← The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere

The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere — Page 6

English → De Preface Level 6/10

There was some compulsory labor in timber-cutting and ship-building, with enforced military service as rowers and soldiers for expeditions to the Moluccas and the coasts of Asia, but nowhere the unspeakable atrocities which in Mexico, Hispaniola, and South America drove mothers to strangle their babes at birth and whole tribes to prefer self-immolation to the living death in the mines and slave-pens.

Es gab einige Zwangsarbeit beim Holzfällen und Schiffbau sowie erzwungenen Militärdienst als Ruderer und Soldaten für Expeditionen zu den Molukken und den Küsten Asiens, aber nirgendwo die unsäglichen Grausamkeiten, die in Mexiko, Hispaniola und Südamerika Mütter dazu trieben, ihre Babys bei der Geburt zu erdrosseln, und ganze Stämme dazu brachten, die Selbstverbrennung dem lebendigen Tod in den Minen und Sklavenlagern vorzuziehen.

Quite differently from the case in America, where entire islands and districts were depopulated, to bring on later the curse of negro slavery, in the Philippines the fact appears that the native population really increased and the standard of living was raised under the stern, yet beneficent, tutelage of the missionary fathers.

Ganz anders als in Amerika, wo ganze Inseln und Gebiete entvölkert wurden, um später den Fluch der Negersklaverei heraufzubeschwören, zeigt sich auf den Philippinen die Tatsache, dass die einheimische Bevölkerung tatsächlich zunahm und der Lebensstandard unter der strengen, aber wohlwollenden Vormundschaft der Missionarsväter gehoben wurde.

The great distance and the hardships of the journey precluded the coming of many irresponsible adventurers from Spain and, fortunately for the native population, no great mineral wealth was ever discovered in the Philippine Islands.

Die große Entfernung und die Strapazen der Reise verhinderten das Kommen vieler unverantwortlicher Abenteurer aus Spanien, und zum Glück für die einheimische Bevölkerung wurde auf den Philippinischen Inseln niemals ein großer Mineralreichtum entdeckt.

The system of government was, in its essential features, a simple one.

Das Regierungssystem war in seinen wesentlichen Merkmalen ein einfaches.

The missionary priests drew the inhabitants of the towns and villages about themselves or formed new settlements, and with profuse use of symbol and symbolism taught the people the Faith, laying particular stress upon "the fear of God," as administered by them, reconciling the people to their subjection by inculcating the Christian virtues of patience and humility.

Die Missionarspriester zogen die Bewohner der Städte und Dörfer um sich oder gründeten neue Siedlungen, und lehrten das Volk mit reichlichem Gebrauch von Symbol und Symbolik den Glauben, wobei sie besonderen Nachdruck auf „die Furcht vor Gott" legten, wie sie von ihnen vermittelt wurde, und das Volk mit seiner Unterwerfung versöhnten, indem sie die christlichen Tugenden der Geduld und Demut einprägten.

Vocabulary

gab
Gave; past tense of 'geben' (to give)
einige
Some; a few of something
Zwangsarbeit
Forced labor; compulsory work under coercion
beim
At the; contraction of 'bei dem'
Holzfällen
Logging; the activity of cutting down trees
Schiffbau
Shipbuilding; construction of ships and vessels
sowie
As well as; and also, in addition to
erzwungenen
Forced; compelled by force or coercion
Militärdienst
Military service; duty served in the armed forces
Ruderer
Rower; person who rows a boat
Soldaten
Soldiers; military personnel serving in armed forces
Expeditionen
Expeditions; organized journeys for exploration or military purposes
Molukken
Moluccas; island group in eastern Indonesia
Küsten
Coasts; plural of Küste, shorelines of seas
Asiens
Of Asia; genitive form of the continent Asia
nirgendwo
Nowhere; not in any place
unsäglichen
Unspeakable; too horrible or extreme to describe
Grausamkeiten
Cruelties; acts of extreme brutality or violence
Südamerika
South America; the southern continent of the Americas
Mütter
Mothers; plural of Mutter, female parents
dazu
To do so; thereto; for that purpose
trieben
Drove; past tense of 'treiben', to drive or push
Babys
Babies; plural of Baby, very young children
Geburt
Birth; the process of being born
erdrosseln
To strangle; to kill by choking or throttling
ganze
Entire; whole; complete without exception
Stämme
Tribes; plural of Stamm, ethnic or clan groups
brachten
Brought; past tense of 'bringen', to bring
Selbstverbrennung
Self-immolation; act of burning oneself to death
lebendigen
Living; alive; adjective describing something animate
Tod
Death; the end of life
Minen
Mines; plural of Mine, underground mineral excavations
Sklavenlagern
Slave camps; camps where enslaved people were held
vorzuziehen
To prefer; to consider something more desirable
Ganz
Quite; entirely; completely different or separate
anders
Different; otherwise; in another way
Inseln
Islands; plural of Insel, land surrounded by water
Gebiete
Territories; regions; plural of Gebiet
entvölkert
Depopulated; emptied of its inhabitants
wurden
Were; past passive auxiliary verb form of 'werden'
später
Later; at a subsequent time
Fluch
Curse; a great evil or affliction
heraufzubeschwören
To conjure up; to bring about something terrible
zeigt
Shows; demonstrates; third person present of 'zeigen'
Tatsache
Fact; an established or verified piece of information
einheimische
Native; indigenous; belonging to a particular region
Bevölkerung
Population; the inhabitants of a particular area
tatsächlich
Actually; in fact; truly or genuinely
zunahm
Increased; grew; past tense of 'zunehmen'
Lebensstandard
Standard of living; level of material comfort and welfare
strengen
Strict; rigorous; stern in discipline or rules
wohlwollenden
Benevolent; well-meaning; showing goodwill toward others
Vormundschaft
Guardianship; legal or protective oversight over someone
Missionarsväter
Missionary fathers; Catholic priests serving as missionaries
gehoben
Elevated; raised; past participle of 'heben'
wurde
Was; became; singular past passive form of 'werden'
Entfernung
Distance; the amount of space between two points
Strapazen
Hardships; strains; plural of Strapaze, arduous difficulties
Reise
Journey; trip; travel from one place to another
verhinderten
Prevented; stopped something from happening; past tense
Kommen
Coming; arrival; the act of arriving somewhere
vieler
Of many; genitive plural of 'viel'
unverantwortlicher
Irresponsible; lacking accountability or responsible judgment
Abenteurer
Adventurers; people seeking thrilling or risky experiences
zum
To the; contraction of 'zu dem'
Glück
Luck; happiness; fortunate circumstance
niemals
Never; at no time whatsoever
Mineralreichtum
Mineral wealth; abundance of valuable mineral resources
entdeckt
Discovered; found; past participle of 'entdecken'
Regierungssystem
System of government; structure of political administration
wesentlichen
Essential; fundamental; core or most important features
Merkmalen
Features; characteristics; plural of Merkmal in dative
einfaches
Simple; straightforward; uncomplicated in nature
Missionarspriester
Missionary priest; ordained clergyman serving missionary work
zogen
Drew; moved; past tense plural of 'ziehen'
Bewohner
Inhabitants; residents; people living in a place
Städte
Cities; plural of Stadt, urban settlements
Dörfer
Villages; plural of Dorf, small rural settlements
gründeten
Founded; established; past tense of 'gründen'
Siedlungen
Settlements; plural of Siedlung, established communities
lehrten
Taught; past tense plural of 'lehren', to teach
Volk
People; nation; a group sharing culture or identity
reichlichem
Abundant; plentiful; ample in quantity or use
Gebrauch
Use; usage; the act of employing something
Symbol
Symbol; a sign representing an idea or concept
Symbolik
Symbolism; use of symbols to express meaning
Glauben
Faith; belief; religious conviction or trust
wobei
Whereby; in doing so; relative adverb of means
besonderen
Special; particular; adjective emphasizing distinctiveness
Nachdruck
Emphasis; stress; special importance placed on something
Furcht
Fear; dread; strong emotion of being afraid
Gott
God; the supreme divine being in religion
legten
Placed; laid; past tense plural of 'legen'
vermittelt
Conveyed; imparted; communicated or taught to someone
Unterwerfung
Submission; subjugation; act of yielding to authority
versöhnten
Reconciled; past tense of 'versöhnen', to make peace
indem
By; by doing; subordinating conjunction of means
christlichen
Christian; adjective relating to Christianity and its values
Tugenden
Virtues; plural of Tugend, moral qualities or merits
Geduld
Patience; the ability to wait calmly without complaint
Demut
Humility; modest view of oneself before others or God
einprägten
Instilled; impressed; past tense of 'einprägen', to imprint
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