The Republic — Page 13
Now in ancient writings, and indeed in literature generally, there remains often a large element which was not comprehended in the original design.
Ora negli scritti antichi, e anzi nella letteratura in generale, rimane spesso un ampio elemento che non era contemplato nel disegno originale.
For the plan grows under the author's hand; new thoughts occur to him in the act of writing; he has not worked out the argument to the end before he begins.
Poiché il piano cresce sotto la mano dell'autore; nuovi pensieri gli vengono in mente nell'atto di scrivere; egli non ha elaborato l'argomento fino in fondo prima di cominciare.
The reader who seeks to find some one idea under which the whole may be conceived, must necessarily seize on the vaguest and most general.
Il lettore che cerca di trovare un'unica idea sotto la quale il tutto possa essere concepito, deve necessariamente afferrare la più vaga e la più generale.
Thus Stallbaum, who is dissatisfied with the ordinary explanations of the argument of the Republic, imagines himself to have found the true argument 'in the representation of human life in a State perfected by justice, and governed according to the idea of good.'
Così Stallbaum, che è insoddisfatto delle spiegazioni ordinarie dell'argomento della Repubblica, si immagina di aver trovato il vero argomento 'nella rappresentazione della vita umana in uno Stato perfezionato dalla giustizia, e governato secondo l'idea del bene.'
There may be some use in such general descriptions, but they can hardly be said to express the design of the writer.
Tali descrizioni generali possono avere una qualche utilità, ma difficilmente si può dire che esprimano il disegno dello scrittore.
The truth is, that we may as well speak of many designs as of one; nor need anything be excluded from the plan of a great work to which the mind is naturally led by the association of ideas, and which does not interfere with the general purpose.
La verità è che possiamo benissimo parlare di molti disegni come di uno solo; né occorre escludere dal piano di una grande opera nulla a cui la mente sia naturalmente condotta dall'associazione delle idee, e che non interferisca con lo scopo generale.
What kind or degree of unity is to be sought after in a building, in the plastic arts, in poetry, in prose, is a problem which has to be determined relatively to the subject-matter.
Quale tipo o grado di unità debba essere ricercato in un edificio, nelle arti plastiche, nella poesia, nella prosa, è un problema che deve essere determinato in relazione all'argomento trattato.
Vocabulary
- Ora
- Now; used to introduce a new point or topic
- negli
- Contraction of 'in' and 'gli', meaning 'in the'
- scritti
- Writings; written works or texts
- antichi
- Ancient; relating to old or classical times
- anzi
- On the contrary; rather, or even more so
- nella
- Contraction of 'in' and 'la', meaning 'in the'
- letteratura
- Literature; written works of artistic value
- generale
- General; broad, not specific or detailed
- rimane
- Remains; stays or continues to be present
- spesso
- Often; frequently, on many occasions
- ampio
- Ample; wide, broad, or extensive in scope
- elemento
- Element; a component or part of something larger
- era
- Was; third person singular past tense of 'essere'
- contemplato
- Contemplated; considered or included in a plan
- nel
- Contraction of 'in' and 'il', meaning 'in the'
- disegno
- Design or plan; also means drawing or sketch
- originale
- Original; first or initial version of something
- Poiché
- Since/because; conjunction introducing a cause
- piano
- Plan; a scheme or organized course of action
- cresce
- Grows; increases or develops over time
- sotto
- Under; beneath or below something
- mano
- Hand; the body part used for writing or creating
- dell'
- Contraction of 'di' and 'l'', meaning 'of the'
- autore
- Author; a person who writes books or texts
- nuovi
- New; fresh or previously non-existent thoughts
- pensieri
- Thoughts; ideas formed in the mind
- gli
- To him; indirect object pronoun for masculine
- vengono
- Come; third person plural present of 'venire'
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thought and consciousness
- nell'
- Contraction of 'in' and 'l'', meaning 'in the'
- atto
- Act; an action or the process of doing something
- scrivere
- To write; the act of composing written text
- egli
- He; formal third person singular masculine pronoun
- elaborato
- Elaborated; developed or worked out in detail
- argomento
- Subject or argument; topic being discussed or written about
- fino
- Until/up to; indicates extent or limit
- fondo
- Bottom or depth; thoroughly, to the fullest extent
- prima
- Before; earlier in time or prior to something
- cominciare
- To begin; to start an action or process
- lettore
- Reader; a person who reads written material
- cerca
- Seeks; looks for or attempts to find something
- trovare
- To find; to discover or locate something
- unica
- Unique/single; one and only, without equal
- idea
- Idea; a thought, concept, or mental impression
- quale
