The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 2
The reader gratifies his curiosity in pursuing the adventures of a person in whose favour he is prepossessed; he espouses his cause, he sympathises with him in his distress, his indignation is heated against the authors of his calamity: the humane passions are inflamed; the contrast between dejected virtue and insulting vice appears with greater aggravation, and every impression having a double force on the imagination, the memory retains the circumstance, and the heart improves by the example.
O leitor satisfaz a sua curiosidade ao seguir as aventuras de uma pessoa por quem nutre uma predisposição favorável; ele abraça a sua causa, simpatiza com ela na sua aflição, a sua indignação inflama-se contra os causadores da sua desgraça: as paixões humanas são incendiadas; o contraste entre a virtude abatida e o vício insolente surge com maior agravamento, e cada impressão exercendo uma força dupla sobre a imaginação, a memória retém as circunstâncias, e o coração aprimora-se com o exemplo.
The attention is not tired with a bare catalogue of characters, but agreeably diverted with all the variety of invention; and the vicissitudes of life appear in their peculiar circumstances, opening an ample field for wit and humour.
A atenção não se cansa com um mero catálogo de personagens, mas é agradavelmente desviada por toda a variedade de invenção; e as vicissitudes da vida aparecem nas suas circunstâncias peculiares, abrindo um amplo campo para o engenho e o humor.
Romance, no doubt, owes its origin to ignorance, vanity, and superstition.
O romance, sem dúvida, deve a sua origem à ignorância, à vaidade e à superstição.
In the dark ages of the World, when a man had rendered himself famous for wisdom or valour, his family and adherents availed themselves of his superior qualities, magnified his virtues, and represented his character and person as sacred and supernatural.
Nos séculos obscuros do Mundo, quando um homem se havia tornado famoso pela sua sabedoria ou valentia, a sua família e os seus seguidores tiravam partido das suas qualidades superiores, engrandeciam as suas virtudes e representavam o seu carácter e a sua pessoa como sagrados e sobrenaturais.
The vulgar easily swallowed the bait, implored his protection, and yielded the tribute of homage and praise, even to adoration; his exploits were handed down to posterity with a thousand exaggerations; they were repeated as incitements to virtue; divine honours were paid, and altars erected to his memory, for the encouragement of those who attempted to imitate his example; and hence arose the heathen mythology, which is no other than a collection of extravagant romances.
O povo facilmente engoliu o engodo, implorou a sua proteção e prestou o tributo de homenagem e louvor, chegando mesmo à adoração; as suas façanhas foram transmitidas à posteridade com mil exageros; eram repetidas como incitamentos à virtude; honras divinas lhe foram prestadas e altares erguidos em sua memória, para encorajamento daqueles que tentavam imitar o seu exemplo; e daí surgiu a mitologia pagã, que não é outra coisa senão uma coleção de romances extravagantes.
Vocabulary
- leitor
- Reader; person who reads books or texts
- satisfaz
- Satisfies; fulfills a need or desire
- curiosidade
- Curiosity; desire to know or learn something
- seguir
- To follow; to pursue or track someone or something
- aventuras
- Adventures; exciting or daring experiences
- pessoa
- Person; an individual human being
- nutre
- Nurtures; feels or fosters an emotion toward someone
- predisposição
- Predisposition; tendency or inclination toward something
- favorável
- Favorable; positive or approving in attitude
- abraça
- Embraces; adopts or supports a cause or idea
- causa
- Cause; a principle or movement one supports
- simpatiza
- Sympathizes; feels compassion or understanding for someone
- aflição
- Affliction; suffering, distress, or deep sorrow
- indignação
- Indignation; anger aroused by injustice or wrongdoing
- inflama-se
- Becomes inflamed; grows furious or passionately angry
- causadores
- Those who cause; perpetrators responsible for harm
- desgraça
- Misfortune; disgrace or terrible misfortune befalling someone
- paixões
- Passions; strong emotions or intense feelings
- incendiadas
- Inflamed; set ablaze metaphorically with intense emotion
- contraste
- Contrast; striking difference between two opposing things
- virtude
- Virtue; moral excellence or righteous quality in a person
- abatida
- Downcast; defeated, humbled, or brought low
- vício
- Vice; immoral or wicked behavior or habit
- insolente
- Insolent; arrogantly disrespectful or boldly rude
- surge
- Arises; appears or emerges suddenly
- agravamento
- Aggravation; worsening or intensification of a situation
- impressão
- Impression; effect or mark left on the mind
- exercendo
- Exercising; exerting or applying force or influence
- força
- Force; power or strength applied to something
- dupla
- Double; twice the normal amount or intensity
- imaginação
- Imagination; faculty of forming mental images or ideas
- memória
- Memory; faculty of retaining and recalling past events
- retém
- Retains; keeps or holds information in memory
- circunstâncias
- Circumstances; conditions or facts surrounding an event
- coração
- Heart; seat of emotions and feelings
- aprimora-se
- Improves itself; becomes refined or better through experience
- exemplo
- Example; model or instance illustrating a principle
- atenção
- Attention; focused mental awareness directed at something
- cansa
- Tires; becomes weary or fatigued from something
- mero
- Mere; nothing more than; only or simple
- catálogo
- Catalogue; a list or inventory of items
- personagens
- Characters; persons appearing in a story or narrative
- agradavelmente
- Pleasantly; in an agreeable or enjoyable manner
- desviada
- Diverted; turned aside from a path or focus
- variedade
- Variety; diversity or range of different things
- invenção
- Invention; creative fabrication or imaginative creation
- vicissitudes
- Vicissitudes; unpredictable changes or alternations in life
- vida
- Life; existence or course of living
- aparecem
- Appear; come into view or become visible
- peculiares
- Peculiar; distinctive or characteristic features of something
- abrindo
- Opening; creating or revealing a wide space or field
- amplo
- Ample; wide, broad, or spacious in extent
- campo
- Field; an area or domain of activity
- engenho
- Ingenuity; cleverness or creative inventiveness of mind
- humor
- Humor; wit or comic quality in expression
- romance
- Novel; a fictional narrative prose work
- dúvida
- Doubt; uncertainty or lack of certainty about something
- origem
- Origin; starting point or source of something
- ignorância
- Ignorance; lack of knowledge or awareness
- vaidade
- Vanity; excessive pride in oneself or appearance
- superstição
- Superstition; irrational belief based on fear or ignorance
- séculos
- Centuries; periods of one hundred years
- obscuros
- Obscure; dark, unknown, or difficult to understand
- Mundo
- World; the earth or human civilization as a whole
- homem
- Man; an adult male human being
- tornado
- Become; past participle of 'tornar-se', to turn into
- famoso
- Famous; widely known and celebrated by many
- sabedoria
- Wisdom; accumulated knowledge and sound judgment
- valentia
- Bravery; courage and valor in facing danger
- família
- Family; a group of related individuals
- seguidores
- Followers; people who follow or support a leader
- tiravam
- Drew; took advantage of or extracted something
- partido
- Advantage; benefit taken from a situation
- qualidades
- Qualities; positive traits or characteristics of a person
- superiores
- Superior; higher in rank, quality, or ability
- engrandeciam
- Magnified; exaggerated or glorified someone's qualities
- virtudes
- Virtues; moral qualities or admirable characteristics
- representavam
- Represented; portrayed or depicted in a certain way
- carácter
- Character; moral nature or personal qualities of someone
- sagrados
- Sacred; holy or regarded as worthy of reverence
- sobrenaturais
- Supernatural; beyond natural laws or human understanding
- povo
- People; the common population or general public
- facilmente
- Easily; without difficulty or effort
- engoliu
- Swallowed; accepted credulously without questioning
- engodo
- Bait; a lure or deceitful trick to attract
- implorou
- Implored; begged earnestly for help or protection
- proteção
- Protection; shelter or defense from harm
- prestou
- Rendered; gave or paid tribute, service, or homage
- tributo
- Tribute; payment or acknowledgment of respect given
- homenagem
- Homage; public honor or reverence paid to someone
- louvor
- Praise; expression of admiration or commendation
- chegando
- Arriving at; reaching a point or conclusion
- adoração
- Adoration; deep worship or intense admiration
- façanhas
- Feats; heroic deeds or remarkable achievements
- transmitidas
- Transmitted; passed down or conveyed to later generations
- posteridade
- Posterity; future generations who come after us
- exageros
- Exaggerations; overstatements beyond the truth
- repetidas
- Repeated; told or done again multiple times
- incitamentos
- Incentives; encouragements or stimuli to action
- honras
- Honors; marks of respect or distinction given
- divinas
- Divine; relating to or characteristic of a deity
- prestadas
- Rendered; given or paid as honor or tribute
- altares
- Altars; raised structures used for religious worship
- erguidos
- Erected; raised or built upward from the ground
- encorajamento
- Encouragement; support or inspiration to pursue something
- tentavam
- Attempted; tried to do or achieve something
- imitar
- To imitate; to copy or emulate someone's behavior
- daí
- Hence; from there; therefore or consequently
- surgiu
- Arose; emerged or came into existence
- mitologia
- Mythology; collection of myths of a culture
- pagã
- Pagan; relating to non-Christian or polytheistic religion
- senão
- But; except; nothing other than something else
- coleção
- Collection; a group of items gathered together
- romances
- Novels; fictional prose narratives or romantic stories
- extravagantes
- Extravagant; wildly excessive or fantastically exaggerated
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