The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete — Page 8
So far as we may judge from the other personages of Count Fathom, even this interesting Amazon would sooner or later have turned into a wooden figure, with a label giving the necessary information as to her character.
Per quanto possiamo giudicare dagli altri personaggi del Conte Fathom, anche questa interessante Amazzone sarebbe prima o poi diventata una figura di legno, con un'etichetta che fornisse le informazioni necessarie riguardo al suo carattere.
Such certainly is her son, Fathom, the hero of the book.
Tale è certamente suo figlio, Fathom, l'eroe del libro.
Because he is placarded, "Shrewd villain of monstrous inhumanity," we are fain to accept him for what his creator intended; but seldom in word or deed is he a convincingly real villain.
Poiché gli viene affibbiato il cartello di «Astuto farabutto di mostruosa inumanità», siamo costretti ad accettarlo per ciò che il suo creatore intendeva; ma raramente in parole o in atti egli è un villain convincentemente reale.
His friend and foil, the noble young Count de Melvil, is no more alive than he; and equally wooden are Joshua, the high-minded, saint-like Jew, and that tedious, foolish Don Diego.
Il suo amico e contraltare, il nobile giovane Conte de Melvil, non è più vivo di lui; e altrettanto legnosi sono Joshua, l'ebreo dall'animo elevato e simile a un santo, e quell'insopportabile e sciocco Don Diego.
Neither is the heroine alive, the peerless Monimia, but then, in her case, want of vitality is not surprising; the presence of it would amaze us.
Nemmeno l'eroina è viva, la senza pari Monimia, ma del resto, nel suo caso, la mancanza di vitalità non sorprende; la sua presenza ci stupirebbe.
If she were a woman throbbing with life, she would be different from Smollett's other heroines.
Se fosse una donna palpitante di vita, sarebbe diversa dalle altre eroine di Smollett.
The "second lady" of the melodrama, Mademoiselle de Melvil, though by no means vivified, is yet more real than her sister-in-law.
La «seconda protagonista femminile» del melodramma, Mademoiselle de Melvil, sebbene tutt'altro che vivificata, è tuttavia più reale della sua cognata.
The fact that they are mostly inanimate figures is not the only surprise given us by the personages of Count Fathom.
Il fatto che siano per lo più figure inanimate non è l'unica sorpresa che ci riservano i personaggi del Conte Fathom.
It is a surprise to find few of them strikingly whimsical; it is a surprise to find them in some cases far more distinctly conceived than any of the people in Roderick Random or Peregrine Pickle.
Sorprende trovarne pochi di sorprendentemente stravaganti; sorprende trovarli in alcuni casi concepiti in modo molto più nitido di qualsiasi personaggio in Roderick Random o Peregrine Pickle.
Vocabulary
- Per
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'by', or 'through'
- quanto
- As much as; how much; to what extent
- possiamo
- We can; first person plural of 'potere'
- giudicare
- To judge or evaluate someone or something
- dagli
- Contraction of 'da' and 'gli', meaning 'from the'
- altri
- Others; other people or things
- personaggi
- Characters in a story or notable persons
- del
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il', meaning 'of the'
- Conte
- Count; a noble title equivalent to an earl
- anche
- Also; too; even; likewise
- questa
- This; feminine demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- interessante
- Interesting; engaging; worthy of attention
- Amazzone
- Amazon; a strong, warrior-like woman
- sarebbe
- Would be; conditional form of 'essere'
- prima
- Before; first; earlier in time
- o
- Or; a conjunction indicating alternatives
- poi
- Then; afterward; later
- diventata
- Became; past participle of 'diventare' (feminine)
- una
- A; an; feminine indefinite article
- figura
- Figure; shape; character; appearance
- di
- Of; from; a common Italian preposition
- legno
- Wood; wooden material; also used metaphorically
- con
- With; a preposition indicating accompaniment
- etichetta
- Label; tag; also means etiquette or protocol
- che
- That; which; who; a versatile conjunction
- fornisse
- Would provide; imperfect subjunctive of 'fornire'
- le
- The (feminine plural); or indirect pronoun 'her'
- informazioni
- Information; data; facts provided about something
- necessarie
- Necessary; required; essential (feminine plural)
- riguardo
- Regarding; concerning; with respect to
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'il', meaning 'to the'
- suo
- His; her; its; possessive adjective
- carattere
- Character; personality; nature of a person
- Tale
- Such; this type; of this kind
- è
- Is; third person singular of 'essere'
- certamente
- Certainly; surely; without doubt
- figlio
- Son; male child of a parent
- l'
- Elided form of 'il' or 'la' before vowels
- eroe
- Hero; protagonist; brave or admirable person
- libro
- Book; a written or printed literary work
- Poiché
- Since; because; given that
- gli
- To him; or 'the' (masculine plural)
- viene
- Comes; is; third person singular of 'venire'
- affibbiato
- Pinned on; attributed; saddled with something
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- cartello
- Sign; label; placard; also means cartel
- Astuto
- Cunning; shrewd; clever in a crafty way
- farabutto
- Scoundrel; rogue; dishonest and unscrupulous person
- mostruosa
- Monstrous; enormous; shockingly extreme (feminine)
- inumanità
