Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 7
Nothing has been left undone to cripple their intellects, darken their minds, debase their moral nature, obliterate all traces of their relationship to mankind; and yet how wonderfully they have sustained the mighty load of a most frightful bondage, under which they have been groaning for centuries!
Nichts ist unterlassen worden, um ihren Verstand zu lähmen, ihren Geist zu verdunkeln, ihre moralische Natur zu erniedrigen, alle Spuren ihrer Zugehörigkeit zur Menschheit auszulöschen; und doch wie wunderbar haben sie die gewaltige Last einer höchst schrecklichen Knechtschaft getragen, unter der sie jahrhundertelang geächzt haben!
To illustrate the effect of slavery on the white man,—to show that he has no powers of endurance, in such a condition, superior to those of his black brother,—_Daniel O'Connell_, the distinguished advocate of universal emancipation, and the mightiest champion of prostrate but not conquered Ireland, relates the following anecdote in a speech delivered by him in the Conciliation Hall, Dublin, before the Loyal National Repeal Association, March 31, 1845.
Um die Wirkung der Sklaverei auf den weißen Mann zu veranschaulichen – um zu zeigen, dass er in einem solchen Zustand keine größere Ausdauerkraft besitzt als sein schwarzer Bruder –, erzählt _Daniel O'Connell_, der angesehene Verfechter der allgemeinen Emanzipation und der mächtigste Kämpfer für das niedergeworfene, aber nicht besiegte Irland, folgende Anekdote in einer Rede, die er in der Conciliation Hall in Dublin vor der Loyal National Repeal Association am 31. März 1845 hielt.
_It has a natural, an inevitable tendency to brutalize every noble faculty of man._
_Sie hat eine natürliche, eine unvermeidliche Tendenz, jede edle Fähigkeit des Menschen zu verrohren._
An American sailor, who was cast away on the shore of Africa, where he was kept in slavery for three years, was, at the expiration of that period, found to be imbruted and stultified—he had lost all reasoning power; and having forgotten his native language, could only utter some savage gibberish between Arabic and English, which nobody could understand, and which even he himself found difficulty in pronouncing.
Ein amerikanischer Seemann, der an der Küste Afrikas gestrandet war, wo er drei Jahre lang in Sklaverei gehalten wurde, war nach Ablauf dieser Zeit verrohrt und verblödet – er hatte alle Denkfähigkeit verloren; und da er seine Muttersprache vergessen hatte, konnte er nur ein wildes Kauderwelsch zwischen Arabisch und Englisch von sich geben, das niemand verstehen konnte und das selbst er selbst Schwierigkeiten hatte auszusprechen.
So much for the humanizing influence of _The Domestic Institution_!
Das war es also mit dem zivilisierenden Einfluss der _Haushalten Institution_!
Vocabulary
- Nichts
- Nothing; not anything at all.
- ist
- Is; third person singular present of sein.
- unterlassen
- To omit; to fail to do something.
- worden
- Become; past participle of werden.
- um
- Around; in order to; for the purpose of.
- ihren
- Their; accusative or dative form of ihr.
- Verstand
- Reason; intellect; understanding and rational thought.
- zu
- To; for; in order to; infinitive marker.
- lähmen
- To paralyze; to make unable to move.
- Geist
- Spirit; mind; intellect; ghost or supernatural being.
- verdunkeln
- To obscure; to darken; to make unclear.
- ihre
- Her; their; feminine nominative or accusative form.
- moralische
- Moral; relating to ethics and right conduct.
- Natur
- Nature; natural world; essential character or quality.
- erniedrigen
- To degrade; to humiliate; to lower in status.
- alle
- All; every; the whole number or amount.
- Spuren
- Traces; marks; footprints; signs or evidence.
- ihrer
- Their; genitive form of ihr; of them.
- Zugehörigkeit
- Belonging; membership; state of being affiliated.
- zur
- To the; contraction of zu and der.
- Menschheit
- Humanity; mankind; the human race collectively.
- auszulöschen
- To extinguish; to erase; to eliminate completely.
- und
- And; used to connect words or clauses.
- doch
- Yet; however; nevertheless; still; but.
- wie
- How; what; in what way or manner.
- wunderbar
- Wonderful; marvelous; admirable; astonishing or remarkable.
- haben
- Have; to possess; auxiliary verb for perfekt.
- sie
- She; they; third person plural or formal singular.
- die
- The; feminine article; relative pronoun.
- gewaltige
- Enormous; mighty; immense; of tremendous size.
- Last
- Burden; load; weight; something difficult to bear.
- einer
- A; an; one; singular indefinite or relative.
- höchst
- Most; extremely; in the highest degree possible.
- schrecklichen
- Terrible; dreadful; horrible; causing great fear.
- Knechtschaft
- Slavery; servitude; bondage; state of being enslaved.
- getragen
- Borne; carried; past participle of tragen.
- unter
- Under; below; beneath; among; subordinate to.
- der
- The; masculine or neuter singular article.
- jahrhundertelang
- For centuries; lasting hundreds of years long.
- geächzt
- Groaned; moaned; made sounds of pain.
- Um
- In order to; so that; for purpose.
- Wirkung
- Effect; impact; result; consequence of an action.
- Sklaverei
- Slavery; the practice of holding people enslaved.
- auf
- On; upon; at; above; at the top.
- den
- The; masculine accusative singular article form.
- weißen
- White; pale; of color like snow.
- Mann
- Man; male person; husband; mankind generally.
- veranschaulichen
- To illustrate; to make clear with examples.
- zeigen
- To show; to display; to demonstrate or indicate.
- dass
- That; conjunction introducing subordinate clause.
- er
- He; masculine third person singular pronoun.
- in
- In; inside; within; during; at a time.
- einem
- A; an; one; dative singular indefinite article.
- solchen
- Such; of that kind; of that nature.
- Zustand
- Condition; state; circumstances; situation or status.
- keine
- No; not any; zero; without any.
- größere
- Greater; larger; bigger; more substantial.
- Ausdauerkraft
- Stamina; endurance; ability to persist over time.
- besitzt
- Possesses; owns; has; third person singular present.
- als
- Than; as; when; in the capacity of.
- sein
- His; to be; possessive pronoun or verb.
- schwarzer
- Black; dark; of the color black.
- Bruder
- Brother; male sibling; fellow member.
- erzählt
- Tells; relates; narrates; recounts; past participle.
- angesehene
- Esteemed; respected; renowned; highly regarded person.
- Verfechter
- Advocate; champion; defender; one who supports.
- allgemeinen
- General; universal; common; widespread; for all.
- Emanzipation
- Emancipation; liberation; freedom from bondage.
- mächtigste
- Most powerful; strongest; mightiest; superlative form.
- Kämpfer
- Fighter; warrior; one who fights for cause.
- für
- For; in favor of; on behalf of.
- das
- The; neuter singular article; which; that.
- niedergeworfene
- Overthrown; defeated; cast down; knocked down.
- aber
- But; however; yet; on the other hand.
- nicht
- Not; negative particle; negation in German.
- besiegte
- Conquered; defeated; vanquished; overcome in battle.
- folgende
- Following; subsequent; next; the ones that follow.
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