The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 3
As learning advanced, and genius received cultivation, these stories were embellished with the graces of poetry, that they might the better recommend themselves to the attention; they were sung in public, at festivals, for the instruction and delight of the audience; and rehearsed before battle, as incentives to deeds of glory.
A medida que el saber avanzaba y el ingenio recibía cultivo, estas historias fueron embellecidas con las gracias de la poesía, para que pudieran recomendarse mejor a la atención; se cantaban en público, en los festivales, para instrucción y deleite del auditorio; y se recitaban antes de la batalla, como incentivos para hazañas de gloria.
Thus tragedy and the epic muse were born, and, in the progress of taste, arrived at perfection.
Así nacieron la tragedia y la musa épica, y, en el progreso del gusto, llegaron a la perfección.
It is no wonder that the ancients could not relish a fable in prose, after they had seen so many remarkable events celebrated in verse by their best poets; we therefore find no romance among them during the era of their excellence, unless the _Cyropædia_ of Xenophon may be so called; and it was not till arts and sciences began to revive after the irruption of the barbarians into Europe, that anything of this kind appeared.
No es de extrañar que los antiguos no pudieran apreciar una fábula en prosa, después de haber visto tantos acontecimientos notables celebrados en verso por sus mejores poetas; por ello no encontramos novela entre ellos durante la era de su excelencia, a menos que la _Ciropedia_ de Jenofonte pueda ser llamada así; y no fue sino hasta que las artes y las ciencias comenzaron a revivir tras la irrupción de los bárbaros en Europa, que apareció algo de este tipo.
But when the minds of men were debauched by the imposition of priestcraft to the most absurd pitch of credulity, the authors of romance arose, and losing sight of probability, filled their performances with the most monstrous hyperboles.
Pero cuando las mentes de los hombres fueron corrompidas por la imposición del clericalismo hasta el grado más absurdo de credulidad, surgieron los autores de novelas de caballería, y perdiendo de vista la verosimilitud, llenaron sus obras con las más monstruosas hipérboles.
If they could not equal the ancient poets in point of genius they were resolved to excel them in fiction, and apply to the wonder, rather than the judgment, of their readers.
Si no podían igualar a los poetas antiguos en cuanto a ingenio, estaban resueltos a superarlos en ficción, y apelar a la admiración, más que al juicio, de sus lectores.
Accordingly, they brought necromancy to their aid, and instead of supporting the character of their heroes by dignity of sentiment and practice, distinguished them by their bodily strength, activity, and extravagance of behaviour.
En consecuencia, recurrieron a la nigromancia en su auxilio, y en lugar de sostener el carácter de sus héroes mediante la dignidad del sentimiento y la conducta, los distinguieron por su fuerza corporal, su actividad y su extravagancia de comportamiento.
Vocabulary
- medida
- Measure, dimension, or extent of something.
- que
- That, which, or who; relative pronoun.
- el
- The; definite article masculine singular.
- saber
- To know or to find out information.
- avanzada
- Advanced or progressed forward in development.
- ingenio
- Ingenuity, wit, or clever mental ability.
- recibía
- Received or was receiving something regularly.
- cultivo
- Cultivation, farming, or development of knowledge.
- estas
- These; feminine plural demonstrative pronoun.
- historias
- Stories, histories, or historical narratives.
- fueron
- Were; past tense of ser or ir.
- embellecidas
- Embellished or made beautiful and ornate.
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or manner.
- las
- The; definite article feminine plural.
- gracias
- Graces, charms, or expressions of thanks.
- de
- Of, from, or belonging to someone.
- la
- The; definite article feminine singular.
- poesía
- Poetry or the art of writing poems.
- para
- For, in order to, or toward.
- pudieran
- Could or might be able to do.
- recomendarse
- Recommend oneself or be commendable to others.
- mejor
- Better or best; superior in quality.
- atención
- Attention, care, or consideration given to.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself or themselves.
- cantaban
- Sang or were singing in the past.
- en
- In, on, or at a location.
- público
- Public or audience; open to all people.
- los
- The; definite article masculine plural.
- festivales
- Festivals or celebrations of artistic events.
- instrucción
- Instruction, teaching, or educational guidance.
- deleite
- Delight, pleasure, or enjoyment derived from.
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el.
- auditorio
- Auditorium or audience listening to presentation.
- recitaban
- Recited or were reciting aloud publicly.
- antes
- Before in time or prior to.
- batalla
- Battle or military conflict between armies.
- como
- How, as, or in the manner.
- incentivos
- Incentives or motivations to encourage action.
- hazañas
- Deeds, exploits, or heroic accomplishments.
- gloria
- Glory, fame, or honor and praise.
- Así
- Thus, in this way, or therefore.
- nacieron
- Were born or originated in beginning.
- tragedia
- Tragedy or dramatic work with sad ending.
- musa
- Muse or source of artistic inspiration.
- épica
- Epic or grand heroic narrative poetry.
- progreso
- Progress or advancement toward a goal.
- gusto
- Taste, preference, or aesthetic judgment.
- llegaron
- Arrived or reached a destination or state.
- perfección
- Perfection or state of being flawless.
- No
- No or negative response to question.
- es
- Is; third person singular of ser.
- extrañar
- Strange or surprising; to find odd.
- antiguos
- Ancient or old from previous times.
- apreciar
- Appreciate or value something highly.
- una
- A or one; indefinite article feminine.
- fábula
- Fable or short story with moral lesson.
- prosa
- Prose or ordinary written language form.
- después
- After or following in time sequence.
- haber
- To have; auxiliary verb for past tense.
- visto
- Seen; past participle of ver.
- tantos
- So many or such a large quantity.
- acontecimientos
- Events or important happenings in history.
- notables
- Notable or worthy of attention remarkable.
- celebrados
- Celebrated or commemorated with praise.
- verso
- Verse or line of poetry.
- por
- By, through, or for a reason.
- sus
- His, her, its, or their possession.
- mejores
- Best or superior in quality.
- poetas
- Poets or writers of poetry.
- ello
- It or that; neuter pronoun reference.
- encontramos
- We find or discover something.
- novela
- Novel or long fictional narrative work.
- entre
- Between or among different things.
- ellos
- They or them; masculine plural pronoun.
- durante
- During or throughout a time period.
- era
- Was; past tense of ser.
- su
- His, her, its, or their possession.
- excelencia
- Excellence or quality of being excellent.
- menos
- Less or a smaller quantity.
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