Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 9
" I am confident that it is essentially true in all its statements; that nothing has been set down in malice, nothing exaggerated, nothing drawn from the imagination; that it comes short of the reality, rather than overstates a single fact in regard to _slavery as it is_.
"Sono convinto che esso sia essenzialmente vero in tutte le sue affermazioni; che nulla sia stato scritto con malizia, nulla esagerato, nulla tratto dalla fantasia; che esso non raggiunga la realtà, piuttosto che esagerare un solo fatto riguardo alla _schiavitù così com'è_.
The experience of _Frederick Douglass_, as a slave, was not a peculiar one; his lot was not especially a hard one; his case may be regarded as a very fair specimen of the treatment of slaves in Maryland, in which State it is conceded that they are better fed and less cruelly treated than in Georgia, Alabama, or Louisiana.
L'esperienza di _Frederick Douglass_, come schiavo, non fu un caso peculiare; la sua sorte non fu particolarmente dura; il suo caso può essere considerato un esempio molto rappresentativo del trattamento degli schiavi nel Maryland, Stato nel quale è riconosciuto che essi sono meglio nutriti e trattati con meno crudeltà che in Georgia, Alabama o Louisiana.
Many have suffered incomparably more, while very few on the plantations have suffered less, than himself.
Molti hanno sofferto incomparabilmente di più, mentre pochissimi nelle piantagioni hanno sofferto meno di lui.
Yet how deplorable was his situation! what terrible chastisements were inflicted upon his person! what still more shocking outrages were perpetrated upon his mind! with all his noble powers and sublime aspirations, how like a brute was he treated, even by those professing to have the same mind in them that was in Christ Jesus! to what dreadful liabilities was he continually subjected! how destitute of friendly counsel and aid, even in his greatest extremities! how heavy was the midnight of woe which shrouded in blackness the last ray of hope, and filled the future with terror and gloom!
Eppure quanto era deplorevole la sua situazione! quali terribili castighi furono inflitti alla sua persona! quali oltraggi ancor più scioccanti furono perpetrati contro la sua mente! con tutte le sue nobili facoltà e le sue sublimi aspirazioni, quanto simile a una bestia fu trattato, persino da coloro che professavano di avere in sé lo stesso spirito che era in Cristo Gesù! a quali terribili pericoli fu continuamente sottoposto! quanto privo di consigli amichevoli e di aiuto, persino nei suoi momenti di maggiore necessità! quanto pesante era la mezzanotte di dolore che avvolgeva nell'oscurità l'ultimo raggio di speranza, e riempiva il futuro di terrore e di angoscia!
Vocabulary
- Sono
- First person singular of 'essere'; I am.
- convinto
- Convinced, certain, firmly persuaded of something.
- che
- Conjunction meaning 'that' or relative pronoun 'who/which'.
- esso
- Third person singular pronoun meaning 'it'.
- sia
- Subjunctive form of 'essere'; may be, is.
- essenzialmente
- Essentially, fundamentally, at its core.
- vero
- True, real, genuine, corresponding to fact.
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'.
- tutte
- Feminine plural of 'tutto'; all, every one.
- le
- Feminine plural definite article meaning 'the'.
- sue
- Feminine plural possessive meaning 'his/her/its'.
- affermazioni
- Statements, assertions, claims made about something.
- nulla
- Nothing, not anything, no element whatsoever.
- stato
- Past participle of 'essere'; been; also 'state'.
- scritto
- Written, composed in written form on purpose.
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with', indicating accompaniment.
- malizia
- Malice, ill will, deliberate intention to harm.
- esagerato
- Exaggerated, overstated beyond what is actually true.
- tratto
- Drawn, taken; also a trait or stretch.
- dalla
- Contraction of 'da' and 'la'; from the.
- fantasia
- Fantasy, imagination, creative mental invention.
- non
- Negation word meaning 'not' in Italian.
- raggiunga
- Subjunctive of 'raggiungere'; reaches, attains a level.
- la
- Feminine singular definite article meaning 'the'.
- realtà
- Reality, the actual state of affairs or facts.
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite, somewhat; indicates preference or degree.
- esagerare
- To exaggerate, to overstate beyond the truth.
- un
- Masculine singular indefinite article meaning 'a/an'.
- solo
- Only, alone, single, just one instance.
- fatto
- Fact, event, deed; something that actually occurred.
- riguardo
- Regard, respect; 'riguardo a' means 'regarding'.
- alla
- Contraction of 'a' and 'la'; to the.
- _schiavitù
- Slavery, the condition of being enslaved.
- così
- So, thus, in this way, as such.
- com'è_
- As it is, in its actual current state.
- L'esperienza
- Experience, personal knowledge gained through events.
- di
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from' in Italian.
- come
- As, how, like; used for comparison or manner.
- schiavo
- Slave, an enslaved person without legal freedom.
- fu
- Past absolute of 'essere'; was, at a past time.
- caso
- Case, instance, situation, particular circumstance.
- peculiare
- Peculiar, particular, distinctive, unusual in nature.
- sua
- Feminine singular possessive meaning 'his/her/its'.
- sorte
- Fate, lot, destiny assigned to someone.
- particolarmente
- Particularly, especially, to a notable degree.
- dura
- Hard, harsh, severe, difficult to endure.
- il
- Masculine singular definite article meaning 'the'.
- suo
- Masculine singular possessive meaning 'his/her/its'.
- può
- Third person singular of 'potere'; can, is able.
- essere
- To be; the fundamental Italian verb of existence.
- considerato
- Considered, regarded, viewed as a certain thing.
