The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 7
"Being natural is simply a pose, and the most irritating pose I know," cried Lord Henry, laughing; and the two young men went out into the garden together and ensconced themselves on a long bamboo seat that stood in the shade of a tall laurel bush.
«Ser natural es simplemente una pose, y la pose más irritante que conozco», exclamó Lord Henry, riendo; y los dos jóvenes salieron juntos al jardín y se acomodaron en un largo asiento de bambú que estaba a la sombra de un alto arbusto de laurel.
The sunlight slipped over the polished leaves.
La luz del sol se deslizaba sobre las hojas pulidas.
In the grass, white daisies were tremulous.
En la hierba, las margaritas blancas temblaban.
After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch.
Tras una pausa, Lord Henry sacó su reloj.
"I am afraid I must be going, Basil," he murmured, "and before I go, I insist on your answering a question I put to you some time ago."
«Me temo que debo irme, Basil», murmuró, «y antes de irme, insisto en que respondas a una pregunta que te hice hace algún tiempo».
"What is that?" said the painter, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.
«¿Cuál es?», dijo el pintor, manteniendo los ojos fijos en el suelo.
"You know quite well."
«Lo sabes muy bien».
"I do not, Harry."
«No lo sé, Harry».
"Well, I will tell you what it is.
«Bien, te diré de qué se trata.
I want you to explain to me why you won't exhibit Dorian Gray's picture.
Quiero que me expliques por qué no quieres exponer el retrato de Dorian Gray.
I want the real reason."
Quiero la razón verdadera».
"I told you the real reason."
«Ya te dije la razón verdadera».
"No, you did not.
«No, no lo hiciste.
You said it was because there was too much of yourself in it.
Dijiste que era porque había demasiado de ti mismo en él.
Now, that is childish."
Eso es una niñería».
"Harry," said Basil Hallward, looking him straight in the face, "every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.
«Harry», dijo Basil Hallward, mirándolo directamente a la cara, «todo retrato pintado con sentimiento es un retrato del artista, no del modelo.
The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion.
El modelo es simplemente el accidente, la ocasión.
It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.
No es él quien es revelado por el pintor; es más bien el pintor quien, en el lienzo coloreado, se revela a sí mismo.
Vocabulary
- Ser
- To be; fundamental Spanish linking verb
- natural
- Natural; occurring in or by nature
- es
- Is; third person singular of ser
- simplemente
- Simply; in a straightforward or plain manner
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- pose
- A pose; affected or artificial manner or attitude
- y
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- más
- Most, more; used for comparatives and superlatives
- irritante
- Irritating; causing annoyance or frustration
- que
- That, which, who; relative pronoun or conjunction
- conozco
- I know; first person singular of conocer
- exclamó
- Exclaimed; uttered something suddenly with force
- riendo
- Laughing; present participle of reír
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- dos
- Two; the number 2
- jóvenes
- Young people; plural noun referring to youth
- salieron
- They left, they went out; preterite of salir
- juntos
- Together; in each other's company
- al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- jardín
- Garden; an outdoor area with plants
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs
- acomodaron
- They settled; made themselves comfortable somewhere
- en
- In, on; basic preposition of location
- un
- A, an; masculine indefinite article
- largo
- Long; extending a great distance
- asiento
- Seat; something to sit on
- de
- Of, from; very common Spanish preposition
- bambú
- Bamboo; tall tropical grass used for furniture
- estaba
- Was; imperfect tense of estar
- a
- To, at; basic Spanish preposition
- sombra
- Shade, shadow; area sheltered from direct sunlight
- alto
- Tall, high; of great vertical extent
- arbusto
- Shrub, bush; a woody plant smaller than a tree
- laurel
- Laurel; an evergreen shrub with glossy leaves
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- luz
- Light; electromagnetic radiation visible to the eye
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el
- sol
- Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
- deslizaba
- Was sliding, gliding; imperfect of deslizar
- sobre
- On, over, about; common Spanish preposition
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- hojas
