The Scarlet Letter — Page 13
I seem to have a stronger claim to a residence here on account of this grave, bearded, sable-cloaked and steeple-crowned progenitor,—who came so early, with his Bible and his sword, and trode the unworn street with such a stately port, and made so large a figure, as a man of war and peace,—a stronger claim than for myself, whose name is seldom heard and my face hardly known.
Ich scheine einen stärkeren Anspruch auf einen Wohnsitz hier zu haben, und zwar wegen dieses ernsten, bärtigen, schwarz-bemantelten und spitzhütigen Vorfahren,—der so früh kam, mit seiner Bibel und seinem Schwert, und die unbetretene Straße mit so würdevollem Gang beschritt, und als Mann des Krieges und des Friedens eine so bedeutende Gestalt darstellte,—einen stärkeren Anspruch als für mich selbst, dessen Name selten gehört und dessen Gesicht kaum bekannt ist.
He was a soldier, legislator, judge; he was a ruler in the Church; he had all the Puritanic traits, both good and evil.
Er war Soldat, Gesetzgeber, Richter; er war ein Herrscher in der Kirche; er besaß alle puritanischen Züge, sowohl gute als auch schlechte.
He was likewise a bitter persecutor, as witness the Quakers, who have remembered him in their histories, and relate an incident of his hard severity towards a woman of their sect, which will last longer, it is to be feared, than any record of his better deeds, although these were many.
Er war ebenso ein erbitterter Verfolger, wie die Quäker bezeugen, die ihn in ihren Geschichtswerken festgehalten haben und einen Vorfall seiner harten Strenge gegenüber einer Frau ihrer Sekte berichten, der länger fortbestehen wird, wie zu befürchten ist, als jede Aufzeichnung seiner besseren Taten, obwohl diese zahlreich waren.
His son, too, inherited the persecuting spirit, and made himself so conspicuous in the martyrdom of the witches, that their blood may fairly be said to have left a stain upon him.
Auch sein Sohn erbte den Verfolgungsgeist und machte sich bei dem Martyrium der Hexen so auffällig bemerkbar, dass man mit Fug und Recht sagen kann, ihr Blut habe einen Flecken auf ihm hinterlassen.
So deep a stain, indeed, that his old dry bones, in the Charter Street burial-ground, must still retain it, if they have not crumbled utterly to dust!
Ein so tiefer Fleck, dass seine alten trockenen Knochen auf dem Friedhof der Charter Street ihn noch immer tragen müssen, wenn sie nicht vollständig zu Staub zerfallen sind!
I know not whether these ancestors of mine bethought themselves to repent, and ask pardon of Heaven for their cruelties; or whether they are now groaning under the heavy consequences of them, in another state of being.
Ich weiß nicht, ob diese meine Vorfahren daran dachten, zu bereuen und den Himmel um Vergebung für ihre Grausamkeiten zu bitten; oder ob sie nun unter den schweren Folgen davon stöhnen, in einem anderen Daseinszustand.
Vocabulary
- Ich
- I; first person singular pronoun
- scheine
- seem; appear (first person singular present)
- einen
- a; one (accusative masculine article)
- stärkeren
- stronger; more powerful (comparative adjective)
- Anspruch
- claim; right; demand; entitlement to something
- auf
- on; upon; to (preposition)
- Wohnsitz
- residence; domicile; place of residence
- hier
- here; in this place
- zu
- to; at; too (preposition or adverb)
- haben
- have; possess; to own something
- und
- and; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- zwar
- namely; that is; specifically; to wit
- wegen
- because of; on account of; due to
- dieses
- this; this one (demonstrative pronoun)
- ernsten
- serious; grave; earnest (adjective)
- Vorfahren
- ancestor; forebear; forefather
- der
- the; who (definite article or relative pronoun)
- so
- so; thus; in such a way
- früh
- early; at an early time or stage
- kam
- came; arrived (past tense of kommen)
- mit
- with; accompanied by; in company of
- seiner
- his; his own (possessive pronoun)
- Bibel
- Bible; holy scripture book
- seinem
- his; his own (possessive pronoun, dative)
- Schwert
- sword; blade weapon for combat
- die
- the; which (definite article or relative pronoun)
- Straße
- street; road; pathway
- Gang
- gait; walk; manner of walking
- beschritt
- stepped; trod; walked upon (past tense)
- als
- as; when; like; in the role of
- Mann
- man; male person; husband
- des
- of the; of which (genitive article)
- Krieges
- war; combat; military conflict (genitive)
- Friedens
- peace; state of peace (genitive)
- eine
- a; one (indefinite article, feminine)
- bedeutende
- significant; important; noteworthy (adjective)
- Gestalt
- figure; form; shape; appearance
- darstellte
- represented; portrayed; constituted (past tense)
- für
- for; in favor of; on behalf of
- mich
- me; myself (accusative pronoun)
- selbst
- self; myself; oneself (reflexive pronoun)
- dessen
- whose; of which; of whom (genitive)
- Name
- name; appellation; what something called
- selten
- seldom; rarely; infrequently
- gehört
- heard; listened (past participle of hören)
- Gesicht
- face; countenance; visage
- kaum
- scarcely; hardly; barely; almost not
- bekannt
- known; familiar; acquainted (adjective)
- ist
- is; present tense of sein
- Er
- he; masculine third person singular pronoun
- war
- was; past tense of sein
- Soldat
- soldier; military person; armed fighter
- Gesetzgeber
- legislator; lawmaker; one who makes laws
- Richter
- judge; magistrate; one who judges
- ein
- a; one; an (indefinite article)
- Herrscher
- ruler; sovereign; one who rules
- in
- in; inside; within (preposition)
- Kirche
- church; religious building for worship
- besaß
- possessed; owned; had (past tense)
- alle
- all; every; all of (adjective/pronoun)
- puritanischen
- puritanical; austere; morally strict (adjective)
- Züge
- traits; features; characteristics (plural)
- sowohl
- both; as well as; likewise
- gute
- good; beneficial; positive (adjective)
- auch
- also; too; as well; likewise
- schlechte
- bad; poor; evil (adjective)
- ebenso
- equally; likewise; just as much
- Verfolger
- persecutor; one who persecutes
- wie
- as; like; how (conjunction/adverb)
- Quäker
- Quaker; member of religious society
- bezeugen
- attest; testify; bear witness to
- ihn
- him; masculine accusative pronoun
- ihren
- their; their own (possessive pronoun)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →