The Prince — Page 15

English → Spanish Preface Level 8/10

Machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation, acuteness, and industry; noting with appreciative eye whatever passed before him, and with his supreme literary gift turning it to account in his enforced retirement from affairs.

Maquiavelo fue sin duda un hombre de gran capacidad de observación, agudeza e industriosidad; tomando nota con ojo apreciativo de todo lo que pasaba ante él, y con su supremo don literario sacando partido de ello en su forzado retiro de los asuntos públicos.

He does not present himself, nor is he depicted by his contemporaries, as a type of that rare combination, the successful statesman and author, for he appears to have been only moderately prosperous in his several embassies and political employments.

Él no se presenta a sí mismo, ni es descrito por sus contemporáneos, como un ejemplo de esa rara combinación del estadista y autor exitoso, pues parece haber sido solo moderadamente próspero en sus diversas embajadas y empleos políticos.

He was misled by Catherina Sforza, ignored by Louis XII, overawed by Cesare Borgia; several of his embassies were quite barren of results; his attempts to fortify Florence failed, and the soldiery that he raised astonished everybody by their cowardice.

Fue engañado por Caterina Sforza, ignorado por Luis XII, intimidado por César Borgia; varias de sus embajadas fueron completamente estériles en resultados; sus intentos de fortificar Florencia fracasaron, y la soldadesca que reclutó asombró a todos por su cobardía.

In the conduct of his own affairs he was timid and time-serving; he dared not appear by the side of Soderini, to whom he owed so much, for fear of compromising himself; his connection with the Medici was open to suspicion, and Giuliano appears to have recognized his real forte when he set him to write the "History of Florence," rather than employ him in the state.

En el manejo de sus propios asuntos fue tímido y oportunista; no se atrevió a aparecer al lado de Soderini, a quien tanto debía, por temor a comprometerse; su relación con los Médici era objeto de sospecha, y Giuliano parece haber reconocido su verdadero punto fuerte cuando lo puso a escribir la «Historia de Florencia», en lugar de emplearlo en asuntos de estado.

And it is on the literary side of his character, and there alone, that we find no weakness and no failure.

Y es en el aspecto literario de su carácter, y solo en él, donde no encontramos ninguna debilidad ni ningún fracaso.

Although the light of almost four centuries has been focused on _The Prince_, its problems are still debatable and interesting, because they are the eternal problems between the ruled and their rulers.

Aunque la luz de casi cuatro siglos se ha concentrado en _El príncipe_, sus problemas siguen siendo debatibles e interesantes, porque son los eternos problemas entre los gobernados y sus gobernantes.

Vocabulary

fue: Was; third person singular preterite of 'ser'.
sin: Without; preposition indicating absence of something.
duda: Doubt; uncertainty about something.
hombre: Man; adult male human being.
gran: Great, large; adjective indicating exceptional size or quality.
capacidad: Capacity, ability; skill or power to do something.
observación: Observation; act of watching and noting carefully.
agudeza: Sharpness, wit; keenness of mind or perception.
e: And; variant of 'y' used before 'i' sounds.
industriosidad: Industriousness; quality of being hardworking and diligent.
tomando: Taking; present participle of 'tomar', to take.
nota: Note; written record or mark of something observed.
ojo: Eye; organ of sight; also means attention or care.
apreciativo: Appreciative; showing recognition and positive judgment of value.
todo: All, everything; indicates totality or entirety.
pasaba: Was happening, passed; imperfect tense of 'pasar'.
ante: Before, in front of; preposition indicating position or presence.
supremo: Supreme, highest; of the greatest degree or importance.
don: Gift, talent; natural ability or aptitude someone possesses.
literario: Literary; relating to literature or written artistic works.
sacando: Drawing out, extracting; present participle of 'sacar'.
partido: Advantage, benefit; use or profit derived from something.
ello: It; neuter third person pronoun referring to abstract idea.
forzado: Forced, compelled; done under pressure or against one's will.
retiro: Retirement, retreat; withdrawal from public activity or service.
asuntos: Affairs, matters; subjects or issues requiring attention.
públicos: Public; relating to government, society, or community affairs.
presenta: Presents himself; third person of 'presentarse', to appear.
sí: Himself, herself; reflexive pronoun used after prepositions.
mismo: Same, himself; emphasizing identity or reflexive reference.
ni: Nor, neither; negative conjunction connecting alternatives.
descrito: Described; past participle of 'describir', to describe.
contemporáneos: Contemporaries; people living during the same historical period.
ejemplo: Example; something that illustrates or represents a point.
rara: Rare, unusual; occurring infrequently or uncommonly.
combinación: Combination; mixture or union of two or more elements.
estadista: Statesman; skilled and experienced political leader or diplomat.
autor: Author; person who writes books or literary works.
exitoso: Successful; achieving desired results or widespread recognition.
pues: Since, well, then; conjunction indicating cause or transition.
parece: Seems, appears; third person of 'parecer', to seem.
haber: To have; auxiliary verb used to form compound tenses.
sido: Been; past participle of 'ser', to be.
solo: Only, just, alone; adverb limiting or restricting meaning.
moderadamente: Moderately; to a limited or average degree, not extremely.
próspero: Prosperous, successful; thriving financially or professionally.
diversas: Various, diverse; several different kinds or instances.
embajadas: Embassies, diplomatic missions; official diplomatic assignments abroad.
empleos: Jobs, positions; official roles or occupations held.
políticos: Political; relating to government, politics, or public affairs.
Fue: Was; third person singular preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'.
engañado: Deceived, tricked; past participle of 'engañar', to deceive.
ignorado: Ignored; past participle of 'ignorar', to ignore or overlook.
intimidado: Intimidated; past participle of 'intimidar', to frighten or overawe.
varias: Several, various; feminine plural adjective meaning more than two.
fueron: Were; third person plural preterite of 'ser' or 'ir'.
completamente: Completely; in a total or absolute manner, fully.
estériles: Sterile, fruitless; producing no results or useful outcomes.
resultados: Results, outcomes; consequences or effects of actions taken.
intentos: Attempts, tries; efforts made to accomplish something.
fortificar: To fortify; to strengthen a place with defensive structures.
fracasaron: Failed; third person plural preterite of 'fracasar', to fail.
soldadesca: Soldiery, troops; group of soldiers, often undisciplined ones.
reclutó: Recruited; third person singular preterite of 'reclutar'.
asombró: Amazed, astonished; preterite of 'asombrar', to amaze.
todos: Everyone, all; referring to all people or things.
cobardía: Cowardice; lack of courage or bravery in difficult situations.
manejo: Handling, management; way of dealing with or managing things.
propios: Own; adjective indicating belonging to oneself, one's own.
tímido: Timid, shy; lacking self-confidence or courage in behavior.
oportunista: Opportunist; person who takes advantage of circumstances selfishly.
atrevió: Dared; preterite of 'atreverse', to dare or venture.
aparecer: To appear; to become visible or present oneself somewhere.
lado: Side; position next to or beside someone or something.
quien: Who, whom; relative pronoun referring to people.
tanto: So much, as much; adverb indicating great quantity or degree.
debía: Owed, should; imperfect of 'deber', indicating obligation or debt.
temor: Fear, dread; feeling of anxiety or apprehension about something.
comprometerse: To commit oneself, get involved; to bind oneself to something.
relación: Relationship, connection; association between people or things.
era: Was; third person singular imperfect of 'ser', to be.
objeto: Object, subject; thing or focus of attention or action.
sospecha: Suspicion; feeling or belief that something wrong has occurred.
reconocido: Recognized, acknowledged; past participle of 'reconocer'.
verdadero: True, real; genuine or authentic, not false or pretended.
punto: Point; specific aspect, location, or moment in discussion.
fuerte: Strong, strength; having great power, force, or ability.
cuando: When; conjunction or adverb indicating time of an event.
puso: Put, set; preterite of 'poner', to put or place.
escribir: To write; to produce text or literary works.
Historia: History; account or study of past events and people.
lugar: Place, instead; location or position, also used as 'instead of'.
emplearlo: To employ him; to use or hire someone for a purpose.
estado: State; political entity or condition; also past participle of 'estar'.
aspecto: Aspect, appearance; particular feature or dimension of something.
carácter: Character; moral nature or distinctive qualities of a person.
donde: Where; relative adverb indicating location or context.
encontramos: We find, found; first person plural of 'encontrar', to find.
ninguna: None, no; feminine singular negative adjective or pronoun.
debilidad: Weakness; lack of strength, power, or resolution.
ningún: No, none; masculine singular negative adjective before a noun.
fracaso: Failure; lack of success in achieving a goal.
Aunque: Although, even though; concessive conjunction introducing contrast.
luz: Light; illumination; also used metaphorically as perspective.
casi: Almost, nearly; adverb indicating nearness to a quantity.
cuatro: Four; the number 4.
siglos: Centuries; periods of one hundred years each.
ha: Has; third person singular present of 'haber', auxiliary verb.
concentrado: Concentrated, focused; past participle of 'concentrar'.
príncipe: Prince; male ruler or heir; title of Machiavelli's famous work.
problemas: Problems, issues; difficulties or challenges needing resolution.
siguen: Continue, still are; third person plural present of 'seguir'.
siendo: Being; present participle of 'ser', used in progressive forms.
debatibles: Debatable; open to discussion, argument, or different interpretations.
interesantes: Interesting; arousing curiosity, attention, or engagement.
porque: Because; conjunction explaining reason or cause.
eternos: Eternal, timeless; lasting forever or for a very long time.
entre: Between, among; preposition indicating position or relationship.
gobernados: Governed, the governed; those who are ruled by authorities.
gobernantes: Rulers, governing leaders; those who hold political power.

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