Pride and Prejudice — Page 10
Miss Austen, too, drew back when the white frost touched her shoes; but I think she would have made a pretty good journey even in a black one.
Anche la signorina Austen si tirò indietro quando il gelo bianco le toccò le scarpe; ma penso che avrebbe fatto un viaggio abbastanza buono anche in uno nero.
For if her knowledge was not very extended, she knew two things which only genius knows.
Poiché se la sua conoscenza non era molto estesa, ella conosceva due cose che solo il genio conosce.
The one was humanity, and the other was art.
L'una era l'umanità, e l'altra era l'arte.
On the first head she could not make a mistake; her men, though limited, are true, and her women are, in the old sense, "absolute."
Sul primo punto non poteva sbagliare; i suoi uomini, sebbene limitati, sono veri, e le sue donne sono, nel senso antico, «assolute».
As to art, if she has never tried idealism, her realism is real to a degree which makes the false realism of our own day look merely dead-alive.
Quanto all'arte, se non ha mai tentato l'idealismo, il suo realismo è reale a un grado tale da far sembrare il falso realismo dei nostri giorni semplicemente morto-vivo.
Take almost any Frenchman, except the late M. de Maupassant, and watch him laboriously piling up strokes in the hope of giving a complete impression.
Prendete quasi qualsiasi scrittore francese, ad eccezione del compianto M. de Maupassant, e osservatelo accumulare laboriosamente tratti nella speranza di dare un'impressione completa.
You get none; you are lucky if, discarding two-thirds of what he gives, you can shape a real impression out of the rest.
Non ne ottenete alcuna; siete fortunati se, scartando i due terzi di ciò che egli offre, riuscite a formare una vera impressione dal resto.
But with Miss Austen the myriad, trivial, unforced strokes build up the picture like magic.
Ma con la signorina Austen i miriadi di tratti triviali e spontanei costruiscono il quadro come per magia.
Nothing is false; nothing is superfluous.
Nulla è falso; nulla è superfluo.
When (to take the present book only) Mr. Collins changed his mind from Jane to Elizabeth "while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire" (and we know how Mrs. Bennet would have stirred the fire), when Mr. Darcy "brought his coffee-cup back himself," the touch in each case is like that of Swift--"taller by the breadth of my nail"--which impressed the half-reluctant Thackeray with just and outspoken admiration.
Quando (per prendere solo il libro in questione) il signor Collins cambiò idea da Jane a Elizabeth «mentre la signora Bennet stava attizzando il fuoco» (e sappiamo come la signora Bennet avrebbe attizzato il fuoco), quando il signor Darcy «riportò lui stesso la sua tazza di caffè», il tocco in ciascun caso è come quello di Swift — «più alto della larghezza del mio unghia» — che impressionò il riluttante Thackeray con una giusta e franca ammirazione.
Vocabulary
- Anche
- Also; even; as well.
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article).
- signorina
- Young lady; miss; unmarried woman.
- si
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun; also note or tone.
- tirò
- Drew; pulled back; withdrew (past tense).
- indietro
- Backward; back; behind; in arrears.
- quando
- When; at what time; whenever; while.
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article).
- gelo
- Frost; ice; cold; chill; freezing.
- bianco
- White; pale; blank; clear in color.
- le
- The (feminine plural); her; to her.
- toccò
- Touched; affected; fell to one's lot.
- scarpe
- Shoes; footwear; plural of scarpa.
- ma
- But; yet; however; nevertheless.
- penso
- I think; I believe; I suppose.
- che
- That; which; who; what; that which.
- avrebbe
- Would have; conditional perfect of avere.
- fatto
- Done; made; fact; deed; action.
- un
- A; an; one (masculine singular article).
- viaggio
- Journey; trip; voyage; travel; passage.
- abbastanza
- Enough; sufficiently; rather; quite; fairly.
- buono
- Good; kind; virtuous; well-behaved; worthy.
- in
- In; into; at; on; within.
- uno
- One; a; an; someone; unity.
- nero
- Black; dark; gloomy; wicked; evil.
- Poiché
- Because; since; as; for the reason.
- se
- If; whether; in case; supposing.
- sua
- Her; his; one's; its (feminine possessive).
- conoscenza
- Knowledge; acquaintance; understanding; familiarity.
- non
- Not; no; negative particle; denial.
- era
- Was; past tense of essere (to be).
- molto
- Much; very; a lot; greatly.
- estesa
- Extended; vast; wide; spread out; broad.
- conosceva
- Knew; was acquainted with (imperfect tense).
- due
- Two; dual; both; a pair.
- cose
- Things; matters; objects; affairs; plural.
- solo
- Only; alone; sole; single; merely.
- genio
- Genius; talent; gifted person; spirit; wit.
- conosce
- Knows; is acquainted with (present tense).
- umanità
- Humanity; human nature; mankind; human race.
- arte
- Art; craft; skill; cunning; artifice.
- Sul
- On the; on that; regarding.
- primo
- First; primary; chief; earliest; initial.
- punto
- Point; dot; period; spot; moment.
- poteva
- Could; was able to (imperfect tense).
- sbagliare
- To mistake; to err; to be wrong.
- suoi
- His; her; its (masculine plural possessive).
- uomini
- Men; people; mankind; male humans; plural.
- sebbene
- Although; though; even if; albeit.
- limitati
- Limited; restricted; confined; narrow; restricted.
- sono
- Am; are; is (present tense of essere).
- veri
- True; real; genuine; authentic; sincere.
- donne
- Women; ladies; female persons; plural.
- nel
- In the; in that; within.
- senso
- Sense; meaning; direction; feeling; perception.
- antico
- Ancient; old; archaic; antique; former.
- assolute
- Absolute; complete; unrestricted; sovereign; total.
- Quanto
- How much; as much; whatever.
- all
- To; at; to the (contraction).
- ha
- Has; have (present tense of avere).
- mai
- Ever; never; at any time; ever.
- tentato
- Attempted; tried; endeavored; sought; tempted.
- suo
- His; her; its; one's (masculine singular).
- reale
- Real; actual; true; genuine; royal.
- grado
- Degree; grade; rank; level; extent.
- tale
- Such; such a; of that kind.
- da
- From; by; at; since; for.
- far
- To make; to do; to cause; to act.
- sembrare
- To seem; to appear; to look like.
- falso
- False; fake; counterfeit; untrue; deceitful.
- dei
- Of the; of those; some (plural).
- nostri
- Our; ours; our own (masculine plural).
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