- Which/that; relative pronoun referring to something
- tutto
- Everything/all; the totality of something
- possa
- Can/may; subjunctive of 'potere', expressing possibility
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian verb of existence
- concepito
- Conceived; understood, imagined, or mentally formed
- deve
- Must/has to; expresses obligation or necessity
- necessariamente
- Necessarily; inevitably or as a required consequence
- afferrare
- To grasp; to seize or comprehend something firmly
- più
- More; to a greater degree or extent
- vaga
- Vague; unclear, imprecise, or not well-defined
- Così
- Thus/so; in this way or for this reason
- insoddisfatto
- Unsatisfied; not content or pleased with something
- delle
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'le'
- spiegazioni
- Explanations; clarifications or accounts of something
- ordinarie
- Ordinary; common, usual, or not exceptional
- della
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'la'
- Repubblica
- Republic; Plato's philosophical dialogue on justice
- si
- Himself/herself/itself; reflexive pronoun
- immagina
- Imagines; pictures or supposes something mentally
- aver
- To have; infinitive of 'avere' in auxiliary use
- trovato
- Found; past participle of 'trovare', discovered
- vero
- True; real, genuine, or corresponding to fact
- rappresentazione
- Representation; a depiction or portrayal of something
- vita
- Life; the existence of a living person or being
- umana
- Human; relating to people or human nature
- Stato
- State; an organized political community or government
- perfezionato
- Perfected; brought to an ideal or complete state
- dalla
- By the; contraction of 'da' and 'la'
- giustizia
- Justice; fairness, righteousness, or moral rightness
- governato
- Governed; ruled or administered by an authority
- secondo
- According to; in conformity with a principle
- bene
- Good; moral good or well-being, also 'well'
- Tali
- Such; of that kind or type
- descrizioni
- Descriptions; detailed accounts or portrayals of something
- generali
- General; broad in scope, not specific or detailed
- possono
- Can/may; third person plural present of 'potere'
- avere
- To have; fundamental verb of possession or auxiliary
- qualche
- Some; an indefinite small amount or number
- utilità
- Utility; usefulness or practical benefit of something
- difficilmente
- With difficulty; hardly or scarcely possible
- può
- Can; third person singular present of 'potere'
- dire
- To say; to express something in words
- esprimano
- Express; subjunctive form of 'esprimere', to convey meaning
- dello
- Of the; contraction of 'di' and 'lo'
- scrittore
- Writer; a person who composes literary works
- verità
- Truth; conformity with fact or reality
- possiamo
- We can; first person plural present of 'potere'
- benissimo
- Very well; extremely well, perfectly fine
- parlare
- To speak; to communicate verbally or in writing
- molti
- Many; a large number of things or people
- disegni
- Designs or plans; plural of 'disegno'
- come
- As/like; in the manner of or how
- solo
- Only/alone; exclusively, just one, solitary
- né
- Nor; negative conjunction linking alternatives
- occorre
- It is necessary; one needs to or must do
- escludere
- To exclude; to leave out or omit something
- dal
- From the; contraction of 'da' and 'il'
- grande
- Great/large; of considerable size or importance
- opera
- Work; a literary, musical, or artistic creation
- nulla
- Nothing; not anything, zero, or void
- cui
- Which/whom; relative pronoun after a preposition
- sia
- Is/may be; subjunctive of 'essere'
- naturalmente
- Naturally; in a natural way, as expected
- condotta
- Led/conducted; guided or brought toward something
- dall'
- From the; elided contraction of 'da' and 'l''
- associazione
- Association; a connection or linking of ideas
- idee
- Ideas; plural of 'idea', thoughts or concepts
- interferisca
- Interferes; subjunctive of 'interferire', to disrupt
- scopo
- Purpose; the aim or goal of an action
- Quale
- What kind of; interrogative or relative adjective
- tipo
- Type; a category or kind of something
- grado
- Degree; a level or extent of something
- unità
- Unity; the state of being one or unified
- debba
- Should/must; subjunctive of 'dovere', obligation
- ricercato
- Sought; past participle of 'ricercare', looked for
- edificio
- Building; a structure constructed for human use
- nelle
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'le'
- arti
- Arts; creative disciplines such as painting or sculpture
- plastiche
- Plastic arts; visual arts involving shaping or modeling
- poesia
- Poetry; literary art using rhythm and language beautifully
- prosa
- Prose; ordinary written language without poetic meter
- problema
- Problem; a question or issue requiring a solution
- determinato
- Determined; established or defined in relation to something
- relazione
- Relation; a connection or correspondence between things
- all'
- To the; elided contraction of 'a' and 'l''
- trattato
- Treatise; a formal written work on a subject
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