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.
Non ho visto nulla del cavallo, e non ne avevo mai sentito parlare prima,' rispose 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.
"Il gran cacciatore e il capo eunuco erano certi che Zadig avesse rubato sia il cavallo del Re che lo spaniel della Regina, quindi lo trascinarono davanti all'Alta Corte di Desterham, che lo condannò immediatamente alla frusta e alla deportazione a vita in Siberia.
But the sentence was hardly pronounced when the lost horse and spaniel were found.
Ma la sentenza era appena stata pronunciata quando il cavallo e lo spaniel smarriti furono ritrovati.
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.
Così i giudici si trovarono nella dolorosa necessità di riconsiderare la loro decisione: ma multarono Zadig di quattrocento once d'oro per aver detto di aver visto ciò che non aveva 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:
"La prima cosa fu pagare la multa; in seguito a Zadig fu permesso di presentare la sua difesa al tribunale, il che fece nei seguenti termini:
"'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.
"'Stelle della giustizia, abissi della conoscenza, specchi della verità, la cui gravità è come quella del piombo, la cui inflessibilità è come quella del ferro, che rivalizzate con il diamante in chiarezza e possedete non poca affinità con l'oro; poiché mi è permesso di rivolgermi alla vostra augusta assemblea, giuro per Ormuzd di non aver mai visto la rispettabile cagnolina della Regina, né il sacrosanto cavallo del Re dei Re.
"'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.
"'Ecco cosa accadde. Stavo passeggiando verso il piccolo bosco nei pressi del quale ebbi successivamente l'onore di incontrare il venerabile capo eunuco e l'illustrissimo gran cacciatore.
Vocabulary
- Non
- non — Negation word meaning 'not' in Italian
- ho
- o — First person singular of 'avere', meaning 'I have'
- visto
- visto — Past participle of 'vedere', meaning 'seen'
- nulla
- nulla — Nothing; used in negative sentences to mean 'anything'
- del
- del — Contraction of 'di' and 'il', meaning 'of the'
- cavallo
- kavallo — A large domesticated animal used for riding
- e
- e — Conjunction meaning 'and' connecting words or clauses
- ne
- ne — Pronoun meaning 'of it', 'of them', or 'about it'
- avevo
- avevo — First person singular imperfect of 'avere', meaning 'I had'
- mai
- mai — Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever' in questions
- sentito
- sentito — Past participle of 'sentire', meaning 'heard' or 'felt'
- parlare
- parlare — Infinitive verb meaning 'to speak' or 'to talk'
- prima
- prima — Adverb or adjective meaning 'before' or 'first'
- rispose
- rispose — Third person singular past tense of 'rispondere', meaning 'answered'
- gran
- gran — Shortened form of 'grande', meaning 'great' or 'grand'
- cacciatore
- kacchatorre — A person who hunts animals; a hunter
- capo
- kapo — Head, chief, or leader of a group
- erano
- erano — Third person plural imperfect of 'essere', meaning 'they were'
- certi
- cherti — Plural adjective meaning 'certain' or 'sure'
- avesse
- avesse — Third person singular subjunctive of 'avere', meaning 'had'
- rubato
- rubato — Past participle of 'rubare', meaning 'stolen'
- sia
- sia — Subjunctive of 'essere'; also used as 'both...and'
- Re
- re — A male monarch; a king
- Regina
- redjina — A female monarch; a queen
- quindi
- quindi — Conjunction or adverb meaning 'therefore' or 'so'
- trascinarono
- trashinarono — They dragged someone forcibly to a place
- Alta
- alta — Adjective meaning 'high' or 'upper', as in court
- Corte
- korte — A court of law or a royal court
- condannò
- kondannò — Third person singular past tense of 'condannare', meaning 'condemned'
- immediatamente
- immedyatamente — Adverb meaning 'immediately' or 'at once'
- vita
- vita — Life; existence; also used to mean 'lifetime'
- sentenza
- sententsa — A legal judgment or sentence issued by a court
- appena
- appena — Adverb meaning 'just', 'barely', or 'as soon as'
- stata
- stata — Feminine past participle of 'essere', meaning 'been'
- pronunciata
- pronuntchata — Past participle of 'pronunciare', meaning 'pronounced' or 'delivered'
- quando
- kwando — Conjunction or adverb meaning 'when'
- smarriti
- smarriti — Adjective meaning 'lost' or 'gone astray'
- furono
- furono — Third person plural past tense of 'essere', meaning 'were'
