On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 6
Branches of the trees met overhead at the height of five feet, and under them I saw newly fallen leaves; so I knew that the horse had brushed some of the branches, and was therefore five feet high.
Äste der Bäume trafen sich in einer Höhe von fünf Fuß über meinem Kopf, und darunter sah ich frisch gefallene Blätter; so wusste ich, dass das Pferd einige der Äste gestreift hatte und daher fünf Fuß groß war.
As to his bit, it must have been made of twenty-three carat gold, for he had rubbed it against a stone, which turned out to be a touchstone, with the properties of which I am familiar by experiment.
Was sein Gebiss betrifft, so muss es aus dreiundzwanzig Karat Gold gefertigt gewesen sein, denn er hatte es an einem Stein gerieben, der sich als ein Prüfstein herausstellte, mit dessen Eigenschaften ich durch Experimente vertraut bin.
Lastly, by the marks which his shoes left upon pebbles of another kind, I was led to think that his shoes were of fine silver.'
Schließlich wurde ich durch die Spuren, die seine Hufeisen auf Kieselsteinen einer anderen Art hinterließen, zu der Ansicht geführt, dass seine Hufeisen aus feinem Silber waren.'
"All the judges admired Zadig's profound and subtle discernment; and the fame of it reached even the King and the Queen.
„Alle Richter bewunderten Zadigs tiefgründige und scharfsinnige Urteilskraft; und der Ruhm davon erreichte sogar den König und die Königin.
From the ante-rooms to the presence-chamber, Zadig's name was in everybody's mouth; and, although many of the magi were of opinion that he ought to be burnt as a sorcerer, the King commanded that the four hundred ounces of gold which he had been fined should be restored to him.
Von den Vorzimmern bis zum Thronsaal war Zadigs Name in aller Munde; und obwohl viele der Magier der Meinung waren, dass er als Zauberer verbrannt werden sollte, befahl der König, dass die vierhundert Unzen Gold, zu denen er verurteilt worden war, ihm zurückgegeben werden sollten.
So the officers of the court went in state with the four hundred ounces; only they retained three hundred and ninety-eight for legal expenses, and their servants expected fees."
So zogen die Beamten des Hofes feierlich mit den vierhundert Unzen auf; nur behielten sie dreihundertachtundneunzig für Gerichtskosten zurück, und ihre Diener erwarteten Trinkgelder."
Vocabulary
- Äste
- Branches of a tree or plant.
- der
- The (definite article, masculine singular).
- Bäume
- Trees, plural of Baum.
- trafen
- Met, past tense of treffen.
- sich
- Oneself, reflexive pronoun.
- in
- In, preposition indicating location or time.
- einer
- A, one (feminine dative article).
- Höhe
- Height, altitude, or elevation.
- von
- Of, from (preposition).
- fünf
- Five, number.
- Fuß
- Foot, unit of measurement.
- über
- Over, above (preposition).
- meinem
- My (dative masculine singular possessive).
- Kopf
- Head, upper part of body.
- und
- And, conjunction.
- darunter
- Below it, underneath, or among them.
- sah
- Saw, past tense of sehen.
- ich
- I, first person singular pronoun.
- frisch
- Fresh, recently or newly made.
- gefallene
- Fallen, dropped (adjective form).
- Blätter
- Leaves, plural of Blatt.
- so
- So, thus, in this way.
- wusste
- Knew, past tense of wissen.
- dass
- That, subordinating conjunction.
- das
- The, that (neuter singular article).
- Pferd
- Horse, domesticated equine animal.
- einige
- Some, a few, several.
- gestreift
- Brushed or grazed, past participle.
- hatte
- Had, past tense of haben.
- daher
- Therefore, thus, that's why.
- groß
- Large, big, great.
- war
- Was, past tense of sein.
- Was
- What, interrogative pronoun.
- sein
- His, possessive pronoun or to be.
- betrifft
- Concerns, affects, past tense of betreffen.
- muss
- Must, have to (modal verb).
- es
- It, neuter singular pronoun.
- aus
- From, out of (preposition).
- dreiundzwanzig
- Twenty-three, number.
- Gold
- Gold, precious yellow metal.
- gefertigt
- Made, manufactured, past participle.
- gewesen
- Been, past participle of sein.
- denn
- For, because, conjunction or particle.
- er
- He, masculine singular pronoun.
- an
- At, on, preposition.
- einem
- A, one (dative masculine singular article).
- Stein
- Stone, rock.
- gerieben
- Rubbed, past participle of reiben.
- als
- As, than, when.
- ein
- A, one (indefinite article).
- herausstellte
- Turned out, became apparent.
- mit
- With, preposition.
- dessen
- Whose, of which (relative pronoun).
- Eigenschaften
- Properties, characteristics, qualities.
- durch
- Through, by means of (preposition).
- Experimente
- Experiments, tests, trials.
- vertraut
- Familiar with, acquainted with.
- bin
- Am, present tense of sein.
- Schließlich
- Finally, at last, eventually.
- wurde
- Became, was (past tense of werden).
- die
- The (feminine or plural article).
- Spuren
- Traces, marks, footprints.
- seine
- His (possessive adjective).
- auf
- On, upon (preposition).
- anderen
- Other, different (plural dative form).
- Art
- Kind, type, manner, way.
- hinterließen
- Left behind, left (traces).
- zu
- To, toward, at (preposition).
- Ansicht
- View, opinion, perspective.
- geführt
- Led, past participle of führen.
- feinem
- Fine, delicate (dative masculine form).
- Silber
- Silver, precious white metal.
- waren
- Were, past tense of sein (plural).
- Alle
- All, every, everyone.
- Richter
- Judges, arbiters.
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