- Inhumanity; cruelty; lack of compassion
- siamo
- We are; first person plural of 'essere'
- costretti
- Forced; compelled; constrained (masculine plural)
- ad
- To; at; variant of 'a' before vowels
- accettarlo
- To accept it; infinitive with clitic pronoun
- ciò
- That; this; what; a neuter demonstrative pronoun
- creatore
- Creator; author; one who creates something
- intendeva
- Intended; meant; imperfect of 'intendere'
- ma
- But; however; a coordinating conjunction
- raramente
- Rarely; seldom; not often
- in
- In; into; a common Italian preposition
- parole
- Words; spoken or written expressions
- atti
- Acts; actions; deeds performed
- egli
- He; formal third person masculine subject pronoun
- un
- A; an; masculine indefinite article
- convincentemente
- Convincingly; in a persuasive and believable manner
- reale
- Real; actual; also means royal
- Il
- The; masculine singular definite article
- amico
- Friend; a person one has a bond with
- e
- And; a coordinating conjunction
- contraltare
- Counterpart; foil; contrasting companion character
- nobile
- Noble; aristocratic; of high moral character
- giovane
- Young; youthful; a young person
- de
- Of; from; used in names and titles
- non
- Not; a negation word
- più
- More; anymore; no longer (with negation)
- vivo
- Alive; vivid; lively; full of life
- lui
- He; him; third person masculine pronoun
- altrettanto
- Just as much; equally; likewise
- legnosi
- Wooden; stiff; lacking natural expression (plural)
- sono
- Are; I am; third or first person of 'essere'
- ebreo
- Jewish; a person of Jewish faith or heritage
- dall'
- From the; elided contraction of 'da' and article
- animo
- Spirit; soul; disposition; inner character
- elevato
- Elevated; high; noble; lofty in character
- simile
- Similar; like; resembling something else
- a
- To; at; a common Italian preposition
- santo
- Saint; holy person; also used as adjective
- quell'
- That; elided form of 'quello' before vowels
- insopportabile
- Unbearable; intolerable; impossible to endure
- sciocco
- Fool; stupid; silly person lacking common sense
- Don
- Don; a title of respect used before names
- Nemmeno
- Not even; neither; used for strong negation
- eroina
- Heroine; female protagonist of a story
- viva
- Alive; vivid; lively (feminine form)
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- senza
- Without; lacking; a preposition of absence
- pari
- Equal; peer; without equal (senza pari: peerless)
- resto
- Rest; remainder; the remaining part
- nel
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'
- caso
- Case; situation; instance; circumstance
- mancanza
- Lack; absence; shortage of something
- vitalità
- Vitality; energy; liveliness; vigor
- sorprende
- Surprises; astonishes; third person of 'sorprendere'
- sua
- Her; his; its; feminine possessive adjective
- presenza
- Presence; being present; existence in a place
- ci
- Us; to us; here; there; reflexive pronoun
- stupirebbe
- Would astonish; conditional of 'stupire'
- Se
- If; whether; a conditional conjunction
- fosse
- Were; imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'
- donna
- Woman; lady; an adult female person
- palpitante
- Palpitating; throbbing; quivering with life
- vita
- Life; existence; living; also means waist
- diversa
- Different; diverse; unlike (feminine singular)
- dalle
- From the; contraction of 'da' and 'le'
- altre
- Other; others (feminine plural form)
- eroine
- Heroines; female protagonists (plural)
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- seconda
- Second; the ordinal number after first (feminine)
- protagonista
- Protagonist; main character of a story
- femminile
- Feminine; female; relating to women
- melodramma
- Melodrama; dramatic story with exaggerated emotions
- sebbene
- Although; even though; a concessive conjunction
- tutt'
- Entirely; all; elided form of 'tutto' before vowels
- altro
- Other; another; else; different
- vivificata
- Vivified; enlivened; given life (feminine past participle)
- tuttavia
- Nevertheless; however; yet; still
- della
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'la'
- cognata
- Sister-in-law; wife's or husband's sister
- fatto
- Fact; done; past participle of 'fare'
- siano
- Are; present subjunctive of 'essere'
- lo
- Him; it; masculine direct object pronoun
- figure
- Figures; characters; shapes (plural of 'figura')
- inanimate
- Inanimate; lifeless; lacking vitality (feminine plural)
- unica
- Unique; only; sole (feminine singular)
- sorpresa
- Surprise; an unexpected event or finding
- riservano
- Reserve; set aside; third person plural of 'riservare'
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- Sorprende
- It surprises; astonishes; third person of 'sorprendere'
- trovarne
- To find some of them; infinitive with clitic
- pochi
- Few; not many; a small number
- sorprendentemente
- Surprisingly; astonishingly; in an unexpected manner
- stravaganti
- Eccentric; extravagant; odd (plural form)
- trovarli
- To find them; infinitive with clitic pronoun
- alcuni
- Some; a few; certain ones (masculine plural)
- casi
- Cases; situations; instances (plural of 'caso')
- concepiti
- Conceived; designed; envisioned (masculine plural participle)
- modo
- Way; manner; method of doing something
- molto
- Very; much; a lot; extremely
- nitido
- Sharp; clear; crisp; well-defined
- qualsiasi
- Any; whatever; whichever; of any kind
- personaggio
- Character; a person in a story or notable figure
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