On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 10
From freshly broken twigs, crushed leaves, disturbed pebbles, and imprints hardly discernible by the untrained eye, such graduates in the University of Nature will divine, not only the fact that a party has passed that way, but its strength, its composition, the course it took, and the number of hours or days which have elapsed since it passed.
Da ramoscelli appena spezzati, foglie schiacciate, sassolini smossi e impronte appena discernibili all'occhio inesperto, tali laureati nell'Università della Natura sapranno intuire, non solo il fatto che un gruppo è passato di là, ma la sua forza, la sua composizione, la direzione che ha preso e il numero di ore o giorni trascorsi da quando è passato.
But they are able to do this because, like Zadig, they perceive endless minute differences where untrained eyes discern nothing; and because the unconscious logic of common sense compels them to account for these effects by the causes which they know to be competent to produce them.
Ma essi sono in grado di fare ciò perché, come Zadig, percepiscono infinite minime differenze laddove occhi inesperti non discernono nulla; e perché la logica inconscia del senso comune li costringe a spiegare questi effetti attraverso le cause che sanno essere in grado di produrli.
And such mere methodised savagery was to discover the hidden things of nature better than _a priori_ deductions from the nature of Ormuzd--perhaps to give a history of the past, in which Oannes would be altogether ignored!
E una tale semplice barbarie metodizzata era destinata a scoprire le cose nascoste della natura meglio delle deduzioni _a priori_ dalla natura di Ormuzd -- forse a fornire una storia del passato in cui Oannes sarebbe stato completamente ignorato!
Decidedly it were better to burn this man at once.
Decisamente sarebbe stato meglio bruciare quest'uomo immediatamente.
If instinct, or an unwonted use of reason, led Moabdar's magi to this conclusion two or three thousand years ago, all that can be said is that subsequent history has fully justified them.
Se l'istinto, o un uso insolito della ragione, condusse i magi di Moabdar a questa conclusione due o tremila anni fa, tutto ciò che si può dire è che la storia successiva li ha pienamente giustificati.
For the rigorous application of Zadig's logic to the results of accurate and long-continued observation has founded all those sciences which have been termed historical or palaetiological, because they are retrospectively prophetic and strive towards the reconstruction in human imagination of events which have vanished and ceased to be.
Poiché la rigorosa applicazione della logica di Zadig ai risultati di un'osservazione accurata e prolungata ha fondato tutte quelle scienze che sono state definite storiche o paletiologiche, perché sono retrospettivamente profetiche e tendono alla ricostruzione nell'immaginazione umana di eventi che sono svaniti e hanno cessato di esistere.
Vocabulary
- Da
- From; by; since; at (preposition)
- ramoscelli
- Small branches or twigs of trees
- appena
- Barely; hardly; as soon as; just
- spezzati
- Broken; snapped; fractured into pieces
- foglie
- Leaves of plants or trees
- schiacciate
- Crushed; flattened; squashed down
- smossi
- Moved; shifted; displaced from position
- impronte
- Footprints; impressions; marks or traces
- discernibili
- Discernible; distinguishable; able to be perceived
- occhio
- Eye; sight; vision or observation
- inesperto
- Inexperienced; unskilled; lacking expertise or practice
- tali
- Such; of such kind; similar or alike
- laureati
- Graduates; those holding university degrees
- Università
- University; institution of higher learning education
- Natura
- Nature; the natural world or environment
- sapranno
- Will know; shall know (future tense)
- intuire
- To intuit; to sense; to perceive instinctively
- non
- Not; negation particle used in sentences
- solo
- Only; alone; sole or single thing
- fatto
- Fact; deed; action or event that occurred
- che
- That; which; who (relative pronoun)
- gruppo
- Group; cluster; collection of people or things
- passato
- Passed; past; gone by in time
- di
- Of; from; belonging to (preposition)
- là
- There; in that place or location
- ma
- But; however; yet (conjunction)
- sua
- His; her; its (possessive adjective feminine)
- forza
- Force; strength; power or vigor
- composizione
- Composition; arrangement; structure or makeup
- direzione
- Direction; course; way something moves toward
- ha
- Has; have (third person singular present)
- preso
- Taken; seized; grasped or captured
- numero
- Number; quantity; figure or amount
- ore
- Hours; time periods of sixty minutes
- giorni
- Days; twenty-four hour periods; daytime
- trascorsi
- Elapsed; passed; spent or gone by
- quando
- When; at what time; during which
- Ma
- But; however; yet (conjunction capitalized)
- essi
- They; those people or things masculine
- sono
- Are; to be (third person plural present)
- in
- In; at; within (preposition)
- grado
- Degree; extent; level or stage
- fare
- To do; to make; to perform action
- ciò
- That; this; that which or thing
- perché
- Because; why; for what reason
- come
- As; like; how; in what way
- percepiscono
- Perceive; sense; become aware of things
- infinite
- Infinite; countless; unlimited in number or quantity
- minime
- Minimal; tiny; very small or slight
- differenze
- Differences; distinctions; ways things are unlike
- occhi
- Eyes; organs of sight and vision
- inesperti
- Inexperienced; unskilled; lacking knowledge or practice
- discernono
- Discern; perceive; distinguish or identify clearly
- nulla
- Nothing; not anything; zero or none
- logica
- Logic; reasoning; system of rational thought
- inconscia
- Unconscious; unaware; not conscious or aware
- senso
- Sense; feeling; perception or sensation
- comune
- Common; ordinary; usual or widespread thing
- li
- Them; those people or things masculine
- costringe
- Forces; compels; makes or constrains someone
- spiegare
- To explain; to clarify; to make clear
- questi
- These; this; these people or things
- effetti
- Effects; results; consequences of an action
- attraverso
- Through; across; by way of something
- cause
- Causes; reasons; origins of something
- sanno
- Know; are aware of (third plural present)
- essere
- To be; to exist; auxiliary or main verb
- produrli
- Produce them; create or generate those things
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