- esempio
- Example, model, illustrative instance of something.
- molto
- Very, much, a lot; indicates high degree.
- rappresentativo
- Representative, typical, serving as a good example.
- del
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il'; of the.
- trattamento
- Treatment, handling, the way someone is treated.
- degli
- Contraction of 'di' and 'gli'; of the (plural masculine).
- schiavi
- Slaves, plural of 'schiavo'; enslaved persons.
- nel
- Contraction of 'in' and 'il'; in the.
- Stato
- State, a political territorial unit or country.
- quale
- Which, that; relative pronoun referring to a noun.
- è
- Third person singular of 'essere'; is.
- riconosciuto
- Recognized, acknowledged, accepted as generally known.
- essi
- Third person masculine plural pronoun; they.
- sono
- Third person plural or first singular of 'essere'; are/am.
- meglio
- Better, more well; comparative adverb of 'bene'.
- nutriti
- Fed, nourished, given adequate food to eat.
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and', linking words or clauses.
- trattati
- Treated, handled; past participle of 'trattare'.
- meno
- Less, fewer; comparative adverb indicating lower degree.
- crudeltà
- Cruelty, brutality, deliberate infliction of suffering.
- o
- Disjunctive conjunction meaning 'or' in Italian.
- Molti
- Many, a large number of people or things.
- hanno
- Third person plural of 'avere'; they have.
- sofferto
- Suffered, endured pain; past participle of 'soffrire'.
- incomparabilmente
- Incomparably, beyond comparison, to an unmatched degree.
- più
- More, used to form comparatives in Italian.
- mentre
- While, whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous action.
- pochissimi
- Very few, the superlative form of 'pochi'.
- nelle
- Contraction of 'in' and 'le'; in the (feminine plural).
- piantagioni
- Plantations, large agricultural estates using slave labor.
- lui
- He, him; third person masculine singular pronoun.
- Eppure
- And yet, nevertheless, still, despite that fact.
- quanto
- How much, how, as much as; interrogative/relative.
- era
- Imperfect of 'essere'; was, used to be.
- deplorevole
- Deplorable, lamentable, deeply regrettable and wretched.
- situazione
- Situation, circumstance, the state of affairs.
- quali
- Which, what kind of; plural interrogative or relative.
- terribili
- Terrible, dreadful, causing fear and great suffering.
- castighi
- Punishments, penalties, harsh corrective physical measures.
- furono
- Past absolute plural of 'essere'; they were.
- inflitti
- Inflicted, imposed forcibly upon a person.
- persona
- Person, individual human being; also 'upon his person'.
- oltraggi
- Outrages, grave offenses, acts of cruel violation.
- ancor
- Still, even, yet; shortened form of 'ancora'.
- scioccanti
- Shocking, startling, causing moral outrage or horror.
- perpetrati
- Perpetrated, committed, carried out wrongful harmful acts.
- contro
- Against, in opposition to or directed at someone.
- mente
- Mind, intellect, the faculty of thinking and reasoning.
- nobili
- Noble, elevated, of high moral or intellectual quality.
- facoltà
- Faculties, abilities, mental or intellectual capacities.
- sublimi
- Sublime, lofty, of the highest excellence or dignity.
- aspirazioni
- Aspirations, hopes, ambitions for something higher.
- simile
- Similar, like, resembling something else in nature.
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'like'.
- una
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
- bestia
- Beast, animal, brute; used to denote dehumanization.
- trattato
- Treated, handled in a particular manner or way.
- persino
- Even, including surprisingly; used to emphasize extremity.
- da
- Preposition meaning 'by', 'from', or 'since'.
- coloro
- Those (people), referring to a group of persons.
- professavano
- Professed, claimed publicly to hold a belief.
- avere
- To have; one of the two core Italian auxiliary verbs.
- sé
- Themselves, oneself; reflexive pronoun with accent.
- lo
- Masculine singular direct object pronoun meaning 'it/him'.
- stesso
- Same, itself; used for emphasis or identity.
- spirito
- Spirit, soul, the inner non-material essence of being.
- pericoli
- Dangers, perils, situations of serious potential harm.
- continuamente
- Continuously, without interruption, in a constant manner.
- sottoposto
- Subjected, exposed, made to undergo something unpleasant.
- privo
- Deprived, devoid, lacking something essential or needed.
- consigli
- Advice, counsel, helpful guidance from another person.
- amichevoli
- Friendly, amicable, offered in a supportive spirit.
- aiuto
- Help, assistance, support provided to someone in need.
- nei
- Contraction of 'in' and 'i'; in the (plural masculine).
- suoi
- Masculine plural possessive meaning 'his/her/its'.
- momenti
- Moments, particular points or periods in time.
- maggiore
- Greater, larger, most significant; comparative of 'grande'.
- necessità
- Necessity, need, something urgently required or essential.
- pesante
- Heavy, weighty, burdensome, difficult to bear.
- mezzanotte
- Midnight, the middle of the night at twelve.
- dolore
- Pain, grief, sorrow, physical or emotional suffering.
- avvolgeva
- Enveloped, wrapped around, surrounded completely.
- nell'oscurità
- In the darkness, surrounded by absence of light.
- l'ultimo
- The last, the final one remaining of something.
- raggio
- Ray, beam of light; also radius of a circle.
- speranza
- Hope, expectation of something positive in the future.
- riempiva
- Filled, was filling; imperfect of 'riempire'.
- futuro
- Future, the time yet to come ahead.
- terrore
- Terror, intense fear, overwhelming dread of something.
- angoscia
- Anguish, deep anxiety, acute emotional distress.
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