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 agora apresentar as minhas razões para fazer da personagem principal desta obra um habitante do norte da Grã-Bretanha, as quais são principalmente estas: eu poderia, com pequena despesa, conceder-lhe tal educação quanto julgava que a dignidade do seu nascimento e caráter exigia, a qual não poderia de forma alguma ser obtida em Inglaterra, por meios tão escassos quanto a natureza do meu plano permitiria.
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.
Em segundo lugar, eu poderia retratar a simplicidade de costumes numa região remota do reino, com mais propriedade do que em qualquer lugar próximo da capital; e por último, a inclinação dos escoceses, dados às viagens, justifica a minha conduta ao fazer derivar um aventureiro daquele país.
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.
Para que o leitor sensível não se ofenda com os juramentos sem sentido que procedem da boca de algumas personagens nestas memórias, peço licença para prometer que imaginei não haver nada que pudesse expor mais eficazmente o absurdo de tais miseráveis expletivos do que uma representação natural e literal do discurso em que ocorrem.
Vocabulary
- Resta
- It remains; there is still left to do
- agora
- Now; at the present moment
- apresentar
- To present or introduce someone or something
- as
- The (feminine plural definite article)
- minhas
- My (feminine plural possessive pronoun)
- razões
- Reasons; justifications or explanations for something
- para
- For; in order to; indicating purpose or direction
- fazer
- To do or make something
- da
- Of the (feminine singular contraction)
- personagem
- Character; a person in a literary work
- principal
- Main; most important or primary
- desta
- Of this (feminine singular contraction)
- obra
- Work; a literary, artistic, or creative piece
- um
- A; one (masculine indefinite article or numeral)
- habitante
- Inhabitant; person who lives in a place
- do
- Of the (masculine singular contraction)
- norte
- North; the northern direction or region
- Grã-Bretanha
- Great Britain; island nation in northwestern Europe
- quais
- Which; used to introduce relative or interrogative clauses
- são
- Are (third person plural of 'ser')
- principalmente
- Mainly; principally; above all else
- estas
- These (feminine plural demonstrative pronoun)
- eu
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- poderia
- Could; conditional form of 'poder'
- com
- With; expressing accompaniment or means
- pequena
- Small; little in size or amount
- despesa
- Expense; money spent on something
- conceder-lhe
- To grant him/her; to allow or provide to someone
- tal
- Such; of that kind or degree
- educação
- Education; process of learning and instruction
- quanto
- As much as; how much
- julgava
- Judged; considered; imperfect tense of 'julgar'
- que
- That; which; used as conjunction or relative pronoun
- a
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- dignidade
- Dignity; quality of being worthy of respect
- seu
- His; her; its (third person possessive pronoun)
- nascimento
- Birth; the event of being born
- e
- And; coordinating conjunction linking elements
- caráter
- Character; moral qualities of a person
- exigia
- Required; demanded (imperfect tense of 'exigir')
- qual
- Which; that (relative pronoun, singular)
- não
- No; not (negation particle)
- de
- Of; from; indicating origin or belonging
- forma
- Way; manner; shape or form
- alguma
- Any; some (feminine singular indefinite adjective)
- ser
- To be (permanent or inherent state)
- obtida
- Obtained; acquired (feminine past participle)
- em
- In; at; indicating location or time
- Inglaterra
- England; country in southern Great Britain
- por
- By; through; for; indicating means or cause
- meios
- Means; resources available to achieve something
- tão
- So; as; such (intensifier before adjective)
- escassos
- Scarce; limited; insufficient in quantity
- natureza
- Nature; the natural world or essential quality
- meu
- My (masculine singular first-person possessive)
- plano
- Plan; a scheme or intended course of action
- permitiria
- Would allow; conditional tense of 'permitir'
- Em
- In; at (preposition indicating location or context)
- segundo
- Second; next in order after the first
- lugar
- Place; location; position
- retratar
- To portray; to depict or describe someone or something
- simplicidade
- Simplicity; quality of being plain and uncomplicated
- costumes
- Customs; traditional habits or social practices
- numa
- In a (feminine singular contraction)
- região
- Region; a defined area or territory
- remota
- Remote; far away and isolated from centers
- reino
- Kingdom; a country ruled by a king or queen
- mais
- More; most; additionally
- propriedade
- Propriety; also property or ownership
- qualquer
- Any; whatever; any one at all
- próximo
- Next; near; close to something
- capital
- Capital; the principal city of a country
- último
- Last; final; most recent one
- inclinação
- Inclination; tendency or disposition toward something
- dos
- Of the (masculine plural contraction)
- escoceses
- Scots; people from Scotland
- dados
- Given to; inclined toward (past participle used adjectivally)
- às
- To the (feminine plural preposition contraction)
- viagens
- Travels; journeys to distant places
- justifica
- Justifies; provides valid reason for something
- minha
- My (feminine singular possessive pronoun)
- conduta
- Conduct; behavior or manner of acting
- ao
- To the (masculine singular preposition contraction)
- derivar
- To derive; to originate or draw from a source
- aventureiro
- Adventurer; one who seeks bold or risky experiences
- daquele
- From that (masculine singular contraction)
- país
- Country; a nation with its own government
- Para
- For; so that; lest (purpose preposition)
- o
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- leitor
- Reader; person who reads a text
- sensível
- Sensitive; easily affected emotionally or physically
- se
- Oneself; if; reflexive or conditional particle
- ofenda
- Be offended; subjunctive of 'ofender'
- os
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- juramentos
- Oaths; sworn statements or profane exclamations
- sem
- Without; lacking something
- sentido
- Meaning; sense; direction
- procedem
- Come from; proceed from a source
- boca
- Mouth; the oral opening of a person
- algumas
- Some; a few (feminine plural indefinite)
- personagens
- Characters; persons in a narrative or play
- nestas
- In these (feminine plural contraction)
- memórias
- Memoirs; personal accounts or recollections
- peço
- I ask; I request (first person singular of 'pedir')
- licença
- Permission; leave; license to do something
- prometer
- To promise; to commit to doing something
- imaginei
- I imagined; I conceived in the mind
- haver
- To have; to exist (auxiliary or existential verb)
- nada
- Nothing; not anything at all
- pudesse
- Could (imperfect subjunctive of 'poder')
- expor
- To expose; to reveal or display clearly
- eficazmente
- Effectively; in a manner that achieves the result
- absurdo
- Absurdity; something wildly unreasonable or ridiculous
- tais
- Such; of that kind (plural demonstrative)
- miseráveis
- Miserable; wretched or worthless expressions
- expletivos
- Expletives; meaningless filler words or profanities
- uma
- A; one (feminine singular indefinite article)
- representação
- Representation; depiction or portrayal of something
- natural
- Natural; occurring in or produced by nature
- literal
- Literal; following the exact words closely
- discurso
- Speech; discourse; formal or informal talk
- ocorrem
- Occur; happen (third person plural of 'ocorrer')
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