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.
Se estes escritos contêm as provas que me lisonjeiro existirem neles, não haverá grande falta daqueles que se perderam, e meu leitor poderá ficar satisfeito sem eles: pois imagino que não terei nem o tempo, nem a inclinação para repetir meus esforços, e preencher a parte faltante de minha resposta, rastreando Sir Robert novamente, através de todos os meandros e obscuridades que se encontram nos vários ramos de seu admirável 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.
O rei e o corpo da nação refutaram desde então tão cabalmente a sua Hipótese, que suponho que ninguém doravante terá nem a ousadia de se opor à nossa segurança comum, tornando-se novamente um defensor da escravidão; nem a fraqueza de ser enganado por contradições revestidas de um estilo popular e períodos bem elaborados: pois se alguém se der ao trabalho, ele próprio, nas partes aqui não abordadas, de despir os discursos de Sir Robert do ornamento de expressões ambíguas, e procurar reduzir suas palavras a proposições diretas, positivas e inteligíveis, e então compará-las umas com as outras, ficará rapidamente convencido de que jamais se reuniu tanta leviandade sem sentido em inglês bem sonante.
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.
Se ele não achar que vale a pena examinar todas as suas obras, que faça um experimento na parte em que trata da usurpação; e que tente verificar se consegue, com toda a sua habilidade, tornar Sir Robert inteligível e coerente consigo mesmo ou com o senso comum.
Vocabulary
- Se
- Conditional conjunction meaning 'if' or 'whether'
- estes
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'these' (masculine)
- escritos
- Written documents or texts; past participle of escrever
- contêm
- Third person plural of conter; 'contain' or 'hold'
- provas
- Evidence, proofs, or tests supporting a claim
- lisonjeiro
- Flattering, pleasing, or gratifying in a complimentary way
- existirem
- Subjunctive/infinitive plural of existir; 'to exist'
- neles
- Contraction of 'em' and 'eles'; meaning 'in them'
- haverá
- Future tense of haver; 'there will be'
- falta
- Lack, absence, or shortage of something needed
- daqueles
- Contraction of 'de' and 'aqueles'; meaning 'of those'
- perderam
- Past tense of perder; 'they lost' or 'were lost'
- leitor
- A person who reads; a reader of texts
- poderá
- Future tense of poder; 'will be able to'
- ficar
- To stay, remain, or become in a certain state
- satisfeito
- Satisfied, content, or pleased with something
- sem
- Preposition meaning 'without,' indicating absence
- pois
- Conjunction meaning 'because,' 'since,' or 'for'
- imagino
- First person singular of imaginar; 'I imagine'
- terei
- Future tense of ter; 'I will have'
- nem
- Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor'
- tempo
- Time, weather, or a period of duration
- inclinação
- Inclination, tendency, or disposition toward something
- repetir
- To repeat or do something again
- esforços
- Efforts, attempts, or exertions made toward a goal
- preencher
- To fill in, complete, or occupy a space or gap
- parte
- A portion, section, or component of a whole
- faltante
- Missing, lacking, or absent from a set or whole
- resposta
- A reply or answer to a question or argument
- rastreando
- Present participle of rastrear; 'tracing' or 'tracking'
- novamente
- Again, once more, or anew
- através
- Preposition meaning 'through,' 'across,' or 'via'
- todos
- All, every, or the entirety of a group
- meandros
- Meanders, winding paths, or complex twists
- obscuridades
- Obscurities, darknesses, or unclear passages of text
- encontram
- Third person plural of encontrar; 'they find' or 'encounter'
- vários
- Several, various, or multiple different things
- ramos
- Branches, divisions, or fields of a subject
- admirável
- Admirable, remarkable, or worthy of admiration
- sistema
- A system, set of principles, or organized structure
- rei
- A king, male monarch ruling a country
- corpo
- Body, either physical form or an organized group
- nação
- A nation, country, or people sharing common identity
- refutaram
- Past tense of refutar; 'they refuted' or 'disproved'
- desde
- Preposition meaning 'since' or 'from' a point in time
- então
- Adverb meaning 'then,' 'so,' or 'at that time'
- tão
- Adverb meaning 'so,' 'as,' or 'such' in comparisons
- cabalmente
- Completely, thoroughly, or fully in every respect
- Hipótese
- A hypothesis or theoretical proposition to be tested
- suponho
- First person of supor; 'I suppose' or 'I assume'
- ninguém
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'nobody' or 'no one'
- doravante
- Formal adverb meaning 'henceforth' or 'from now on'
- terá
- Future tense of ter; 'he/she/it will have'
- ousadia
- Boldness, audacity, or daring behavior or attitude
- opor
- To oppose, object to, or put up resistance against
- segurança
- Safety, security, or the state of being protected
- comum
- Common, shared, or ordinary among many people
- tornando-se
- Reflexive gerund of tornar; 'becoming' or 'turning into'
- defensor
- A defender, advocate, or supporter of a cause
- escravidão
- Slavery, the condition of being enslaved or subjugated
- fraqueza
- Weakness, feebleness, or lack of strength or resolve
- ser
- Infinitive of the verb 'to be' (permanent qualities)
- enganado
- Deceived, misled, or tricked by someone or something
- contradições
- Contradictions, inconsistencies, or conflicting statements
- revestidas
- Covered, coated, or clothed in something; disguised
- estilo
- Style, manner, or characteristic way of expression
- popular
- Popular, widely liked, or appealing to general public
- períodos
- Periods, long complex sentences, or spans of time
- elaborados
- Elaborated, carefully crafted, or highly detailed
- alguém
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'someone' or 'anybody'
- der
- Future subjunctive of dar; 'if one gives' or 'takes'
- trabalho
- Work, effort, labor, or a task to be done
- próprio
- Own, oneself, or one's very own; proper or appropriate
- partes
- Parts, sections, or portions of a larger whole
- aqui
- Adverb of place meaning 'here' or 'in this place'
- abordadas
- Addressed, dealt with, or approached in discussion
- despir
- To undress, strip, or remove covering from something
- discursos
- Speeches, discourses, or formal verbal presentations
- ornamento
- Ornament, decoration, or rhetorical embellishment in writing
- expressões
- Expressions, phrases, or modes of verbal communication
- ambíguas
- Ambiguous, unclear, or having more than one meaning
- procurar
- To seek, look for, or attempt to find something
- reduzir
- To reduce, diminish, or break down into simpler form
- palavras
- Words, the basic units of spoken or written language
- proposições
- Propositions, statements, or formal logical claims
- diretas
- Direct, straightforward, or without ambiguity
- positivas
- Positive, affirmative, or constructive in nature
- inteligíveis
- Intelligible, comprehensible, or easy to understand
- compará-las
- To compare them; reflexive infinitive of comparar
- ficará
- Future tense of ficar; 'will remain' or 'will become'
- rapidamente
- Quickly, rapidly, or in a swift manner
- convencido
- Convinced, persuaded, or certain about something
- jamais
- Never, ever, or at no point in time
- reuniu
- Past tense of reunir; 'gathered,' 'assembled,' or 'combined'
- tanta
- So much, such a great amount (feminine singular)
- leviandade
- Frivolity, flippancy, or lack of seriousness
- sentido
- Meaning, sense, direction, or feeling
- inglês
- The English language or a person from England
- sonante
- Sonorous, resounding, or having a loud impressive sound
- achar
- To find, think, or believe something to be true
- vale
- Third person of valer; 'it is worth' something
- pena
- Trouble, effort, penalty, or worth; as in 'vale a pena'
- examinar
- To examine, inspect, or scrutinize carefully
- obras
- Works, written or artistic creations by an author
- faça
- Present subjunctive of fazer; 'let one do' or 'make'
- experimento
- An experiment or test carried out to verify something
- trata
- Third person of tratar; 'deals with' or 'treats'
- usurpação
- Usurpation, the unlawful seizure of power or rights
- tente
- Present subjunctive of tentar; 'try' or 'attempt'
- verificar
- To verify, check, or confirm the truth of something
- consegue
- Third person of conseguir; 'manages to' or 'succeeds in'
- habilidade
- Skill, ability, or competence in performing something
- tornar
- To make, turn, or cause to become something
- inteligível
- Intelligible, understandable, or clear to comprehend
- coerente
- Coherent, logical, or consistently connected in reasoning
- consigo
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'with himself/herself/itself'
- mesmo
- Same, himself, or even; used for emphasis or identity
- senso
- Sense, judgment, or common understanding
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