The Scarlet Letter — Page 14
At all events, I, the present writer, as their representative, hereby take shame upon myself for their sakes, and pray that any curse incurred by them—as I have heard, and as the dreary and unprosperous condition of the race, for many a long year back, would argue to exist—may be now and henceforth removed.
En cualquier caso, yo, el presente escritor, como su representante, asumo aquí la vergüenza sobre mí mismo en su nombre, y ruego que cualquier maldición en la que ellos incurrieran —según he oído, y según la lúgubre y desdichada condición del linaje, durante tantos y tan largos años, parecería demostrar que existe— sea ahora y en adelante eliminada.
Doubtless, however, either of these stern and black-browed Puritans would have thought it quite a sufficient retribution for his sins, that, after so long a lapse of years, the old trunk of the family tree, with so much venerable moss upon it, should have borne, as its topmost bough, an idler like myself.
Sin duda, sin embargo, cualquiera de estos austeros y ceñudos puritanos habría considerado un castigo bastante suficiente por sus pecados el que, tras tan largo transcurso de años, el viejo tronco del árbol genealógico, con tanto venerable musgo sobre él, hubiera dado, como su rama más alta, a un holgazán como yo.
No aim, that I have ever cherished, would they recognize as laudable; no success of mine—if my life, beyond its domestic scope, had ever been brightened by success—would they deem otherwise than worthless, if not positively disgraceful.
Ningún objetivo que yo haya abrigado jamás lo reconocerían como loable; ningún éxito mío —si mi vida, más allá de su ámbito doméstico, hubiera sido alguna vez iluminada por el éxito— lo considerarían de otra manera que inútil, si no directamente vergonzoso.
Such are the compliments bandied between my great-grandsires and myself, across the gulf of time! And yet, let them scorn me as they will, strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves with mine.
¡Tales son los cumplidos que se intercambian entre mis bisabuelos y yo, a través del abismo del tiempo! Y sin embargo, por mucho que me desprecien, poderosos rasgos de su naturaleza se han entrelazado con la mía.
Vocabulary
- En
- In, at, on (preposition indicating location or time)
- cualquier
- Any, whatever (indefinite adjective or pronoun)
- caso
- Case, instance, situation (noun)
- yo
- I (first person singular pronoun)
- el
- The (definite article masculine singular)
- presente
- Present, current (adjective); present (noun)
- escritor
- Writer, author (noun masculine)
- como
- As, like, since (conjunction or preposition)
- su
- His, her, its, your (possessive adjective)
- representante
- Representative, agent (noun)
- asumo
- I assume, I take on (verb asumir first person)
- aquí
- Here, in this place (adverb)
- la
- The (definite article feminine singular)
- vergüenza
- Shame, embarrassment (noun feminine)
- sobre
- On, about, over (preposition)
- mí
- Me (first person singular pronoun object)
- mismo
- Same, self (adjective or pronoun)
- nombre
- Name, behalf (noun masculine)
- ruego
- I beg, I request (verb rogar first person)
- que
- That, which, who (conjunction or relative pronoun)
- maldición
- Curse, malediction (noun feminine)
- ellos
- They, them (third person plural pronoun)
- incurrieran
- They would incur, they might incur (verb incurrir subjunctive)
- según
- According to, as (preposition or conjunction)
- he
- I have (verb haber first person present)
- oído
- Heard (past participle of oír)
- lúgubre
- Gloomy, dark, mournful (adjective)
- desdichada
- Unfortunate, wretched, unhappy (adjective feminine)
- condición
- Condition, state, circumstance (noun feminine)
- del
- Of the, from the (preposition de + article)
- linaje
- Lineage, ancestry, family line (noun masculine)
- durante
- During, for (preposition indicating duration)
- tantos
- So many, such many (adjective plural)
- tan
- So, such (adverb for intensification)
- largos
- Long (adjective plural masculine)
- años
- Years (noun plural masculine)
- parecería
- It would seem, it would appear (verb parecer conditional)
- demostrar
- To demonstrate, to show, to prove (verb)
- existe
- Exists, there is (verb existir third person)
- sea
- Is, may be (verb ser subjunctive)
- ahora
- Now, at present (adverb)
- adelante
- Forward, ahead, onwards (adverb)
- eliminada
- Eliminated, removed (adjective feminine past participle)
- Sin
- Without (preposition)
- duda
- Doubt (noun feminine)
- sin
- Without (preposition)
- embargo
- Embargo, however (noun masculine)
- cualquiera
- Any, anyone (adjective or pronoun)
- de
- Of, from (preposition)
- estos
- These, these ones (demonstrative adjective/pronoun)
- austeros
- Austere, severe, stern (adjective plural)
- puritanos
- Puritans, puritanical (noun/adjective plural)
- habría
- Would have (verb haber conditional)
- considerado
- Considered, regarded (adjective/past participle)
- un
- A, an (indefinite article masculine)
- castigo
- Punishment, penalty (noun masculine)
- bastante
- Enough, sufficient, quite (adjective/adverb)
- suficiente
- Sufficient, enough (adjective)
- por
- For, by, through (preposition)
- sus
- His, her, their, your (possessive adjective plural)
- pecados
- Sins (noun plural masculine)
- tras
- After, behind (preposition)
- largo
- Long (adjective masculine)
- transcurso
- Course, passage (of time) (noun masculine)
- viejo
- Old, aged (adjective masculine)
- tronco
- Trunk, stock (noun masculine)
- árbol
- Tree (noun masculine)
- con
- With (preposition)
- venerable
- Venerable, worthy of respect (adjective)
- él
- He, him (third person singular pronoun)
- hubiera
- Would have, might have (verb haber subjunctive)
- dado
- Given (past participle of dar)
- rama
- Branch (noun feminine)
- más
- More (adjective, adverb, or pronoun)
- alta
- High, tall (adjective feminine)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →