine adjective meaning 'cunning' or 'shrewd'
- audace
- Adjective meaning 'bold' or 'daring', fearlessly brave
- maliziosa
- Feminine adjective meaning 'malicious' or 'mischievous'
- da
- Preposition meaning 'from', 'by', or 'since'
- indurre
- Verb meaning 'to induce' or 'to lead someone to'
- considerarla
- Infinitive 'considerare' plus pronoun, meaning 'to consider it'
- come
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as' or 'how'
- pericolosa
- Feminine adjective meaning 'dangerous' or 'hazardous'
- attaccare
- Verb meaning 'to attack' or 'to attach'
- tra
- Preposition meaning 'among', 'between', or 'within'
- tutte
- Feminine plural of 'tutto', meaning 'all' or 'every'
- le
- Feminine plural definite article meaning 'the'
- specie
- Noun meaning 'species', category of living organisms
- conosciute
- Feminine plural past participle of 'conoscere', meaning 'known'
- famiglia
- Noun meaning 'family', group sharing common traits
- balene
- Plural of 'balena', meaning 'whales'
- ottobre
- Noun meaning 'October', tenth month of the year
- Là
- Adverb meaning 'there', indicating distant location
- soffia
- Third person singular of 'soffiare', meaning 'blows' or 'spouts'
- fu
- Third person singular past absolute of 'essere', meaning 'was'
- gridato
- Past participle of 'gridare', meaning 'shouted' or 'cried out'
- dall
- Contraction of 'da' and 'l'', meaning 'from the'
- alto
- Adjective or noun meaning 'high' or 'top'
- dell
- Contraction of 'di' and 'l'', meaning 'of the'
- albero
- Noun meaning 'tree' or 'mast' on a ship
- maestra
- Noun or adjective meaning 'main', 'master', or 'teacher'
- Da
- Preposition meaning 'from', indicating origin or direction
- che
- Pronoun or conjunction meaning 'that', 'which', or 'what'
- parte
- Noun meaning 'part', 'side', or 'direction'
- chiese
- Third person singular past absolute of 'chiedere', meaning 'asked'
- capitano
- Noun meaning 'captain', leader of ship or team
- Tre
- Number meaning 'three'
- quarti
- Plural of 'quarto', meaning 'quarters' or 'fourths'
- vento
- Noun meaning 'wind', moving air current
- babordo
- Nautical noun meaning 'port side', left side of ship
- signore
- Noun meaning 'sir' or 'mister', respectful address
- Alzate
- Imperative plural of 'alzare', meaning 'raise' or 'lift up'
- timone
- Noun meaning 'helm' or 'rudder' of a ship
- Stabili
- Imperative or adjective meaning 'steady' or 'stable'
- Vedetta
- Noun meaning 'lookout' or 'watchman' on a ship
- cima
- Noun meaning 'top' or 'summit', highest point
- all
- Contraction of 'a' and 'l'', meaning 'to the'
- Vedete
- Imperative plural of 'vedere', meaning 'see' or 'look'
- quella
- Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'that'
- balena
- Noun meaning 'whale', large marine mammal
- adesso
- Adverb meaning 'now', at the present moment
- Sì
- Affirmative particle meaning 'yes'
- branco
- Noun meaning 'pod' or 'group' of animals
- Capodogli
- Plural of 'capodoglio', meaning 'sperm whales'
- salta
- Third person singular of 'saltare', meaning 'jumps' or 'leaps'
- fuori
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'out' or 'outside'
- acqua
- Noun meaning 'water', essential liquid substance
- Gridate
- Imperative plural of 'gridare', meaning 'shout' or 'cry out'
- ogni
- Adjective meaning 'every' or 'each', without exception
- volta
- Noun meaning 'time' or 'occasion', instance of occurrence
- quanta
- Feminine interrogative adjective meaning 'how much'
- distanza
- Noun meaning 'distance', space between two points
- Due
- Number meaning 'two'
- miglia
- Plural of 'miglio', meaning 'miles', unit of distance
- mezzo
- Adjective or noun meaning 'half' or 'middle'
- Tuoni
- Plural of 'tuono', meaning 'thunders', loud storm sounds
- fulmini
- Plural of 'fulmine', meaning 'lightning bolts'
- vicino
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'near' or 'close'
- Chiamate
- Imperative plural of 'chiamare', meaning 'call' or 'summon'
- tutto
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'everything'
- equipaggio
- Noun meaning 'crew', team manning a ship
- nave
- Noun meaning 'ship' or 'vessel', large watercraft
- baleniera
- Noun meaning 'whaling ship', vessel used for hunting whales
- bordo
- Noun meaning 'board' or 'aboard', side of a ship
- quale
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'who'
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself', 'himself', or 'herself'
- verificarono
- Third person plural past absolute of 'verificarsi', meaning 'occurred'
- terribili
- Plural adjective meaning 'terrible' or 'dreadful'
- avvenimenti
- Plural noun meaning 'events' or 'occurrences', notable happenings
- stiamo
- First person plural of 'stare', meaning 'we are'
- per
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'through', or 'in order to'
- raccontare
- Verb meaning 'to tell' or 'to narrate', recount a story
- apparteneva
- Third person singular imperfect of 'appartenere', meaning 'belonged'
- isola
- Noun meaning 'island', land surrounded by water
- Narrazione
- Noun meaning 'narration' or 'account', formal storytelling
- Ammutinamento
- Noun meaning 'mutiny', rebellion by crew against authority
- superstiti
- Plural noun meaning 'survivors', those who survived an event
- Anno
- Noun meaning 'year', twelve-month period
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →