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.
Resta ora da esporre le ragioni per cui ho fatto del personaggio principale di quest'opera un britannico del Nord, che sono principalmente queste: potevo, con una spesa modesta, conferirgli un'istruzione quale ritenevo richiedessero la dignità della sua nascita e del suo carattere, che non avrebbe potuto in alcun modo essere ottenuta in Inghilterra con mezzi così limitati quali la natura del mio piano consentiva.
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.
Inoltre, potevo rappresentare la semplicità dei costumi in una parte remota del regno con maggiore proprietà che in qualsiasi luogo vicino alla capitale; e infine, la propensione degli Scozzesi, inclini ai viaggi, giustifica la mia scelta di trarre un avventuriero da quel paese.
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.
Affinché il lettore sensibile non si offenda per i giuramenti privi di senso che escono dalla bocca di alcuni personaggi di queste memorie, mi si consenta di dichiarare che ritenevo nulla potesse mettere più efficacemente a nudo l'assurdità di simili miserabili intercalari quanto una rappresentazione naturale e letterale del discorso nel quale essi compaiono.
Vocabulary
- Resta
- Remains; stays; it remains (third person singular of restare)
- ora
- Now; at present; this moment in time
- da
- From; by; since; used for agent or source
- esporre
- To expose; to explain; to set forth reasons
- le
- The (feminine plural definite article or pronoun)
- ragioni
- Reasons; causes; justifications for an action
- per
- For; in order to; per; through; by means of
- cui
- Whom; which; that (relative pronoun for things/people)
- ho
- I have (first person singular present of avere)
- fatto
- Made; done; created; fact; deed
- del
- Of the; some (contraction of di + il)
- personaggio
- Character; figure; person in a story or narrative
- principale
- Main; principal; primary; most important
- di
- Of; from; belonging to; used for possession
- quest
- This; this one (apocopated form of questo)
- opera
- Work; opera; literary or artistic composition
- un
- A; an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- britannico
- British; of or relating to Britain
- Nord
- North; the northern direction or region
- che
- That; which; who; what (relative/interrogative pronoun)
- sono
- Am; are; is (first/third person present of essere)
- principalmente
- Mainly; principally; chiefly; for the most part
- queste
- These (feminine plural demonstrative pronoun)
- potevo
- I could; I was able to (imperfect of potere)
- con
- With; in company with; by means of
- una
- A; an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- spesa
- Expense; cost; spending; expenditure
- modesta
- Modest; humble; limited; not excessive or grand
- conferirgli
- To give/confer on him; to bestow upon him
- istruzione
- Instruction; education; learning; teaching
- quale
- Which; what kind of; in what manner
- ritenevo
- I considered; I believed; I held as true
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- dignità
- Dignity; worthiness; noble bearing or character
- della
- Of the; from the (contraction of di + la)
- sua
- His; her; one's (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- nascita
- Birth; origin; beginning; lineage or ancestry
- suo
- His; her; one's (masculine singular possessive adjective)
- carattere
- Character; nature; personality; distinguishing feature
- non
- Not; no (negative particle used before verbs)
- avrebbe
- Would have (conditional of avere)
- potuto
- Been able; could have (past participle of potere)
- in
- In; into; within; inside; during a time period
- alcun
- Some; any; not a single (indefinite adjective)
- modo
- Mode; manner; way; means of doing something
- essere
- To be; to exist; fundamental verb in Italian
- ottenuta
- Obtained; achieved; acquired (feminine past participle)
- Inghilterra
- England; country comprising southern part of Britain
- mezzi
- Means; resources; methods; ways of doing things
- così
- So; thus; in this way; therefore
- limitati
- Limited; restricted; confined; narrow in scope
- quali
- Which; what kind of (relative/interrogative plural)
- natura
- Nature; natural character; inherent quality or essence
- mio
- My; mine (masculine singular possessive adjective)
- piano
- Plan; design; scheme; flat surface or level
- consentiva
- Allowed; permitted; consented to (imperfect of consentire)
- Inoltre
- Moreover; furthermore; in addition; besides
- rappresentare
- To represent; to depict; to portray or show
- semplicità
- Simplicity; plainness; lack of complexity or ornament
- dei
- Of the; some (plural contraction of di + i)
- costumi
- Customs; manners; habits; traditional ways of behaving
- parte
- Part; region; side; role; portion of something
- remota
- Remote; distant; far away; isolated from others
- regno
- Kingdom; realm; domain; country under one monarch
- maggiore
- Greater; larger; main; more important or significant
- proprietà
- Property; ownership; quality; characteristic or attribute
- qualsiasi
- Any; whatever; any kind of; whichever
- luogo
- Place; location; site; spot; position or area
- vicino
- Near; nearby; close; neighboring or adjacent
- alla
- To the; at the (contraction of a + la)
- capitale
- Capital; capital city; main city of a country
- infine
- Finally; at last; in conclusion; lastly
- propensione
- Propensity; inclination; tendency; natural leaning toward
- degli
- Of the; some (plural contraction of di + gli)
- Scozzesi
- Scots; Scottish people; inhabitants of Scotland
- inclini
- Inclined; disposed; prone; having tendency toward
- ai
- To the; at the (contraction of a + i)
- viaggi
- Journeys; travels; trips; voyages or excursions
- giustifica
- Justifies; confirms; validates; proves to be right
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