On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 9
Swollen with the pride of human reason, he had ignored the established canons of magian lore; and, trusting to what after all was mere carnal common sense, he professed to lead men to a deeper insight into nature than magian wisdom, with all its lofty antagonism to everything common, had ever reached.
Gonfio dell'orgoglio della ragione umana, aveva ignorato i canoni stabiliti della sapienza magiana; e, fidandosi di ciò che in fondo era mero senso comune carnale, professava di condurre gli uomini a una comprensione più profonda della natura di quanto la sapienza magiana, con tutta la sua nobile avversione a tutto ciò che è comune, avesse mai raggiunto.
What, in fact, lay at the foundation of all Zadig's argument but the coarse commonplace assumption, upon which every act of our daily lives is based, that we may conclude from an effect to the pre-existence of a cause competent to produce that effect?
Cosa vi era, in fondo, alla base di tutto il ragionamento di Zadig se non la grossolana e banale supposizione, su cui si fonda ogni atto della nostra vita quotidiana, che possiamo concludere da un effetto alla preesistenza di una causa capace di produrre quell'effetto?
The tracks were exactly like those which dogs and horses leave; therefore they were the effects of such animals as causes.
Le tracce erano esattamente come quelle che lasciano cani e cavalli; quindi erano gli effetti di tali animali in quanto cause.
The marks at the sides of the fore-prints of the dog track were exactly such as would be produced by long trailing ears; therefore the dog's long ears were the causes of these marks--and so on.
I segni ai lati delle impronte anteriori della traccia del cane erano esattamente quelli che sarebbero stati prodotti da lunghe orecchie penzolanti; quindi le lunghe orecchie del cane erano le cause di questi segni -- e così via.
Nothing can be more hopelessly vulgar, more unlike the majestic development of a system of grandly unintelligible conclusions from sublimely inconceivable premisses such as delights the magian heart.
Nulla può essere più irrimediabilmente volgare, più dissimile dal maestoso sviluppo di un sistema di conclusioni grandiosamente incomprensibili a partire da premesse sublimemente inconcepibili, quale diletta il cuore magiano.
In fact, Zadig's method was nothing but the method of all mankind.
In effetti, il metodo di Zadig non era altro che il metodo di tutta l'umanità.
Retrospective prophecies, far more astonishing for their minute accuracy than those of Zadig, are familiar to those who have watched the daily life of nomadic people.
Profezie retrospettive, di gran lunga più sorprendenti per la loro minuziosa precisione di quelle di Zadig, sono familiari a coloro che hanno osservato la vita quotidiana dei popoli nomadi.
Vocabulary
- Gonfio
- Swollen; puffed up; inflated with pride
- dell
- Of the (contraction of 'di' and 'il')
- orgoglio
- Pride; arrogance; dignified self-respect
- della
- Of the; from the (feminine form)
- ragione
- Reason; rationality; rightness or correctness
- umana
- Human; relating to humanity or mankind
- aveva
- Had; third person singular past tense of 'avere'
- ignorato
- Ignored; disregarded; paid no attention to
- canoni
- Canons; rules; established principles or standards
- stabiliti
- Established; fixed; determined or settled
- sapienza
- Wisdom; learning; knowledge and good judgment
- fidandosi
- Trusting; relying on; having confidence in
- di
- Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin
- ciò
- This; that; the thing which
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- in
- In; inside; within a location or time
- fondo
- Bottom; depth; foundation or fundamental aspect
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- mero
- Mere; pure; unmixed or unqualified
- senso
- Sense; feeling; perception or meaning
- comune
- Common; ordinary; shared by many people
- carnale
- Carnal; fleshly; relating to the body
- professava
- Professed; declared; claimed to believe or practice
- condurre
- To lead; to conduct; to guide
- gli
- To him; for him; indirect object pronoun
- uomini
- Men; male human beings; mankind
- una
- A; an; one (feminine indefinite article)
- comprensione
- Understanding; comprehension; grasping mentally
- più
- More; greater in quantity or degree
- profonda
- Deep; profound; extending far down
- natura
- Nature; natural world; essential character
- quanto
- As much as; how much; the extent that
- la
- The (feminine singular); her; it
- con
- With; accompanied by; in the company of
- tutta
- All; entire; the whole of something
- sua
- His; her; its; possessive adjective
- nobile
- Noble; of high birth; having dignity
- avversione
- Aversion; dislike; strong feeling against
- tutto
- Everything; all; the whole amount
- avesse
- Had; third person singular imperfect subjunctive
- mai
- Ever; never; at any time
- raggiunto
- Reached; attained; arrived at or achieved
- Cosa
- What; thing; something or a matter
- vi
- There; you; at that place or to you
- alla
- To the; at the; toward the
- base
- Base; foundation; bottom or fundamental support
- il
- The (masculine singular); definite article
- ragionamento
- Reasoning; argument; process of logical thinking
- se
- If; whether; conditional conjunction
- non
- Not; no; negation or refusal
- grossolana
- Coarse; crude; rough or vulgar
- banale
- Banal; commonplace; lacking originality
- supposizione
- Supposition; assumption; something supposed or assumed
- su
- On; upon; above or over
- cui
- Whom; which; to which or at which
- si
- Oneself; himself; herself; reflexive pronoun
- fonda
- Founds; establishes; bases or relies upon
- ogni
- Every; each; all without exception
- atto
- Act; action; deed or performance
- nostra
- Our; ours; belonging to us
- vita
- Life; living; existence or biography
- quotidiana
- Daily; everyday; occurring every day
- possiamo
- We can; we are able; first person plural
- concludere
- To conclude; to finish; to determine finally
- da
- From; by; since or out of
- un
- A; an; one (masculine indefinite article)
- effetto
- Effect; result; consequence of an action
- causa
- Cause; reason; motive or originating factor
- capace
- Capable; able; having capacity or skill
- produrre
- To produce; to create; to generate
- quell
- That; that one; contraction of 'quello'
- Le
- The (feminine plural); her; them
- tracce
- Traces; marks; signs or footprints
- erano
- Were; third person plural imperfect of 'essere'
- esattamente
- Exactly; precisely; in an exact manner
- come
- Like; as; in the same way as
- quelle
- Those; those ones (feminine plural)
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