The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Page 7
"What do you imagine that it means?"
"Cosa immagina che significhi?"
"I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself. What do you deduce from it?"
"Non ho ancora dati. È un errore capitale teorizzare prima di avere i dati. Insensibilmente si comincia a distorcere i fatti per adattarli alle teorie, invece di adattare le teorie ai fatti. Ma il biglietto stesso. Cosa ne deduce?"
I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was written.
Esaminai attentamente la scrittura e il foglio su cui era stata scritta.
"The man who wrote it was presumably well to do," I remarked, endeavouring to imitate my companion's processes. "Such paper could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong and stiff."
"L'uomo che l'ha scritto era presumibilmente benestante," osservai, cercando di imitare i procedimenti del mio compagno. "Una carta simile non si potrebbe acquistare a meno di mezza corona al pacchetto. È particolarmente resistente e rigida."
"Peculiar—that is the very word," said Holmes. "It is not an English paper at all. Hold it up to the light."
"Peculiare — è proprio la parola giusta," disse Holmes. "Non è affatto carta inglese. La tenga in controluce."
I did so, and saw a large "E" with a small "g," a "P," and a large "G" with a small "t" woven into the texture of the paper.
Lo feci, e vidi una grande "E" con una piccola "g", una "P", e una grande "G" con una piccola "t" intessute nella filigrana della carta.
"What do you make of that?" asked Holmes.
"Cosa ne pensa?" chiese Holmes.
"The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather."
"Il nome del fabbricante, senza dubbio; o piuttosto il suo monogramma."
"Not at all. The 'G' with the small 't' stands for 'Gesellschaft,' which is the German for 'Company.' It is a customary contraction like our 'Co.' 'P,' of course, stands for 'Papier.' Now for the 'Eg.' Let us glance at our Continental Gazetteer."
"Niente affatto. La 'G' con la piccola 't' sta per 'Gesellschaft,' che in tedesco significa 'Compagnia.' È una contrazione consueta come il nostro 'Co.' 'P,' naturalmente, sta per 'Papier.' Ora passiamo a 'Eg.' Diamo un'occhiata al nostro Dizionario Geografico Continentale."
He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves. "Eglow, Eglonitz—here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking country—in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad.
Prese dagli scaffali un pesante volume dalla copertina marrone. "Eglow, Eglonitz — eccola, Egria. Si trova in un paese di lingua tedesca — in Boemia, non lontano da Carlsbad.
Vocabulary
- Cosa
- What; thing; matter or subject
- immagina
- Imagine; picture in one's mind
- che
- That; which; who (relative pronoun)
- significhi
- Means; signifies; what it means
- Non
- Not; negative particle
- ho
- I have (present tense of avere)
- ancora
- Still; yet; not yet; furthermore
- dati
- Data; facts; information given
- un
- A; an (indefinite article)
- errore
- Error; mistake; fault or blunder
- capitale
- Capital; major; of great importance
- teorizzare
- Theorize; form theories about something
- prima
- Before; first; earlier in time
- di
- Of; from; expressing possession or origin
- avere
- To have; to possess; to own
- si
- Oneself; himself; herself; reflexive pronoun
- comincia
- Begins; starts; commences an action
- distorcere
- Distort; twist; bend out of shape
- fatti
- Facts; deeds; things that happened
- per
- For; in order to; by means of
- adattarli
- Adapt them; adjust them to fit
- alle
- To the; to those (feminine plural)
- teorie
- Theories; sets of principles or ideas
- invece
- Instead; on the contrary; rather
- adattare
- Adapt; adjust; modify to fit
- le
- The (feminine plural article or pronoun)
- ai
- To the (masculine plural contraction)
- Ma
- But; yet; however; on the other hand
- il
- The (masculine singular article)
- biglietto
- Ticket; note; small written message
- stesso
- Same; self; very; identical
- ne
- Of it; of them; some (pronoun)
- deduce
- Deduce; infer; conclude from evidence
- Esaminai
- I examined; I looked at closely
- attentamente
- Carefully; attentively; with close attention
- la
- The (feminine singular article or pronoun)
- scrittura
- Writing; handwriting; script or text
- foglio
- Sheet; leaf of paper; page
- su
- On; upon; over; up (preposition)
- cui
- Which; whom; that (relative pronoun)
- era
- Was; used to be (past imperfect)
- stata
- Been; past participle of essere
- scritta
- Written; written down (feminine form)
- uomo
- Man; male human being; person
- ha
- Has; he/she/it has (auxiliary verb)
- scritto
- Written; past participle of scrivere
- osservai
- I observed; I noticed; I remarked
- cercando
- Seeking; trying; attempting to find
- imitare
- Imitate; copy; mimic or emulate
- procedimenti
- Procedures; methods; processes or techniques
- del
- Of the (masculine singular contraction)
- mio
- My; mine (possessive adjective or pronoun)
- compagno
- Companion; colleague; fellow; mate or friend
- Una
- A; an (feminine indefinite article)
- carta
- Paper; card; map; charter or document
- simile
- Similar; alike; resembling; of that kind
- non
- Not; negative particle or negation
- potrebbe
- Could; might; would be able to
- acquistare
- Buy; purchase; acquire; gain or obtain
- meno
- Less; fewer; at least; minus
- mezza
- Half; middle; halfway point (feminine)
- corona
- Crown; wreath; halo; currency unit
- al
- To the; at the (masculine singular)
- pacchetto
- Package; packet; small bundle or parcel
- particolarmente
- Particularly; especially; specifically or notably
- resistente
- Resistant; strong; sturdy; durable material
- rigida
- Rigid; stiff; inflexible; unyielding (feminine)
- Peculiare
- Peculiar; distinctive; special; characteristic or unique
- proprio
- Own; very; exactly; proper or fitting
- parola
- Word; speech; language; term or expression
- giusta
- Right; correct; just; fair (feminine)
- disse
- Said; told; spoke (past tense)
- affatto
- At all; not at all; completely
- inglese
- English; English person; of England
- La
- The (feminine singular article or pronoun)
- tenga
- Keep; hold; maintain (formal subjunctive)
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