The Brothers Karamazov — Page 1
Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov
Fëdor Pavlovič Karamazov
Alexey Fyodorovitch Karamazov was the third son of Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov, a land owner well known in our district in his own day, and still remembered among us owing to his gloomy and tragic death, which happened thirteen years ago, and which I shall describe in its proper place.
Aleksej Fëdorovič Karamazov era il terzo figlio di Fëdor Pavlovič Karamazov, un proprietario terriero molto noto nel nostro distretto ai suoi tempi, e ancora ricordato tra noi a causa della sua cupa e tragica morte, avvenuta tredici anni fa, e che descriverò a suo luogo.
For the present I will only say that this "landowner"—for so we used to call him, although he hardly spent a day of his life on his own estate—was a strange type, yet one pretty frequently to be met with, a type abject and vicious and at the same time senseless.
Per ora mi limiterò a dire che questo «proprietario terriero» — poiché così eravamo soliti chiamarlo, sebbene non avesse quasi mai trascorso un giorno della sua vita nel proprio podere — era un tipo strano, eppure abbastanza frequente da incontrare, un tipo abietto e vizioso e allo stesso tempo insensato.
But he was one of those senseless persons who are very well capable of looking after their worldly affairs, and, apparently, after nothing else.
Era però uno di quegli individui insensati che sono perfettamente capaci di badare ai propri interessi mondani, e, a quanto pare, a nient'altro.
Fyodor Pavlovitch, for instance, began with next to nothing; his estate was of the smallest; he ran to dine at other men's tables, and fastened on them as a toady, yet at his death it appeared that he had a hundred thousand roubles in hard cash.
Fëdor Pavlovič, per esempio, aveva cominciato quasi dal nulla; il suo podere era dei più piccoli; andava a pranzo a spese altrui, e si attaccava agli altri come un parassita, eppure alla sua morte risultò che possedeva centomila rubli in contanti.
At the same time, he was all his life one of the most senseless, fantastical fellows in the whole district.
Allo stesso tempo, fu per tutta la vita uno dei tipi più insensati e stravaganti dell'intero distretto.
I repeat, it was not stupidity—the majority of these fantastical fellows are shrewd and intelligent enough—but just senselessness, and a peculiar national form of it.
Ripeto, non si trattava di stupidità — la maggior parte di questi tipi stravaganti è abbastanza astuta e intelligente — bensì di pura insensatezza, e di una sua peculiare forma nazionale.
He was married twice, and had three sons, the eldest, Dmitri, by his first wife, and two, Ivan and Alexey, by his second.
Si era sposato due volte, e aveva avuto tre figli: il maggiore, Dmitrij, dalla prima moglie, e due, Ivan e Aleksej, dalla seconda.
Vocabulary
- era
- Third person singular imperfect of essere; was
- il
- Masculine singular definite article; the
- terzo
- Ordinal number meaning third in a sequence
- figlio
- Male child; son of a parent
- di
- Preposition expressing possession or origin; of
- un
- Masculine singular indefinite article; a, an
- proprietario
- Person who legally owns property or land
- terriero
- Relating to land; landowner of rural estates
- molto
- Adverb or adjective meaning very or much
- noto
- Well known or famous in a given area
- nel
- Contraction of in and il; in the
- nostro
- First person plural possessive adjective; our
- distretto
- Administrative or geographic district or region
- ai
- Contraction of a and i; to the (plural)
- suoi
- Third person plural possessive adjective; his, her
- tempi
- Plural of tempo; times, periods, or eras
- e
- Coordinating conjunction; and
- ancora
- Adverb meaning still, yet, or again
- ricordato
- Past participle of ricordare; remembered, recalled
- tra
- Preposition meaning among, between, or within
- noi
- First person plural pronoun; we or us
- a
- Preposition indicating location or direction; at, to
- causa
- Reason or motive behind an event; cause
- della
- Contraction of di and la; of the
- sua
- Third person singular feminine possessive; his, her
- cupa
- Dark, gloomy, or somber in character
- tragica
- Feminine adjective meaning tragic or disastrous
- morte
- The end of life; death
- avvenuta
- Past participle of avvenire; occurred, happened
- tredici
- The cardinal number thirteen
- anni
- Plural of anno; years of time
- fa
- Used with time expressions meaning ago
- che
- Relative pronoun or conjunction; that, which, who
- descriverò
- First person future of descrivere; I will describe
- suo
- Third person singular possessive adjective; his, her
- luogo
- A specific place or location
- Per
- Preposition meaning for, by, or through
- ora
- The current moment; now or hour
- mi
- First person singular reflexive or object pronoun; me
- limiterò
- First person future of limitare; I will limit
- dire
- Infinitive meaning to say or to tell
- questo
- Masculine singular demonstrative pronoun; this
- poiché
- Conjunction meaning since, because, or given that
- così
- Adverb meaning so, thus, or in this way
- eravamo
- First person plural imperfect of essere; we were
- soliti
- Accustomed or habituated to doing something regularly
- chiamarlo
- Infinitive plus pronoun; to call him
- sebbene
- Concessive conjunction meaning although or even though
- non
- Negation adverb; not
- avesse
- Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of avere; had
- quasi
- Adverb meaning almost, nearly, or hardly
- mai
- Adverb meaning never or ever in context
- trascorso
- Past participle of trascorrere; spent or passed time
- giorno
- A period of twenty-four hours; day
- vita
- The state of being alive; life
- proprio
- Adjective or adverb meaning own, very, or really
- podere
- A rural farm or agricultural estate property
- tipo
- A kind, sort, or type of person or thing
- strano
- Adjective meaning strange, odd, or peculiar
- eppure
- Conjunction meaning yet, and yet, or nevertheless
- abbastanza
- Adverb meaning enough, quite, or fairly
- frequente
- Occurring often; common or frequent
- da
- Preposition meaning from, by, since, or as
- incontrare
- Infinitive meaning to meet or to encounter
- abietto
- Morally despicable, vile, or abject in character
- vizioso
- Given to vice; corrupt, depraved, or vicious
- allo
- Contraction of a and lo; at the, to the
- stesso
- Adjective meaning same or very, identical
- tempo
- Time, period, or weather depending on context
- insensato
- Without reason or sense; foolish, senseless
- Era
- Third person singular imperfect of essere; was
- però
- Adversative conjunction meaning however or but
- uno
- Masculine indefinite article or numeral; one, a
- quegli
- Masculine plural demonstrative adjective; those
- individui
- Plural of individuo; individuals or persons
- sono
- Third person plural present of essere; they are
- perfettamente
- Adverb meaning perfectly, completely, or fully
- capaci
- Plural of capace; capable or able
- badare
- Infinitive meaning to look after or mind
- propri
- Plural of proprio; one's own
- interessi
- Plural of interesse; interests or financial returns
- mondani
- Worldly or mundane affairs; relating to society
- quanto
- Relative or interrogative meaning how much, as far
- pare
- Third person singular of parere; it seems, apparently
- nient'altro
- Contraction of niente and altro; nothing else
- per
- Preposition meaning for, through, or in order to
- esempio
- An instance used to illustrate; example
- aveva
- Third person singular imperfect of avere; had
- cominciato
- Past participle of cominciare; started or begun
- dal
- Contraction of da and il; from the
- nulla
- Pronoun meaning nothing; nothingness or zero
- dei
- Contraction of di and i; of the (plural)
- più
- Adverb meaning more or most in comparisons
- piccoli
- Plural of piccolo; small, little, or young
- andava
- Third person singular imperfect of andare; went, used to go
- pranzo
- The midday or main meal; lunch or dinner
- spese
- Plural of spesa; expenses, costs, or expenditures
- altrui
- Invariable possessive meaning of others, someone else's
- si
- Reflexive or impersonal pronoun; oneself, itself
- attaccava
- Imperfect of attaccarsi; clung, attached himself to others
- agli
- Contraction of a and gli; to the (plural)
- altri
- Plural of altro; others, other people
- come
- Conjunction or adverb meaning as, like, how
- parassita
- Organism or person living off others; parasite
- alla
- Contraction of a and la; to the, at the
- risultò
- Third person singular passato remoto of risultare; turned out
- possedeva
- Third person singular imperfect of possedere; owned, possessed
- centomila
- Cardinal number meaning one hundred thousand
- in
- Preposition indicating location or state; in, into
- contanti
- Cash money; liquid funds paid immediately
- Allo
- Contraction of a and lo; at the same
- fu
- Third person singular passato remoto of essere; was
- tutta
- Feminine singular of tutto; all, whole, entire
- la
- Feminine singular definite article or pronoun; the, her
- tipi
- Plural of tipo; types, kinds, or characters
- stravaganti
- Plural of stravagante; eccentric, extravagant, or odd people
- dell'intero
- Contraction of di, il, and intero; of the entire
- Ripeto
- First person singular of ripetere; I repeat
- trattava
- Third person singular imperfect of trattarsi; it was about
- stupidità
- The quality of being stupid; stupidity or foolishness
- maggior
- Shortened form of maggiore; greater, major, or most
- parte
- A portion or segment of a whole; part
- questi
- Masculine plural demonstrative pronoun; these people
- è
- Third person singular present of essere; is
- astuta
- Feminine of astuto; clever, shrewd, or cunning
- intelligente
- Having good mental capacity; intelligent or smart
- bensì
- Conjunction meaning but rather, on the contrary
- pura
- Feminine of puro; pure, mere, or absolute
- insensatezza
- The quality of being senseless; foolishness or absurdity
- una
- Feminine singular indefinite article; a, an
- peculiare
- Distinctive or characteristic of a particular group; peculiar
- forma
- Shape, kind, or manner of something; form
- nazionale
- Relating to or characteristic of a nation; national
- Si
- Reflexive or impersonal pronoun used with verbs
- sposato
- Past participle of sposare; married, wedded
- due
- Cardinal number meaning two
- volte
- Plural of volta; times, occasions, instances
- avuto
- Past participle of avere; had or gotten
- tre
- Cardinal number meaning three
- figli
- Plural of figlio; sons or children
- maggiore
- Adjective meaning older, elder, or greater
- dalla
- Contraction of da and la; from the
- prima
- Feminine ordinal meaning first; also before or earlier
- moglie
- A married woman; wife
- seconda
- Feminine ordinal meaning second; also second gear
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