The Prince — Page 4
Whereas the magnificence of the Medicean rule during the life of Lorenzo appeared to have impressed Machiavelli strongly, for he frequently recurs to it in his writings, and it is to Lorenzo's grandson that he dedicates _The Prince_.
Mentre la magnificenza del governo mediceo durante la vita di Lorenzo sembrava aver profondamente impressionato Machiavelli, poiché egli vi fa frequentemente riferimento nei suoi scritti, ed è al nipote di Lorenzo che dedica _Il Principe_.
Machiavelli, in his "History of Florence," gives us a picture of the young men among whom his youth was passed.
Machiavelli, nella sua "Storia di Firenze", ci offre un ritratto dei giovani tra i quali trascorse la sua giovinezza.
He writes: "They were freer than their forefathers in dress and living, and spent more in other kinds of excesses, consuming their time and money in idleness, gaming, and women; their chief aim was to appear well dressed and to speak with wit and acuteness, whilst he who could wound others the most cleverly was thought the wisest."
Egli scrive: "Erano più liberi dei loro antenati nel vestire e nel vivere, e spendevano di più in altri tipi di eccessi, consumando il loro tempo e il loro denaro nell'ozio, nel gioco e nelle donne; il loro principale obiettivo era apparire ben vestiti e parlare con arguzia e acume, mentre colui che sapeva ferire gli altri nel modo più brillante era considerato il più saggio."
In a letter to his son Guido, Machiavelli shows why youth should avail itself of its opportunities for study, and leads us to infer that his own youth had been so occupied.
In una lettera al figlio Guido, Machiavelli illustra perché i giovani dovrebbero cogliere le opportunità di studio, e ci porta a dedurre che la sua stessa giovinezza fosse stata così impiegata.
He writes: "I have received your letter, which has given me the greatest pleasure, especially because you tell me you are quite restored in health, than which I could have no better news; for if God grant life to you, and to me, I hope to make a good man of you if you are willing to do your share.
Egli scrive: "Ho ricevuto la tua lettera, che mi ha dato il più grande piacere, soprattutto perché mi dici che sei completamente ristabilito in salute, della quale non potrei avere notizia migliore; poiché se Dio concede la vita a te e a me, spero di fare di te un uomo dabbene, se sei disposto a fare la tua parte.
Vocabulary
- Mentre
- While, during a period of time
- magnificenza
- Magnificence, grandeur, splendor
- governo
- Government, rule, administration
- mediceo
- Relating to the Medici family or era
- durante
- During, throughout a period of time
- vita
- Life, lifetime of a person
- sembrava
- Seemed, appeared to be (imperfect tense)
- aver
- To have (infinitive, auxiliary verb)
- profondamente
- Deeply, profoundly, in a deep manner
- impressionato
- Impressed, struck deeply by something
- poiché
- Since, because, given that (conjunction)
- egli
- He (formal third-person singular subject pronoun)
- vi
- There, to it, about it (pronoun/adverb)
- fa
- Makes, does (third-person singular present)
- frequentemente
- Frequently, often, on many occasions
- riferimento
- Reference, mention, allusion to something
- suoi
- His, her, its (masculine plural possessive)
- scritti
- Writings, written works, texts
- nipote
- Nephew, niece, or grandchild
- dedica
- Dedicates, devotes a work to someone
- sua
- His, her, its (feminine singular possessive)
- Storia
- History, story, historical account
- ci
- Us, to us, here (pronoun/adverb)
- offre
- Offers, provides, presents something
- ritratto
- Portrait, depiction, description of someone
- giovani
- Young people, youth (plural noun)
- tra
- Among, between, amid (preposition)
- quali
- Which, whom (relative pronoun plural)
- trascorse
- Spent, passed time (past tense)
- giovinezza
- Youth, the period of being young
- Egli
- He (formal literary subject pronoun)
- scrive
- Writes (third-person singular present tense)
- Erano
- Were (third-person plural imperfect tense)
- più
- More, most (comparative/superlative adverb)
- liberi
- Free, unrestricted (masculine plural adjective)
- loro
- Their, them, they (pronoun/adjective)
- antenati
- Ancestors, forebears, predecessors (plural noun)
- vestire
- To dress, to wear clothing
- vivere
- To live, to exist, to dwell
- spendevano
- Were spending, used to spend money
- altri
- Other, others (masculine plural adjective)
- tipi
- Types, kinds, sorts (plural noun)
- eccessi
- Excesses, overindulgences (plural noun)
- consumando
- Consuming, spending, using up (gerund)
- tempo
- Time, weather (masculine noun)
- denaro
- Money, cash, currency
- ozio
- Idleness, leisure, laziness
- gioco
- Game, play, gambling activity
- donne
- Women (feminine plural noun)
- principale
- Main, principal, primary (adjective)
- obiettivo
- Objective, goal, aim, target
- era
- Was (third-person singular imperfect tense)
- apparire
- To appear, to seem, to look
- ben
- Well (adverb, shortened form)
- vestiti
- Dressed, clothed (past participle plural)
- parlare
- To speak, to talk, to converse
- arguzia
- Wit, cleverness, sharp humor
- acume
- Acumen, sharpness, keenness of mind
- mentre
- While, whereas (temporal conjunction)
- colui
- He who, that person (demonstrative pronoun)
- sapeva
- Knew, was able to (imperfect tense)
- ferire
- To wound, to hurt, to injure
- gli
- The, to him (masculine plural article/pronoun)
- modo
- Way, manner, method
- brillante
- Brilliant, bright, clever, shining
- considerato
- Considered, regarded, deemed (past participle)
- saggio
- Wise, sage; also an essay (noun)
- lettera
- Letter, written correspondence
- figlio
- Son, child (masculine noun)
- illustra
- Illustrates, explains, demonstrates clearly
- perché
- Why, because (question/conjunction)
- dovrebbero
- They should, ought to (conditional tense)
- cogliere
- To seize, to grasp, to take advantage
- opportunità
- Opportunities, chances, occasions
- studio
- Study, studying, academic work
- porta
- Leads, brings; also door (noun/verb)
- dedurre
- To deduce, to infer, to conclude
- stessa
- Same, herself (feminine singular pronoun)
- fosse
- Were, had been (subjunctive imperfect)
- stata
- Been (feminine past participle of essere)
- così
- So, thus, in this way
- impiegata
- Employed, used, spent (past participle)
- Ho
- I have (first-person singular present)
- ricevuto
- Received (past participle of ricevere)
- tua
- Your (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- mi
- Me, to me (first-person object pronoun)
- ha
- Has (third-person singular present of avere)
- dato
- Given (past participle of dare)
- grande
- Great, large, big (adjective)
- piacere
- Pleasure, joy; to please (noun/verb)
- soprattutto
- Above all, especially, most importantly
- dici
- You say (second-person singular present)
- sei
- You are (second-person singular present)
- completamente
- Completely, entirely, fully recovered
- ristabilito
- Recovered, restored to health (past participle)
- salute
- Health, well-being; also cheers (toast)
- quale
- Which, what (relative pronoun singular)
- potrei
- I could, I would be able (conditional)
- avere
- To have (infinitive of auxiliary verb)
- notizia
- News, piece of information, notification
- migliore
- Better, best (comparative adjective)
- se
- If, whether (conditional conjunction)
- Dio
- God (masculine noun, religious term)
- concede
- Grants, concedes, allows (present tense)
- te
- You (stressed second-person object pronoun)
- me
- Me (stressed first-person object pronoun)
- spero
- I hope (first-person singular present)
- fare
- To make, to do (infinitive verb)
- uomo
- Man, adult male human being
- dabbene
- Upright, honest, virtuous, decent person
- disposto
- Disposed, willing, inclined, arranged
- parte
- Part, portion, side, role
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