The Angel in the House — Page 10
The lack of lovely pride, in her
La mancanza di orgoglio gentile, in lei
Who strives to please, my pleasure numbs,
Che si sforza di piacere, intorpidisce il mio piacere,
And still the maid I most prefer
E pur sempre la fanciulla che preferisco di più
Whose care to please with pleasing comes.
È colei la cui cura di piacere viene accompagnata dal piacere stesso.
MARY AND MILDRED.
MARY E MILDRED.
1
1
One morning, after Church, I walk'd
Un mattino, dopo la Messa, camminai
Alone with Mary on the lawn,
Solo con Mary sul prato,
And felt myself, howe'er we talk'd,
E mi sentii, comunque parlassimo,
To grave themes delicately drawn.
Delicatamente attratto verso temi gravi.
When she, delighted, found I knew
Quando lei, lieta, scoprì che conoscevo
More of her peace than she supposed,
Più della sua pace di quanto supponesse,
Our confidences heavenwards grew,
Le nostre confidenze crebbero verso il cielo,
Like fox-glove buds, in pairs disclosed.
Come boccioli di digitale, schiusi a coppie.
Our former faults did we confess,
Confessammo le nostre passate colpe,
Our ancient feud was more than heal'd,
La nostra antica rivalità era più che sanata,
And, with the woman's eagerness
E, con il fervore femminile
For amity full-sign'd and seal'd,
Per un'amicizia pienamente firmata e sigillata,
She, offering up for sacrifice
Lei, offrendo in sacrificio
Her heart's reserve, brought out to show
La riserva del suo cuore, tirò fuori per mostrare
Some verses, made when she was ice
Alcune poesie, scritte quando era di ghiaccio
To all but Heaven, six years ago;
Verso tutto tranne il Cielo, sei anni fa;
Since happier grown! I took and read
Da allora divenuta più felice! Presi e lessi
The neat-writ lines. She, void of guile,
I versi scritti con cura. Lei, priva di malizia,
Too late repenting, blush'd, and said,
Pentendosi troppo tardi, arrossì e disse,
I must not think about the style.
Che non dovevo badare allo stile.
2
2
'Day after day, until to-day,
«Giorno dopo giorno, fino ad oggi,
Imaged the others gone before,
Simile agli altri giorni già trascorsi,
The same dull task, the weary way,
Lo stesso grigio compito, il cammino stancante,
The weakness pardon'd o'er and o'er,
La debolezza perdonata ancora e ancora,
'The thwarted thirst, too faintly felt,
«La sete frustrata, avvertita troppo debolmente,
For joy's well-nigh forgotten life,
Per la vita della gioia quasi dimenticata,
The restless heart, which, when I knelt,
Il cuore inquieto, che, quando mi inginocchiavo,
Made of my worship barren strife.
Faceva del mio culto una sterile lotta.
Vocabulary
- La
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- mancanza
- Lack, absence, or shortage of something
- di
- Of (preposition indicating possession or relationship)
- orgoglio
- Pride, self-respect, or dignified bearing
- gentile
- Kind, courteous, or noble in manner
- in
- In, into (preposition indicating location or state)
- lei
- She, her (feminine pronoun)
- Che
- That, which, who (relative pronoun)
- si
- Oneself (reflexive pronoun marker)
- sforza
- Strives, makes effort, struggles to do
- piacere
- Pleasure, delight, or to please someone
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- mio
- My (possessive adjective, masculine singular)
- pur
- Even, still, yet (conjunction or adverb)
- sempre
- Always, ever (adverb)
- fanciulla
- Girl, young woman, maiden
- preferisco
- I prefer (first person singular present)
- più
- More, most (adverb or adjective)
- colei
- She, the one (feminine demonstrative pronoun)
- cui
- Whom, whose (relative pronoun)
- cura
- Care, attention, concern, or cure
- viene
- Comes, is (third person singular present)
- accompagnata
- Accompanied, escorted (past participle, feminine)
- dal
- From the, by the (preposition contraction)
- stesso
- Same, self, very (adjective or pronoun)
- Un
- A, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- mattino
- Morning (time of day from sunrise)
- dopo
- After, afterward (preposition or adverb)
- Messa
- Mass (religious Christian service)
- camminai
- I walked (first person singular past)
- Solo
- Alone, only (adjective or adverb)
- sul
- On the (preposition contraction)
- prato
- Meadow, grassland, or lawn
- mi
- Me, to me (indirect object pronoun)
- sentii
- I felt (first person singular past)
- comunque
- However, nevertheless, anyway (adverb)
- Delicatamente
- Delicately, gently, softly, with care
- attratto
- Attracted, drawn (past participle, masculine)
- verso
- Toward, towards (preposition)
- temi
- Themes, subjects, or topics of discussion
- gravi
- Serious, grave, or heavy (adjective)
- Quando
- When, at what time (conjunction)
- lieta
- Happy, joyful, cheerful (feminine adjective)
- scoprì
- Discovered, revealed, found out (past)
- conoscevo
- I knew (first person singular imperfect)
- della
- Of the, from the (preposition contraction)
- sua
- Her, its (feminine possessive adjective)
- pace
- Peace, calm, tranquility
- quanto
- How much, as much as (pronoun)
- supponesse
- Supposed, assumed, conjectured (past subjunctive)
- nostre
- Our (feminine plural possessive adjective)
- confidenze
- Confidences, secrets, intimate revelations shared
- crebbero
- Grew, increased (third person plural past)
- cielo
- Sky, heaven (noun)
- Come
- Like, as, how (conjunction or adverb)
- boccioli
- Buds, flower buds (noun plural)
- schiusi
- I opened, unlocked (first person singular past)
- coppie
- Couples, pairs (noun plural)
- Confessammo
- We confessed (first person plural past)
- passate
- Past, gone by (feminine plural adjective)
- colpe
- Faults, mistakes, or sins (plural)
- nostra
- Our (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- antica
- Ancient, old (feminine singular adjective)
- rivalità
- Rivalry, competition between rivals or groups
- era
- Was (third person singular past, imperfect)
- sanata
- Healed, cured (past participle, feminine)
- fervore
- Fervor, passion, intense enthusiasm or zeal
- femminile
- Feminine, womanly (adjective)
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