The Scarlet Letter — Page 15
Planted deep, in the town's earliest infancy and childhood, by these two earnest and energetic men, the race has ever since subsisted here;
Tief verwurzelt in der frühesten Kindheit und Jugend der Stadt durch diese zwei ernsthaften und tatkräftigen Männer, hat das Geschlecht seitdem hier fortbestanden;
always, too, in respectability; never, so far as I have known, disgraced by a single unworthy member;
stets auch in Ansehen; niemals, soweit ich weiß, durch ein einziges unwürdiges Mitglied entehrt;
but seldom or never, on the other hand, after the first two generations, performing any memorable deed, or so much as putting forward a claim to public notice.
aber selten oder nie hingegen hat es nach den ersten zwei Generationen irgendeine denkwürdige Tat vollbracht oder auch nur Anspruch auf öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit erhoben.
Gradually, they have sunk almost out of sight; as old houses, here and there about the streets, get covered half-way to the eaves by the accumulation of new soil.
Allmählich sind sie fast aus dem Blickfeld verschwunden; wie alte Häuser, die hier und dort an den Straßen durch die Ansammlung neuen Erdreichs bis zur Hälfte der Traufe bedeckt werden.
From father to son, for above a hundred years, they followed the sea;
Von Vater auf Sohn, über mehr als hundert Jahre, folgten sie dem Meer;
a gray-headed shipmaster, in each generation, retiring from the quarter-deck to the homestead, while a boy of fourteen took the hereditary place before the mast, confronting the salt spray and the gale, which had blustered against his sire and grandsire.
ein ergrauter Schiffskapitän zog sich in jeder Generation vom Achterdeck auf das heimische Anwesen zurück, während ein vierzehnjähriger Knabe den ererbten Platz vor dem Mast einnahm und dem Salzgischt und dem Sturm trotzte, der schon gegen seinen Vater und Großvater getobt hatte.
The boy, also, in due time, passed from the forecastle to the cabin, spent a tempestuous manhood, and returned from his world-wanderings, to grow old, and die, and mingle his dust with the natal earth.
Der Knabe wechselte ebenfalls zu seiner Zeit vom Vorschiff zur Kajüte, verbrachte ein stürmisches Mannesalter und kehrte von seinen Weltreisen zurück, um alt zu werden, zu sterben und seinen Staub mit der Erde seiner Heimat zu vereinen.
This long connection of a family with one spot, as its place of birth and burial, creates a kindred between the human being and the locality, quite independent of any charm in the scenery or moral circumstances that surround him.
Diese lange Verbundenheit einer Familie mit einem einzigen Ort als ihrer Geburts- und Begräbnisstätte schafft eine Verwandtschaft zwischen dem Menschen und dem Ort, ganz unabhängig von jedem Reiz der Landschaft oder den sittlichen Verhältnissen, die ihn umgeben.
It is not love, but instinct.
Es ist nicht Liebe, sondern Instinkt.
Vocabulary
- Tief
- Deep; extending far down or inward
- verwurzelt
- Rooted; firmly established in something
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or time
- der
- The; definite article (masculine/genitive)
- frühesten
- Earliest; superlative of early
- Kindheit
- Childhood; the period of being a child
- und
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- Jugend
- Youth; the period of being young
- Stadt
- City or town; an urban settlement
- durch
- Through; by means of; across
- diese
- These/this; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- zwei
- Two; the number 2
- ernsthaften
- Serious; earnest and sincere in manner
- tatkräftigen
- Energetic; vigorous and action-oriented
- Männer
- Men; plural of Mann
- hat
- Has; third-person singular of haben
- das
- The; neuter definite article
- Geschlecht
- Family lineage; clan or generation
- seitdem
- Since then; from that time onward
- hier
- Here; in this place
- fortbestanden
- Continued to exist; persisted over time
- stets
- Always; constantly at all times
- auch
- Also; too; as well
- Ansehen
- Reputation; social standing and respect
- niemals
- Never; at no time whatsoever
- soweit
- As far as; to the extent that
- ich
- I; first-person singular pronoun
- weiß
- Know; first-person singular of wissen
- ein
- A/an; indefinite article
- einziges
- Single; only one, no more
- unwürdiges
- Unworthy; lacking dignity or honor
- Mitglied
- Member; a person belonging to a group
- entehrt
- Dishonored; brought shame upon someone
- aber
- But; however; coordinating conjunction
- selten
- Rarely; not often occurring
- oder
- Or; disjunctive conjunction
- nie
- Never; at no point in time
- hingegen
- On the other hand; by contrast
- es
- It; neuter third-person pronoun
- nach
- After; following in time or order
- den
- The; definite article (dative/accusative plural)
- ersten
- First; ordinal number, preceding all others
- Generationen
- Generations; successive groups of descendants
- irgendeine
- Any; some unspecified one
- denkwürdige
- Memorable; worthy of being remembered
- Tat
- Deed; act or action performed
- vollbracht
- Accomplished; successfully carried out an achievement
