The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 3
As learning advanced, and genius received cultivation, these stories were embellished with the graces of poetry, that they might the better recommend themselves to the attention; they were sung in public, at festivals, for the instruction and delight of the audience; and rehearsed before battle, as incentives to deeds of glory.
À medida que o saber avançava e o gênio recebia cultivo, essas histórias foram embelezadas com as graças da poesia, para que pudessem recomendar-se melhor à atenção; eram cantadas em público, em festivais, para instrução e deleite da audiência; e recitadas antes das batalhas, como incentivos a feitos de glória.
Thus tragedy and the epic muse were born, and, in the progress of taste, arrived at perfection.
Assim nasceram a tragédia e a musa épica, e, no progresso do gosto, chegaram à perfeição.
It is no wonder that the ancients could not relish a fable in prose, after they had seen so many remarkable events celebrated in verse by their best poets; we therefore find no romance among them during the era of their excellence, unless the _Cyropædia_ of Xenophon may be so called; and it was not till arts and sciences began to revive after the irruption of the barbarians into Europe, that anything of this kind appeared.
Não é de admirar que os antigos não pudessem apreciar uma fábula em prosa, depois de terem visto tantos eventos notáveis celebrados em verso pelos seus melhores poetas; por isso não encontramos nenhum romance entre eles durante a era de sua excelência, a menos que a Ciropédia de Xenofonte possa ser assim chamada; e não foi senão quando as artes e as ciências começaram a renascer após a irrupção dos bárbaros na Europa, que algo desse gênero apareceu.
But when the minds of men were debauched by the imposition of priestcraft to the most absurd pitch of credulity, the authors of romance arose, and losing sight of probability, filled their performances with the most monstrous hyperboles.
Mas quando as mentes dos homens foram corrompidas pela imposição do clericalismo ao mais absurdo grau de credulidade, os autores de romance surgiram e, perdendo de vista a verossimilhança, encheram suas obras com as mais monstruosas hipérboles.
If they could not equal the ancient poets in point of genius they were resolved to excel them in fiction, and apply to the wonder, rather than the judgment, of their readers.
Se não podiam igualar os poetas antigos em termos de gênio, estavam determinados a superá-los na ficção, e a apelar para o espanto, em vez do juízo, de seus leitores.
Accordingly, they brought necromancy to their aid, and instead of supporting the character of their heroes by dignity of sentiment and practice, distinguished them by their bodily strength, activity, and extravagance of behaviour.
Assim, recorreram à necromancia em seu auxílio, e em vez de sustentar o caráter de seus heróis pela dignidade de sentimento e conduta, distinguiram-nos pela força corporal, pela agilidade e pela extravagância de comportamento.
Vocabulary
- medida
- Measure, extent, or degree of something
- saber
- Knowledge; to know something or have information
- avançava
- Was advancing or progressing forward over time
- gênio
- Genius; exceptional natural talent or intellect
- recebia
- Was receiving or obtaining something from someone
- cultivo
- Cultivation; development and refinement of skills or arts
- histórias
- Stories, histories, or narratives about events or people
- embelezadas
- Beautified or adorned to make more attractive and appealing
- graças
- Graces; charming or elegant qualities of style
- poesia
- Poetry; literary art form using verse and rhythm
- pudessem
- Could; past subjunctive of 'poder' expressing possibility
- recomendar-se
- To recommend oneself; to make oneself appealing or attractive
- atenção
- Attention; the act of focusing one's mind on something
- cantadas
- Sung; performed vocally in musical or lyrical form
- público
- Public; open to or involving the general community
- festivais
- Festivals; celebratory public events with performances
- instrução
- Instruction; the process of teaching or educating others
- deleite
- Delight; great pleasure or enjoyment from something
- audiência
- Audience; group of people gathered to watch or listen
- recitadas
- Recited; spoken aloud from memory in formal settings
- batalhas
- Battles; armed conflicts or military engagements between forces
- incentivos
- Incentives; motivating factors encouraging action or effort
- feitos
- Deeds or feats; remarkable acts or accomplishments performed
- glória
- Glory; great honor, fame, or admiration achieved
- nasceram
- Were born or arose; came into existence for the first time
- tragédia
- Tragedy; dramatic genre dealing with serious and sorrowful events
- musa
- Muse; source of artistic inspiration, especially in poetry
- épica
- Epic; relating to long narrative poetry of heroic deeds
- progresso
- Progress; forward development or improvement over time
- gosto
- Taste; aesthetic sense or appreciation of art and beauty
- chegaram
- Arrived at or reached; attained a particular state or point
- perfeição
- Perfection; the state of being flawless or fully developed
- admirar
- To wonder at or admire; to regard with surprise or esteem
- antigos
- The ancients; people of ancient civilizations and times
- apreciar
- To appreciate or enjoy; to recognize and value something
- fábula
- Fable; short story conveying a moral lesson often using animals
- prosa
- Prose; ordinary written language, not in verse form
- terem
- Having; infinitive of 'ter' used in perfect constructions
- visto
- Seen; past participle of 'ver', to see
- eventos
- Events; occurrences or happenings of significance
- notáveis
- Notable; remarkable or worthy of attention and memory
- celebrados
- Celebrated; honored or praised publicly and memorably
- verso
- Verse; writing arranged in metrical lines for poetry
- melhores
- Best; superlative form of 'bom', indicating highest quality
- poetas
- Poets; writers who compose poetry and verse
- encontramos
- We find or found; to encounter or discover something
- nenhum
- No, none, not any; negative indefinite adjective or pronoun
- romance
- Novel; a long fictional prose narrative work
- durante
- During; throughout the course of a period of time
- era
- Era; a distinct period of history or time; also 'was'
- excelência
- Excellence; outstanding quality or superiority in something
- possa
- Can, may; present subjunctive of 'poder' expressing possibility
- chamada
- Called, named; referred to by a particular name or title
- senão
- Otherwise, except, but; introducing an exception or condition
- artes
- Arts; creative disciplines including painting, music, and literature
- ciências
- Sciences; systematic fields of knowledge and study
- começaram
- Began; started to do something at a particular point
- renascer
- To be reborn; to revive or flourish again after decline
- após
- After, following; preposition indicating subsequent occurrence
- irrupção
- Irruption; sudden violent invasion or bursting into a place
- bárbaros
- Barbarians; uncivilized peoples who invaded or destroyed civilizations
- desse
- Of that; contraction of 'de' with demonstrative 'esse'
- gênero
- Genre, kind, or type; a category or class of works
- apareceu
- Appeared; came into view or existence for the first time
- mentes
- Minds; the cognitive faculties of human beings
- corrompidas
- Corrupted; morally degraded or tainted by negative influence
- imposição
- Imposition; forcing something burdensome upon others
- clericalismo
- Clericalism; excessive influence of clergy in secular affairs
- absurdo
- Absurd; completely unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous
- grau
- Degree; level or extent of something measured or observed
- credulidade
- Credulity; excessive readiness to believe things without proof
- autores
- Authors; writers who create literary or scholarly works
- surgiram
- Arose, emerged; appeared suddenly or came into prominence
- perdendo
- Losing; failing to maintain sight or grasp of something
- vista
- Sight, view; the ability to see or a perspective
- verossimilhança
- Verisimilitude; the appearance of being true or believable
- encheram
- Filled; made something full with a particular content
- obras
- Works; literary, artistic, or creative productions
- monstruosas
- Monstrous; shockingly excessive, unnatural, or outrageous
- hipérboles
- Hyperboles; extreme exaggerations used for rhetorical effect
- podiam
- Could; third person plural imperfect of 'poder'
- igualar
- To equal or match; to reach the same level as another
- termos
- Terms; specific words or expressions used in a field
- determinados
- Determined; resolved or committed to achieving something specific
- superá-los
- To surpass them; to exceed or go beyond their level
- ficção
- Fiction; imaginative literature not based on real events
- apelar
- To appeal; to make a strong request or attract interest
- espanto
- Astonishment; a feeling of great surprise or amazement
- vez
- Time, turn; an instance or occasion of something happening
- juízo
- Judgment; the capacity to make considered decisions or opinions
- leitores
- Readers; people who read books or other written materials
- recorreram
- Resorted to; turned to something for help or solution
- necromancia
- Necromancy; supposed communication with the dead for magic
- auxílio
- Aid, assistance; help given to support someone or something
- sustentar
- To sustain or support; to maintain or uphold something
- caráter
- Character; the moral and mental qualities of a person
- heróis
- Heroes; people admired for courage and noble qualities
- dignidade
- Dignity; the quality of being worthy of honor and respect
- sentimento
- Feeling, sentiment; an emotional response or inner sensation
- conduta
- Conduct; the manner in which one behaves or acts
- distinguiram-nos
- Distinguished them; set them apart by notable qualities
- força
- Strength, force; physical power or energy exerted
- corporal
- Bodily, corporeal; relating to the physical human body
- agilidade
- Agility; the ability to move quickly and with ease
- extravagância
- Extravagance; excessive or unreasonable behavior or spending
- comportamento
- Behavior; the way a person acts or conducts themselves
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