On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 4
I have not seen anything of the horse, and I never heard of him before,' replied Zadig.
No he visto nada del caballo, y nunca había oído hablar de él antes», respondió Zadig.
"The grand huntsman and the chief eunuch made sure that Zadig had stolen both the King's horse and the Queen's spaniel, so they haled him before the High Court of Desterham, which at once condemned him to the knout, and transportation for life to Siberia.
«El gran cazador y el jefe de los eunucos se convencieron de que Zadig había robado tanto el caballo del Rey como el spaniel de la Reina, por lo que lo llevaron ante el Alto Tribunal de Desterham, que de inmediato lo condenó al knout y al destierro perpetuo en Siberia.
But the sentence was hardly pronounced when the lost horse and spaniel were found.
Pero apenas se había pronunciado la sentencia cuando el caballo y el spaniel perdidos fueron hallados.
So the judges were under the painful necessity of reconsidering their decision: but they fined Zadig four hundred ounces of gold for saying he had seen that which he had not seen.
Así pues, los jueces se vieron en la dolorosa necesidad de reconsiderar su decisión, pero multaron a Zadig con cuatrocientas onzas de oro por haber dicho que había visto lo que no había visto.
"The first thing was to pay the fine; afterwards Zadig was permitted to open his defence to the court, which he did in the following terms:
«Lo primero fue pagar la multa; después se le permitió a Zadig presentar su defensa ante el tribunal, lo cual hizo en los siguientes términos:
"'Stars of justice, abysses of knowledge, mirrors of truth, whose gravity is as that of lead, whose inflexibility is as that of iron, who rival the diamond in clearness, and possess no little affinity with gold; since I am permitted to address your august assembly, I swear by Ormuzd that I have never seen the respectable lady dog of the Queen, nor beheld the sacrosanct horse of the King of Kings.
«"Estrellas de la justicia, abismos del saber, espejos de la verdad, cuya gravedad es como la del plomo, cuya inflexibilidad es como la del hierro, que rivalizáis con el diamante en claridad y poseéis no poca afinidad con el oro; puesto que se me permite dirigirme a vuestra augusta asamblea, juro por Ormuzd que nunca he visto a la respetable perra de la Reina, ni contemplado el sacrosanto caballo del Rey de Reyes.
"'This is what happened. I was taking a walk towards the little wood near which I subsequently had the honour to meet the venerable chief eunuch and the most illustrious grand huntsman.
«"Esto es lo que ocurrió. Estaba dando un paseo hacia el pequeño bosque cerca del cual tuve posteriormente el honor de encontrarme con el venerable jefe de los eunucos y el ilustrísimo gran cazador.
Vocabulary
- he
- First person singular present of 'haber', meaning 'I have'
- visto
- Past participle of 'ver', meaning 'seen'
- nada
- Nothing; used to express absence of something
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el', meaning 'of the'
- caballo
- Horse; a large domesticated animal used for riding
- nunca
- Never; at no time, not ever
- había
- Imperfect form of 'haber', meaning 'had' or 'there was'
- oído
- Past participle of 'oír', meaning 'heard'
- hablar
- To speak or to talk
- antes
- Before; previously, at an earlier time
- respondió
- He/she responded or replied; past tense of 'responder'
- gran
- Great or large; adjective used before nouns
- cazador
- Hunter; person who hunts animals
- jefe
- Chief, boss, or leader of a group
- eunucos
- Eunuchs; castrated men serving in royal courts
- convencieron
- They convinced or persuaded; past tense of 'convencer'
- robado
- Stolen; past participle of 'robar'
- tanto
- So much; used to indicate a large degree or amount
- Rey
- King; male monarch ruling a kingdom
- como
- As, like, or how; used for comparisons or manner
- Reina
- Queen; female monarch or wife of a king
- por
- For, by, or through; multifunctional preposition
- lo
- Neuter pronoun or article meaning 'it' or 'the'
- llevaron
- They took or brought; past tense of 'llevar'
- ante
- Before, in front of; preposition indicating presence
- Alto
- High or superior; adjective describing elevated status
- Tribunal
- Court or tribunal; judicial body that administers justice
- inmediato
- Immediate; happening right away without delay
- condenó
- Condemned or sentenced; past tense of 'condenar'
- destierro
- Exile; banishment from one's homeland or country
- perpetuo
- Perpetual; lasting forever or for an indefinite time
- apenas
- Hardly, scarcely, or just as soon as
- pronunciado
- Pronounced or declared; past participle of 'pronunciar'
- sentencia
- Sentence or verdict; judicial ruling or judgment
- cuando
- When; conjunction indicating time or condition
- perdidos
- Lost; plural past participle of 'perder'
- fueron
- They were or they went; past tense of 'ser'/'ir'
- hallados
- Found; plural past participle of 'hallar'
- Así
- Thus, so, or in this way; adverb of manner
- pues
- Then, well, or therefore; filler or reasoning conjunction
- jueces
- Judges; plural of 'juez', officials who administer justice
- vieron
- They saw; preterite past tense of 'ver'
- dolorosa
- Painful or sorrowful; feminine adjective describing suffering
- necesidad
- Necessity or need; something indispensable or required
- reconsiderar
- To reconsider; to think over a decision again
- decisión
- Decision; a conclusion reached after consideration
- multaron
- They fined; past tense of 'multar', to impose a fine
- cuatrocientas
- Four hundred; feminine form of the number 400
- onzas
- Ounces; units of weight, or historical gold coins
- oro
- Gold; precious yellow metal used as currency or jewelry
- haber
- To have; auxiliary verb used in perfect tenses
- dicho
- Said; past participle of 'decir'
- Lo
- Neuter article or pronoun referring to an abstract idea
- primero
- First; indicating the initial item in a sequence
- fue
- Was or went; third person singular preterite of 'ser'/'ir'
- pagar
- To pay; to give money in exchange for goods or services
- multa
- Fine; monetary penalty imposed as punishment
- después
- After, later, or then; adverb indicating subsequent time
- le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'him', 'her', or 'you'
- permitió
- Allowed or permitted; past tense of 'permitir'
- presentar
- To present or to submit; to show or introduce something
- defensa
- Defense; an argument or action to protect oneself legally
- tribunal
- Court or tribunal; body with authority to judge cases
- cual
- Which; relative pronoun referring to previously mentioned noun
- hizo
- He/she did or made; preterite of 'hacer'
- siguientes
- Following or next; plural adjective indicating sequence
- términos
- Terms; words or expressions used in a specific context
- Estrellas
- Stars; luminous celestial bodies visible in the night sky
- justicia
- Justice; the quality of being fair and morally right
- abismos
- Abysses; very deep chasms or unfathomable depths
- saber
- To know; to have knowledge or be aware of something
- espejos
- Mirrors; reflective surfaces that show one's image
- verdad
- Truth; a fact or belief accepted as being true
- cuya
- Whose; feminine relative possessive pronoun
- gravedad
- Gravity or seriousness; weight or solemnity of something
- plomo
- Lead; heavy dense metal, or metaphor for weight
- inflexibilidad
- Inflexibility; inability or refusal to bend or change
- hierro
- Iron; strong metallic element, symbol Fe
- rivalizáis
- You rival or compete; second person plural of 'rivalizar'
- diamante
- Diamond; precious gemstone, hardest natural substance
- claridad
- Clarity or brightness; quality of being clear or luminous
- poseéis
- You possess; second person plural present of 'poseer'
- poca
- Little or few; feminine adjective indicating small quantity
- afinidad
- Affinity; natural liking or connection between things
- puesto
- Since, given that; also means 'post' or 'placed'
- permite
- Allows or permits; third person singular of 'permitir'
- dirigirme
- To address myself; reflexive infinitive of 'dirigir'
- vuestra
- Your; feminine possessive adjective for plural addressee
- augusta
- August or majestic; feminine adjective of venerable grandeur
- asamblea
- Assembly; a group of people gathered for a purpose
- juro
- I swear; first person singular present of 'jurar'
- respetable
- Respectable; worthy of respect or admiration
- perra
- Female dog; bitch; also informal slang term
- ni
- Nor, neither; negative conjunction joining alternatives
- contemplado
- Contemplated or beheld; past participle of 'contemplar'
- sacrosanto
- Sacrosanct; extremely holy or inviolable and sacred
- Reyes
- Kings; plural of 'rey', male monarchs ruling kingdoms
- Esto
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun referring to something nearby
- ocurrió
- Occurred or happened; past tense of 'ocurrir'
- Estaba
- Was; first or third person imperfect of 'estar'
- dando
- Giving; present participle of 'dar'
- paseo
- A walk or stroll; leisurely outing on foot
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or approximation
- pequeño
- Small or little; adjective describing diminutive size
- bosque
- Forest or woods; area densely covered with trees
- cerca
- Near or close; adverb indicating proximity in space
- tuve
- I had; first person singular preterite of 'tener'
- posteriormente
- Subsequently or later; adverb indicating later occurrence
- honor
- Honor; great respect or privilege given to someone
- encontrarme
- To meet or encounter myself; reflexive infinitive of 'encontrar'
- venerable
- Venerable; deserving great respect due to age or wisdom
- ilustrísimo
- Most illustrious; honorific superlative title of great distinction
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