The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere — Page 14
Native levies had fought loyally under Spanish leadership against Dutch and British invaders, or in suppressing local revolts among their own people, which were always due to some specific grievance, never directed definitely against the Spanish sovereignty.
Einheimische Aushebungen hatten loyal unter spanischer Führung gegen niederländische und britische Eindringlinge gekämpft oder bei der Unterdrückung lokaler Aufstände unter dem eigenen Volk mitgewirkt, die stets auf eine bestimmte Beschwerde zurückzuführen waren und sich niemals eindeutig gegen die spanische Souveränität richteten.
The Philippines were shut off from contact with any country but Spain, and even this communication was restricted and carefully guarded.
Die Philippinen waren von jedem Kontakt mit einem anderen Land als Spanien abgeschnitten, und selbst diese Verbindung war eingeschränkt und sorgfältig überwacht.
There was an elaborate central government which, however, hardly touched the life of the native peoples, who were guided and governed by the parish priests, each town being in a way an independent entity.
Es gab eine aufwendige Zentralregierung, die jedoch das Leben der einheimischen Völker kaum berührte, die von den Pfarrpriestern geleitet und regiert wurden, wobei jede Stadt in gewisser Weise eine unabhängige Einheit darstellte.
Of this halcyon period, just before the process of disintegration began, there has fortunately been left a record which may be characterized as the most notable Spanish literary production relating to the Philippines, being the calm, sympathetic, judicial account of one who had spent his manhood in the work there and who, full of years and experience, sat down to tell the story of their life.
Von dieser glücklichen Epoche, kurz bevor der Prozess des Zerfalls begann, ist glücklicherweise ein Zeugnis erhalten geblieben, das als das bedeutendste spanische Literaturwerk über die Philippinen bezeichnet werden kann, nämlich der ruhige, einfühlsame und sachliche Bericht eines Mannes, der seine besten Jahre der dortigen Arbeit gewidmet hatte und der, reich an Jahren und Erfahrung, sich niedersetzte, um die Geschichte ihres Lebens zu erzählen.
[4] In it there are no puerile whinings, no querulous curses that tropical Malays do not order their lives as did the people of the Spanish village where he may have been reared, no selfish laments of ingratitude over blessings unasked and only imperfectly understood by the natives, no fatuous self-deception as to the real conditions, but a patient consideration of the difficulties encountered, the good accomplished, and the unavoidable evils incident to any human work.
[4] Darin finden sich keine kindischen Klagen, keine quengeligen Flüche darüber, dass tropische Malaien ihr Leben nicht so ordnen wie die Menschen in dem spanischen Dorf, in dem er aufgewachsen sein mag, keine selbstsüchtigen Undankbarkeitsbeklagen über Wohltaten, die unerbeten und von den Einheimischen nur unvollkommen verstanden wurden, keine selbstgefällige Selbsttäuschung über die wirklichen Verhältnisse, sondern eine geduldige Betrachtung der aufgetretenen Schwierigkeiten, des Erreichten und der unvermeidlichen Übel, die jeder menschlichen Arbeit innewohnen.
Vocabulary
- Einheimische
- Native inhabitants of a particular place or region
- Aushebungen
- Military conscriptions or levies of soldiers
- hatten
- Past tense of 'haben'; had
- loyal
- Faithful and devoted to a person or cause
- unter
- Under, beneath, or among
- spanischer
- Adjective form of Spanish (genitive/dative)
- Führung
- Leadership, guidance, or command
- gegen
- Against, opposing something or someone
- niederländische
- Adjective referring to Dutch people or things
- britische
- Adjective referring to British people or things
- Eindringlinge
- Intruders or invaders entering without permission
- gekämpft
- Past participle of kämpfen; fought or struggled
- bei
- Preposition meaning at, near, or during
- Unterdrückung
- Suppression or oppression of people or uprisings
- lokaler
- Adjective meaning local (genitive/dative form)
- Aufstände
- Rebellions or uprisings against authority
- eigenen
- Adjective meaning own or one's own people
- Volk
- A people, nation, or ethnic group
- mitgewirkt
- Participated or collaborated in something
- stets
- Always, constantly, at all times
- auf
- Preposition meaning on, onto, or upon
- bestimmte
- A specific or particular (thing or matter)
- Beschwerde
- A complaint or grievance about something
- zurückzuführen
- To trace back or attribute something to a cause
- waren
- Past tense plural of sein; were
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning themselves or oneself
- niemals
- Never, not at any time
- eindeutig
- Clearly, unambiguously, without doubt
- spanische
- Adjective meaning Spanish
- Souveränität
- Sovereignty; supreme authority over a territory
- richteten
- Directed or aimed at something or someone
- Philippinen
- The Philippines, an archipelago in Southeast Asia
- von
- Preposition meaning from, of, or by
- jedem
- Dative form of jeder; every or each
- Kontakt
- Contact or connection with another person or place
- mit
- Preposition meaning with or together
- anderen
- Adjective meaning other or another
- Land
- Country, land, or nation
- als
- Than or as, used in comparisons
- Spanien
- Spain, a country in southwestern Europe
- abgeschnitten
- Cut off or isolated from contact or supplies
- selbst
- Even or itself; emphasizing the subject
- diese
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning this or these
- Verbindung
- Connection, link, or relationship between things
- war
- Past tense of sein; was
- eingeschränkt
- Restricted, limited, or constrained in scope
- sorgfältig
- Carefully, thoroughly, with great attention
- überwacht
