Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 13
In the course of his Narrative, he relates two instances of murderous cruelty,—in one of which a planter deliberately shot a slave belonging to a neighboring plantation, who had unintentionally gotten within his lordly domain in quest of fish; and in the other, an overseer blew out the brains of a slave who had fled to a stream of water to escape a bloody scourging.
Nel corso della sua Narrativa, egli racconta due episodi di crudeltà omicida,—in uno dei quali un piantatore sparò deliberatamente a uno schiavo appartenente a una piantagione vicina, che si era involontariamente introdotto nel suo signorile dominio in cerca di pesce; e nell'altro, un sorvegliante fece saltare le cervella a uno schiavo che era fuggito verso un corso d'acqua per sfuggire a una sanguinosa fustigazione.
_Mr. Douglass_ states that in neither of these instances was any thing done by way of legal arrest or judicial investigation.
_Il signor Douglass_ afferma che in nessuno di questi casi fu fatto alcunché mediante arresto legale o indagine giudiziaria.
The Baltimore American, of March 17, 1845, relates a similar case of atrocity, perpetrated with similar impunity—as follows:—"_Shooting a slave._—We learn, upon the authority of a letter from Charles county, Maryland, received by a gentleman of this city, that a young man, named Matthews, a nephew of General Matthews, and whose father, it is believed, holds an office at Washington, killed one of the slaves upon his father's farm by shooting him.
Il Baltimore American, del 17 marzo 1845, riporta un caso simile di atrocità, perpetrato con analoga impunità—come segue:—"_Uno schiavo ucciso a colpi di pistola._—Apprendiamo, sulla base di una lettera dalla contea di Charles, Maryland, ricevuta da un gentiluomo di questa città, che un giovane di nome Matthews, nipote del Generale Matthews, il cui padre, si ritiene, ricopre una carica a Washington, ha ucciso uno degli schiavi nella fattoria di suo padre sparandogli.
The letter states that young Matthews had been left in charge of the farm; that he gave an order to the servant, which was disobeyed, when he proceeded to the house, _obtained a gun, and, returning, shot the servant._
La lettera afferma che il giovane Matthews era stato lasciato a capo della fattoria; che impartì un ordine al servo, il quale fu disobbedito, dopodiché egli si recò alla casa, _ottenne un fucile e, tornando, sparò al servo._
He immediately, the letter continues, fled to his father's residence, where he still remains unmolested.
Egli immediatamente, continua la lettera, fuggì alla residenza di suo padre, dove rimane tuttora indisturbato.
Vocabulary
- corso
- Course, flow, or progression of something.
- Narrativa
- Narrative; a written or spoken account of events.
- egli
- He; third-person singular masculine subject pronoun.
- racconta
- Recounts, tells, or narrates a story or event.
- episodi
- Episodes; distinct events or incidents in a narrative.
- crudeltà
- Cruelty; disposition to inflict pain or suffering.
- omicida
- Murderous; related to or involving homicide.
- quali
- Which; relative pronoun used after a preposition.
- piantatore
- Planter; owner of a plantation who grows crops.
- sparò
- Shot; past tense of sparare, to fire a gun.
- deliberatamente
- Deliberately; done intentionally and with full awareness.
- schiavo
- Slave; a person owned as property by another.
- appartenente
- Belonging to; adjective indicating ownership or membership.
- piantagione
- Plantation; large farm where crops are cultivated.
- vicina
- Nearby, neighboring; close in distance or location.
- involontariamente
- Involuntarily; without intention or deliberate choice.
- introdotto
- Entered, introduced; past participle of introdurre.
- signorile
- Lordly, noble; relating to a manor or aristocratic domain.
- dominio
- Domain, dominion; territory under someone's control.
- cerca
- Searches for, looks for; third-person present of cercare.
- pesce
- Fish; aquatic animal commonly caught for food.
- sorvegliante
- Overseer, supervisor; person who monitors workers or prisoners.
- fece
- Made, did; third-person singular past of fare.
- saltare
- To jump, to blow up; infinitive with multiple meanings.
- cervella
- Brains; plural noun referring to brain matter.
- fuggito
- Fled, escaped; past participle of fuggire.
- verso
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or movement.
