On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 3
One day, walking near a little wood, he saw, hastening that way, one of the Queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials, who appeared to be in the greatest anxiety, running hither and thither like men distraught, in search of some lost treasure.
Um dia, caminhando perto de um pequeno bosque, ele viu, apressando-se naquela direção, um dos principais eunucos da Rainha, seguido por um grupo de funcionários, que pareciam estar na maior ansiedade, correndo de um lado para outro como homens transtornados, em busca de algum tesouro perdido.
'Young man,' cried the eunuch, 'have you seen the Queen's dog?'
'Jovem,' gritou o eunuco, 'você viu o cachorro da Rainha?'
Zadig answered modestly, 'A bitch, I think, not a dog.'
Zadig respondeu modestamente, 'Uma cadela, eu acho, não um cachorro.'
'Quite right,' replied the eunuch; and Zadig continued, 'A very small spaniel who has lately had puppies; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears.'
'Muito certo,' respondeu o eunuco; e Zadig continuou, 'Um spaniel muito pequeno que recentemente teve filhotes; ela manca da pata dianteira esquerda e tem orelhas muito compridas.'
'Ah! you have seen her then,' said the breathless eunuch.
'Ah! você a viu então,' disse o eunuco sem fôlego.
'No,' answered Zadig, 'I have not seen her; and I really was not aware that the Queen possessed a spaniel.'
'Não,' respondeu Zadig, 'eu não a vi; e realmente não sabia que a Rainha possuía um spaniel.'
By an odd coincidence, at the very same time, the handsomest horse in the King's stables broke away from his groom in the Babylonian plain.
Por uma estranha coincidência, exatamente ao mesmo tempo, o mais belo cavalo dos estábulos do Rei fugiu de seu tratador na planície babilônica.
The grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel; and the grand huntsman asked Zadig if he had not seen the King's horse go that way.
O grande caçador e toda a sua equipe procuravam o cavalo com tanta ansiedade quanto o eunuco e seus homens o spaniel; e o grande caçador perguntou a Zadig se ele não havia visto o cavalo do Rei passar por ali.
'A first-rate galloper, small-hoofed, five feet high; tail three feet and a half long; cheek pieces of the bit of twenty-three carat gold; shoes silver?' said Zadig.
'Um galope de primeira classe, cascos pequenos, cinco pés de altura; cauda de três pés e meio de comprimento; peças laterais do freio em ouro de vinte e três quilates; ferraduras de prata?' disse Zadig.
'Which way did he go? Where is he?' cried the grand huntsman.
'Por onde ele foi? Onde está ele?' gritou o grande caçador.
Vocabulary
- dia
- Day; a 24-hour period
- caminhando
- Walking; present participle of caminhar
- perto
- Near, close by, in proximity to
- pequeno
- Small, little in size or amount
- bosque
- Small forest, grove or wooded area
- viu
- Past tense of ver; saw, did see
- apressando-se
- Hurrying, rushing oneself along quickly
- naquela
- Contraction of em+aquela; 'in that' direction
- direção
- Direction; the way something is heading
- principais
- Main, principal, most important ones
- Rainha
- Queen; female sovereign or king's wife
- seguido
- Followed; past participle of seguir
- grupo
- Group; a number of people together
- funcionários
- Officials, employees, or court functionaries
- pareciam
- Seemed, appeared to be (third-person plural)
- estar
- To be (temporary state or condition)
- maior
- Greatest, largest, most extreme degree
- ansiedade
- Anxiety, worry, or nervous apprehension
- correndo
- Running; present participle of correr
- lado
- Side; one edge or direction of something
- outro
- Other, another, different one
- homens
- Men; plural of homem
- transtornados
- Disturbed, distraught, deeply upset mentally
- busca
- Search, quest for something missing
- algum
- Some, any (masculine singular indefinite)
- tesouro
- Treasure; something precious and valuable
- perdido
- Lost; past participle of perder
- Jovem