- Monitored or supervised closely
- gab
- Past tense of geben; there was or gave
- aufwendige
- Elaborate, costly, or requiring great effort
- Zentralregierung
- Central government overseeing an entire country
- jedoch
- However, yet, but (contrasting conjunction)
- Leben
- Life or daily existence
- einheimischen
- Adjective form of native or indigenous (declined)
- Völker
- Plural of Volk; peoples or nations
- kaum
- Hardly, barely, scarcely
- berührte
- Touched or affected something or someone
- Pfarrpriestern
- Parish priests serving a local church community
- geleitet
- Led, managed, or directed an organization or group
- regiert
- Governed or ruled over a territory or people
- wurden
- Past tense passive auxiliary; were (done)
- wobei
- Whereby, in the process of which
- jede
- Every or each (feminine nominative form)
- Stadt
- A city or town
- gewisser
- Certain or particular (genitive adjectival form)
- Weise
- Manner, way, or fashion of doing something
- unabhängige
- Independent, autonomous, free from outside control
- Einheit
- Unit, entity, or unity
- darstellte
- Represented or constituted something specific
- Von
- Preposition meaning from or of
- glücklichen
- Happy or fortunate (declined adjectival form)
- Epoche
- An epoch or historical era or period
- kurz
- Short, brief, or shortly before something
- bevor
- Before a particular event or time
- Prozess
- A process or ongoing sequence of events
- Zerfalls
- Decay, disintegration, or collapse of something
- begann
- Past tense of beginnen; began or started
- glücklicherweise
- Fortunately, luckily, by good fortune
- Zeugnis
- Testimony, evidence, or record of something
- erhalten
- Preserved or received; kept intact over time
- geblieben
- Past participle of bleiben; remained or stayed
- bedeutendste
- Most significant or most important (superlative form)
- Literaturwerk
- A literary work or piece of written literature
- über
- About, over, or concerning something
- bezeichnet
- Described or labeled as something specific
- werden
- To become or auxiliary verb for passive/future
- kann
- Can, is able to (modal verb)
- nämlich
- Namely, that is to say, specifically
- ruhige
- Calm, quiet, or peaceful (declined adjective)
- einfühlsame
- Empathetic, sensitive, or understanding (declined adjective)
- sachliche
- Factual, objective, or matter-of-fact (declined adjective)
- Bericht
- A report or account of events or findings
- Mannes
- Genitive form of Mann; of a man
- seine
- Possessive pronoun meaning his or its
- besten
- Best (superlative declined form of gut)
- Jahre
- Years (plural of Jahr)
- dortigen
- Of that place, local to that location
- Arbeit
- Work, labor, or a task performed
- gewidmet
- Dedicated or devoted to a person or purpose
- hatte
- Past tense of haben; had (singular)
- reich
- Rich, abundant, or wealthy in something
- an
- Preposition meaning at, on, or by
- Jahren
- Dative plural of Jahr; years
- Erfahrung
- Experience gained through practice or observation
- niedersetzte
- Sat down or settled to write something
- um
- In order to; around or at (preposition)
- Geschichte
- History or story of events or people
- ihres
- Genitive possessive pronoun meaning their or her
- Lebens
- Genitive of Leben; of life
- erzählen
- To tell or narrate a story
- Darin
- Therein, in it, contained within that text
- finden
- To find or discover something
- keine
- No, none, not any (negative article)
- kindischen
- Childish, immature, or puerile (declined adjective)
- Klagen
- Complaints, laments, or legal complaints
- quengeligen
- Whining, nagging, peevish (declined adjective)
- Flüche
- Curses or profanities uttered in frustration
- darüber
- About it or over that matter
- dass
- Conjunction meaning that (subordinating clause)
- tropische
- Tropical, relating to the tropics (declined adjective)
- Malaien
- Malays; people of Malay ethnic background
- ihr
- Their, her, or you (plural pronoun/possessive)
- nicht
- Not, negation particle in German
- so
- So, thus, or in such a way
- ordnen
- To order, arrange, or organize things
- wie
- As, how, or like (comparison word)
- Menschen
- People or human beings (plural of Mensch)
- spanischen
- Spanish (declined adjective, dative/genitive form)
- Dorf
- A village or small rural settlement
- aufgewachsen
- Grown up; raised in a particular place
- sein
- To be (infinitive) or his (possessive)
- mag
- May, might; form of mögen expressing possibility
- selbstsüchtigen
- Selfish, self-serving (declined adjectival form)
- Wohltaten
- Good deeds, benefits, or acts of kindness
- unerbeten
- Uninvited, unsolicited, not asked for
- Einheimischen
- Dative/genitive of Einheimische; native people
- nur
- Only, just, merely
- unvollkommen
- Imperfectly, incompletely, or inadequately understood
- verstanden
- Past participle of verstehen; understood
- selbstgefällige
- Self-satisfied, smug, or complacent (declined adjective)
- Selbsttäuschung
- Self-deception or self-delusion about reality
- wirklichen
- Real, actual, true (declined adjectival form)
- Verhältnisse
- Conditions, circumstances, or state of affairs
- sondern
- But rather, on the contrary (contrasting conjunction)
- geduldige
- Patient, tolerant, persevering (declined adjective)
- Betrachtung
- Contemplation, observation, or thoughtful consideration
- aufgetretenen
- Arisen or occurred (declined past participle adjective)
- Schwierigkeiten
- Difficulties, challenges, or problems encountered
- Erreichten
- What was achieved or accomplished
- unvermeidlichen
- Inevitable, unavoidable (declined adjectival form)
- Übel
- Evil, ill, or misfortune inherent in something
- jeder
- Every, each (masculine nominative form)
- menschlichen
- Human, of humanity (declined adjectival form)
- innewohnen
- To be inherent in or reside within something
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