The Scarlet Letter — Page 7
Over the entrance hovers an enormous specimen of the American eagle, with outspread wings, a shield before her breast, and, if I recollect aright, a bunch of intermingled thunderbolts and barbed arrows in each claw.
Sopra l'ingresso aleggia un enorme esemplare dell'aquila americana, con le ali spiegate, uno scudo davanti al petto e, se ricordo bene, un fascio di fulmini misti a frecce con la punta uncinata in ciascun artiglio.
With the customary infirmity of temper that characterizes this unhappy fowl, she appears, by the fierceness of her beak and eye, and the general truculency of her attitude, to threaten mischief to the inoffensive community; and especially to warn all citizens, careful of their safety, against intruding on the premises which she overshadows with her wings.
Con la consueta debolezza di carattere che contraddistingue questo sventurato volatile, essa sembra, per la ferocia del suo becco e del suo sguardo, e per la generale truculenza del suo atteggiamento, minacciare guai alla comunità inoffensiva; e soprattutto ammonire tutti i cittadini, attenti alla propria incolumità, dal fare irruzione nei luoghi che essa adombra con le sue ali.
Nevertheless, vixenly as she looks, many people are seeking, at this very moment, to shelter themselves under the wing of the federal eagle; imagining, I presume, that her bosom has all the softness and snugness of an eider-down pillow.
Nondimeno, per quanto abbia un aspetto arcigno, molte persone stanno cercando, proprio in questo momento, di ripararsi sotto l'ala dell'aquila federale; immaginando, presumo, che il suo petto abbia tutta la morbidezza e la comodità di un cuscino di piuma d'oca.
But she has no great tenderness, even in her best of moods, and, sooner or later,—oftener soon than late,—is apt to fling off her nestlings, with a scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak, or a rankling wound from her barbed arrows.
Ma essa non ha grande tenerezza, nemmeno nel suo umore migliore, e, prima o poi — più spesso prima che poi — è incline a scacciare i suoi piccoli, con un graffio del suo artiglio, un colpo del suo becco, o una ferita bruciante dalle sue frecce uncinata.
The pavement round about the above-described edifice—which we may as well name at once as the Custom-House of the port—has grass enough growing in its chinks to show that it has not, of late days, been worn by any multitudinous resort of business.
Il selciato intorno all'edificio sopra descritto — che potremmo ben nominare subito come la Dogana del porto — ha erba a sufficienza che cresce nelle sue fessure da mostrare che non è stato, negli ultimi tempi, consumato da alcun afflusso numeroso di attività commerciale.
In some months of the year, however, there often chances a forenoon when affairs move onward with a livelier tread.
In alcuni mesi dell'anno, tuttavia, capita spesso una mattinata in cui gli affari procedono con un passo più vivace.
Vocabulary
- Sopra
- Above; over; on top of something
- ingresso
- Entrance; entry; the act of entering a place
- un
- A; an; indefinite article in Italian
- enorme
- Enormous; huge; very large in size
- esemplare
- Specimen; example; a typical instance or copy
- aquila
- Eagle; large bird of prey with powerful talons
- americana
- American; relating to America or United States
- con
- With; accompanied by; in company with
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article in Italian
- ali
- Wings; appendages used by birds for flying
- spiegate
- Spread; extended; unfolded or displayed fully
- uno
- One; the number 1; a single unit
- scudo
- Shield; protective covering or defense against harm
- davanti
- In front; before; ahead of something
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'il'
- petto
- Chest; breast; the front upper body area
- se
- If; in case that; conditional conjunction
- ricordo
- I remember; I recall; to keep in memory
- bene
- Well; good; in a satisfactory manner
- fascio
- Bundle; bunch; cluster of items together
- di
- Of; from; possession or composition marker
- fulmini
- Thunderbolts; lightning bolts; divine punishment strikes
- misti
- Mixed; blended; combined with other elements
- frecce
- Arrows; projectiles shot from a bow
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- punta
- Point; tip; sharp end of something
- uncinata
- Hooked; curved; shaped like a hook
- in
- In; into; within a place or time
- ciascun
- Each; every; each one individually taken
- artiglio
- Claw; talon; sharp nail of animal
- Con
- With; accompanied by; in company with
- debolezza
- Weakness; lack of strength or vigor
- carattere
- Character; nature; personality traits or qualities
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- questo
- This; that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- sventurato
- Unfortunate; unlucky; wretched or miserable
- volatile
- Bird; flying creature; volatile or fleeting thing
- essa
- She; it; feminine singular pronoun
- sembra
- Seems; appears; gives the impression of
- per
- For; by; through; in order to
- ferocia
- Ferocity; wildness; fierce or savage nature
- suo
- His; her; its; possessive adjective
- becco
- Beak; bill; pointed mouth part of bird
- sguardo
- Gaze; look; the act of looking
- generale
- General; overall; not specific or particular
- atteggiamento
- Attitude; posture; manner or bearing displayed
- minacciare
- Threaten; menace; express intention to harm
- guai
- Troubles; misfortunes; calamities or disasters
- alla
- To the; feminine singular contraction
- comunità
- Community; group sharing common interests location
- inoffensiva
- Harmless; inoffensive; causing no damage harm
- soprattutto
- Above all; especially; particularly or chiefly
- ammonire
- Warn; admonish; caution against wrongdoing
- tutti
- All; everyone; every person or thing
- cittadini
- Citizens; inhabitants; members of community
- attenti
- Attentive; alert; paying close careful attention
- propria
- Own; one's own; belonging to oneself
- dal
- From the; contraction of 'da' and 'il'
- fare
- Do; make; to perform an action
- nei
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'i'
- luoghi
- Places; locations; specific areas or sites
- sue
- Her; its; feminine plural possessive adjective
- Nondimeno
- Nevertheless; however; in spite of that
- quanto
- How much; as much as; to extent
- abbia
- Has; may have; subjunctive of avere
- aspetto
- Aspect; appearance; how something looks
- molte
- Many; numerous; a large number of
- persone
- People; persons; human beings in general
- stanno
- Are; they are; third person plural
- cercando
- Seeking; searching; looking for something
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →