Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 10
, there would have been no documents in the trial of Ravaillac deposited in the clerk's office of the Palais de Justice, no accomplices interested in causing the said documents to disappear; hence, no incendiaries obliged, for lack of better means, to burn the clerk's office in order to burn the documents, and to burn the Palais de Justice in order to burn the clerk's office; consequently, in short, no conflagration in 1618.
, no habría habido documentos en el proceso de Ravaillac depositados en la escribanía del Palacio de Justicia, ni cómplices interesados en hacer desaparecer dichos documentos; por lo tanto, ningún incendiario obligado, a falta de mejores medios, a quemar la escribanía para quemar los documentos, y a quemar el Palacio de Justicia para quemar la escribanía; en consecuencia, en resumen, ningún incendio en 1618.
The old Palais would be standing still, with its ancient grand hall; I should be able to say to the reader, "Go and look at it," and we should thus both escape the necessity,—I of making, and he of reading, a description of it, such as it is.
El viejo Palacio seguiría en pie, con su antigua gran sala; debería poder decirle al lector: «Id a verlo», y así ambos nos libraríamos de la necesidad —yo de hacer, y él de leer— una descripción del mismo, tal como es.
Which demonstrates a new truth: that great events have incalculable results.
Lo cual demuestra una nueva verdad: que los grandes acontecimientos tienen resultados incalculables.
It is true that it may be quite possible, in the first place, that Ravaillac had no accomplices; and in the second, that if he had any, they were in no way connected with the fire of 1618.
Es cierto que bien podría ser posible, en primer lugar, que Ravaillac no tuviera cómplices; y en segundo lugar, que si los tuvo, no estuvieron en modo alguno relacionados con el incendio de 1618.
Two other very plausible explanations exist: First, the great flaming star, a foot broad, and a cubit high, which fell from heaven, as every one knows, upon the law courts, after midnight on the seventh of March; second, Théophile's quatrain,—
Existen otras dos explicaciones muy plausibles: primera, la gran estrella llameante, de un pie de anchura y una vara de altura, que cayó del cielo, como todo el mundo sabe, sobre los tribunales de justicia, pasada la medianoche del siete de marzo; segunda, la cuarteta de Théophile:
"Sure, 'twas but a sorry game / When at Paris, Dame Justice, / Through having eaten too much spice, / Set the palace all aflame.
«En verdad, fue un triste juego / cuando en París, la señora Justicia, / por haber comido demasiadas especias, / prendió fuego al palacio entero.
Vocabulary
- no
- Negation word meaning not or no.
- habría
- Conditional form of haber meaning there would be.
- habido
- Past participle of haber meaning been or existed.
- documentos
- Official papers or records containing information.
- en
- Preposition meaning in, on, or at.
- el
- Definite masculine singular article meaning the.
- proceso
- A legal trial or ongoing procedure.
- de
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about.
- depositados
- Stored or placed somewhere for safekeeping.
- la
- Definite feminine singular article meaning the.
- escribanía
- Office of a notary or court clerk.
- del
- Contraction of de and el meaning of the.
- Palacio
- A large official building or palace.
- Justicia
- The concept or institution of justice.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning neither or nor.
- cómplices
- People who assist another in wrongdoing.
- interesados
- Persons with a stake or interest in something.
- hacer
- To do or to make something.
- desaparecer
- To disappear or cause something to vanish.
- dichos
- Said or aforementioned things or documents.
- por
- Preposition meaning for, by, or through.
- lo
- Neuter pronoun or article meaning it or the.
- tanto
- Meaning so much or therefore in context.
- ningún
- No or not any before a masculine noun.
- incendiario
- An arsonist who deliberately sets fires.
- obligado
- Forced or compelled to do something.
- a
- Preposition meaning to, at, or toward.
- falta
- Lack of something or an absence.
- mejores
- Better or best options or means.
- medios
- Means, methods, or resources available.
- quemar
- To burn something with fire.
- para
- Preposition meaning for, in order to.
- los
- Definite masculine plural article meaning the.
- y
- Conjunction meaning and.
- consecuencia
- A result or outcome of an action.
- resumen
- A summary or brief account of events.
- incendio
- A large destructive fire.
- El
- Definite masculine singular article meaning the.
- viejo
- Old, describing something or someone aged.
- seguiría
- Would continue or keep going conditionally.
- pie
- Foot or base; standing upright.
- con
- Preposition meaning with.
