The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 1
A young painter, indulging a vein of pleasantry, sketched a kind of conversation piece, representing a bear, an owl, a monkey, and an ass;
Un giovane pittore, cedendo a un impulso di giovialità, abbozzò una sorta di quadro di conversazione, che rappresentava un orso, un gufo, una scimmia e un asino;
and to render it more striking, humorous, and moral, distinguished every figure by some emblem of human life.
e per renderlo più incisivo, umoristico e morale, contraddistinse ogni figura con qualche emblema della vita umana.
Bruin was exhibited in the garb and attitude of an old, toothless, drunken soldier;
L'orso era raffigurato con l'abito e l'atteggiamento di un vecchio soldato sdentato e ubriaco;
the owl perched upon the handle of a coffee-pot, with spectacle on nose, seemed to contemplate a newspaper;
il gufo, appollaiato sul manico di una caffettiera, con gli occhiali sul naso, sembrava contemplare un giornale;
and the ass, ornamented with a huge tie-wig (which, however, could not conceal his long ears), sat for his picture to the monkey, who appeared with the implements of painting.
e l'asino, ornato di un'enorme parrucca allacciata (che, tuttavia, non riusciva a nascondere le sue lunghe orecchie), posava per il suo ritratto davanti alla scimmia, che appariva con gli strumenti della pittura.
This whimsical group afforded some mirth, and met with general approbation, until some mischievous wag hinted that the whole—was a lampoon upon the friends of the performer;
Questo stravagante gruppo suscitò un certo divertimento e incontrò generale approvazione, finché qualche burlone malizioso non insinuò che il tutto fosse un libello contro gli amici dell'autore;
an insinuation which was no sooner circulated than those very people who applauded it before began to be alarmed, and even to fancy themselves signified by the several figures of the piece.
un'insinuazione che non appena si diffuse fece sì che quelle stesse persone che in precedenza l'avevano applaudita cominciassero ad allarmarsi, e perfino a immaginarsi rappresentate dalle varie figure del quadro.
Among others, a worthy personage in years, who had served in the army with reputation, being incensed at the supposed outrage, repaired to the lodging of the painter, and finding him at home,
Tra gli altri, un rispettabile personaggio anziano, che aveva servito nell'esercito con onore, indignatosi per il presunto affronto, si recò all'alloggio del pittore, e trovandolo in casa,
"Hark ye, Mr. Monkey," said he, "I have a good mind to convince you, that though the bear has lost his teeth, he retains his paws, and that he is not so drunk but he can perceive your impertinence."
«Ascoltate, signor Scimmia,» disse, «ho una gran voglia di dimostrarvi che, sebbene l'orso abbia perso i denti, conserva ancora le zampe, e che non è così ubriaco da non accorgersi della vostra impertinenza.»
"Sblood!
«Sangue!
Vocabulary
- giovane
- Young person or adjective meaning young.
- pittore
- A painter; an artist who paints pictures.
- cedendo
- Yielding or giving in to something.
- impulso
- An impulse; a sudden urge or drive.
- giovialità
- Jolliness; a cheerful and friendly disposition.
- abbozzò
- Sketched or outlined roughly; past tense of abbozzare.
- sorta
- A sort or kind; a type of something.
- quadro
- A painting or picture; a framed artwork.
- conversazione
- Conversation; an exchange of spoken words.
- rappresentava
- Represented or depicted something visually.
- orso
- A bear; a large omnivorous mammal.
- gufo
- An owl; a nocturnal bird of prey.
- scimmia
- A monkey or ape; a primate animal.
- asino
- A donkey; also used to mean a foolish person.
- renderlo
- To make it; to render it a certain way.
- incisivo
- Incisive; sharp, cutting, or strikingly effective.
- umoristico
- Humorous; relating to or full of humor.
- morale
- Moral; relating to ethics or a lesson learned.
- contraddistinse
- Distinguished or marked each figure with something specific.
- ogni
- Every or each; referring to all individually.
- figura
- A figure or shape; a depicted character or form.
- qualche
- Some or a few; an indefinite small quantity.
- emblema
- An emblem; a symbolic object representing something.
- vita
- Life; the state of being alive or living.
- umana
- Human; relating to people or human nature.
- raffigurato
- Depicted or portrayed in a visual representation.
- abito
- Clothing or outfit; a garment worn on the body.
- atteggiamento
- Attitude or posture; a way of holding or behaving.
- vecchio
- Old; elderly person or aged thing.
- soldato
- A soldier; a member of an army.
- sdentato
- Toothless; having no teeth remaining.
- ubriaco
- Drunk; intoxicated by alcohol.
- appollaiato
- Perched; sitting on a high or narrow place.
- manico
- A handle; the part used to grip an object.
- caffettiera
- A coffee pot; a vessel used to brew coffee.
- occhiali
- Eyeglasses; lenses worn to improve vision.
- naso
- Nose; the facial organ used for smelling.
- sembrava
- Seemed or appeared; past tense of sembrare.
- contemplare
- To contemplate; to observe or consider thoughtfully.
- giornale
- A newspaper; a daily printed news publication.
- ornato
- Adorned or decorated; embellished with ornaments.
- enorme
- Enormous; very large in size or degree.
- parrucca
- A wig; artificial hair worn on the head.
- allacciata
- Fastened or tied; secured with a strap or lace.
- tuttavia
- Nevertheless or however; a concessive conjunction.
- riusciva
- Managed or succeeded; past tense of riuscire.
- nascondere
- To hide or conceal something from view.
- lunghe
- Long; feminine plural adjective describing length.
- orecchie
- Ears; the organs used for hearing sounds.
- posava
- Was posing; placing oneself in a fixed position.
- ritratto
- A portrait; a painted or drawn likeness of someone.
- davanti
- In front of; positioned before something else.
- appariva
- Appeared; past imperfect tense of apparire.
- strumenti
- Instruments or tools; objects used for a purpose.
- pittura
- Painting; the art or act of applying paint.
- stravagante
- Extravagant or eccentric; bizarre and unconventional.
- gruppo
- A group; a collection of people or things.
- suscitò
- Aroused or provoked; caused a reaction in others.
- certo
- Certain or sure; also used as 'some' informally.
- divertimento
- Amusement or entertainment; something enjoyable and fun.
- incontrò
- Met or encountered; past tense of incontrare.
- generale
- General; widespread, common, or not specific.
- approvazione
- Approval; favorable acceptance or agreement with something.
- finché
- Until or as long as; a temporal conjunction.
- burlone
- A prankster or joker; someone who plays tricks.
- malizioso
- Malicious or mischievous; having a sly harmful intent.
- insinuò
- Insinuated or hinted; suggested indirectly and slyly.
- fosse
- Was; past subjunctive of essere, used in clauses.
- libello
- A libel; a defamatory written piece against someone.
- contro
- Against; in opposition to someone or something.
- amici
- Friends; people with whom one has close bonds.
- autore
- Author or creator; the person who made something.
- insinuazione
- An insinuation; an indirect and subtle suggestion.
- appena
- As soon as; just barely, or the moment that.
- diffuse
- Spread; past tense of diffondere, to spread widely.
- fece
- Made or caused; past tense of fare.
- stesse
- Same; adjective indicating identical identity or quality.
- persone
- People or persons; individual human beings.
- precedenza
- Precedence or previously; referring to an earlier time.
- applaudita
- Applauded; praised or clapped for enthusiastically.
- cominciassero
- Began; past subjunctive of cominciare, to start.
- allarmarsi
- To become alarmed; to feel worry or anxiety.
- perfino
- Even; used for emphasis on an extreme case.
- immaginarsi
- To imagine oneself; to picture oneself in a situation.
- rappresentate
- Represented or depicted; shown as a character or figure.
- varie
- Various or several; a range of different things.
- figure
- Figures; depicted shapes or characters in an artwork.
- Tra
- Among or between; a preposition indicating position.
- altri
- Others; other people or additional things.
- rispettabile
- Respectable; deserving of respect and esteem.
- personaggio
- A character or notable person; someone of significance.
- anziano
- Elderly; an older person of advanced age.
- servito
- Served; past participle of servire, to serve.
- esercito
- Army; an organized military land force.
- onore
- Honor; great respect and high regard for someone.
- indignatosi
- Having become indignant; feeling anger at unfair treatment.
- presunto
- Presumed or alleged; assumed without definite proof.
- affronto
- An affront; an insult or offensive act toward someone.
- recò
- Went or repaired to; past tense of recarsi.
- alloggio
- Lodging or accommodation; a place where someone stays.
- trovandolo
- Finding him; gerund of trovare with object pronoun.
- casa
- Home or house; a place where one lives.
- Ascoltate
- Listen; imperative plural form of ascoltare.
- signor
- Mister or sir; a polite title for a man.
- Scimmia
- Monkey; used here as a form of address.
- disse
- Said; past tense of dire, to say or tell.
- gran
- Great; shortened form of grande before a noun.
- voglia
- Desire or urge; a strong wish to do something.
- dimostrarvi
- To show or prove to you; demonstrate something clearly.
- sebbene
- Although or even though; a concessive conjunction.
- abbia
- Has; present subjunctive of avere, used in clauses.
- perso
- Lost; past participle of perdere, to lose.
- denti
- Teeth; the hard structures in the mouth for biting.
- conserva
- Preserves or still has; third person of conservare.
- ancora
- Still or yet; indicating continuation of a state.
- zampe
- Paws or claws; an animal's feet or legs.
- così
- So or thus; in this way or to this degree.
- accorgersi
- To notice or realize; to become aware of something.
- impertinenza
- Impertinence; rude and disrespectful behavior toward others.
- Sangue
- Blood; used here as an exclamation of anger.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →