The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 6
It now remains to give my reasons for making the chief personage of this work a North Briton, which are chiefly these: I could, at a small expense, bestow on him such education as I thought the dignity of his birth and character required, which could not possibly be obtained in England, by such slender means as the nature of my plan would afford.
Ahora me queda dar mis razones para hacer del personaje principal de esta obra un habitante del norte de Bretaña, las cuales son principalmente estas: podía, con poco gasto, otorgarle una educación tal como yo creía que la dignidad de su nacimiento y carácter exigía, la cual no podría obtenerse de ningún modo en Inglaterra con medios tan escasos como los que la naturaleza de mi plan permitiría.
In the next place, I could represent simplicity of manners in a remote part of the kingdom, with more propriety than in any place near the capital; and lastly, the disposition of the Scots, addicted to travelling, justifies my conduct in deriving an adventurer from that country.
En segundo lugar, podía representar la sencillez de costumbres en una parte remota del reino con mayor propiedad que en cualquier lugar cercano a la capital; y por último, la inclinación de los escoceses, aficionados a viajar, justifica mi proceder al hacer surgir un aventurero de ese país.
That the delicate reader may not be offended at the unmeaning oaths which proceed from the mouths of some persons in these memoirs, I beg leave to promise, that I imagined nothing could more effectually expose the absurdity of such miserable expletives, than a natural and verbal representation of the discourse in which they occur.
Para que el lector delicado no se ofenda por los juramentos sin sentido que salen de la boca de algunas personas en estas memorias, me permito prometer que imaginé que nada podría exponer más eficazmente el absurdo de tan miserables palabras de relleno que una representación natural y literal del discurso en el que aparecen.
Vocabulary
- Ahora
- At this moment; currently happening right now
- me
- First-person singular object pronoun: me, myself
- queda
- Remains, stays, or is left over
- dar
- To give something to someone
- mis
- Possessive adjective: my (plural)
- razones
- Reasons or justifications for an action
- para
- Preposition meaning for, in order to
- hacer
- To do or make something
- del
- Contraction of de + el, meaning of the
- personaje
- A character in a literary or dramatic work
- principal
- Main, primary, or most important
- de
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about
- esta
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun: this (feminine)
- obra
- A literary, artistic, or dramatic work
- un
- Indefinite article: a or an (masculine)
- habitante
- An inhabitant or resident of a place
- norte
- North; the northern direction or region
- Bretaña
- Brittany or Britain, a European region
- las
- Definite article: the (feminine plural)
- cuales
- Relative pronoun: which, referring to things previously mentioned
- son
- Third-person plural of ser: they are
- principalmente
- Mainly, principally, or above all else
- estas
- Demonstrative pronoun: these (feminine plural)
- podía
- Past imperfect of poder: was able to
- con
- Preposition meaning with
- poco
- A little; a small amount of something
- gasto
- Expense, expenditure, or cost of something
- otorgarle
- To grant or bestow something upon someone
- una
- Indefinite article: a or an (feminine)
- educación
- Education; the process of learning and instruction
- tal
- Such, such a; of that kind
- como
- As, like, or how
- yo
- First-person singular pronoun: I
- creía
- Past imperfect of creer: believed or thought
- que
- Conjunction or relative pronoun: that, which, who
- la
- Definite article or pronoun: the, her, it (feminine)
- dignidad
- Dignity; the quality of being worthy or honorable
- su
- Possessive adjective: his, her, its, your, their
- nacimiento
- Birth; the event of being born
- y
- Conjunction meaning and
- carácter
- Character; a person's nature or personality traits
- exigía
- Past imperfect of exigir: demanded or required
- cual
- Relative pronoun: which, who (singular)
- no
- Negation word: no, not
- podría
- Conditional of poder: could, would be able to
- obtenerse
- To be obtained or acquired reflexively
- ningún
- No, none, not any (masculine before noun)
- modo
- Mode, way, or manner of doing something
- en
- Preposition meaning in, on, or at
- Inglaterra
- England; a country in the United Kingdom
- medios
- Means, resources, or media (plural)
- tan
- So, as; used in comparisons of equality
- escasos
- Scarce, limited, or insufficient in amount
- los
- Definite article: the (masculine plural)
- naturaleza
- Nature; the natural world or inherent character
- mi
- Possessive adjective: my (singular)
- plan
- A plan or scheme for achieving something
- permitiría
- Conditional of permitir: would allow or permit
- En
- Preposition: in, on, at
- segundo
- Second; the ordinal number following first
- lugar
- Place, location, or position
- representar
- To represent, depict, or portray something
- sencillez
- Simplicity; the quality of being plain or uncomplicated
- costumbres
- Customs, habits, or cultural traditions
- parte
- Part, portion, or region of something
- remota
- Remote, distant, or far away from center
- reino
- Kingdom; a country ruled by a monarch
- mayor
- Greater, larger, older, or most important
- propiedad
- Property, appropriateness, or ownership of something
- cualquier
- Any, whatever; used before nouns (singular)
- cercano
- Near, close, or nearby in distance
- a
- Preposition meaning to, at, or toward
- capital
- Capital city; main city of a country
- por
- Preposition meaning by, through, for, or because
- último
- Last, final, or most recent
- inclinación
- Inclination, tendency, or fondness toward something
- escoceses
- Scottish people; inhabitants of Scotland
- aficionados
- Fans, enthusiasts, or amateurs fond of something
- viajar
- To travel to different places
- justifica
- Justifies or provides reason for an action
- proceder
- To proceed, act, or come from a place
- al
- Contraction of a + el: to the
- surgir
- To arise, emerge, or appear suddenly
- aventurero
- An adventurer; a person seeking risky experiences
- ese
- Demonstrative adjective: that (masculine singular)
- país
- Country; a nation with its own government
- Para
- Preposition: for, in order to, toward
- el
- Definite article: the (masculine singular)
- lector
- Reader; a person who reads texts
- delicado
- Delicate, sensitive, or easily offended
- se
- Reflexive or impersonal pronoun: himself, herself, itself
- ofenda
- Subjunctive of ofender: to be offended by
- juramentos
- Oaths or swear words; solemn vows
- sin
- Preposition meaning without
- sentido
- Sense, meaning, or direction
- salen
- They come out, leave, or emerge
- boca
- Mouth; the oral cavity of a person
- algunas
- Some, a few (feminine plural)
- personas
- People; individual human beings
- memorias
- Memoirs; written accounts of personal experiences
- permito
- First-person singular of permitir: I allow, permit
- prometer
- To promise or commit to something
- imaginé
- I imagined or conceived of something
- nada
- Nothing; not anything at all
- exponer
- To expose, present, or set forth something
- más
- More; a greater quantity or degree
- eficazmente
- Effectively or efficiently achieving desired results
- absurdo
- Absurd; ridiculous or unreasonable in nature
- miserables
- Miserable, wretched, or despicable things or people
- palabras
- Words; units of spoken or written language
- relleno
- Filler; material used to pad or fill
- representación
- Representation or portrayal of something in art
- natural
- Natural; existing in or caused by nature
- literal
- Literal; taking words in their exact meaning
- discurso
- Speech, discourse, or formal spoken address
- aparecen
- They appear or show up in text
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