- ritrovati
- ritrovati — Past participle of 'ritrovare', meaning 'found again'
- Così
- kozi — Adverb meaning 'so', 'thus', or 'in this way'
- giudici
- djudichi — Plural of 'giudice'; judges in a court of law
- trovarono
- trovarono — They found themselves in a particular situation
- dolorosa
- dolorosa — Adjective meaning 'painful' or 'sorrowful'
- necessità
- necessita — A need or necessity; something that must be done
- riconsiderare
- rikonziderare — Infinitive meaning 'to reconsider' or 'to review again'
- loro
- loro — Pronoun meaning 'their', 'them', or 'they'
- decisione
- dechizyone — A decision or resolution made after deliberation
- multarono
- multarono — They fined someone; imposed a monetary penalty
- quattrocento
- kwattrocento — The number four hundred; also the 1400s period
- oro
- oro — Gold; a precious yellow metal or its color
- detto
- detto — Past participle of 'dire', meaning 'said' or 'spoken'
- ciò
- cho — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'what'
- aveva
- aveva — Third person singular imperfect of 'avere', meaning 'had'
- pagare
- pagare — Infinitive verb meaning 'to pay' for something
- multa
- multa — A financial penalty or fine imposed by authority
- seguito
- seguito — Adjective or noun meaning 'followed' or 'afterward'
- permesso
- permesso — Permission or authorization granted to do something
- presentare
- presentare — Infinitive meaning 'to present' or 'to introduce'
- difesa
- difesa — Defense; the act of defending oneself in court
- tribunale
- tribunale — A court or tribunal where legal cases are heard
- fece
- feche — Third person singular past tense of 'fare', meaning 'did'
- seguenti
- segwenti — Adjective meaning 'following' or 'next in sequence'
- termini
- termini — Plural of 'termine'; terms, words, or expressions used
- Stelle
- stelle — Plural of 'stella'; stars in the sky or night sky
- giustizia
- djustitsia — Justice; the quality of being fair and lawful
- conoscenza
- konoshentsa — Knowledge or acquaintance with a subject or person
- specchi
- spekki — Plural of 'specchio'; mirrors reflecting images
- verità
- verita — Truth; the quality of being true or accurate
- cui
- kwi — Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'whom', or 'which'
- gravità
- gravita — Gravity or seriousness; also the physical force
- ferro
- ferro — Iron; a common metallic element, strong and hard
- diamante
- dyamante — A diamond; the hardest precious gemstone
- chiarezza
- kyarettsa — Clarity or clearness in thought, expression, or sight
- possedete
- possedete — Second person plural present of 'possedere', meaning 'you possess'
- poca
- poka — Adjective meaning 'little' or 'not much' in quantity
- poiché
- poike — Conjunction meaning 'since', 'because', or 'given that'
- rivolgermi
- rivoljermi — Reflexive infinitive meaning 'to turn to' or 'to address'
- vostra
- vostra — Possessive adjective meaning 'your' (plural, formal)
- assemblea
- assemblea — An assembly or gathering of people for a purpose
- giuro
- djuro — First person singular present of 'giurare', meaning 'I swear'
- rispettabile
- rispettabile — Adjective meaning 'respectable' or 'worthy of respect'
- cagnolina
- kanyolina — A small female dog; a little female dog affectionately
- né
- ne — Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor' in negative sentences
- Ecco
- ekko — Adverb meaning 'here is', 'there is', or 'behold'
- accadde
- akkadde — Third person singular past tense of 'accadere', meaning 'happened'
- Stavo
- stavo — First person singular imperfect of 'stare', meaning 'I was'
- passeggiando
- passedjanado — Gerund of 'passeggiare', meaning 'walking' or 'strolling'
- verso
- verso — Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'
- piccolo
- pikkolo — Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little' in size
- bosco
- bosko — A small forest or wood; a wooded area
- pressi
- pressi — Plural noun meaning 'vicinity' or 'surroundings' of a place
- quale
- kwale — Relative pronoun or adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'
- ebbi
- ebbi — First person singular past tense of 'avere', meaning 'I had'
- successivamente
- suchchessivamente — Adverb meaning 'subsequently' or 'afterward' in time
- onore
- onore — Honor; respect or high regard given to someone
- incontrare
- inkkontrare — Infinitive meaning 'to meet' or 'to encounter' someone
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →