Pride and Prejudice — Page 7
A man in the early eighteenth century, of course, could push this taste further than a lady in the early nineteenth; and no doubt Miss Austen's principles, as well as her heart, would have shrunk from such things as the letter from the unfortunate husband in the_ Spectator, _who describes, with all the gusto and all the innocence in the world, how his wife and his friend induce him to play at blind-man's-buff.
Un uomo nei primi del Settecento, naturalmente, poteva spingere questo gusto più in là di una signora nei primi dell'Ottocento; e senza dubbio i principi della signorina Austen, così come il suo cuore, si sarebbero ritratti da cose come la lettera dell'infelice marito nello Spectator, che descrive, con tutto il gusto e tutta l'innocenza del mondo, come sua moglie e il suo amico lo inducano a giocare a mosca cieca.
But another_ Spectator _letter--that of the damsel of fourteen who wishes to marry Mr. Shapely, and assures her selected Mentor that "he admires your_ Spectators _mightily"--might have been written by a rather more ladylike and intelligent Lydia Bennet in the days of Lydia's great-grandmother;
Ma un'altra lettera dello Spectator — quella della fanciulla di quattordici anni che desidera sposare il signor Shapely, e assicura al suo prescelto Mentore che «ammira moltissimo i vostri Spectator» — avrebbe potuto essere scritta da una Lydia Bennet alquanto più signorile e intelligente ai tempi della bisnonna di Lydia;
while, on the other hand, some (I think unreasonably) have found "cynicism" in touches of Miss Austen's own, such as her satire of Mrs. Musgrove's self-deceiving regrets over her son.
mentre, d'altro canto, alcuni (a mio avviso senza ragione) hanno trovato del «cinismo» in alcuni tratti tipici della signorina Austen, come la sua satira dei rimpianti autoingannatori della signora Musgrove per suo figlio.
But this word "cynical" is one of the most misused in the English language, especially when, by a glaring and gratuitous falsification of its original sense, it is applied, not to rough and snarling invective, but to gentle and oblique satire.
Ma questa parola «cinico» è una delle più abusate nella lingua inglese, soprattutto quando, attraverso una palese e gratuita falsificazione del suo senso originario, viene applicata non all'invettiva rozza e ringhiosa, bensì alla satira gentile e obliqua.
Vocabulary
- uomo
- A male human being; man
- nei
- Contraction of 'in i': in the (masculine plural)
- primi
- First; earliest part of a period
- del
- Contraction of 'di il': of the (masculine singular)
- Settecento
- The 1700s; the eighteenth century in Italian history
- naturalmente
- Of course; in a natural or expected manner
- poteva
- He/she/it was able to; could (imperfect tense)
- spingere
- To push or drive something further forward
- questo
- This; referring to something nearby or just mentioned
- gusto
- Taste; aesthetic preference or sensibility
- più
- More; to a greater degree or extent
- là
- There; at or to that place or degree
- signora
- A married or adult woman; lady or madam
- Ottocento
- The 1800s; the nineteenth century in Italian history
- senza
- Without; indicating absence or lack of something
- dubbio
- Doubt; uncertainty about something's truth or outcome
- principi
- Principles; fundamental beliefs or guiding rules
- signorina
- An unmarried young woman; Miss
- così
- So; in this way or to such a degree
- come
- As; like; how — used for comparison or manner
- suo
- His, her, its; third-person singular possessive adjective
- cuore
- Heart; the organ or seat of emotion
- si
- Reflexive pronoun: oneself; also used impersonally
- sarebbero
- They would be; conditional of 'essere' (third plural)
- ritratti
- Drawn back; retreated; repelled (past participle of ritrarre)
- da
- From; by; used to indicate origin or agent
- cose
- Things; objects or matters in general
- lettera
- A written message or letter sent to someone
- infelice
- Unhappy; unfortunate; used to describe miserable state
- marito
- Husband; a man in a marriage
- descrive
- He/she describes; third-person singular present of descrivere
- tutto
- All; every; the whole of something
- tutta
- All; the whole of (feminine singular form)
- innocenza
- Innocence; state of being naive or without guilt
- mondo
- World; the earth or a sphere of existence
- sua
- His, her, its (feminine form); possessive adjective
- moglie
- Wife; a woman in a marriage
- amico
- Friend; a male person one knows and likes
- lo
- Him; it — direct object pronoun (masculine singular)
- inducano
- They induce; third-person plural present subjunctive of indurre
- giocare
- To play; to engage in a game or activity
- mosca
- Fly (insect); also in 'mosca cieca' meaning blindman's bluff
- cieca
- Blind (feminine); without sight; in 'mosca cieca': blindman's bluff
- Ma
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast
- altra
- Another; a different one (feminine singular)
- quella
- That (feminine singular); demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- fanciulla
- A young girl; a maiden or adolescent female
- quattordici
- Fourteen; the cardinal number 14
- anni
- Years; plural of 'anno', used for age or time
- desidera
- He/she desires; wants or wishes for something
- sposare
- To marry; to wed someone
- signor
- Mr.; title used before a man's surname
- assicura
- She assures; guarantees or promises something to someone
- prescelto
- Chosen; selected or designated one (past participle)
- Mentore
- Mentor; a wise and trusted counsellor or guide
- ammira
- She admires; regards with wonder and approval
- moltissimo
- Very much; a great deal; superlative of 'molto'
- vostri
- Your (plural/formal); possessive adjective masculine plural
- avrebbe
- He/she would have; conditional of 'avere' (third singular)
- potuto
- Been able to; past participle of 'potere'
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary and copular verb
- scritta
- Written (feminine); past participle of 'scrivere'
- alquanto
- Rather; somewhat; to a considerable but moderate degree
- signorile
- Refined; genteel; having the manners of upper class
- intelligente
- Intelligent; having or showing mental ability and understanding
- tempi
- Times; periods or eras (plural of 'tempo')
- bisnonna
- Great-grandmother; the grandmother of one's parent
- mentre
- While; whereas — temporal or contrastive conjunction
- altro
- Other; another; something or someone different
- canto
- Side; aspect; also means song — here 'd'altro canto': on the other hand
- alcuni
- Some; a few — indefinite pronoun or adjective (masculine plural)
- mio
- My; first-person singular possessive adjective (masculine)
- avviso
- Opinion; view — 'a mio avviso' means in my opinion
- ragione
- Reason; rightness — 'avere ragione' means to be right
- hanno
- They have; third-person plural present of 'avere'
- trovato
- Found; past participle of 'trovare'
- cinismo
- Cynicism; distrust of human sincerity or good motives
- tratti
- Traits; characteristic features or qualities of someone
- tipici
- Typical; representative or characteristic of a type
- satira
- Satire; use of humor or irony to criticize
- rimpianti
- Regrets; feelings of sorrow over past losses or mistakes
- autoingannatori
- Self-deceiving; those who deceive themselves about reality
- per
- For; through; by — versatile preposition of purpose
- figlio
- Son; a male offspring
- questa
- This (feminine singular); demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- parola
- Word; a unit of language with meaning
- cinico
- Cynic; cynical person — distrustful of others' motives
- è
- Is; third-person singular present of 'essere'
- abusate
- Overused; misused (feminine plural past participle of abusare)
- lingua
- Language; also tongue — means of verbal communication
- inglese
- English; relating to England or the English language
- soprattutto
- Above all; especially; most importantly
- quando
- When; at the time that — temporal conjunction
- attraverso
- Through; across; by means of something
- palese
- Evident; obvious; clear and apparent to all
- gratuita
- Gratuitous; unwarranted; done without good reason
- falsificazione
- Falsification; distortion or misrepresentation of something true
- senso
- Meaning; sense; direction or significance of something
- originario
- Original; relating to the source or beginning
- viene
- Comes; is (passive auxiliary) — third-person singular present
- applicata
- Applied; put into use (feminine past participle of applicare)
- invettiva
- Invective; violent verbal attack or abusive criticism
- rozza
- Rough; crude; lacking refinement or sophistication
- ringhiosa
- Snarling; growling; aggressively harsh in tone
- bensì
- But rather; on the contrary — stronger than 'ma'
- gentile
- Gentle; kind; polite and pleasant in manner
- obliqua
- Oblique; indirect; not straightforward in approach
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