Pride and Prejudice — Page 13
From no other point of view is he open to any reproach, except for an excusable and not unnatural helplessness at the crisis of the elopement, and his utterances are the most acutely delightful in the consciously humorous kind--in the kind that we laugh with, not at--that even Miss Austen has put into the mouth of any of her characters.
Da nessun altro punto di vista egli è esposto a qualche rimprovero, se non per una scusabile e non innaturale impotenza nel momento critico della fuga, e le sue parole sono le più acutamente deliziose nel genere consapevolmente umoristico -- nel genere di cui ridiamo insieme, non di cui ridiamo alle spalle -- che persino la Austen abbia messo in bocca a qualcuno dei suoi personaggi.
It is difficult to know whether he is most agreeable when talking to his wife, or when putting Mr. Collins through his paces; but the general sense of the world has probably been right in preferring to the first rank his consolation to the former when she maunders over the entail, "My dear, do not give way to such gloomy thoughts.
È difficile sapere se sia più gradevole quando parla con sua moglie, o quando mette alla prova il signor Collins; ma il giudizio generale del mondo ha probabilmente avuto ragione nel preferire al primo posto la sua consolazione alla prima, quando ella blatea dell'asse ereditario, «Mia cara, non cedere a pensieri così cupi.
Let us hope for better things.
Speriamo in cose migliori.
Let us flatter ourselves that_ I _may be the survivor;" and his inquiry to his colossal cousin as to the compliments which Mr. Collins has just related as made by himself to Lady Catherine, "May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment, or are the result of previous study?"
Lusingamoci che_ io _possa essere il superstite;» e la sua domanda al suo colossale cugino riguardo ai complimenti che il signor Collins ha appena riferito di aver fatto a Lady Catherine, «Posso chiedere se queste piacevoli attenzioni procedano dall'impulso del momento, o siano il risultato di uno studio precedente?»
These are the things which give Miss Austen's readers the pleasant shocks, the delightful thrills, which are felt by the readers of Swift, of Fielding, and we may here add, of Thackeray, as they are felt by the readers of no other English author of fiction outside of these four.
Queste sono le cose che danno ai lettori della Austen i piacevoli sobbalzi, i deliziosi brividi, che sono avvertiti dai lettori di Swift, di Fielding, e possiamo qui aggiungere, di Thackeray, come non sono avvertiti dai lettori di nessun altro autore inglese di narrativa al di fuori di questi quattro.
Vocabulary
- Da
- From, by; preposition indicating origin or agent
- nessun
- No, not any; adjective negating a noun
- altro
- Other, another, else; indicates something different
- punto
- Point, dot, period; a specific location or topic
- di
- Of, from; common preposition showing possession or origin
- vista
- View, sight; what is seen or a perspective
- egli
- He; formal third-person masculine subject pronoun
- è
- Is; third-person singular present of essere
- esposto
- Exposed, subjected; past participle of esporre
- a
- To, at; preposition indicating direction or location
- qualche
- Some, a few; indefinite adjective before singular noun
- rimprovero
- Reproach, rebuke; expression of disapproval toward someone
- se
- If; conjunction introducing a conditional clause
- non
- Not; basic negation adverb in Italian
- per
- For, through, by; preposition indicating purpose or means
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article in Italian
- scusabile
- Excusable, pardonable; deserving of forgiveness or understanding
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction linking two elements
- innaturale
- Unnatural; contrary to what is normal or expected
- impotenza
- Impotence, helplessness; inability to act or perform effectively
- nel
- In the; contraction of in and il
- momento
- Moment; a brief period of time
- critico
- Critical, crucial; of decisive importance at a key moment
- della
- Of the; feminine contraction of di and la
- fuga
- Flight, escape; act of running away from something
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article in Italian
- sue
- His, her, its; feminine plural possessive adjective
- parole
- Words; units of spoken or written language
- sono
- Are; first or third person plural of essere
- più
- More, most; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- acutamente
- Acutely, sharply; in a keen or penetrating manner
- deliziose
- Delicious, delightful; extremely pleasing or charming
- genere
- Genre, kind, gender; a category or type of something
- consapevolmente
- Consciously, knowingly; done with full awareness and intent
- umoristico
- Humorous; relating to or characterized by humor
- cui
- Whom, which; relative pronoun used after prepositions
- ridiamo
- We laugh; first-person plural present of ridere
- insieme
- Together; in company with others, collectively
- alle
- At the, to the; feminine plural contraction of a and le
- spalle
- Shoulders, back; behind someone, as in laughing behind backs
- che
- That, which, who; multipurpose conjunction or pronoun
- persino
- Even; used to emphasize an unexpected or extreme case
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article in Italian
- abbia
- Has; third-person singular present subjunctive of avere
- messo
- Put, placed; past participle of mettere
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or movement
- bocca
- Mouth; the opening used for speaking and eating
- qualcuno
- Someone, somebody; an unspecified person
- dei
- Of the; masculine plural contraction of di and i
- suoi
- His, her, its; masculine plural possessive adjective
- personaggi
- Characters, personages; fictional figures in a literary work
- È
- Is; third-person singular present of essere, capitalized
- difficile
- Difficult, hard; not easy to do or understand
- sapere
- To know; to have knowledge or awareness of something
- sia
- Is, be; present subjunctive of essere
- gradevole
- Pleasant, agreeable; giving a pleasing impression or feeling
- quando
- When; conjunction or adverb indicating time
- parla
- Speaks, talks; third-person singular present of parlare
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- sua
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- moglie
- Wife; a woman in a marriage relationship
- o
- Or; conjunction presenting an alternative option
- mette
- Puts, places; third-person singular present of mettere
- alla
- To the, at the; feminine contraction of a and la
- prova
- Test, trial, proof; an attempt to assess something
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article in Italian
- signor
- Mr., sir; honorific title for a man
- ma
- But; conjunction introducing a contrast or exception
- giudizio
- Judgment, opinion; an assessment or reasoned conclusion
- generale
- General; relating to the whole rather than specifics
- del
- Of the; masculine singular contraction of di and il
- mondo
- World; the earth and all people and things on it
- ha
- Has; third-person singular present of avere
- probabilmente
- Probably; with a good likelihood of being true
- avuto
- Had; past participle of avere
- ragione
- Reason, right; correctness or justification for something
- preferire
- To prefer; to like one thing more than another
- al
- To the, at the; masculine singular contraction of a and il
- primo
- First; the one that comes before all others
- posto
- Place, position, seat; a location or rank
- consolazione
- Consolation, comfort; relief from distress or disappointment
- prima
- Before, first, earlier; indicating precedence in time
- ella
- She; formal third-person feminine subject pronoun
- blatea
- Blabbers, chatters; she talks foolishly or at length
- ereditario
- Hereditary; passed down through family inheritance
- Mia
- My; feminine singular first-person possessive adjective
- cara
- Dear, darling; term of affection for someone beloved
- cedere
- To yield, give in; to surrender or give way
- pensieri
- Thoughts; ideas or reflections passing through the mind
- così
- So, thus, like this; in this way or to this degree
- cupi
- Gloomy, dark; describing somber or melancholy thoughts
- Speriamo
- Let's hope; first-person plural imperative or present of sperare
- cose
- Things; objects, matters, or affairs in general
- migliori
- Better, best; comparative or superlative of buono
- Lusingamoci
- Let us flatter ourselves; encourage ourselves with pleasant thoughts
- io
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun in Italian
- _possa
- May, can; present subjunctive of potere, italicized emphasis
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian infinitive verb of existence
- superstite
- Survivor; one who outlives others or an event
- domanda
- Question, asks; an inquiry or act of questioning
- suo
- His, her, its; masculine singular possessive adjective
- colossale
- Colossal, enormous; of gigantic size or great scale
- cugino
- Cousin; a relative who shares grandparents with someone
- riguardo
- Regard, concerning; with reference or respect to something
- ai
- To the; masculine plural contraction of a and i
- complimenti
- Compliments; polite expressions of praise or admiration
- appena
- Just, barely, as soon as; indicates recency or minimal degree
- riferito
- Reported, mentioned; past participle of riferire
- aver
- To have; infinitive of avere in auxiliary constructions
- fatto
- Done, made; past participle of fare
- Posso
- I can, may I; first-person singular present of potere
- chiedere
- To ask; to request information or make an inquiry
- queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- piacevoli
- Pleasant, agreeable; giving pleasure or satisfaction to others
- attenzioni
- Attentions; acts of courtesy, care, or consideration toward someone
- procedano
- Proceed, come from; third-person plural present subjunctive of procedere
- dall'impulso
- From the impulse; originating from a spontaneous urge
- siano
- Are, be; third-person plural present subjunctive of essere
- risultato
- Result, outcome; something that follows from a cause
- uno
- One, a; masculine indefinite article or number
- studio
- Study; deliberate effort to learn or prepare something
- precedente
- Previous, preceding; coming before in time or order
- Queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- danno
- Give; third-person plural present of dare
- lettori
- Readers; people who read books or texts
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article in Italian
- sobbalzi
- Jolts, starts; sudden movements caused by surprise or shock
- brividi
- Shivers, thrills; physical sensations from cold or excitement
- avvertiti
- Felt, noticed; past participle of avvertire, experienced sensations
- dai
- From the, by the; masculine plural contraction of da and i
- possiamo
- We can; first-person plural present of potere
- qui
- Here; adverb indicating this place or location
- aggiungere
- To add; to include or append something to a group
- come
- As, like, how; conjunction or adverb of comparison
- autore
- Author; a person who writes literary or artistic works
- inglese
- English; relating to England or the English language
- narrativa
- Fiction, narrative; prose literature telling a story
- fuori
- Outside, beyond, out; indicating exclusion or external position
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- quattro
- Four; the cardinal number between three and five
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