- su
- Possessive pronoun meaning his, her, or its.
- antigua
- Old or ancient, describing something from the past.
- gran
- Great or large before a noun.
- sala
- A large hall or room in a building.
- debería
- Should or ought to do something.
- poder
- To be able to do something.
- decirle
- To tell or say something to someone.
- al
- Contraction of a and el meaning to the.
- lector
- A reader of a text or book.
- Id
- Imperative plural form of ir meaning go.
- verlo
- To see it, infinitive with pronoun attached.
- así
- Meaning thus, so, or in this way.
- ambos
- Both of two people or things.
- nos
- Reflexive or object pronoun meaning us or ourselves.
- libraríamos
- We would free ourselves from something burdensome.
- necesidad
- A need or necessity for something.
- yo
- First person singular pronoun meaning I.
- él
- Third person singular pronoun meaning he.
- leer
- To read a text or written material.
- una
- Indefinite feminine singular article meaning a.
- descripción
- A detailed account or portrayal of something.
- mismo
- Same or itself, emphasizing identity or sameness.
- tal
- Such or as, used for comparison or description.
- como
- As or like, used for comparison.
- es
- Third person singular of ser meaning is.
- Lo
- Neuter pronoun meaning it or the thing.
- cual
- Relative pronoun meaning which or who.
- demuestra
- Demonstrates or proves something to be true.
- nueva
- New or recent, describing something not old.
- verdad
- Truth or a true statement or fact.
- que
- That or which, a conjunction or relative pronoun.
- grandes
- Great or large events or things.
- acontecimientos
- Events or happenings of significance.
- tienen
- Third person plural of tener meaning they have.
- resultados
- Results or outcomes produced by actions.
- incalculables
- Incalculable or impossible to measure or predict.
- Es
- Third person singular of ser meaning is.
- cierto
- Certain or true, expressing confidence in fact.
- bien
- Well or good; also meaning quite or very.
- podría
- Could or might be able to conditionally.
- ser
- To be, an essential Spanish infinitive verb.
- posible
- Possible or capable of happening.
- primer
- First, shortened form before a masculine noun.
- lugar
- Place or location; also used in phrases.
- tuviera
- Subjunctive past of tener meaning had or possessed.
- segundo
- Second in order or a second thing.
- si
- Conjunction meaning if, introducing a condition.
- tuvo
- Preterite of tener meaning he or she had.
- estuvieron
- Preterite of estar meaning they were.
- modo
- Way, manner, or mode of doing something.
- alguno
- Some or any, used with nouns.
- relacionados
- Related or connected to each other.
- Existen
- They exist or there exist certain things.
- otras
- Other or additional feminine plural things.
- dos
- The number two.
- explicaciones
- Explanations or reasons given for something.
- muy
- Very, an intensifying adverb.
- plausibles
- Plausible or seeming reasonable and probable.
- primera
- First, feminine form for ordering things.
- estrella
- A star in the sky.
- llameante
- Flaming or blazing with fire.
- un
- Indefinite masculine singular article meaning a.
- anchura
- Width or breadth of an object.
- vara
- An old Spanish unit of linear measurement.
- altura
- Height or altitude of something.
- cayó
- Fell or dropped down from above.
- cielo
- Sky or heaven above.
- todo
- All or everything, entire.
- mundo
- World or everyone, all people.
- sabe
- Knows, third person singular of saber.
- sobre
- On, over, or about something.
- tribunales
- Courts of law or judicial tribunals.
- justicia
- Justice or fairness administered by courts.
- pasada
- Past or gone, referring to a time elapsed.
- medianoche
- Midnight, the middle of the night.
- siete
- The number seven.
- marzo
- March, the third month of the year.
- segunda
- Second, feminine form for ordering things.
- cuarteta
- A four-line stanza or poetic quatrain.
- En
- Preposition meaning in or on.
- fue
- Preterite of ser or ir meaning was or went.
- triste
- Sad or sorrowful.
- juego
- A game or play; also means gambling.
- cuando
- When, used to introduce a time clause.
- señora
- A woman or lady; polite address for women.
- haber
- Auxiliary verb meaning to have done something.
- comido
- Past participle of comer meaning eaten.
- demasiadas
- Too many, excessive quantity of something feminine.
- especias
- Spices used in cooking for flavor.
- prendió
- Set fire to or ignited something.
- fuego
- Fire or flame.
- palacio
- A palace or grand official building.
- entero
- Entire or whole, completely unbroken.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →