The Brothers Karamazov — Page 6
She had died quite suddenly in a garret, according to one story, of typhus, or as another version had it, of starvation.
Era morta abbastanza improvvisamente in una soffitta, secondo una versione, di tifo, o come un'altra versione sosteneva, di stenti.
Fyodor Pavlovitch was drunk when he heard of his wife's death, and the story is that he ran out into the street and began shouting with joy, raising his hands to Heaven: "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace," but others say he wept without restraint like a little child, so much so that people were sorry for him, in spite of the repulsion he inspired.
Fëdor Pavlovič era ubriaco quando seppe della morte di sua moglie, e si racconta che corse in strada e cominciò a gridare di gioia, alzando le mani al Cielo: «Signore, ora lascia che il tuo servo parta in pace», ma altri dicono che pianse senza freno come un bambino piccolo, al punto che la gente si impietosì per lui, nonostante la repulsione che ispirava.
It is quite possible that both versions were true, that he rejoiced at his release, and at the same time wept for her who released him.
È del tutto possibile che entrambe le versioni fossero vere, che si sia rallegrato per la sua liberazione, e allo stesso tempo abbia pianto per colei che lo aveva liberato.
As a general rule, people, even the wicked, are much more naïve and simple-hearted than we suppose.
In generale, le persone, persino le malvagie, sono molto più ingenue e di cuore semplice di quanto supponiamo.
And we ourselves are, too.
E lo siamo anche noi stessi.
Vocabulary
- Era
- Third person singular past tense of 'essere' (to be)
- morta
- Dead; feminine past participle of 'morire'
- abbastanza
- Enough; fairly; sufficiently
- improvvisamente
- Suddenly; all at once; without warning
- soffitta
- Attic; the uppermost room under a roof
- secondo
- According to; second; depending on context
- versione
- Version; account; particular telling of events
- tifo
- Typhus; infectious disease; also means fanaticism
- altra
- Another; other; feminine form of 'altro'
- sosteneva
- Claimed; maintained; was arguing or asserting
- stenti
- Hardship; deprivation; struggle to survive
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of 'essere'
- ubriaco
- Drunk; intoxicated; inebriated
- quando
- When; at the time that; conjunction of time
- seppe
- Learned; found out; past tense of 'sapere'
- morte
- Death; the end of life
- moglie
- Wife; a married woman relative to her husband
- racconta
- It is told; one recounts; narrates a story
- corse
- Ran; rushed; past tense of 'correre'
- strada
- Street; road; path through a town
- cominciò
- Began; started; past tense of 'cominciare'
- gridare
- To shout; to yell; to cry out loudly
- gioia
- Joy; happiness; great delight
- alzando
- Raising; lifting; gerund of 'alzare'
- mani
- Hands; plural of 'mano'
- Cielo
- Sky; Heaven; the heavens above
- Signore
- Lord; sir; formal title or address to God
- ora
- Now; at this moment; also means hour
- lascia
- Let; allow; permit; second person imperative of 'lasciare'
- servo
- Servant; one who serves another person
- parta
- Depart; leave; present subjunctive of 'partire'
- pace
- Peace; tranquility; absence of conflict
- altri
- Others; other people; plural of 'altro'
- dicono
- They say; they claim; third plural of 'dire'
- pianse
- Wept; cried; past tense of 'piangere'
- senza
- Without; lacking; in the absence of
- freno
- Restraint; brake; control over one's emotions
- bambino
- Child; young boy; small infant
- piccolo
- Small; little; of small size or age
- punto
- Point; moment; also a period punctuation mark
- gente
- People; folks; a group of persons
- impietosì
- Felt pity; took compassion; past tense of 'impietosire'
- nonostante
- Despite; notwithstanding; in spite of
- repulsione
- Repulsion; strong feeling of disgust or aversion
- ispirava
- Inspired; provoked; imperfect tense of 'ispirare'
- tutto
- All; everything; completely; entirely
- possibile
- Possible; able to happen or be done
- entrambe
- Both; referring to two feminine things together
- versioni
- Versions; accounts; plural of 'versione'
- fossero
- Were; third plural imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'
- vere
- True; real; feminine plural of 'vero'
- sia
- Be; present subjunctive of 'essere'; also 'both'
- rallegrato
- Rejoiced; gladdened; past participle of 'rallegrare'
- liberazione
- Liberation; freedom; release from constraint
- stesso
- Same; very; identical; masculine form of 'stessa'
- tempo
- Time; weather; period or duration
- abbia
- Has; have; present subjunctive of 'avere'
- pianto
- Wept; cried; past participle of 'piangere'
- colei
- She who; that woman; feminine demonstrative pronoun
- aveva
- Had; third person singular imperfect of 'avere'
- liberato
- Freed; liberated; past participle of 'liberare'
- generale
- General; in general; broadly speaking
- persone
- People; persons; individual human beings
- persino
- Even; as far as; including unexpectedly
- malvagie
- Wicked; evil; morally bad; feminine plural adjective
- molto
- Very; much; a great deal
- più
- More; most; used for comparisons
- ingenue
- Naive; innocent; unsophisticated; feminine plural form
- cuore
- Heart; the seat of emotion and feeling
- semplice
- Simple; plain; uncomplicated; not complex
- quanto
- How much; as much as; than we suppose
- supponiamo
- We suppose; we assume; first plural of 'supporre'
- siamo
- We are; first person plural of 'essere'
- anche
- Also; too; even; as well
- stessi
- Ourselves; plural reflexive of 'stesso'; same persons
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