Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 15
A goodly number of curious, good people had been shivering since daybreak before the grand staircase of the palace; some even affirmed that they had passed the night across the threshold of the great door, in order to make sure that they should be the first to pass in.
Un bel numero di curiose e oneste persone rabbrividiva dall'alba davanti alla grande scalinata del palazzo; alcuni affermavano persino di aver trascorso la notte sulla soglia del portone, per essere certi di essere i primi a entrare.
The crowd grew more dense every moment, and, like water, which rises above its normal level, began to mount along the walls, to swell around the pillars, to spread out on the entablatures, on the cornices, on the window-sills, on all the salient points of the architecture, on all the reliefs of the sculpture.
La folla si faceva più densa ad ogni momento, e, come l'acqua che supera il suo livello normale, cominciò a salire lungo le mura, a gonfiarsi intorno ai pilastri, a espandersi sulle trabeazioni, sui cornicioni, sui davanzali delle finestre, su tutti i punti sporgenti dell'architettura, su tutti i rilievi della scultura.
Hence, discomfort, impatience, weariness, the liberty of a day of cynicism and folly, the quarrels which break forth for all sorts of causes—a pointed elbow, an iron-shod shoe, the fatigue of long waiting—had already, long before the hour appointed for the arrival of the ambassadors, imparted a harsh and bitter accent to the clamor of these people who were shut in, fitted into each other, pressed, trampled upon, stifled.
Quindi, il disagio, l'impazienza, la stanchezza, la libertà di un giorno di cinismo e follia, le dispute che scoppiavano per ogni sorta di ragioni—un gomito appuntito, una scarpa ferrata, la fatica della lunga attesa—avevano già, molto prima dell'ora stabilita per l'arrivo degli ambasciatori, impresso un accento aspro e amaro al clamore di quella gente stipata, incastrata l'una nell'altra, compressa, calpestata, soffocata.
Vocabulary
- bel
- Contracted form of 'bello': beautiful, fine, nice
- numero
- Number; a quantity or count of things
- curiose
- Curious, inquisitive; eager to know something
- oneste
- Honest, upright, respectable in character
- persone
- People; individual human beings
- rabbrividiva
- Was shivering or shuddering from cold or fear
- dall'alba
- From dawn; since the very break of day
- davanti
- In front of; before something or someone
- grande
- Large, big, great in size or importance
- scalinata
- A large flight of steps or grand staircase
- palazzo
- Palace or large stately building or mansion
- alcuni
- Some, a few; referring to an unspecified number
- affermavano
- Were claiming, asserting, or stating something firmly
- persino
- Even; used to emphasize a surprising fact
- trascorso
- Spent or passed a period of time somewhere
- notte
- Night; the dark period between sunset and sunrise
- soglia
- Threshold or doorstep at an entrance
- portone
- Large main entrance door of a building
- essere
- To be; fundamental linking or auxiliary verb
- certi
- Certain, sure; having no doubt about something
- primi
- First ones; those ahead of everyone else
- entrare
- To enter, to go inside a place
- folla
- Crowd; a large gathering of people
- faceva
- Was becoming or making; imperfect of 'fare'
- più
- More; indicating a greater degree or quantity
- densa
- Dense, thick, tightly packed together
- ogni
- Every, each; referring to all members of a group
- momento
- Moment; a brief point or period in time
- come
- Like, as; used to make a comparison
- l'acqua
- Water; the common liquid essential for life
- supera
- Exceeds, surpasses, or goes beyond a limit
- livello
- Level; a horizontal plane or degree of height
- normale
- Normal, usual, standard; conforming to a norm
- cominciò
- Began, started; past tense of 'cominciare'
- salire
- To rise, climb, or go upward
- lungo
- Along; beside or following the length of something
- mura
- Walls; the outer enclosing walls of a structure
- gonfiarsi
- To swell up, puff out, become inflated
- intorno
- Around, surrounding something on all sides
- pilastri
- Pillars or pilasters supporting a structure
- espandersi
- To expand, spread out over a wider area
- trabeazioni
- Entablatures; horizontal molded bands above columns
- cornicioni
- Large cornices; decorative projecting ledges on buildings
- davanzali
- Windowsills; ledges at the base of windows
- finestre
- Windows; openings in walls for light and air
- tutti
- All, every; referring to the whole group
- punti
- Points; specific spots or locations on a surface
- sporgenti
- Protruding, jutting out from a surface
- dell'architettura
- Of the architecture; relating to building design
- rilievi
- Reliefs; raised sculptural decorations on a surface
- scultura
- Sculpture; three-dimensional artistic work carved or modeled
- Quindi
- Therefore, so, then; indicating a logical consequence
- disagio
- Discomfort, unease; a feeling of distress
- l'impazienza
- Impatience; inability to wait calmly for something
- stanchezza
- Tiredness, fatigue; state of being exhausted
- libertà
- Freedom, liberty; the state of being free
- giorno
- Day; a period of twenty-four hours
- cinismo
- Cynicism; distrust of people's motives and sincerity
- follia
- Madness, folly; irrational or foolish behavior
- dispute
- Disputes, arguments; heated disagreements between people
- scoppiavano
- Were breaking out, erupting suddenly and unexpectedly
- sorta
- Sort, kind, type of something; variety
- ragioni
- Reasons; causes or motives behind an action
- gomito
- Elbow; the joint connecting upper and lower arm
- appuntito
- Pointed, sharp; having a narrow tapered end
- scarpa
- Shoe; a foot covering worn for protection
- ferrata
- Iron-shod, fitted with iron; heavily reinforced footwear
- fatica
- Fatigue, toil, effort; physical or mental exhaustion
- lunga
- Long; of great duration or extended length
- attesa
- Wait, waiting; the act of expecting something
- già
- Already; by a time earlier than expected
- molto
- Very, much, a lot; indicating great degree
- prima
- Before, earlier; prior to a specified time
- stabilita
- Established, set, fixed; determined in advance
- l'arrivo
- The arrival; the act of reaching a destination
- ambasciatori
- Ambassadors; diplomatic representatives of a country
- impresso
- Impressed, imprinted; stamped or marked upon something
- accento
- Accent, tone; characteristic quality of a sound
- aspro
- Harsh, bitter, rough; unpleasantly sharp in tone
- amaro
- Bitter; having a sharp unpleasant taste or tone
- clamore
- Clamor, uproar; loud confused noise from crowd
- quella
- That; demonstrative adjective referring to distant thing
- gente
- People, folk; a group of human beings
- stipata
- Crammed, packed tightly together in a space
- incastrata
- Wedged in, jammed, locked tightly into a space
- l'una
- One another; used in reciprocal expression 'l'una nell'altra'
- nell'altra
- Into the other; part of reciprocal 'one into another'
- compressa
- Compressed, squeezed tightly together under pressure
- calpestata
- Trampled, trodden upon underfoot by others
- soffocata
- Suffocated, stifled; unable to breathe freely
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