- Leaves; flat green parts of a plant
- pulidas
- Polished, glossy; having a smooth shiny surface
- En
- In, on; basic Spanish preposition of location
- hierba
- Grass, herb; low-growing green ground cover
- margaritas
- Daisies; small white flowering plants
- blancas
- White; feminine plural color adjective
- temblaban
- Were trembling, quivering; imperfect of temblar
- Tras
- After, following; preposition indicating sequence
- pausa
- Pause; a temporary stop or break in activity
- sacó
- He took out; preterite of sacar
- su
- His, her, your, their; possessive adjective
- reloj
- Watch, clock; device for measuring time
- Me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun
- temo
- I fear, I'm afraid; first person of temer
- debo
- I must, I should; first person of deber
- irme
- To go, to leave; reflexive infinitive of ir
- murmuró
- Murmured; spoke softly in a low voice
- antes
- Before, first; indicating prior time or order
- insisto
- I insist; first person singular of insistir
- respondas
- You answer; present subjunctive of responder
- pregunta
- Question; a request for information
- te
- You; second person singular object pronoun
- hice
- I made, I did; preterite of hacer
- hace
- Ago, makes; common verb used in time expressions
- algún
- Some, any; indefinite adjective before masculine nouns
- tiempo
- Time, weather; duration or meteorological conditions
- Cuál
- Which, what; interrogative pronoun
- dijo
- Said, told; preterite of decir
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- pintor
- Painter; artist who creates paintings
- manteniendo
- Keeping, maintaining; present participle of mantener
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight
- fijos
- Fixed, steady; firmly directed or set
- suelo
- Floor, ground; surface underfoot
- Lo
- It, him; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- sabes
- You know; second person singular of saber
- muy
- Very; adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs
- bien
- Well, good; adverb indicating quality or correctness
- No
- No, not; basic negation word
- sé
- I know; first person singular of saber
- Bien
- Well, fine; indicating acceptance or agreement
- diré
- I will tell; future tense of decir
- qué
- What; interrogative or exclamatory pronoun
- trata
- It is about; third person of tratar
- Quiero
- I want; first person singular of querer
- expliques
- You explain; present subjunctive of explicar
- por
- For, by, because of; versatile Spanish preposition
- no
- No, not; negation word
- quieres
- You want; second person singular of querer
- exponer
- To exhibit, to expose; display publicly
- retrato
- Portrait; a painted or drawn likeness of a person
- razón
- Reason; the cause or motive for something
- verdadera
- True, real; genuine and authentic
- Ya
- Already, now; indicating something has occurred
- dije
- I said; preterite first person of decir
- hiciste
- You did, you made; preterite of hacer
- Dijiste
- You said; preterite second person of decir
- era
- Was; imperfect third person singular of ser
- porque
- Because; conjunction giving a reason or cause
- había
- There was; imperfect of haber
- demasiado
- Too much; exceeding what is appropriate
- ti
- You; second person singular prepositional pronoun
- mismo
- Himself, itself, same; reflexive or emphatic pronoun
- él
- He, him; third person masculine singular pronoun
- Eso
- That; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- niñería
- Childishness; silly or immature behavior
- mirándolo
- Looking at him; participle of mirar with pronoun
- directamente
- Directly; in a straight or straightforward manner
- cara
- Face; the front part of a person's head
- todo
- All, everything; refers to the totality of something
- pintado
- Painted; past participle of pintar
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- sentimiento
- Feeling, emotion; inner subjective experience
- artista
- Artist; person who creates works of art
- modelo
- Model; person who poses for an artist
- El
- The; masculine singular definite article
- accidente
- Accident, chance; unforeseen or unplanned occurrence
- ocasión
- Occasion; a particular time or opportunity
- quien
- Who, whom; relative pronoun referring to a person
- revelado
- Revealed; past participle of revelar
- lienzo
- Canvas; fabric surface used for painting
- coloreado
- Colored; having color applied to it
- revela
- Reveals; third person singular of revelar
- sí
- Himself, itself; reflexive pronoun after preposition
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