The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 6
My father, being informed of what had happened, flew to the embraces of his darling spouse, and while he loaded his offspring with paternal embraces, could not forbear shedding a flood of tears on beholding the dear partner of his heart (for whose ease he would have sacrificed the treasures of the east) stretched upon a flock bed, in a miserable apartment, unable to protect her from the inclemencies of the weather.
Mein Vater, der von dem Geschehenen in Kenntnis gesetzt worden war, eilte in die Arme seiner geliebten Gattin, und während er seine Nachkommen mit väterlichen Umarmungen überhäufte, konnte er sich nicht enthalten, einen Tränenstrom zu vergießen, als er die teure Gefährtin seines Herzens (für deren Wohlbefinden er die Schätze des Orients geopfert hätte) auf einem Strohbett in einer elenden Kammer liegen sah, außerstande, sie vor den Unbilden des Wetters zu schützen.
It is not to be supposed that the old gentleman was ignorant of what passed, though he affected to know nothing of the matter, and pretended to be very much surprised, when one of his grandchildren, by his eldest son deceased, who lived with him as his heir apparent, acquainted him with the affair; he determined therefore to observe no medium, but immediately (on the third day after her delivery) sent her a peremptory order to be gone, and turned off the servant who had preserved her life.
Es ist nicht anzunehmen, dass der alte Herr über das Vorgefallene im Unklaren war, obwohl er so tat, als wisse er nichts von der Sache, und vorgab, sehr überrascht zu sein, als eines seiner Enkelkinder, das ihm von seinem verstorbenen ältesten Sohn hinterlassen worden war und als sein Erbprinz bei ihm lebte, ihn von der Angelegenheit in Kenntnis setzte; er beschloss daher, keinen Mittelweg einzuschlagen, sondern schickte ihr unverzüglich (am dritten Tag nach ihrer Entbindung) einen kategorischen Befehl, das Haus zu verlassen, und entließ den Diener, der ihr das Leben gerettet hatte.
This behaviour so exasperated my father that he had recourse to the most dreadful imprecations; and on his bare knees implored that Heaven would renounce him if ever he should forget or forgive the barbarity of his sire.
Dieses Verhalten erbitterte meinen Vater dermaßen, dass er zu den schrecklichsten Verwünschungen Zuflucht nahm; und auf seinen bloßen Knien flehte er den Himmel an, ihn zu verstoßen, sollte er jemals die Grausamkeit seines Vaters vergessen oder verzeihen.
The injuries which this unhappy mother received from her removal in such circumstances, and the want of necessaries where she lodged, together with her grief and anxiety of mind, soon threw her into a languishing disorder, which put an end to her life.
Die Schäden, die diese unglückliche Mutter durch ihre Fortschaffung unter solchen Umständen erlitt, sowie der Mangel an lebensnotwendigen Dingen an ihrem Aufenthaltsort, zusammen mit ihrem Kummer und ihrer seelischen Bedrängnis, stürzten sie bald in ein zehrendes Siechtum, das ihrem Leben ein Ende bereitete.
Vocabulary
- Mein
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'my'
- Vater
- Male parent; father
- der
- Definite article or relative pronoun, masculine nominative
- von
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'by'
- dem
- Definite article, dative masculine or neuter form
- Geschehenen
- That which has occurred; the events that happened
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'
- Kenntnis
- Knowledge or awareness of something; being informed
- gesetzt
- Past participle of setzen; placed or informed
- worden
- Auxiliary past participle used in passive constructions
- war
- Past tense of 'sein'; was
- eilte
- Hurried or rushed quickly to a place
- die
- Definite article, feminine or plural nominative form
- Arme
- Arms; upper limbs of the human body
- seiner
- Possessive pronoun, genitive masculine; 'his'
- geliebten
- Adjective meaning beloved or dearly loved
- Gattin
- Wife; a formal or literary term for spouse
- und
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- während
- Conjunction or preposition meaning 'while' or 'during'
- er
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun; he
- seine
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'his', nominative plural or feminine
- Nachkommen
- Descendants or offspring; one's progeny
- mit
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- väterlichen
- Adjective meaning fatherly or paternal
- Umarmungen
- Embraces; acts of putting arms around someone
- überhäufte
- Showered or overwhelmed someone with something abundantly
- konnte
- Past tense of können; was able to, could
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', or 'itself'
- nicht
- Negation particle meaning 'not'
- enthalten
- To refrain or abstain from doing something
- einen
- Indefinite article, masculine accusative; 'a' or 'an'
- Tränenstrom
- A flood or stream of tears; heavy weeping
- zu
- Preposition or infinitive particle meaning 'to'
- vergießen
- To shed tears or spill liquid
- als
- Conjunction meaning 'when', 'as', or 'than'
- teure
- Dear or beloved; also meaning expensive
- Gefährtin
- Female companion or partner in life
- seines
- Possessive pronoun, genitive masculine; 'of his'
- Herzens
- Genitive of Herz; of the heart
- für
- Preposition meaning 'for'
- deren
- Relative or possessive pronoun; 'whose' or 'their'
- Wohlbefinden
- Well-being or welfare; state of feeling well
- Schätze
- Treasures or riches; plural of Schatz
- des
- Definite article, genitive masculine or neuter; 'of the'
- Orients
- Genitive of Orient; of the East or Orient
- geopfert
- Sacrificed or offered up something of value
- hätte
- Subjunctive of haben; would have
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'upon', or 'at'
- einem
- Indefinite article, dative masculine or neuter; 'a'
- Strohbett
- A bed made of straw; primitive sleeping surface
- einer
- Indefinite article, dative or genitive feminine; 'a'
- elenden
- Adjective meaning miserable, wretched, or pitiful
- Kammer
- A small room or chamber; modest lodging space
- liegen
- To lie down or be situated in a place
- sah
- Past tense of sehen; saw
- außerstande
- Unable or incapable of doing something
- sie
- Third-person pronoun; she, her, or they
- vor
- Preposition meaning 'before', 'in front of', or 'from'
- den
- Definite article, accusative masculine or dative plural
- Unbilden
- Hardships or harsh conditions, especially of weather
- Wetters
- Genitive of Wetter; of the weather
- schützen
- To protect or shield someone from harm
- Es
- Impersonal pronoun meaning 'it'
- ist
- Third-person singular of sein; is
- anzunehmen
- To assume or presume something to be the case
- dass
- Conjunction meaning 'that', introducing a subordinate clause
- alte
- Adjective meaning old; elderly
- Herr
- Mister or gentleman; a respectful form of address
- über
- Preposition meaning 'over', 'about', or 'above'
- das
- Definite article or pronoun, neuter nominative; 'the' or 'that'
- Vorgefallene
- That which has occurred; the incident that took place
- im
- Contraction of in dem; in the
- Unklaren
- In the dark or unclear about something
- obwohl
- Conjunction meaning 'although' or 'even though'
- so
- Adverb or conjunction meaning 'so' or 'thus'
- tat
- Past tense of tun; did
- wisse
- Subjunctive of wissen; might know or supposedly knows
- nichts
- Nothing; not anything at all
- Sache
- Thing, matter, or affair; the issue at hand
- vorgab
- Past tense of vorgeben; pretended or feigned
- sehr
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'much'
- überrascht
- Surprised or caught off guard by something unexpected
- sein
- Infinitive of to be; also possessive pronoun 'his'
- eines
- Indefinite article, genitive neuter; 'of a'
- Enkelkinder
- Grandchildren; the children of one's own children
- ihm
- Dative pronoun; him or to him
- seinem
- Possessive pronoun, dative masculine or neuter; 'his'
- verstorbenen
- Adjective meaning deceased or late; who has died
- ältesten
- Superlative of alt; oldest or eldest
- Sohn
- Son; a male child of a parent
- hinterlassen
- To leave behind after death; to bequeath
- Erbprinz
- Hereditary prince; heir apparent to a noble title
- bei
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'near', or 'with'
- lebte
- Past tense of leben; lived
- ihn
- Accusative pronoun; him
- Angelegenheit
- Matter, affair, or concern; an issue to be dealt with
- setzte
- Past tense of setzen; set, placed, or informed
- beschloss
- Past tense of beschließen; decided or resolved
- daher
- Therefore or hence; for that reason
- keinen
- Negative article, accusative masculine; no or not any
- Mittelweg
- Middle course or compromise; a moderate path between extremes
- einzuschlagen
- To take or pursue a particular course or direction
- sondern
- Conjunction meaning 'but rather'; correcting a negation
- schickte
- Past tense of schicken; sent something to someone
- ihr
- Pronoun meaning 'her', 'to her', or possessive 'her'
- unverzüglich
- Without delay; immediately or promptly
- am
- Contraction of an dem; on the or at the
- dritten
- Ordinal adjective meaning third
- Tag
- Day; a 24-hour period of time
- nach
- Preposition meaning 'after', 'to', or 'according to'
- ihrer
- Possessive pronoun, genitive or dative feminine; 'her'
- Entbindung
- Childbirth; the act of giving birth to a child
- kategorischen
- Adjective meaning categorical or absolute; unequivocal
- Befehl
- Order or command given with authority
- Haus
- House or home; a building for living in
- verlassen
- To leave or abandon a place or person
- entließ
- Past tense of entlassen; dismissed or discharged someone
- Diener
- Servant or attendant who serves another person
- Leben
- Life; the state of being alive
- gerettet
- Past participle of retten; rescued or saved from danger
- hatte
- Past tense of haben; had
- Dieses
- Demonstrative pronoun or article meaning 'this'
- Verhalten
- Behavior or conduct; the way someone acts
- erbitterte
- Past tense of erbittern; enraged or deeply embittered someone
- meinen
- Accusative of mein; also means to think or mean
- dermaßen
- To such a degree; so much or to that extent
- schrecklichsten
- Superlative of schrecklich; most terrible or dreadful
- Verwünschungen
- Curses or imprecations; expressions of wishing harm
- Zuflucht
- Refuge or resort; taking recourse to something
- nahm
- Past tense of nehmen; took
- seinen
- Possessive pronoun, accusative masculine; 'his'
- bloßen
- Adjective meaning bare or mere; unprotected
- Knien
- Dative plural of Knie; on knees, kneeling
- flehte
- Past tense of flehen; pleaded or implored earnestly
- Himmel
- Sky or heaven; also used in religious appeals
- an
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'on', or 'to'
- verstoßen
- To cast out or disown; expel from family or society
- sollte
- Past subjunctive of sollen; should or was supposed to
- jemals
- Ever; at any time in the future or past
- Grausamkeit
- Cruelty or brutality; the quality of being cruel
- Vaters
- Genitive of Vater; of the father
- vergessen
- To forget; to fail to remember something
- oder
- Conjunction meaning 'or'
- verzeihen
- To forgive or pardon someone for a wrong
- Die
- Definite article, feminine or plural nominative; 'the'
- Schäden
- Damages or harms; plural of Schaden
- diese
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'these'
- unglückliche
- Adjective meaning unhappy or unfortunate
- Mutter
- Mother; a female parent
- durch
- Preposition meaning 'through' or 'by means of'
- ihre
- Possessive pronoun meaning 'her' or 'their'
- Fortschaffung
- Removal or being sent away from a place
- unter
- Preposition meaning 'under', 'among', or 'below'
- solchen
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'such' or 'of that kind'
- Umständen
- Circumstances or conditions; plural of Umstand
- erlitt
- Past tense of erleiden; suffered or endured something painful
- sowie
- Conjunction meaning 'as well as' or 'and also'
- Mangel
- Lack or deficiency; shortage of necessary things
- lebensnotwendigen
- Adjective meaning essential to life; vital necessities
- Dingen
- Dative plural of Ding; things or objects
- ihrem
- Possessive pronoun, dative masculine or neuter; 'her'
- Aufenthaltsort
- Place of residence or whereabouts; location of stay
- zusammen
- Together; combined or jointly
- Kummer
- Grief, sorrow, or worry; emotional suffering
- seelischen
- Adjective meaning psychological or of the soul
- Bedrängnis
- Distress or hardship; a state of oppressive difficulty
- stürzten
- Past tense of stürzen; plunged or threw into a state
- bald
- Adverb meaning soon or before long
- ein
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'; also 'one'
- zehrendes
- Adjective meaning consuming or wasting; debilitating
- Siechtum
- Chronic illness or lingering decline; prolonged wasting sickness
- Ende
- End or conclusion; the final point of something
- bereitete
- Past tense of bereiten; prepared or brought about an end
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