On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 7
Those who are interested in learning more of the fateful history of Zadig must turn to the original; we are dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of his conclusions and of the methods by which he arrived at them.
Diejenigen, die mehr über die schicksalhafte Geschichte Zadigs erfahren möchten, müssen sich dem Original zuwenden; wir befassen uns mit ihm nur als Philosophen, und dieser kurze Auszug genügt zur Veranschaulichung der Art seiner Schlussfolgerungen und der Methoden, durch die er zu ihnen gelangte.
These conclusions may be said to be of the nature of retrospective prophecies; though it is perhaps a little hazardous to employ phraseology which perilously suggests a contradiction in terms--the word "prophecy" being so constantly, in ordinary use, restricted to "foretelling."
Diese Schlussfolgerungen lassen sich als rückblickende Prophezeiungen bezeichnen; obwohl es vielleicht etwas gewagt ist, eine Ausdrucksweise zu verwenden, die gefährlich einen Widerspruch in sich selbst andeutet – da das Wort „Prophezeiung" im alltäglichen Gebrauch so beständig auf „Vorhersagen" beschränkt wird.
Strictly, however, the term prophecy applies as much to outspeaking as to foretelling; and, even in the restricted sense of "divination," it is obvious that the essence of the prophetic operation does not lie in its backward or forward relation to the course of time, but in the fact that it is the apprehension of that which lies out of the sphere of immediate knowledge; the seeing of that which, to the natural sense of the seer, is invisible.
Streng genommen jedoch gilt der Begriff Prophezeiung ebenso für das offene Aussprechen wie für das Vorhersagen; und selbst im eingeschränkten Sinne der „Wahrsagerei" ist es offensichtlich, dass das Wesen der prophetischen Tätigkeit nicht in ihrer rückwärts- oder vorwärtsgerichteten Beziehung zum Lauf der Zeit liegt, sondern in der Tatsache, dass es die Erfassung dessen ist, was außerhalb des Bereichs des unmittelbaren Wissens liegt; das Erkennen dessen, was dem natürlichen Sinn des Sehers unsichtbar ist.
The foreteller asserts that, at some future time, a properly situated observer will witness certain events; the clairvoyant declares that, at this present time, certain things are to be witnessed a thousand miles away; the retrospective prophet (would that there were such a word as "backteller!") affirms that, so many hours or years ago, such and such things were to be seen.
Der Voraussager behauptet, dass zu einem zukünftigen Zeitpunkt ein entsprechend positionierter Beobachter bestimmte Ereignisse bezeugen wird; der Hellseher erklärt, dass zu diesem gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt bestimmte Dinge tausend Meilen entfernt zu beobachten sind; der rückblickende Prophet (gäbe es doch ein solches Wort wie „Rückerzähler!") bekräftigt, dass vor so vielen Stunden oder Jahren solche und solche Dinge zu sehen waren.
Vocabulary
- Diejenigen
- Those people; the ones who
- die
- who; that; the (feminine/plural)
- mehr
- more; greater in quantity or degree
- über
- about; concerning; over; across
- schicksalhafte
- fateful; relating to destiny or fate
- Geschichte
- history; story; tale or narrative
- erfahren
- to learn; to experience; to find out
- möchten
- would like; wish to; desire to do
- müssen
- must; have to; be obliged to
- sich
- oneself; himself; herself; themselves
- dem
- the; to the (dative masculine/neuter)
- Original
- original; first version; authentic source
- zuwenden
- to turn to; to devote attention to
- wir
- we; us (first person plural)
- befassen
- to occupy oneself with; to deal with
- uns
- us; ourselves (accusative/dative first person)
- mit
- with; by means of; together with
- ihm
- him; it (dative masculine/neuter pronoun)
- nur
- only; merely; just; solely
- als
- as; like; when; in the capacity of
- Philosophen
- philosophers; those who practice philosophy
- und
- and; plus; also; in addition
- dieser
- this; this one (masculine nominative singular)
- kurze
- short; brief; concise; of short duration
- Auszug
- extract; excerpt; passage from a text
- genügt
- suffices; is enough; satisfies requirements
- zur
- to the; for the (contraction dative)
- Veranschaulichung
- illustration; visualization; demonstration; clarification
- der
- the; of the (feminine/plural genitive)
- Art
- manner; kind; type; way of doing
- seiner
- his; its (possessive masculine/neuter genitive)
- Schlussfolgerungen
- conclusions; deductions; reasoning results
- Methoden
- methods; ways; procedures; techniques employed
- durch
- through; by; by means of; via
- er
- he; it (third person masculine singular)
- zu
- to; toward; for; in order to
- ihnen
- them; to them (dative third person plural)
- gelangte
- arrived at; reached; attained; came to
- Diese
- these; those (feminine/plural nominative)
- lassen
- to let; to allow; to have done
- rückblickende
- retrospective; looking back; backward-looking
- Prophezeiungen
- prophecies; predictions; foretelling of events
- bezeichnen
- to designate; to call; to term; name
- obwohl
- although; even though; despite the fact
- es
- it; that (neuter nominative/accusative pronoun)
- vielleicht
- perhaps; maybe; possibly; conceivably
- etwas
- something; somewhat; anything; a little
- gewagt
- daring; bold; risky; venturesome action
- ist
- is; am; are (third person singular present)
- eine
- a; an; one (feminine/plural indefinite article)
- Ausdrucksweise
- manner of expression; phrasing; way of speaking
- verwenden
- to use; to employ; to apply; utilize
- gefährlich
- dangerous; hazardous; perilous; risky situation
- einen
- a; an; one (masculine accusative article)
- Widerspruch
- contradiction; objection; disagreement; inconsistency
- in
- in; into; within; during; at
- selbst
- self; himself; herself; itself; even
- andeutet
- hints at; suggests; indicates; implies
- da
- there; here; since; because; as
- das
- the; that (neuter nominative/accusative article)
- Wort
- word; term; expression; utterance; saying
- Prophezeiung
- prophecy; prediction; foretelling; prophetic utterance
- im
- in the; in (contraction dative masculine/neuter)
- alltäglichen
- everyday; daily; common; ordinary; usual
- Gebrauch
- use; usage; custom; practice; application
- so
- so; thus; in such a way; so much
- beständig
- constantly; continually; persistently; always; steady
- auf
- on; upon; onto; in; at; to
- Vorhersagen
- predictions; forecasts; foretelling; prophecies; prognoses
- beschränkt
- limited; restricted; confined; narrow; bound
- wird
- will; becomes; is (third person present)
- Streng
- strict; strict; rigorously; severely; closely
- genommen
- taken; considered; regarded; understood; accepted
- jedoch
- however; nevertheless; yet; but; still
- gilt
- applies; counts; is valid; holds true
- Begriff
- concept; notion; term; idea; understanding
- ebenso
- equally; likewise; in the same way also
- für
- for; on behalf of; to; toward
- offene
- open; uncovered; exposed; frank; candid manner
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