Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 11
O, how accursed is that system, which entombs the godlike mind of man, defaces the divine image, reduces those who by creation were crowned with glory and honor to a level with four-footed beasts, and exalts the dealer in human flesh above all that is called God!
Oh, quanto è maledetto quel sistema, che seppellisce la mente divina dell'uomo, deturpa l'immagine divina, riduce coloro che dalla creazione furono incoronati di gloria e onore al livello delle bestie a quattro zampe, ed esalta il mercante di carne umana al di sopra di tutto ciò che è chiamato Dio!
Why should its existence be prolonged one hour?
Perché la sua esistenza dovrebbe essere prolungata anche solo di un'ora?
Is it not evil, only evil, and that continually?
Non è forse il male, solo il male, e ciò incessantemente?
What does its presence imply but the absence of all fear of God, all regard for man, on the part of the people of the United States?
Cosa implica la sua presenza se non l'assenza di ogni timore di Dio, di ogni rispetto per l'uomo, da parte del popolo degli Stati Uniti?
Heaven speed its eternal overthrow!
Il cielo affretti il suo eterno rovesciamento!
So profoundly ignorant of the nature of slavery are many persons, that they are stubbornly incredulous whenever they read or listen to any recital of the cruelties which are daily inflicted on its victims.
Molte persone sono così profondamente ignoranti della natura della schiavitù, da essere ostinatamente incredule ogni volta che leggono o ascoltano qualsiasi resoconto delle crudeltà che vengono quotidianamente inflitte alle sue vittime.
They do not deny that the slaves are held as property; but that terrible fact seems to convey to their minds no idea of injustice, exposure to outrage, or savage barbarity.
Non negano che gli schiavi siano tenuti come proprietà; ma quel fatto terribile sembra non trasmettere alle loro menti alcuna idea di ingiustizia, di esposizione all'oltraggio, o di selvaggia barbarie.
Tell them of cruel scourgings, of mutilations and brandings, of scenes of pollution and blood, of the banishment of all light and knowledge, and they affect to be greatly indignant at such enormous exaggerations, such wholesale misstatements, such abominable libels on the character of the southern planters!
Parlate loro di crudeli fustigazioni, di mutilazioni e marchiature, di scene di corruzione e sangue, dell'esilio di ogni luce e conoscenza, ed essi fingono di essere profondamente indignati di fronte a tali enormi esagerazioni, a tali grossolane falsità, a tali abominevoli calunnie sul carattere dei piantatori del Sud!
As if all these direful outrages were not the natural results of slavery!
Come se tutti questi terribili oltraggi non fossero i risultati naturali della schiavitù!
Vocabulary
- quanto
- How much; to what degree or extent.
- è
- Third person singular of 'essere'; means 'is'.
- maledetto
- Cursed, damned; something deeply condemned.
- quel
- That; demonstrative adjective for masculine singular.
- sistema
- System; an organized set of principles or structures.
- che
- That, which, who; conjunction or relative pronoun.
- seppellisce
- Buries; third person singular of 'seppellire'.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- mente
- Mind; the seat of thought and intellect.
- divina
- Divine; of or relating to God or deity.
- dell'
- Contraction of 'di' and 'l''; of the.
- uomo
- Man; an adult male human being.
- deturpa
- Disfigures, defaces; third person singular present.
- l'
- Elided form of definite article 'la' or 'lo'.
- immagine
- Image; a visual or symbolic representation.
- riduce
- Reduces; brings down to a lower level or state.
- coloro
- Those; referring to a group of people.
- dalla
- From the; contraction of 'da' and 'la'.
- creazione
- Creation; the act of bringing something into existence.
- furono
- Were; third person plural past of 'essere'.
- incoronati
- Crowned; honored with a crown or distinction.
- di
- Of, by; common Italian preposition indicating possession.
- gloria
- Glory; great honor, praise, or distinction.
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction.
- onore
- Honor; high respect and esteem.
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'il'.
- livello
- Level; a position on a scale or hierarchy.
- delle
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'le'.
- bestie
- Beasts; wild or brutish animals.
- a
- To, at; basic Italian preposition.
- quattro
- Four; the number 4.
- zampe
- Paws, legs; animal limbs or feet.
- ed
- And; variant of 'e' used before vowels.
- esalta
- Exalts; raises high in rank or esteem.
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- mercante
- Merchant, trader; one who buys and sells goods.
- carne
- Flesh, meat; bodily tissue of a living being.
- umana
- Human; relating to human beings.
- sopra
- Above, over; preposition indicating higher position.
- tutto
- Everything, all; refers to the totality.
- ciò
- That, this; demonstrative pronoun referring to things.
- chiamato
- Called, named; past participle of 'chiamare'.
- Dio
- God; the supreme divine being.
- Perché
- Why, because; used in questions and explanations.
- sua
- His, her, its; feminine possessive adjective.
- esistenza
- Existence; the state of being or living.
- dovrebbe
- Should, ought to; conditional of 'dovere'.
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary verb.
- prolungata
- Prolonged; extended or lengthened over time.
- anche
- Also, even; expressing addition or concession.
- solo
- Only, alone; just one, without others.
- un'
- An; feminine indefinite article before a vowel.
- ora
- Hour; a period of sixty minutes.
- Non
- Not; negation particle in Italian.
- forse
- Perhaps, maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility.
- male
- Evil, harm; something morally bad or painful.
- incessantemente
- Incessantly; without stopping, continuously.
- Cosa
- What, thing; used in questions or as noun.
- implica
- Implies; suggests or entails something indirectly.
- presenza
- Presence; the state of being present somewhere.
- se
- If; conditional conjunction introducing hypothetical clauses.
- non
- Not; standard negation word in Italian.
- assenza
- Absence; the state of not being present.
- ogni
- Every, each; referring to all members individually.
- timore
- Fear, dread; a feeling of reverence or apprehension.
- rispetto
- Respect; esteem and consideration for someone.
- per
- For, through; Italian preposition with many uses.
- da
- From, by; preposition indicating origin or agent.
- parte
- Part, side; a portion or faction of something.
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'il'.
- popolo
- People, nation; the citizens of a country.
- degli
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'gli'.
- Stati
- States; plural of 'stato', regions of a nation.
- Uniti
- United; joined together as one entity.
- Il
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- cielo
- Sky, heaven; the space above or divine realm.
- affretti
- Hasten; subjunctive of 'affrettare', to speed up.
- suo
- His, her, its; masculine possessive adjective.
- eterno
- Eternal; lasting or existing forever.
- rovesciamento
- Overthrow, overturning; complete reversal of a system.
- Molte
- Many; a large number of feminine plural things.
- persone
- People, persons; individual human beings.
- sono
- Are; third person plural of 'essere'.
- così
- So, thus; in this way or to this extent.
- profondamente
- Deeply, profoundly; to a great depth or degree.
- ignoranti
- Ignorant; lacking knowledge or awareness about something.
- della
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'la'.
- natura
- Nature; the essential qualities or the natural world.
- schiavitù
- Slavery; the system of owning people as property.
- ostinatamente
- Stubbornly; in a persistent and obstinate manner.
- incredule
- Incredulous; unwilling or unable to believe something.
- volta
- Time, once; an instance or occasion.
- leggono
- They read; third person plural of 'leggere'.
- o
- Or; coordinating conjunction presenting alternatives.
- ascoltano
- They listen; third person plural of 'ascoltare'.
- qualsiasi
- Any, whatever; referring to any item without specification.
- resoconto
- Account, report; a detailed description of events.
- crudeltà
- Cruelty; willingness to cause pain or suffering.
- vengono
- They come, are; third person plural of 'venire'.
- quotidianamente
- Daily; happening every day, on a daily basis.
- inflitte
- Inflicted; imposed as punishment or suffering.
- alle
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'le'.
- sue
- His, her, its; feminine plural possessive adjective.
- vittime
- Victims; people harmed by others or circumstances.
- negano
- They deny; third person plural of 'negare'.
- gli
- The; masculine plural definite article.
- schiavi
- Slaves; people held as property by others.
- siano
- Are; present subjunctive of 'essere'.
- tenuti
- Held, kept; past participle of 'tenere'.
- come
- As, like, how; used for comparison or manner.
- proprietà
- Property; something owned by a person or entity.
- ma
- But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast.
- fatto
- Fact; something known to be true.
- terribile
- Terrible; causing great fear or distress.
- sembra
- Seems; third person singular of 'sembrare'.
- trasmettere
- To transmit; to pass on or convey something.
- loro
- Their, they, them; third person plural pronoun.
- menti
- Minds; plural of 'mente', the seat of thought.
- alcuna
- Any; feminine singular indefinite used with negation.
- idea
- Idea; a thought, concept, or notion.
- ingiustizia
- Injustice; unfair treatment or lack of fairness.
- esposizione
- Exposure, exhibition; the act of presenting or revealing.
- all'
- To the; contraction of 'a' and elided article.
- oltraggio
- Outrage; an extremely offensive or shocking act.
- selvaggia
- Wild, savage; fierce and uncivilized in nature.
- barbarie
- Barbarity; extreme cruelty or uncivilized behavior.
- Parlate
- Speak, tell; second person plural imperative of 'parlare'.
- crudeli
- Cruel; merciless and causing pain or suffering.
- fustigazioni
- Floggings; severe beatings with a whip or rod.
- mutilazioni
- Mutilations; acts of severely damaging or disfiguring bodies.
- marchiature
- Brandings; marks burned onto skin as ownership signs.
- scene
- Scenes; events or situations witnessed or described.
- corruzione
- Corruption; moral decay or dishonest behavior.
- sangue
- Blood; the red fluid circulating in the body.
- esilio
- Exile; forced removal from one's homeland.
- luce
- Light; illumination or knowledge metaphorically.
- conoscenza
- Knowledge; awareness or understanding gained through experience.
- essi
- They; third person plural subject pronoun.
- fingono
- They pretend; third person plural of 'fingere'.
- indignati
- Indignant; feeling or showing anger at unfair treatment.
- fronte
- Front, face; in front of, confronting something.
- tali
- Such; referring to things of that kind.
- enormi
- Enormous; very large in size or degree.
- esagerazioni
- Exaggerations; statements making something seem larger than reality.
- grossolane
- Gross, coarse; crude and lacking refinement.
- falsità
- Falsehoods; things that are untrue or deceptive.
- abominevoli
- Abominable; causing moral revulsion or disgust.
- calunnie
- Slanders; false statements damaging someone's reputation.
- sul
- On the; contraction of 'su' and 'il'.
- carattere
- Character; the moral and mental qualities of a person.
- dei
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'i'.
- piantatori
- Planters; plantation owners, especially in slaveholding context.
- Sud
- South; the southern direction or region.
- Come
- As if, how; conjunction of manner or comparison.
- tutti
- All, everyone; referring to an entire group.
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative adjective.
- terribili
- Terrible; causing great fear, horror, or distress.
- oltraggi
- Outrages; deeply shocking and offensive acts.
- fossero
- Were; imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'.
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article.
- risultati
- Results; outcomes or consequences of actions.
- naturali
- Natural; occurring in nature or expected by nature.
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