The Republic — Page 10
There is no absurdity in supposing that he may have laid his labours aside for a time, or turned from one work to another; and such interruptions would be more likely to occur in the case of a long than of a short writing.
No hay ningún absurdo en suponer que pudo haber dejado de lado sus trabajos por un tiempo, o pasado de una obra a otra; y tales interrupciones serían más probables en el caso de un escrito largo que en el de uno corto.
In all attempts to determine the chronological order of the Platonic writings on internal evidence, this uncertainty about any single Dialogue being composed at one time is a disturbing element, which must be admitted to affect longer works, such as the Republic and the Laws, more than shorter ones.
En todos los intentos de determinar el orden cronológico de los escritos platónicos a partir de evidencia interna, esta incertidumbre acerca de si cualquier Diálogo individual fue compuesto en un solo momento es un elemento perturbador, que debe admitirse que afecta a obras más largas, como la República y las Leyes, más que a las más cortas.
But, on the other hand, the seeming discrepancies of the Republic may only arise out of the discordant elements which the philosopher has attempted to unite in a single whole, perhaps without being himself able to recognise the inconsistency which is obvious to us.
Pero, por otro lado, las aparentes discrepancias de la República pueden surgir únicamente de los elementos discordantes que el filósofo ha intentado unir en un todo único, quizás sin ser él mismo capaz de reconocer la inconsistencia que resulta obvia para nosotros.
For there is a judgment of after ages which few great writers have ever been able to anticipate for themselves.
Pues existe un juicio de épocas posteriores que pocos grandes escritores han sido capaces de anticipar para sí mismos.
They do not perceive the want of connexion in their own writings, or the gaps in their systems which are visible enough to those who come after them.
No perciben la falta de conexión en sus propios escritos, ni las lagunas en sus sistemas que son suficientemente visibles para quienes vienen después de ellos.
In the beginnings of literature and philosophy, amid the first efforts of thought and language, more inconsistencies occur than now, when the paths of speculation are well worn and the meaning of words precisely defined.
En los comienzos de la literatura y la filosofía, en medio de los primeros esfuerzos del pensamiento y el lenguaje, ocurren más inconsistencias que ahora, cuando los caminos de la especulación están bien trillados y el significado de las palabras está precisamente definido.
For consistency, too, is the growth of time; and some of the greatest creations of the human mind have been wanting in unity.
Pues la coherencia también es fruto del tiempo; y algunas de las mayores creaciones de la mente humana han adolecido de falta de unidad.
Vocabulary
- No
- Negation; used to deny or refuse something.
- hay
- There is; there are; third person singular of haber.
- ningún
- No; not any; used before masculine singular nouns.
- absurdo
- Absurd; ridiculous; contrary to reason or logic.
- en
- In; on; at; preposition indicating location or time.
- suponer
- To suppose; to assume; to presume something true.
- que
- That; which; what; common conjunction linking clauses.
- pudo
- Could; was able to; past tense of poder.
- haber
- To have; auxiliary verb used in perfect tenses.
- dejado
- Left; abandoned; past participle of dejar.
- de
- Of; from; preposition showing possession or origin.
- lado
- Side; flank; lateral surface or direction.
- sus
- His; her; its; their; possessive adjective.
- trabajos
- Works; jobs; labors; plural of trabajo.
- por
- By; for; through; preposition indicating cause or agency.
- un
- A; an; indefinite article before masculine nouns.
- tiempo
- Time; period; season; duration or temporal reference.
- pasado
- Past; previous; gone by; previous time period.
- una
- A; an; indefinite article before feminine nouns.
- obra
- Work; literary or artistic creation; masterpiece.
- otra
- Other; another; different feminine singular form.
- tales
- Such; of that kind; used to denote type.
- interrupciones
- Interruptions; breaks; periods of discontinuity.
- serían
- Would be; conditional form of ser.
- más
- More; greater in amount or degree.
- probables
- Probable; likely; having good chance of occurring.
- el
- The; definite article for masculine singular nouns.
- caso
- Case; instance; circumstance or particular situation.
- escrito
- Writing; written; document or written composition.
- largo
- Long; extended in length or duration.
- uno
- One; single unit; indefinite pronoun or numeral.
- corto
- Short; brief; limited in length or duration.
- En
- In; on; at; preposition indicating location.
- todos
- All; everyone; every person or thing included.
- los
- The; definite article for masculine plural nouns.
- intentos
- Attempts; tries; efforts to achieve something.
- determinar
- To determine; to decide; to establish or fix.
- orden
- Order; sequence; arrangement or proper arrangement.
- cronológico
- Chronological; arranged in time order or sequence.
- escritos
- Writings; writings or written works collectively.
- partir
- To depart; to leave; to set out on journey.
- evidencia
- Evidence; proof; facts demonstrating truth.
- interna
- Internal; interior; within or inside something.
- esta
- This; this one; feminine singular demonstrative.
- incertidumbre
- Uncertainty; doubt; state of being unsure.
- acerca
- About; concerning; regarding; preposition.
- si
- If; whether; conditional conjunction or conjunction.
- cualquier
- Any; whichever; one or the other indifferently.
- Diálogo
- Dialogue; conversation between two or more persons.
- individual
- Individual; single; one separate person or thing.
- fue
- Was; past tense third person singular of ser.
- compuesto
- Composed; made up; arranged or constructed.
- solo
- Alone; only; single; solitary or exclusively.
- momento
- Moment; instant; particular point in time.
- es
- Is; third person singular present of ser.
- elemento
- Element; component; part of a whole.
- perturbador
- Disturbing; troubling; causing disruption or unease.
- debe
- Must; should; ought to; third person singular.
- admitirse
- To be admitted; to be acknowledged or accepted.
- afecta
- Affects; influences; has effect on something.
- obras
- Works; creations; literary or artistic productions.
- largas
- Long; lengthy; extended in length or duration.
- como
- Like; as; similar to; in the manner of.
- la
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns.
- las
- The; definite article for feminine plural nouns.
- cortas
- Short; brief; limited in length or extent.
- Pero
- But; however; expressing contrast or opposition.
- otro
- Other; another; different masculine singular form.
- aparentes
- Apparent; seeming; appearing to be true.
- discrepancias
- Discrepancies; differences; inconsistencies or variations.
- pueden
- Can; are able; third person plural of poder.
- surgir
- To arise; to emerge; to come into being.
- únicamente
- Uniquely; only; solely; exclusively or merely.
- elementos
- Elements; components; parts or constituent parts.
- discordantes
- Discordant; disagreeing; not in harmony or accord.
- filósofo
- Philosopher; one who studies philosophy or wisdom.
- ha
- Has; third person singular of auxiliary haber.
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