- acqua
- Water; essential liquid found in rivers and seas.
- sfuggire
- To escape, to flee from; infinitive of sfuggire.
- sanguinosa
- Bloody; adjective describing something covered in blood.
- fustigazione
- Flogging, whipping; severe beating as punishment.
- signor
- Mr., sir; honorific title used before a man's name.
- afferma
- Affirms, states; third-person present of affermare.
- nessuno
- Nobody, none; negative pronoun indicating absence.
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
- casi
- Cases; plural of caso, referring to instances or situations.
- fu
- Was; third-person singular simple past of essere.
- alcunché
- Anything; indefinite pronoun used in negative contexts.
- mediante
- By means of, through; preposition indicating a method.
- arresto
- Arrest; act of legally detaining a suspected person.
- legale
- Legal; relating to or permitted by the law.
- indagine
- Investigation, inquiry; systematic examination of a matter.
- giudiziaria
- Judicial; relating to courts or legal proceedings.
- marzo
- March; the third month of the calendar year.
- riporta
- Reports, brings back; third-person present of riportare.
- caso
- Case, instance; a specific occurrence or situation.
- simile
- Similar, like; adjective indicating resemblance between things.
- atrocità
- Atrocity; an extremely wicked or cruel act.
- perpetrato
- Perpetrated, committed; past participle of perpetrare.
- analoga
- Analogous, similar; feminine adjective indicating resemblance.
- impunità
- Impunity; exemption from punishment or legal consequences.
- segue
- Follows; third-person singular present of seguire.
- ucciso
- Killed; past participle of uccidere, to kill.
- colpi
- Shots, blows; plural of colpo meaning strike or shot.
- pistola
- Pistol, handgun; a small firearm held in one hand.
- Apprendiamo
- We learn; first-person plural present of apprendere.
- base
- Basis, base; foundation or grounds for something.
- lettera
- Letter; a written message sent to another person.
- contea
- County; an administrative or geographic subdivision.
- ricevuta
- Received; past participle of ricevere, to receive.
- gentiluomo
- Gentleman; a man of good social standing and manners.
- città
- City; a large urban settlement or municipality.
- giovane
- Young person, youth; adjective or noun for someone young.
- nome
- Name; a word or phrase that identifies a person.
- nipote
- Nephew or grandson; male relative of younger generation.
- Generale
- General; high-ranking military officer or general title.
- cui
- Whose, whom; relative pronoun used after a preposition.
- padre
- Father; male parent or paternal figure.
- ritiene
- Believes, thinks; third-person present of ritenere.
- ricopre
- Holds, covers; third-person present of ricoprire.
- carica
- Office, position; a role of authority or responsibility.
- schiavi
- Slaves; plural of schiavo, people owned as property.
- fattoria
- Farm; a piece of land used for agricultural production.
- sparandogli
- Shooting at him; gerund of sparare with indirect pronoun.
- lasciato
- Left, let; past participle of lasciare.
- capo
- Head, chief; leader or person in charge of others.
- impartì
- Gave, issued; past tense of impartire, to impart an order.
- ordine
- Order, command; an instruction given to be followed.
- servo
- Servant, serf; a person who serves or is enslaved.
- quale
- Which, who; relative pronoun following a preposition.
- disobbedito
- Disobeyed; past participle of disobbedire.
- dopodiché
- After which, whereupon; conjunction indicating subsequent action.
- recò
- Went, betook himself; past tense of recarsi.
- casa
- House, home; a building where people live.
- ottenne
- Obtained, got; third-person singular past of ottenere.
- fucile
- Rifle, gun; a long-barreled firearm used for shooting.
- tornando
- Returning; gerund of tornare, to go back.
- Egli
- He; third-person singular masculine formal subject pronoun.
- immediatamente
- Immediately; without any delay or pause in time.
- continua
- Continues; third-person present of continuare.
- fuggì
- Fled; third-person singular simple past of fuggire.
- residenza
- Residence; a place where someone lives or stays.
- dove
- Where; adverb or conjunction of place in Italian.
- rimane
- Remains, stays; third-person present of rimanere.
- tuttora
- Still, to this day; adverb meaning even now.
- indisturbato
- Undisturbed; adjective meaning not bothered or troubled.
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