← Second Treatise of Government

Second Treatise of Government — Page 4

English → De Preface Level 9/10

I should not speak so plainly of a gentleman, long since past answering, had not the pulpit, of late years, publicly owned his doctrine, and made it the current divinity of the times.

Ich würde nicht so offen über einen Herrn sprechen, der längst keine Antwort mehr geben kann, hätte nicht die Kanzel in den letzten Jahren seine Lehre öffentlich anerkannt und sie zur geltenden Theologie der Zeit gemacht.

It is necessary those men, who taking on them to be teachers, have so dangerously misled others, should be openly shewed of what authority this their Patriarch is, whom they have so blindly followed, that so they may either retract what upon so ill grounds they have vented, and cannot be maintained; or else justify those principles which they preached up for gospel; though they had no better an author than an English courtier:

Es ist notwendig, dass jene Männer, die sich als Lehrer ausgaben und andere so gefährlich in die Irre geführt haben, offen gezeigt bekommen, welche Autorität dieser ihr Patriarch besitzt, dem sie so blind gefolgt sind, damit sie entweder das zurücknehmen, was sie auf so schlechten Grundlagen verkündet haben und was nicht aufrechterhalten werden kann, oder aber jene Grundsätze rechtfertigen, die sie als Evangelium gepredigt haben, obwohl sie keinen besseren Verfasser hatten als einen englischen Höfling:

for I should not have writ against Sir Robert, or taken the pains to shew his mistakes, inconsistencies, and want of (what he so much boasts of, and pretends wholly to build on) scripture-proofs, were there not men amongst us, who, by crying up his books, and espousing his doctrine, save me from the reproach of writing against a dead adversary.

denn ich hätte nicht gegen Sir Robert geschrieben oder mir die Mühe gemacht, seine Irrtümer, Widersprüche und den Mangel an (dem, womit er so sehr prahlt und worauf er vorgibt, sich vollständig zu stützen) Schriftbeweisen aufzuzeigen, gäbe es nicht Männer unter uns, die mich, indem sie seine Bücher anpreisen und seine Lehre vertreten, vor dem Vorwurf bewahren, gegen einen toten Widersacher zu schreiben.

They have been so zealous in this point, that, if I have done him any wrong, I cannot hope they should spare me.

Sie waren in diesem Punkt so eifrig, dass ich, wenn ich ihm irgendein Unrecht getan habe, nicht hoffen kann, dass sie mich verschonen werden.

I wish, where they have done the truth and the public wrong, they would be as ready to redress it, and allow its just weight to this reflection, viz.

Ich wünschte, dass sie dort, wo sie der Wahrheit und der Öffentlichkeit Unrecht getan haben, ebenso bereit wären, es wiedergutzumachen und dieser Überlegung ihr gebührendes Gewicht beizumessen, nämlich:

Vocabulary

Ich
First person singular pronoun; I.
würde
Conditional auxiliary verb; would.
nicht
Negation particle; not.
so
Adverb indicating manner or degree; so.
offen
Adjective meaning open or frank; openly.
über
Preposition meaning about or over; concerning.
einen
Accusative masculine singular indefinite article; a.
Herrn
Dative/accusative singular noun; gentleman or sir.
sprechen
Verb meaning to speak or talk; speak.
der
Definite article nominative masculine singular; the.
längst
Adverb meaning long ago or for long.
keine
Negative article feminine nominative singular; no.
Antwort
Noun feminine; answer or response.
mehr
Adverb meaning more or anymore; more.
geben
Verb meaning to give; give.
kann
Present tense third person singular; can or able.
hätte
Conditional past form of haben; would have.
die
Definite article feminine nominative/accusative singular; the.
in
Preposition indicating location or time; in.
den
Definite article accusative masculine or dative plural; the.
letzten
Adjective superlative form; last or latest.
Jahren
Dative plural of Jahr; in years.
seine
Possessive pronoun masculine nominative singular; his.
Lehre
Noun feminine; doctrine or teaching.
öffentlich
Adjective meaning public; publicly or openly.
anerkannt
Past participle of anerkennen; recognized or acknowledged.
und
Conjunction joining words or clauses; and.
sie
Personal pronoun feminine singular or plural; she or they.
zur
Contraction of zu and der; to the.
Zeit
Noun feminine; time or era.
gemacht
Past participle of machen; made or done.
Es
Personal pronoun neuter nominative singular; it.
ist
Present tense third person singular of sein; is.
notwendig
Adjective meaning necessary or required; necessary.
dass
Subordinating conjunction; that.
jene
Demonstrative pronoun feminine nominative; those or that.
Männer
Noun masculine plural; men.
sich
Reflexive pronoun third person; oneself or themselves.
als
Conjunction or preposition meaning as; as.
Lehrer
Noun masculine; teacher or instructor.
andere
Adjective or pronoun meaning other; other or others.
gefährlich
Adjective meaning dangerous; dangerous or perilous.
geführt
Past participle of führen; led or guided.
haben
Verb meaning to have; have or possess.
gezeigt
Past participle of zeigen; showed or demonstrated.
bekommen
Verb meaning to get or receive; get.
welche
Interrogative or relative pronoun; which or what.
Autorität
Noun feminine; authority or jurisdiction.
dieser
Demonstrative pronoun masculine nominative singular; this.
ihr
Possessive pronoun feminine singular or plural; her or their.
besitzt
Present tense third person singular of besitzen; possesses.
dem
Definite article dative masculine or neuter singular; to the.
blind
Adjective meaning sightless; blindly or without questioning.
gefolgt
Past participle of folgen; followed or obeyed.
sind
Present tense plural of sein; are.
damit
Adverb or conjunction meaning therewith; so that or thereby.
entweder
Conjunction meaning either; either or one of two.
das
Definite article neuter nominative/accusative singular; the.
was
Interrogative or relative pronoun neuter; what or which.
auf
Preposition meaning on or upon; on or up.
schlechten
Adjective meaning bad or poor; bad or inferior.
Grundlagen
Noun feminine plural; foundations or grounds.
werden
Verb meaning to become; become or be.
aber
Conjunction meaning but; but or however.
Grundsätze
Noun masculine plural; principles or fundamentals.
rechtfertigen
Verb meaning to justify; justify or defend.
obwohl
Conjunction meaning although; although or even though.
keinen
Negative article accusative masculine singular; no or none.
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