- Young person; youth or young individual
- gritou
- Shouted, yelled; past tense of gritar
- você
- You; second-person singular pronoun (formal)
- cachorro
- Dog; common domestic canine animal
- respondeu
- Answered, replied; past tense of responder
- modestamente
- Modestly, humbly, without arrogance
- cadela
- Female dog, bitch; feminine of cachorro
- acho
- I think, I suppose; first person of achar
- Muito
- Very, much, a lot; degree adverb
- certo
- Right, correct, certain, sure
- continuou
- Continued, went on; past tense of continuar
- muito
- Very, much, a lot; intensifying adverb
- recentemente
- Recently, not long ago, lately
- teve
- Had; third-person past tense of ter
- filhotes
- Puppies or young offspring of animals
- manca
- Limps, is lame; verb mancar third person
- pata
- Paw; foot or leg of an animal
- dianteira
- Front; relating to the forward part
- esquerda
- Left; the left side or direction
- orelhas
- Ears; plural of orelha
- compridas
- Long; feminine plural of comprido
- então
- Then, so, therefore; linking adverb
- disse
- Said, told; past tense of dizer
- sem
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- fôlego
- Breath, stamina; respiratory capacity
- vi
- I saw; first-person past tense of ver
- realmente
- Really, truly, actually, in reality
- sabia
- Knew; past imperfect tense of saber
- possuía
- Possessed, owned; past imperfect of possuir
- estranha
- Strange, odd, unusual, peculiar
- coincidência
- Coincidence; events happening simultaneously by chance
- exatamente
- Exactly, precisely, at the same moment
- mesmo
- Same; identical or the very one
- tempo
- Time; also weather, depending on context
- mais
- More, most; comparative or superlative adverb
- belo
- Beautiful, handsome, lovely, fine
- cavalo
- Horse; large domesticated riding animal
- estábulos
- Stables; buildings where horses are kept
- Rei
- King; male sovereign ruler of a kingdom
- fugiu
- Fled, escaped; past tense of fugir
- seu
- His, her, its, your; possessive pronoun
- tratador
- Handler, groom; one who cares for animals
- planície
- Plain; flat open expanse of land
- grande
- Great, large, big in size or importance
- caçador
- Hunter; one who hunts animals
- toda
- All, entire, whole (feminine singular)
- sua
- His, her, your, its; feminine possessive
- equipe
- Team, crew, group working together
- procuravam
- Were searching, looking for (imperfect tense)
- tanta
- So much, as much (feminine singular)
- quanto
- As much as, how much; comparative word
- seus
- His, her, their, your (masculine plural)
- perguntou
- Asked, questioned; past tense of perguntar
- se
- If, whether; conditional conjunction
- havia
- Had, there was; past imperfect of haver
- visto
- Seen; past participle of ver
- passar
- To pass, go by, move past
- ali
- There, over there; specific nearby location
- galope
- Gallop; fastest gait of a horse
- primeira
- First; ordinal number (feminine singular)
- classe
- Class, quality, category or rank
- cascos
- Hooves; hard coverings on horse's feet
- pequenos
- Small, little (masculine plural adjective)
- cinco
- Five; the number 5
- pés
- Feet; plural of pé, unit of measure
- altura
- Height; vertical measurement from base to top
- cauda
- Tail; rear appendage of an animal
- três
- Three; the number 3
- meio
- Half, middle, medium; halfway point
- comprimento
- Length; measurement from end to end
- peças
- Pieces, parts, or items of something
- laterais
- Lateral, side; relating to the sides
- freio
- Bit or bridle; device controlling a horse
- ouro
- Gold; precious yellow metallic element
- vinte
- Twenty; the number 20
- quilates
- Carats; unit measuring gold purity or gems
- ferraduras
- Horseshoes; metal shoes nailed to hooves
- prata
- Silver; precious grey-white metallic element
- onde
- Where; interrogative or relative place adverb
- foi
- Went or was; past tense of ir or ser
- Onde
- Where; asking about location or direction
- está
- Is; third-person present tense of estar
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