The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 2

English → Spanish CHAPTER I Level 8/10

The attentive sage, after some deliberation, assured my parents, that their firstborn would be a great traveller; that he would undergo many dangers and difficulties, and at last return to his native land, where he would flourish in happiness and reputation.

El atento sabio, tras cierta deliberación, aseguró a mis padres que su primogénito sería un gran viajero; que atravesaría muchos peligros y dificultades, y que al fin regresaría a su tierra natal, donde prosperaría en felicidad y reputación.

How truly this was foretold will appear in the sequel.

Cuán fielmente fue esto predicho se verá en lo que sigue.

It was not long before some officious person informed my grandfather of certain familiarities that passed between his son and housekeeper which alarmed him so much that, a few days after, he told my father it was high time for him to think of settling;

No tardó mucho en que algún entrometido informara a mi abuelo de ciertas familiaridades que habían tenido lugar entre su hijo y el ama de llaves, lo cual le alarmó tanto que, pocos días después, le dijo a mi padre que ya era hora de que pensara en sentar cabeza;

and that he had provided a match for him, to which he could in justice have no objections.

y que le había encontrado un buen partido al que, en justicia, no podría poner ninguna objeción.

My father, finding it would be impossible to conceal his situation much longer, frankly owned what he had done; and excused himself for not having asked the consent of his father, by saying, he knew it would have been to no purpose;

Mi padre, al ver que le sería imposible ocultar su situación por más tiempo, confesó francamente lo que había hecho; y se disculpó por no haber pedido el consentimiento de su padre alegando que sabía que habría sido inútil;

and that, had his inclination been known, my grandfather might have taken such measures as would have effectually put the gratification of it out of his power:

y que, de haber sido conocida su inclinación, mi abuelo podría haber tomado medidas que habrían puesto eficazmente la satisfacción de la misma fuera de su alcance:

he added, that no exceptions could be taken to his wife's virtue, birth, beauty, and good sense, and as for fortune, it was beneath his care.

añadió que no había nada que objetar a la virtud, el linaje, la belleza y el buen juicio de su esposa, y que en cuanto a la fortuna, era algo que estaba por debajo de su consideración.

The old gentleman, who kept all his passions, except one, in excellent order, heard him to an end with great temper, and then calmly asked, how he proposed to maintain himself and spouse?

El anciano caballero, que mantenía todas sus pasiones, salvo una, en excelente orden, le escuchó hasta el final con gran ecuanimidad, y luego preguntó con calma cómo se proponía mantenerse a sí mismo y a su esposa.

Vocabulary

atento: Attentive, paying close careful attention to something.
sabio: Wise person possessing great knowledge and judgment.
tras: After or following something in time or sequence.
cierta: Certain or particular, referring to a specific thing.
deliberación: Careful consideration or deliberation before making a decision.
aseguró: Assured or declared something confidently to someone.
padres: Parents, referring to one's mother and father together.
primogénito: Firstborn child, the eldest son or daughter.
sería: Conditional form of 'ser', meaning 'would be'.
viajero: Traveler, a person who journeys to different places.
atravesaría: Would cross or traverse through a place or obstacle.
peligros: Dangers or perils, situations involving risk of harm.
dificultades: Difficulties or hardships, challenging situations requiring effort.
fin: End or conclusion; also used in 'al fin' meaning finally.
regresaría: Would return or come back to a place.
tierra: Land or earth; can refer to one's homeland or ground.
natal: Native, relating to the place where one was born.
prosperaría: Would prosper or thrive, achieving success and well-being.
felicidad: Happiness or joy, a state of well-being and contentment.
reputación: Reputation, the general opinion others hold about someone.
Cuán: How, an exclamatory adverb expressing degree or extent.
fielmente: Faithfully or accurately, in a loyal and precise manner.
predicho: Foretold or predicted, said in advance about future events.
sigue: Follows or continues, present tense of the verb 'seguir'.
tardó: Took long or delayed, past tense of 'tardar'.
algún: Some or any, an indefinite adjective before masculine nouns.
entrometido: Meddlesome busybody who interferes in others' private affairs.
informara: Would inform or notify someone about something important.
abuelo: Grandfather, the father of one's parent.
ciertas: Certain or particular, feminine plural form of 'cierto'.
familiaridades: Familiarities or intimacies, overly familiar behaviors between people.
lugar: Place or location; also used in 'tener lugar' meaning occur.
entre: Between or among, a preposition indicating position or relation.
hijo: Son, a male child in relation to his parents.
ama: Housekeeper or mistress, woman who manages a household.
llaves: Keys; 'ama de llaves' means housekeeper managing household keys.
cual: Which or who, a relative pronoun referring to something mentioned.
alarmó: Alarmed or worried greatly, causing someone sudden anxiety.
tanto: So much or so many, indicating a large degree.
pocos: Few, indicating a small number of people or things.
después: After or afterwards, indicating something that comes later in time.
padre: Father, the male parent of a child.
ya: Already or now, indicating something has occurred or is time.
hora: Hour or time, also meaning it's time to do something.
pensara: Would think or consider, imperfect subjunctive of 'pensar'.
sentar: To settle or sit down; 'sentar cabeza' means to settle down.
cabeza: Head; in 'sentar cabeza' it means to become responsible.
encontrado: Found or encountered, past participle of the verb 'encontrar'.
partido: Match or catch; a good 'partido' means a suitable marriage partner.
justicia: Justice or fairness; in fairness or honestly speaking.
podría: Could or would be able to, conditional tense of 'poder'.
poner: To put or place; also to raise objections in context.
ninguna: No or none, feminine form indicating absence of something.
objeción: Objection, a reason raised against a proposal or statement.
imposible: Impossible, not able to occur or be done.
ocultar: To hide or conceal something from someone's knowledge.
situación: Situation or circumstance, the state of affairs at a moment.
tiempo: Time or weather, a common Spanish noun with broad usage.
confesó: Confessed or admitted, past tense of the verb 'confesar'.
francamente: Frankly or openly, speaking with honesty and directness.
hecho: Fact or deed; past participle of 'hacer' meaning done.
disculpó: Excused or apologized for a particular action or behavior.
pedido: Asked or requested, past participle of the verb 'pedir'.
consentimiento: Consent or permission, agreement given for an action.
alegando: Alleging or claiming, stating something as a reason or excuse.
habría: Would have, conditional tense of the auxiliary verb 'haber'.
inútil: Useless or pointless, lacking any practical use or purpose.
conocida: Known or well-known, feminine past participle of 'conocer'.
inclinación: Inclination or tendency, a preference or disposition toward something.
medidas: Measures or steps taken to achieve a particular result.
habrían: Would have, third person plural conditional of 'haber'.
puesto: Put or placed, past participle of the verb 'poner'.
eficazmente: Effectively or efficiently, in a way that produces results.
satisfacción: Satisfaction or fulfillment, the feeling of having desires met.
misma: Same, feminine form emphasizing identity or sameness of something.
fuera: Outside or beyond; also subjunctive of 'ser' or 'ir'.
alcance: Reach or range; 'fuera de alcance' means out of reach.
añadió: Added or mentioned additionally, past tense of 'añadir'.
nada: Nothing, indicating the complete absence of something.
objetar: To object or raise an objection against something proposed.
virtud: Virtue or moral excellence, a positive quality in a person.
linaje: Lineage or ancestry, the line of descent from one's ancestors.
belleza: Beauty, the quality of being visually pleasing or attractive.
juicio: Judgment or discernment, the ability to make wise decisions.
esposa: Wife, a woman in relation to her husband.
cuanto: As for or regarding; also meaning 'how much' in questions.
fortuna: Fortune or wealth, financial resources or good luck.
algo: Something or somewhat, indicating an unspecified thing or degree.
debajo: Below or underneath, indicating a lower position or standard.
consideración: Consideration or regard, thoughtful attention given to something.
anciano: Elderly man or old person, someone of advanced age.
caballero: Gentleman or knight, a man of honorable character.
mantenía: Maintained or kept, imperfect past tense of 'mantener'.
pasiones: Passions or strong emotions driving one's behavior and desires.
salvo: Except or save for, excluding one thing from a group.
excelente: Excellent, of very high quality or superior standard.
orden: Order or control, an organized and disciplined state of affairs.
escuchó: Listened or heard, past tense of the verb 'escuchar'.
hasta: Until or up to, indicating a limit in time or space.
final: End or final part, the last section of something.
ecuanimidad: Equanimity or composure, calmness and balance under pressure.
luego: Then or afterwards, indicating something that follows in sequence.
preguntó: Asked a question, past tense of the verb 'preguntar'.
calma: Calm or tranquility, a state of peace and quiet.
proponía: Was planning or intending, imperfect tense of 'proponer'.
mantenerse: To support oneself financially or maintain oneself independently.
sí: Himself or herself, reflexive pronoun used for emphasis.
mismo: Himself or itself, emphasizing the subject's self-sufficiency.

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