Second Treatise of Government — Page 2
That if even that had been determined, yet the knowledge of which is the eldest line of Adam's posterity, being so long since utterly lost, that in the races of mankind and families of the world, there remains not to one above another, the least pretence to be the eldest house, and to have the right of inheritance:
Que si incluso eso hubiera sido determinado, sin embargo el conocimiento de cuál es la línea más antigua de la posteridad de Adán, habiendo sido tan completamente perdido desde hace tanto tiempo, que en las razas de la humanidad y las familias del mundo, no queda para uno por encima de otro, la menor pretensión de ser la casa más antigua, y de tener el derecho de herencia:
All these premises having, as I think, been clearly made out, it is impossible that the rulers now on earth should make any benefit, or derive any the least shadow of authority from that, which is held to be the fountain of all power, Adam's private dominion and paternal jurisdiction; so that he that will not give just occasion to think that all government in the world is the product only of force and violence, and that men live together by no other rules but that of beasts, where the strongest carries it, and so lay a foundation for perpetual disorder and mischief, tumult, sedition and rebellion, (things that the followers of that hypothesis so loudly cry out against) must of necessity find out another rise of government, another original of political power, and another way of designing and knowing the persons that have it, than what Sir Robert Filmer hath taught us.
Habiendo sido expuestas todas estas premisas, según creo, con claridad, es imposible que los gobernantes que hoy existen en la tierra puedan obtener ningún beneficio, ni derivar la menor sombra de autoridad de aquello que se considera la fuente de todo poder, el dominio privado y la jurisdicción paternal de Adán; de modo que quien no quiera dar ocasión justificada para pensar que todo gobierno en el mundo es producto únicamente de la fuerza y la violencia, y que los hombres conviven sin más reglas que las de las bestias, donde el más fuerte se impone, y así sentar las bases para el desorden perpetuo y el mal, el tumulto, la sedición y la rebelión, (cosas contra las que los seguidores de esa hipótesis claman tan ruidosamente) debe necesariamente encontrar otro origen del gobierno, otro principio del poder político, y otra manera de designar y conocer a las personas que lo poseen, distinta de la que Sir Robert Filmer nos ha enseñado.
Sect. 2.
Sec. 2.
Vocabulary
- Que
- That; which; what (relative pronoun or conjunction)
- si
- If; whether (conditional conjunction)
- incluso
- Even; including (adverb or preposition)
- eso
- That; that thing (demonstrative pronoun)
- hubiera
- Would have; had (past subjunctive of haber)
- sido
- Been (past participle of ser)
- determinado
- Determined; specific; resolved (adjective or past participle)
- sin
- Without (preposition)
- embargo
- Embargo; however (noun; used in 'sin embargo')
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- conocimiento
- Knowledge; awareness; understanding (noun)
- de
- Of; from; by (preposition)
- cuál
- Which; what (interrogative or relative pronoun)
- es
- Is (present indicative of ser)
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- línea
- Line; lineage; line of descent (noun)
- más
- More; most (adverb or adjective)
- antigua
- Ancient; old (feminine adjective)
- habiendo
- Having (present participle of haber)
- tan
- So; as; such (adverb)
- completamente
- Completely; totally; entirely (adverb)
- perdido
- Lost (past participle of perder or adjective)
- desde
- From; since (preposition)
- hace
- Ago; makes; does (verb; used with time)
- tanto
- So much; as much; so long (adverb or adjective)
- tiempo
- Time; weather (noun)
- en
- In; on; at (preposition)
- las
- The (feminine plural definite article)
- razas
- Races; breeds; lineages (plural noun)
- humanidad
- Humanity; human race; mankind (noun)
- familias
- Families (plural noun)
- del
- Of the; from the (contraction of de+el)
- mundo
- World; earth (noun)
- no
- No; not (negation adverb)
- queda
- Remains; is left (present indicative of quedar)
- para
- For; in order to; by (preposition)
- uno
- One; a; someone (number or pronoun)
- por
- For; by; per; through (preposition)
- encima
- Above; on top; over (adverb or preposition)
- otro
- Other; another (pronoun or adjective)
- menor
- Smaller; minor; younger; least (adjective)
- pretensión
- Claim; pretense; aspiration (noun)
- ser
- To be; essence; being (verb or noun)
- casa
- House; home (noun)
- tener
- To have; to possess (verb)
- derecho
- Right; law; straight (noun or adjective)
- herencia
- Inheritance; heritage; legacy (noun)
- Habiendo
- Having (present participle of haber)
- expuestas
- Exposed; set forth (feminine plural past participle)
- todas
- All; every (feminine plural pronoun or adjective)
- estas
- These (feminine plural demonstrative pronoun or adjective)
- premisas
- Premises; assumptions; principles (plural noun)
- según
- According to; as; depending on (preposition or conjunction)
- creo
- I believe; I think (present indicative of creer)
- con
- With (preposition)
- claridad
- Clarity; clearness (noun)
- imposible
- Impossible (adjective or noun)
- los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- gobernantes
- Rulers; governors; those who govern (plural noun)
- hoy
- Today; nowadays (adverb)
- existen
- Exist; are present (present indicative of existir)
- tierra
- Earth; land; ground (noun)
- puedan
- Can; may; could (present subjunctive of poder)
- obtener
- To obtain; to get; to acquire (verb)
- ningún
- No; not any; none (negative adjective)
- beneficio
- Benefit; profit; advantage (noun)
- ni
- Nor; neither (conjunction)
- derivar
- To derive; to stem from (verb)
- sombra
- Shadow; shade; trace (noun)
- autoridad
- Authority; power; official (noun)
- aquello
- That; that thing (demonstrative pronoun)
- se
- Oneself; himself; herself (reflexive pronoun)
- considera
- Is considered; is regarded (present indicative of considerar)
- fuente
- Source; fountain; spring (noun)
- todo
- All; everything; entire (pronoun or adjective)
- poder
- Power; ability; to be able (noun or verb)
- dominio
- Dominion; rule; domain; mastery (noun)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →