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.
Nunca vi nada do cavalo, e nunca tinha ouvido falar dele antes,' respondeu 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.
"O grande caçador e o chefe dos eunucos certificaram-se de que Zadig havia roubado tanto o cavalo do Rei quanto o spaniel da Rainha, de modo que o arrastaram perante o Alto Tribunal de Desterham, que imediatamente o condenou ao knut e ao degredo perpétuo para a Sibéria.
But the sentence was hardly pronounced when the lost horse and spaniel were found.
Mas a sentença mal havia sido pronunciada quando o cavalo e o spaniel perdidos foram encontrados.
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.
Assim, os juízes viram-se na dolorosa necessidade de reconsiderar a sua decisão: mas multaram Zadig em quatrocentas onças de ouro por ter dito que havia visto aquilo que não havia 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:
"A primeira coisa foi pagar a multa; depois, Zadig foi autorizado a apresentar a sua defesa ao tribunal, o que fez nos seguintes termos:
"'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.
"'Estrelas da justiça, abismos do conhecimento, espelhos da verdade, cuja gravidade é como a do chumbo, cuja inflexibilidade é como a do ferro, que rivalizam com o diamante em clareza e possuem não pouca afinidade com o ouro; uma vez que me é permitido dirigir-me à vossa augusta assembleia, juro por Ormuzd que nunca vi a respeitável cadela da Rainha, nem contemplei o sacrossanto cavalo do Rei dos Reis.
"'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.
"'Eis o que aconteceu. Eu estava a dar um passeio em direção ao pequeno bosque perto do qual tive posteriormente a honra de encontrar o venerável chefe dos eunucos e o mui ilustre grande caçador.
Vocabulary
- Nunca
- Never; used to negate actions in time
- vi
- I saw; first-person past tense of ver
- nada
- Nothing; used to express complete negation
- do
- Contraction of de + o, meaning 'of the'
- cavalo
- Horse; common domestic animal
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- nunca
- Never; negates occurrence at any time
- tinha
- Had; imperfect tense of ter, to have
- ouvido
- Heard; past participle of ouvir, to hear
- falar
- To speak; common infinitive verb
- dele
- Of him/it; contraction of de + ele
- antes
- Before; indicating prior time or order
- respondeu
- Responded; third-person past tense of responder
- O
- The; masculine singular definite article
- grande
- Great or large; common adjective of size
- caçador
- Hunter; person who hunts animals
- o
- The; masculine singular definite article
- chefe
- Chief or leader; person in charge
- dos
- Of the; contraction of de + os (plural)
- certificaram
- Certified or confirmed; third-person plural past tense
- se
- Themselves/oneself; reflexive pronoun
- de
- Of/from; very common Portuguese preposition
- que
- That/which; subordinating conjunction or pronoun
- havia
- There was/had; imperfect form of haver
- roubado
- Stolen; past participle of roubar, to steal
- tanto
- So much/both; indicates quantity or degree
- Rei
- King; male monarch or ruler
- quanto
- As much as; used in comparisons of quantity
- da
- Of the; contraction of de + a (feminine)
- Rainha
- Queen; female monarch or ruler
- modo
- Way or manner; how something is done
- arrastaram
- Dragged; third-person plural past tense of arrastar
- perante
- Before/in front of; formal preposition indicating presence
- Alto
- High; adjective indicating elevated rank or position
- Tribunal
- Court or tribunal; official judicial body
- imediatamente
- Immediately; without delay, at once
- condenou
- Condemned; third-person past tense of condenar
- ao
- To the; contraction of a + o (masculine)
- degredo
- Exile or banishment; punishment of forced expulsion
- perpétuo
- Perpetual or lifelong; lasting forever without end
- para
- To/for; very common Portuguese preposition
- a
- The; feminine singular definite article
- Mas
- But; adversative conjunction contrasting two ideas
- sentença
- Sentence or verdict; official judicial decision
- mal
- Hardly/barely; adverb indicating minimal completion
- sido
- Been; past participle of ser, to be
- pronunciada
- Pronounced or declared; past participle of pronunciar
- quando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- perdidos
- Lost; plural past participle of perder, to lose
- foram
- Were/went; third-person plural past of ser/ir
- encontrados
- Found; plural past participle of encontrar
- Assim
- Thus/so; adverb indicating consequence or manner
- os
- The; masculine plural definite article
- juízes
- Judges; plural of juiz, officials of a court
- viram
- Saw; third-person plural past tense of ver
- na
- In the; contraction of em + a (feminine)
- dolorosa
- Painful or sorrowful; adjective describing anguish
- necessidade
- Necessity or need; something required or essential
- reconsiderar
- To reconsider; to think again about a decision
- sua
- His/her/their; possessive pronoun (feminine form)
- decisão
- Decision; a conclusion reached after consideration
- mas
- But; adversative conjunction
- multaram
- Fined; third-person plural past tense of multar
- em
- In/at; very common Portuguese preposition
- quatrocentas
- Four hundred; feminine numeral adjective
- onças
- Ounces; units of weight, also means jaguar
- ouro
- Gold; precious yellow metal
- por
- For/by; common Portuguese preposition
- ter
- To have; fundamental auxiliary and main verb
- dito
- Said; past participle of dizer, to say
- visto
- Seen; past participle of ver, to see
- aquilo
- That thing; demonstrative pronoun for distant objects
- não
- No/not; basic negation word in Portuguese
- A
- The; feminine singular definite article
- primeira
- First; feminine ordinal numeral adjective
- coisa
- Thing; a general noun for any object or matter
- foi
- Was/went; third-person singular past of ser/ir
- pagar
- To pay; to give money in exchange for something
- multa
- Fine; monetary penalty imposed for an offense
- depois
- Afterwards/then; adverb indicating subsequent time
- autorizado
- Authorized or allowed; past participle of autorizar
- apresentar
- To present; to introduce or submit formally
- defesa
- Defense; argument made to protect oneself legally
- tribunal
- Court; judicial body that hears and decides cases
- fez
- Made/did; third-person singular past of fazer
- nos
- In the/us; contraction of em + os or pronoun
- seguintes
- Following; plural adjective meaning the next ones
- termos
- Terms; words or expressions used in a context
- Estrelas
- Stars; luminous celestial bodies in the night sky
- justiça
- Justice; fairness and lawful treatment of all
- abismos
- Abysses; extremely deep chasms or depths
- conhecimento
- Knowledge; information and understanding acquired through experience
- espelhos
- Mirrors; reflective surfaces showing images
- verdade
- Truth; conformity with fact or reality
- cuja
- Whose; relative pronoun indicating possession
- gravidade
- Gravity or seriousness; weight or severity of something
- é
- Is; third-person singular present of ser
- como
- Like/as/how; used for comparison or questioning
- chumbo
- Lead; heavy dense grey metallic element
- inflexibilidade
- Inflexibility; unwillingness or inability to bend or change
- ferro
- Iron; strong common metallic element
- rivalizam
- Rival or compete; third-person plural present of rivalizar
- diamante
- Diamond; extremely hard precious gemstone
- clareza
- Clarity; quality of being clear and understandable
- possuem
- Possess or have; third-person plural present of possuir
- pouca
- Little/few; feminine adjective indicating small amount
- afinidade
- Affinity; natural attraction or connection between things
- uma
- A/one; feminine indefinite article or numeral
- vez
- Time/instance; used in expressions like uma vez
- me
- Me; first-person singular object pronoun
- permitido
- Permitted or allowed; past participle of permitir
- dirigir
- To direct or address; to speak toward someone
- à
- To the; contraction of a + a (feminine article)
- vossa
- Your (formal/archaic); formal possessive pronoun
- augusta
- August or venerable; adjective meaning noble and respected
- assembleia
- Assembly; a gathering of people for official purposes
- juro
- I swear; first-person present of jurar, to swear
- respeitável
- Respectable; deserving of respect and esteem
- cadela
- Female dog; the feminine form of cão (dog)
- nem
- Nor/neither; negative conjunction linking negated elements
- contemplei
- Contemplated/observed; first-person past of contemplar
- Reis
- Kings; plural of Rei, male monarchs
- Eis
- Here is/behold; used to introduce or present something
- aconteceu
- Happened; third-person singular past of acontecer
- Eu
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- estava
- Was; first/third-person imperfect of estar
- dar
- To give; fundamental and very common Portuguese verb
- um
- A/one; masculine indefinite article or numeral
- passeio
- Walk or stroll; a leisurely walk outdoors
- direção
- Direction; the path or course toward a destination
- pequeno
- Small or little; common adjective of size
- bosque
- Grove or small wood; a small forested area
- perto
- Near or close; adverb indicating proximity
- qual
- Which/that; relative pronoun used in clauses
- tive
- Had; first-person singular past of ter
- posteriormente
- Subsequently or later; adverb indicating after-the-fact timing
- honra
- Honor; high respect or esteem given to someone
- encontrar
- To meet or find; to come across someone or something
- venerável
- Venerable; deserving deep respect due to wisdom or age
- ilustre
- Illustrious; distinguished and well-known for achievements
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