Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 3
There stood one, in physical proportion and stature commanding and exact—in intellect richly endowed—in natural eloquence a prodigy—in soul manifestly "created but a little lower than the angels"—yet a slave, ay, a fugitive slave,—trembling for his safety, hardly daring to believe that on the American soil, a single white person could be found who would befriend him at all hazards, for the love of God and humanity!
Allí estaba uno, de proporción física y estatura imponente y exacta—de intelecto ricamente dotado—de elocuencia natural un prodigio—en alma manifiestamente «creado solo un poco inferior a los ángeles»—y sin embargo un esclavo, sí, un esclavo fugitivo,—temblando por su seguridad, apenas atreviéndose a creer que en suelo americano pudiera encontrarse una sola persona blanca que lo ayudara a toda costa, por amor a Dios y a la humanidad!
Capable of high attainments as an intellectual and moral being—needing nothing but a comparatively small amount of cultivation to make him an ornament to society and a blessing to his race—by the law of the land, by the voice of the people, by the terms of the slave code, he was only a piece of property, a beast of burden, a chattel personal, nevertheless!
Capaz de grandes logros como ser intelectual y moral—sin necesitar más que una cantidad comparativamente pequeña de formación para convertirlo en un ornamento para la sociedad y una bendición para su raza—por la ley de la tierra, por la voz del pueblo, por los términos del código de esclavitud, no era más que una pieza de propiedad, una bestia de carga, un bien mueble personal, ¡sin embargo!
A beloved friend from New Bedford prevailed on Mr. DOUGLASS to address the convention.
Un querido amigo de New Bedford persuadió al Sr. DOUGLASS de dirigirse a la convención.
He came forward to the platform with a hesitancy and embarrassment, necessarily the attendants of a sensitive mind in such a novel position.
Se acercó a la tribuna con una vacilación y turbación, inevitablemente propias de una mente sensible en una posición tan novedosa.
After apologizing for his ignorance, and reminding the audience that slavery was a poor school for the human intellect and heart, he proceeded to narrate some of the facts in his own history as a slave, and in the course of his speech gave utterance to many noble thoughts and thrilling reflections.
Tras disculparse por su ignorancia, y recordar al público que la esclavitud era una pobre escuela para el intelecto y el corazón humanos, procedió a narrar algunos de los hechos de su propia historia como esclavo, y en el transcurso de su discurso dio expresión a muchos pensamientos nobles y reflexiones estremecedoras.
Vocabulary
- Allí
- There, in that place
- estaba
- Was, third person singular past tense of estar
- uno
- One, a single person or thing
- de
- Of, from, indicating possession or origin
- proporción
- Proportion, ratio or balanced relationship between parts
- física
- Physical, relating to the body or matter
- y
- And, conjunction connecting words or phrases
- estatura
- Stature, a person's height or physical build
- imponente
- Imposing, impressive and commanding in appearance
- exacta
- Exact, precise and accurate without error
- intelecto
- Intellect, the faculty of reasoning and understanding
- ricamente
- Richly, in an abundant or lavish manner
- dotado
- Gifted, endowed with natural talent or ability
- elocuencia
- Eloquence, fluent and persuasive use of language
- natural
- Natural, existing in or caused by nature
- un
- A, an indefinite article for masculine nouns
- prodigio
- Prodigy, a person with exceptional natural talent
- en
- In, at, on, preposition indicating location or time
- alma
- Soul, the spiritual essence of a person
- manifiestamente
- Manifestly, obviously and clearly evident to all
- creado
- Created, made or brought into existence
- solo
- Only, just, merely, with nothing else
- poco
- Little, a small amount or degree
- inferior
- Inferior, lower in rank, quality, or position
- a
- To, at, preposition indicating direction or recipient
- los
- The, definite article for masculine plural nouns
- ángeles
- Angels, spiritual beings serving as divine messengers
- sin
- Without, lacking or in the absence of something
- embargo
- Embargo; sin embargo means nevertheless or however
- esclavo
- Slave, a person owned and controlled by another
- sí
- Himself, reflexive pronoun referring back to subject
- fugitivo
- Fugitive, a person fleeing from capture or danger
- temblando
- Trembling, shaking from fear, cold, or emotion
- por
- For, by, through, preposition indicating cause or means
- su
- His, her, its, your possessive adjective or pronoun
- seguridad
- Safety, security, freedom from danger or harm
- apenas
- Barely, scarcely, hardly at all
- atreviéndose
- Daring, venturing to do something bold or risky
- creer
- To believe, to think something is true or real
- que
- That, which, conjunction or relative pronoun
- suelo
- Ground, soil, floor, the surface underfoot
- americano
- American, relating to America or its people
- pudiera
- Could, might, past subjunctive of poder
- encontrarse
- To find oneself, to be found or encountered
- una
- A, an indefinite article for feminine nouns
- sola
- Single, alone, only one without others
- persona
- Person, an individual human being
- blanca
- White, of the color white or light complexion
- lo
- Him, it, direct object pronoun for masculine
- ayudara
- Would help, past subjunctive of ayudar
- toda
- All, every, the whole of something
- costa
- Cost, price; a toda costa means at all costs
- amor
- Love, deep affection or strong emotional attachment
- Dios
- God, the supreme divine being
- la
- The, definite article for feminine singular nouns
- humanidad
- Humanity, all human beings collectively or human nature
- Capaz
- Capable, able to do something effectively
- grandes
- Great, large, significant in size or importance
- logros
- Achievements, accomplishments or successful results
- como
- As, like, how, conjunction or preposition of comparison
- ser
- To be, fundamental verb expressing identity or essence
- intelectual
- Intellectual, relating to the intellect or mental ability
- moral
- Moral, relating to principles of right and wrong
- necesitar
- To need, to require something as necessary
- más
- More, a greater amount or degree
- cantidad
- Quantity, an amount or number of something
- comparativamente
- Comparatively, in relation to something else by comparison
- pequeña
- Small, little, of limited size or importance
- formación
- Training, education, the process of development
- para
- For, in order to, preposition of purpose
- convertirlo
- To convert him, to transform or change someone
- ornamento
- Ornament, something that decorates or brings honor
- sociedad
- Society, the community of people living together
- bendición
- Blessing, a beneficial gift or divine favor
- raza
- Race, a group of people sharing common ancestry
- ley
- Law, a rule established by authority or custom
- tierra
- Land, earth, ground, territory or soil
- voz
- Voice, the sound produced by speaking or singing
- del
- Of the, contraction of de and el
- pueblo
- People, a nation or community sharing common identity
- términos
- Terms, words or expressions with specific meanings
- código
- Code, a system of laws or rules
- esclavitud
- Slavery, the state of being owned by another
- no
- No, not, negation word
- era
- Was, third person singular imperfect of ser
- pieza
- Piece, a part or item of something
- propiedad
- Property, something owned by a person
- bestia
- Beast, a wild or domestic animal
- carga
- Burden, load, cargo carried or transported
- bien
- Good, well, a positive thing or asset
- mueble
- Furniture, a movable piece of household property
- personal
- Personal, relating to a particular person
- Un
- A, an indefinite article for masculine nouns
- querido
- Dear, beloved, a cherished or valued person
- amigo
- Friend, a person one knows and likes
- persuadió
- Persuaded, convinced someone to do something
- al
- To the, contraction of a and el
- Sr.
- Mr., abbreviation for señor, a title of address
- dirigirse
- To address, to speak to or head toward someone
- convención
- Convention, a large formal meeting or assembly
- Se
- Himself, herself, reflexive or passive pronoun
- acercó
- Approached, came near or moved closer to something
- tribuna
- Podium, platform or tribune where speakers stand
- con
- With, together or accompanied by something
- vacilación
- Hesitation, uncertainty or wavering before acting
- turbación
- Embarrassment, confusion, or emotional disturbance
- inevitablemente
- Inevitably, in a way that cannot be avoided
- propias
- Own, belonging to oneself specifically
- mente
- Mind, the intellectual and cognitive faculties
- sensible
- Sensitive, easily affected by emotions or feelings
- posición
- Position, place, situation or standing of someone
- tan
- So, such, as, indicating degree or comparison
- novedosa
- Novel, new and original, unfamiliar or unprecedented
- Tras
- After, behind, following in time or sequence
- disculparse
- To apologize, to excuse oneself for something
- ignorancia
- Ignorance, lack of knowledge or education
- recordar
- To remind, to remember or recall something
- público
- Audience, public, people gathered to watch or listen
- pobre
- Poor, having little money or resources
- escuela
- School, an institution for education and learning
- el
- The, definite article for masculine singular nouns
- corazón
- Heart, the organ or center of emotion
- humanos
- Humans, human beings or people
- procedió
- Proceeded, continued or went ahead with something
- narrar
- To narrate, to tell or recount a story
- algunos
- Some, a few, certain unspecified things or people
- hechos
- Facts, events, things that actually happened
- propia
- Own, belonging specifically to oneself
- historia
- History, story, account of past events
- transcurso
- Course, passage or progression of time
- discurso
- Speech, a formal address delivered to an audience
- dio
- Gave, third person singular preterite of dar
- expresión
- Expression, the act of conveying thoughts or feelings
- muchos
- Many, a large number of people or things
- pensamientos
- Thoughts, ideas or reflections in the mind
- nobles
- Noble, having high moral qualities or ideals
- reflexiones
- Reflections, thoughtful considerations or meditations
- estremecedoras
- Harrowing, deeply moving or causing strong emotion
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