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.
Coloro che sono interessati a saperne di più sulla fatidica storia di Zadig devono rivolgersi all'originale; noi ci occupiamo di lui solo come filosofo, e questo breve estratto è sufficiente per esemplificare la natura delle sue conclusioni e dei metodi con cui vi è giunto.
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."
Si può dire che queste conclusioni siano di natura profetica retrospettiva; sebbene sia forse un po' rischioso impiegare una fraseologia che suggerisce pericolosamente una contraddizione in termini -- la parola "profezia" essendo così costantemente, nell'uso comune, limitata al "predire".
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.
In senso stretto, tuttavia, il termine profezia si applica tanto al parlare apertamente quanto al predire; e, anche nel senso ristretto di "divinazione", è ovvio che l'essenza dell'operazione profetica non risiede nella sua relazione passata o futura con il corso del tempo, ma nel fatto che essa è la comprensione di ciò che si trova al di fuori della sfera della conoscenza immediata; il vedere ciò che, al senso naturale del veggente, è invisibile.
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.
Il profeta afferma che, in un futuro momento, un osservatore opportunamente posizionato assisterà a certi eventi; il chiaroveggente dichiara che, in questo preciso momento, certe cose sono da testimoniare a mille miglia di distanza; il profeta retrospettivo (magari esistesse una parola come "retrodicitore!") afferma che, tante ore o anni fa, tali e tali cose erano da vedere.
Vocabulary
- Coloro
- Those; refers to a group of people
- che
- Who, that, which; common relative pronoun
- sono
- Are; third person plural of 'essere'
- interessati
- Interested; adjective describing those with interest
- a
- To, at; common Italian preposition
- saperne
- To know about it; infinitive with partitive clitic
- di
- Of, from; very common Italian preposition
- più
- More; indicates greater quantity or degree
- sulla
- On the; contraction of 'su' and 'la'
- fatidica
- Fateful, momentous; describes an event of great significance
- storia
- Story, history; narrative or historical account
- devono
- Must, have to; third person plural of 'dovere'
- rivolgersi
- To turn to, to refer to; reflexive verb
- all'
- To the; contracted preposition before vowel
- originale
- Original; the authentic or primary source text
- noi
- We; first person plural subject pronoun
- ci
- Ourselves, us; reflexive or locative clitic pronoun
- occupiamo
- We deal with, we concern ourselves with
- lui
- Him, he; third person singular pronoun
- solo
- Only, alone; limits or restricts meaning
- come
- As, like, how; conjunction or adverb of manner
- filosofo
- Philosopher; one who studies fundamental questions of existence
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- questo
- This; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- breve
- Brief, short; describes something of little length
- estratto
- Extract, excerpt; a passage taken from a text
- è
- Is; third person singular of 'essere'
- sufficiente
- Sufficient, enough; adequate for the purpose
- per
- For, in order to; preposition indicating purpose
- esemplificare
- To exemplify, to illustrate; to show by example
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- natura
- Nature, character; the essential quality of something
- delle
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'le'
- sue
- His, her, its; feminine plural possessive adjective
- conclusioni
- Conclusions; final judgments reached after reasoning
- dei
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'i'
- metodi
- Methods; systematic procedures used to achieve a result
- con
- With; preposition expressing accompaniment or means
- cui
- Which, whom; relative pronoun used after prepositions
- vi
- There, to it; locative or indirect object clitic
- giunto
- Arrived, reached; past participle of 'giungere'
- Si
- One, it; impersonal or reflexive pronoun
- può
- Can, may; third person singular of 'potere'
- dire
- To say, to tell; common verb of communication
- queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
- siano
- Are; subjunctive form of 'essere'
- profetica
- Prophetic; relating to or resembling prophecy
- retrospettiva
- Retrospective; looking back at past events
- sebbene
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction
- sia
- Is, be; subjunctive singular of 'essere'
- forse
- Perhaps, maybe; expresses uncertainty or possibility
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- po'
- A little, a bit; informal reduction of 'poco'
- rischioso
- Risky, hazardous; involving potential danger or difficulty
- impiegare
- To use, to employ; to apply or make use of
- una
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- fraseologia
- Phraseology; the manner of expressing ideas in words
- suggerisce
- Suggests; third person singular of 'suggerire'
- pericolosamente
- Dangerously; in a way that implies peril
- contraddizione
- Contradiction; a statement that conflicts with another
- in
- In, into; common Italian preposition
- termini
- Terms; words or expressions used in specific context
- parola
- Word; a unit of language with meaning
- profezia
- Prophecy; a prediction or foretelling of future events
- essendo
- Being; gerund of 'essere', used in subordinate clauses
- così
- So, thus, in this way; adverb of manner
- costantemente
- Constantly, continuously; in an unvarying manner
- nell'
- In the; contracted preposition before vowel
- uso
- Use, usage; the practice of employing something
- comune
- Common, ordinary; widely shared or frequently occurring
- limitata
- Limited, restricted; confined within certain boundaries
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'il'
- predire
- To predict, to foretell; to declare future events
- In
- In; preposition indicating location or context
- senso
- Sense, meaning; the significance or direction of something
- stretto
- Strict, narrow; precise or limited in interpretation
- tuttavia
- However, nevertheless; introduces a contrasting statement
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- termine
- Term, word; a specific expression with defined meaning
- si
- Itself, oneself; reflexive or impersonal pronoun
- applica
- Applies; third person singular of 'applicare'
- tanto
- As much, both; used in correlative expressions
- parlare
- To speak, to talk; basic verb of communication
- apertamente
- Openly, frankly; without concealment or reservation
- quanto
- As, how much; used in comparisons and correlatives
- anche
- Also, too; adds or emphasizes additional information
- nel
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'
- ristretto
- Restricted, narrow; limited in scope or application
- divinazione
- Divination; the practice of seeking hidden knowledge
- ovvio
- Obvious, evident; clearly apparent without explanation
- l'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel
- essenza
- Essence; the fundamental nature of something
- dell'
- Of the; contracted preposition before vowel
- operazione
- Operation; a process or action undertaken to achieve something
- non
- Not; basic negation particle
- risiede
- Resides, lies; third person singular of 'risiedere'
- nella
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'la'
- sua
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- relazione
- Relation, relationship; a connection between things
- passata
- Past; referring to something that has already occurred
- o
- Or; basic disjunctive conjunction
- futura
- Future; relating to events that have not yet occurred
- corso
- Course; the progression or flow of something over time
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'il'
- tempo
- Time, weather; a broad concept of duration
- ma
- But; adversative conjunction introducing contrast
- fatto
- Fact; something known to be true or real
- essa
- It, she; third person feminine singular pronoun
- comprensione
- Understanding, comprehension; the ability to grasp meaning
- ciò
- That, this; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- trova
- Finds, is found; third person singular of 'trovare'
- fuori
- Outside, beyond; indicates position external to something
- della
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'la'
- sfera
- Sphere, realm; a domain or field of activity
- conoscenza
- Knowledge; awareness or understanding gained through experience
- immediata
- Immediate, direct; occurring without any intervening step
- vedere
- To see; to perceive with the eyes or mind
- naturale
- Natural; existing in or derived from nature
- veggente
- Seer, clairvoyant; one who perceives hidden truths
- invisibile
- Invisible; unable to be seen with the naked eye
- Il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- profeta
- Prophet; one who foretells or proclaims divine messages
- afferma
- Affirms, states; third person singular of 'affermare'
- futuro
- Future; time yet to come
- momento
- Moment; a very brief or specific point in time
- osservatore
- Observer; one who watches or studies events carefully
- opportunamente
- Appropriately, suitably; in a well-timed manner
- posizionato
- Positioned, placed; located in a specific spot
- assisterà
- Will witness, will attend; future of 'assistere'
- certi
- Certain, some; specific but unspecified things or people
- eventi
- Events; things that happen, especially significant occurrences
- chiaroveggente
- Clairvoyant; one claiming to perceive things beyond normal senses
- dichiara
- Declares, states; third person singular of 'dichiarare'
- preciso
- Precisely, exact; with accuracy and specificity
- certe
- Certain, some; feminine plural of 'certo'
- cose
- Things; objects or matters of any kind
- da
- From, by; preposition of origin or agent
- testimoniare
- To witness, to testify; to observe and give account
- mille
- Thousand; the number one thousand
- miglia
- Miles; plural of 'miglio', unit of distance
- distanza
- Distance; the amount of space between two points
- retrospettivo
- Retrospective; looking back over past events
- magari
- If only, perhaps; expresses wish or possibility
- esistesse
- Would exist; imperfect subjunctive of 'esistere'
- tante
- So many, many; feminine plural of 'tanto'
- ore
- Hours; plural of 'ora', unit of time
- anni
- Years; plural of 'anno', unit of time
- fa
- Ago; used with time expressions to indicate the past
- tali
- Such, such ones; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- erano
- Were; third person plural imperfect of 'essere'
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