- nur
- Only; merely; just
- Anspruch
- Claim; entitlement or demand for something
- auf
- On; upon; onto; preposition of position
- öffentliche
- Public; relating to the general community
- Aufmerksamkeit
- Attention; the act of noticing something
- erhoben
- Raised; put forward a claim or demand
- Allmählich
- Gradually; slowly and progressively over time
- sind
- Are; plural/formal form of sein
- sie
- They/she; third-person pronoun
- fast
- Almost; nearly but not completely
- aus
- Out of; from; preposition of origin
- dem
- The; dative definite article
- Blickfeld
- Field of view; range of visibility or awareness
- verschwunden
- Disappeared; ceased to be visible or present
- wie
- Like; as; how
- alte
- Old; having existed for a long time
- Häuser
- Houses; plural of Haus
- die
- The; feminine/plural definite article
- dort
- There; at that place
- an
- At; on; near; preposition of location
- Straßen
- Streets; roads in a town or city
- Ansammlung
- Accumulation; a gathering or collection of something
- neuen
- New; recently formed or appearing
- Erdreichs
- Soil; earth or ground material
- bis
- Until; up to; as far as
- zur
- To the; contraction of zu der
- Hälfte
- Half; one of two equal parts
- bedeckt
- Covered; overlaid with something on top
- werden
- Become; auxiliary verb for future/passive
- Von
- From; of; preposition of origin or belonging
- Vater
- Father; male parent
- Sohn
- Son; male offspring
- über
- Over; more than; across
- mehr
- More; greater in amount or degree
- als
- Than; as; when; comparative conjunction
- hundert
- Hundred; the number 100
- Jahre
- Years; plural of Jahr
- folgten
- Followed; came after in sequence
- Meer
- Sea; large body of salt water
- Schiffskapitän
- Ship's captain; commander of a vessel
- zog
- Moved; past tense of ziehen
- sich
- Himself/herself/itself; reflexive pronoun
- jeder
- Every; each one individually
- Generation
- Generation; group of people of similar age
- vom
- From the; contraction of von dem
- heimische
- Native; belonging to one's homeland
- Anwesen
- Estate; property with house and grounds
- zurück
- Back; returning to a previous place
- während
- While; during a period of time
- ererbten
- Inherited; received from ancestors
- Platz
- Place; spot or position
- vor
- Before; in front of
- Mast
- Mast; tall pole on a ship for sails
- einnahm
- Took up; occupied a position
- Sturm
- Storm; violent weather with strong winds
- trotzte
- Defied; withstood or resisted something
- schon
- Already; even now or previously
- gegen
- Against; in opposition to
- seinen
- His; possessive pronoun masculine accusative
- Großvater
- Grandfather; father's or mother's father
- hatte
- Had; past tense of haben
- Der
- The/he; definite article or pronoun
- wechselte
- Switched; changed from one thing to another
- ebenfalls
- Likewise; also; in the same manner
- seiner
- His; genitive/dative possessive pronoun
- Zeit
- Time; a period or point in time
- verbrachte
- Spent; passed time in a particular way
- stürmisches
- Stormy; turbulent or tempestuous
- kehrte
- Returned; came back to a place
- von
- From; of; preposition of origin
- Weltreisen
- World travels; journeys around the globe
- um
- To; around; in order to
- alt
- Old; advanced in age
- sterben
- To die; to cease living
- Staub
- Dust; fine dry particles of matter
- mit
- With; together with; by means of
- Erde
- Earth; soil or the planet Earth
- Heimat
- Homeland; one's native home or region
- vereinen
- To unite; to bring together into one
- Diese
- This/these; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- lange
- Long; extended in duration or length
- Verbundenheit
- Attachment; sense of belonging or connection
- einer
- A/one; indefinite article genitive/dative feminine
- Familie
- Family; group of related individuals
- einem
- A/one; indefinite article dative
- einzigen
- Single; only one particular place or thing
- Ort
- Place; a specific location or spot
- ihrer
- Their/her; genitive possessive pronoun
- Geburts-
- Birth- (prefix); relating to one's birthplace
- schafft
- Creates; brings something into existence
- eine
- A/an; indefinite article feminine
- Verwandtschaft
- Kinship; sense of relatedness or connection
- zwischen
- Between; in the space separating two things
- Menschen
- People; human beings in general
- ganz
- Completely; entirely; whole
- unabhängig
- Independent; free from external influence
- jedem
- Every; each; any one individually
- Reiz
- Charm; attraction or appealing quality
- Landschaft
- Landscape; the natural scenery of an area
- Verhältnissen
- Conditions; circumstances surrounding someone
- ihn
- Him; accusative masculine third-person pronoun
- umgeben
- Surround; to enclose on all sides
- Es
- It; neuter third-person pronoun
- ist
- Is; third-person singular of sein
- nicht
- Not; negation particle
- Liebe
- Love; deep affection for someone or something
- sondern
- But rather; contrasting conjunction after negation
- Instinkt
- Instinct; innate natural impulse or tendency
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →