Second Treatise of Government — Page 3
If these papers have that evidence, I flatter myself is to be found in them, there will be no great miss of those which are lost, and my reader may be satisfied without them: for I imagine, I shall have neither the time, nor inclination to repeat my pains, and fill up the wanting part of my answer, by tracing Sir Robert again, through all the windings and obscurities, which are to be met with in the several branches of his wonderful system.
Si estos escritos contienen la evidencia que me lisonjeo encontrar en ellos, no se echará mucho de menos lo que se ha perdido, y mi lector podrá quedar satisfecho sin ello: pues imagino que no tendré ni el tiempo ni la inclinación de repetir mis esfuerzos, y llenar la parte que falta de mi respuesta, rastreando a Sir Robert de nuevo a través de todos los rodeos y oscuridades que se encuentran en las diversas ramas de su maravilloso sistema.
The king, and body of the nation, have since so thoroughly confuted his Hypothesis, that I suppose no body hereafter will have either the confidence to appear against our common safety, and be again an advocate for slavery; or the weakness to be deceived with contradictions dressed up in a popular stile, and well-turned periods: for if any one will be at the pains, himself, in those parts, which are here untouched, to strip Sir Robert's discourses of the flourish of doubtful expressions, and endeavour to reduce his words to direct, positive, intelligible propositions, and then compare them one with another, he will quickly be satisfied, there was never so much glib nonsense put together in well-sounding English.
El rey y el conjunto de la nación han refutado desde entonces tan completamente su Hipótesis, que supongo que en adelante nadie tendrá ni la osadía de alzarse contra nuestra seguridad común y ser de nuevo defensor de la esclavitud, ni la debilidad de dejarse engañar por contradicciones ataviadas con un estilo popular y períodos bien construidos: pues si alguien se tomara la molestia, por sí mismo, en aquellas partes que aquí no se tocan, de despojar los discursos de Sir Robert del adorno de expresiones dudosas y de procurar reducir sus palabras a proposiciones directas, positivas e inteligibles, y luego compararlas unas con otras, pronto quedaría convencido de que jamás se reunió tanta palabrería vacua en un inglés de sonido tan agradable.
If he think it not worth while to examine his works all thro', let him make an experiment in that part, where he treats of usurpation; and let him try, whether he can, with all his skill, make Sir Robert intelligible, and consistent with himself, or common sense.
Si considera que no vale la pena examinar sus obras en su totalidad, que haga un experimento en aquella parte donde trata de la usurpación, y que intente, con toda su habilidad, hacer que Sir Robert resulte inteligible y coherente consigo mismo o con el sentido común.
Vocabulary
- Si
- Conditional conjunction meaning 'if' in Spanish
- estos
- Demonstrative pronoun/adjective meaning 'these'
- escritos
- Written texts or documents; past participle of escribir
- contienen
- Third person plural of contener; they contain
- evidencia
- Evidence; proof supporting a claim or argument
- lisonjeo
- I flatter myself; I take pride in expecting
- encontrar
- To find or encounter something or someone
- echará
- Future tense of echar; will throw or miss
- mucho
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'much' or 'a lot'
- menos
- Adverb meaning 'less'; used in comparisons
- perdido
- Past participle of perder; lost or missing something
- lector
- Reader; a person who reads a text
- podrá
- Future tense of poder; will be able to
- quedar
- To remain, stay, or be left in a state
- satisfecho
- Satisfied; content with a result or outcome
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- ello
- Neuter pronoun meaning 'it' referring to an idea
- pues
- Conjunction meaning 'since,' 'well,' or 'therefore'
- imagino
- I imagine; I suppose or think something is true
- tendré
- Future tense of tener; I will have
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor'
- tiempo
- Time or weather; a fundamental concept in Spanish
- inclinación
- Inclination; tendency or desire toward something
- repetir
- To repeat; to do or say something again
- esfuerzos
- Efforts; attempts or exertions toward a goal
- llenar
- To fill; to make something full or complete
- parte
- Part; a portion or section of a whole
- falta
- Lack or absence; something missing or needed
- respuesta
- Response or answer to a question or situation
- rastreando
- Tracing or tracking; following a trail or path
- nuevo
- New; something recently made or not previously known
- través
- Through; used in 'a través de' meaning across
- todos
- All; every one of a group of things or people
- rodeos
- Detours or circumlocutions; roundabout ways of speaking
- oscuridades
- Obscurities; unclear or dark aspects of something
- encuentran
- They find or encounter; third person plural of encontrar
- diversas
- Various; diverse or different kinds of something
- ramas
- Branches; divisions of a larger system or tree
- maravilloso
- Wonderful or marvelous; causing admiration or wonder
- sistema
- System; an organized set of principles or methods
- rey
- King; the male monarch of a country
- conjunto
- Together or as a whole; joint or combined
- nación
- Nation; a country or people sharing common identity
- refutado
- Refuted; disproven or contradicted an argument
- desde
- Preposition meaning 'since' or 'from' a point in time
- entonces
- Then; at that time or as a consequence
- tan
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'as' used in comparisons
- completamente
- Completely; in a total or thorough manner
- Hipótesis
- Hypothesis; a proposed explanation for observation
- supongo
- I suppose or assume; first person of suponer
- adelante
- Forward or ahead; from now on or henceforth
- nadie
- Nobody; not any person at all
- tendrá
- Future tense of tener; he/she/it will have
- osadía
- Audacity or boldness; daring to do something risky
- alzarse
- To rise up; to stand against or rebel
- contra
- Preposition meaning 'against' or 'contrary to'
- nuestra
- Possessive adjective meaning 'our' for feminine nouns
- seguridad
- Security or safety; freedom from danger or risk
- común
- Common; shared by many or frequently occurring
- ser
- To be; fundamental Spanish verb of identity or essence
- defensor
- Defender; one who protects or advocates for something
- esclavitud
- Slavery; the condition of being enslaved or subjugated
- debilidad
- Weakness; lack of strength or firmness
- dejarse
- To allow oneself; reflexive form of dejar
- engañar
- To deceive or trick; to mislead someone deliberately
- contradicciones
- Contradictions; statements that oppose or deny each other
- ataviadas
- Adorned or dressed up; decorated to appear attractive
- estilo
- Style; a distinctive manner of expression or writing
- popular
- Popular; widely liked or appealing to many people
- períodos
- Periods; segments of time or rhetorical sentence units
- bien
- Well; adverb indicating good quality or manner
- construidos
- Constructed or built; well-formed phrases or structures
- si
- Conditional conjunction meaning 'if'
- alguien
- Someone; an unspecified person
- tomara
- Past subjunctive of tomar; would take or were to take
- molestia
- Trouble or bother; inconvenience taken for a task
- sí
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself,' 'herself,' or 'oneself'
- mismo
- Same or himself; used for emphasis or identity
- aquellas
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'those' for feminine plural
- partes
- Parts; sections or portions of a larger whole
- aquí
- Here; in this place or location
- tocan
- They touch or concern; third person plural of tocar
- despojar
- To strip or divest; to remove decoration or covering
- discursos
- Speeches or discourses; formal spoken or written arguments
- adorno
- Adornment or ornament; decoration added to something
- expresiones
- Expressions; phrases or ways of conveying meaning
- dudosas
- Doubtful or dubious; uncertain or questionable in meaning
- procurar
- To try or endeavor; to attempt to obtain or do
- reducir
- To reduce; to simplify or bring down in complexity
- palabras
- Words; units of language used in speech or writing
- proposiciones
- Propositions; statements or claims put forward for consideration
- directas
- Direct; straightforward without ambiguity or detour
- positivas
- Positive; affirmative or constructive in nature
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and' used before words starting with i
- inteligibles
- Intelligible; able to be understood or comprehended clearly
- luego
- Then or afterward; indicating sequence of actions
- compararlas
- To compare them; infinitive of comparar with pronoun
- otras
- Others; other feminine plural things or people
- pronto
- Soon; quickly or in a short amount of time
- quedaría
- Conditional of quedar; would remain or become convinced
- convencido
- Convinced; persuaded that something is true
- jamás
- Never; not at any time, ever
- reunió
- Past tense of reunir; gathered or brought together
- tanta
- So much; used before feminine singular nouns
- palabrería
- Wordiness; excessive or empty talk without meaning
- vacua
- Vacuous or empty; lacking substance or meaning
- inglés
- English; relating to England or its language
- sonido
- Sound; noise or audio perceived by the ear
- agradable
- Pleasant or agreeable; pleasing to the senses
- considera
- Considers; third person singular of considerar
- vale
- Is worth; third person singular of valer
- pena
- Worth or trouble; sorrow or effort in an endeavor
- examinar
- To examine; to inspect or analyze carefully
- obras
- Works; literary, artistic, or written productions
- totalidad
- Totality; the whole or complete entirety of something
- haga
- Present subjunctive of hacer; let one do or make
- experimento
- Experiment; a test or trial to discover something
- aquella
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' for feminine singular
- donde
- Where; relative adverb indicating a place or location
- trata
- Deals with or treats; third person singular of tratar
- usurpación
- Usurpation; unlawful seizure of power or authority
- intente
- Present subjunctive of intentar; let one try or attempt
- toda
- All or every; feminine singular of todo
- habilidad
- Skill or ability; competence in performing a task
- hacer
- To do or make; one of the most common Spanish verbs
- resulte
- Present subjunctive of resultar; may result or turn out
- inteligible
- Intelligible; clear and easy to understand
- coherente
- Coherent; logically consistent and making sense
- consigo
- With himself/herself/itself; reflexive prepositional pronoun
- sentido
- Sense or meaning; direction or significance of something
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →