The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere — Page 10
Only with the passing of the years and the increase of wealth and influence, the ease and luxury invited by these, and the consequent corruption so induced, with the insatiable longing ever for more wealth and greater influence, did the poison of greed and grasping power enter the system to work its insidious way into every part, slowly transforming the beneficent institution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries into an incubus weighing upon all the activities of the people in the nineteenth, an unyielding bar to the development of the country, a hideous anachronism in these modern times.
Solo con el paso de los años y el aumento de la riqueza y la influencia, la comodidad y el lujo que estas invitaban, y la consiguiente corrupción así inducida, con el anhelo insaciable de siempre por más riqueza y mayor influencia, el veneno de la codicia y el poder ávido penetró en el sistema para abrirse camino de manera insidiosa en cada parte, transformando lentamente la benéfica institución de los siglos XVI y XVII en un íncubo que pesaba sobre todas las actividades del pueblo en el XIX, un obstáculo inflexible para el desarrollo del país, un anacronismo horrendo en estos tiempos modernos.
It must be remembered also that Spain, in the years following her brilliant conquests of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, lost strength and vigor through the corruption at home induced by the unearned wealth that flowed into the mother country from the colonies, and by the draining away of her best blood.
También hay que recordar que España, en los años posteriores a sus brillantes conquistas de los siglos XV y XVI, perdió fuerza y vigor a causa de la corrupción interna provocada por la riqueza inmerecida que fluía hacia la metrópoli desde las colonias, y por el desangrado de su mejor sangre.
Nor did her sons ever develop that economic spirit which is the permanent foundation of all empire, but they let the wealth of the Indies flow through their country, principally to London and Amsterdam, there to form in more practical hands the basis of the British and Dutch colonial empires.
Tampoco desarrollaron jamás sus hijos ese espíritu económico que es el fundamento permanente de todo imperio, sino que dejaron que la riqueza de las Indias fluyera a través de su país, principalmente hacia Londres y Ámsterdam, para formar allí, en manos más prácticas, la base de los imperios coloniales británico y holandés.
The priest and the soldier were supreme, so her best sons took up either the cross or the sword to maintain her dominion in the distant colonies, a movement which, long continued, spelled for her a form of national suicide.
El sacerdote y el soldado eran supremos, por lo que sus mejores hijos empuñaron la cruz o la espada para mantener su dominio en las lejanas colonias, un movimiento que, prolongado durante mucho tiempo, representó para ella una forma de suicidio nacional.
Vocabulary
- Solo
- Only, alone, or by oneself
- con
- With; used to indicate accompaniment or means
- paso
- Step, pace, or passing of time
- años
- Years; units of time spanning twelve months
- aumento
- Increase, growth, or rise in quantity
- riqueza
- Wealth, richness, or abundance of resources
- influencia
- Influence; power to affect others or outcomes
- comodidad
- Comfort, convenience, or ease of living
- lujo
- Luxury; excessive comfort or extravagant lifestyle
- invitaban
- They invited or encouraged something to happen
- consiguiente
- Consequent, resulting; following as a logical outcome
- corrupción
- Corruption; moral decay or dishonest abuse of power
- así
- Thus, so, in this way
- inducida
- Induced, brought about, or caused by something
- anhelo
- Longing, yearning, or deep desire for something
- insaciable
- Insatiable; impossible to satisfy or fulfill
- siempre
- Always, ever; at all times
- más
- More; indicating greater quantity or degree
- mayor
- Greater, larger, or older; comparative adjective
- veneno
- Poison; toxic substance harmful to living beings
- codicia
- Greed, covetousness; excessive desire for wealth
- poder
- Power, authority; ability or political control
- ávido
- Avid, greedy, or eagerly desirous of something
- penetró
- Penetrated, entered deeply into something
- sistema
- System; organized set of structures or institutions
- abrirse
- To open oneself up or make one's way
- camino
- Road, path, or way forward
- manera
- Manner, way, or method of doing something
- insidiosa
- Insidious; harmful in a subtle or stealthy way
- cada
- Each, every; referring to individual members of a group
- parte
- Part, portion, or section of a whole
- transformando
- Transforming, changing the form or nature of something
- lentamente
- Slowly, gradually, at a reduced pace
- benéfica
- Beneficial, charitable, or doing good to others
- institución
- Institution; established organization or social structure
- siglos
- Centuries; periods of one hundred years
- íncubo
- Incubus; oppressive burden or nightmare-like force
- pesaba
- Weighed heavily upon; burdened or oppressed something
- sobre
- On, over, about; preposition of position or topic
- actividades
- Activities; actions or tasks regularly undertaken
- pueblo
- People, town, or common population of a nation
- obstáculo
- Obstacle; something blocking progress or movement
- inflexible
- Inflexible; rigid, unyielding, refusing to adapt
- desarrollo
- Development, growth, or progress of something
- país
- Country, nation; a politically defined territory
- anacronismo
- Anachronism; something outdated and out of its time
- horrendo
- Horrifying, dreadful, or extremely unpleasant
- tiempos
- Times, eras, or periods of history
- modernos
- Modern; relating to present or recent times
- También
- Also, too; indicating addition or agreement
- hay
- There is, there are; impersonal form of haber
- recordar
- To remember or recall something from the past
- posteriores
- Later, subsequent; coming after in time or order
- brillantes
- Brilliant, shining, or outstandingly impressive
- conquistas
- Conquests; victories achieved by military force
- perdió
- Lost; ceased to have or failed to retain something
- fuerza
- Force, strength, or power to act
- vigor
- Vigor; physical or mental strength and energy
- causa
- Cause, reason, or source of an effect
- interna
- Internal; existing or occurring within something
- provocada
- Provoked, caused, or triggered by something
- inmerecida
- Undeserved, unearned; not merited by one's actions
- fluía
- Flowed; moved steadily like liquid in a direction
- hacia
- Toward, towards; preposition indicating direction
- metrópoli
- Metropolis; main city or mother country of colonies
- desde
- From, since; preposition of origin or starting point
- colonias
- Colonies; territories controlled by a foreign power
- desangrado
- Bled dry; drained of blood or vital resources
- mejor
- Best, better; superlative or comparative of good
- sangre
- Blood; fluid circulating in the body of living beings
- Tampoco
- Neither, nor, not either; negative correlative adverb
- desarrollaron
- They developed or cultivated something over time
- jamás
- Never, ever; emphatic negative adverb of time
- hijos
- Sons, children; male offspring or descendants
- espíritu
- Spirit, soul, or guiding attitude of a person
- económico
- Economic; relating to the economy or finances
- fundamento
- Foundation, basis, or fundamental principle
- permanente
- Permanent; lasting indefinitely without change
- todo
- All, every, whole; totality of something
- imperio
- Empire; large dominion under a single authority
- sino
- But rather, but instead; corrective conjunction
- dejaron
- They left, let, or allowed something to happen
- Indias
- The Indies; historical term for American colonies
- fluyera
- That it would flow; imperfect subjunctive of fluir
- través
- Through, across; used in phrase a través de
- principalmente
- Mainly, principally, chiefly; above all others
- formar
- To form, create, or build something organized
- allí
- There; in or at that place
- manos
- Hands; upper limbs used for grasping and working
- prácticas
- Practices; habitual methods or skilled activities
- base
- Base, foundation; essential support of a structure
- imperios
- Empires; large territories under centralized authority
- coloniales
- Colonial; relating to colonies or colonization
- británico
- British; relating to Britain or its people
- holandés
- Dutch; relating to the Netherlands or its people
- sacerdote
- Priest; ordained religious minister performing ceremonies
- soldado
- Soldier; member of an army or military force
- supremos
- Supreme; highest in authority or rank
- mejores
- Best, better; plural comparative of bueno
- empuñaron
- They grasped, wielded, or took up a weapon
- cruz
- Cross; Christian symbol or object in cross shape
- espada
- Sword; bladed weapon used in combat
- mantener
- To maintain, keep, or sustain something over time
- dominio
- Dominion, control, or rule over a territory
- lejanas
- Distant, far-away, remote; feminine plural adjective
- movimiento
- Movement, motion, or organized social campaign
- prolongado
- Prolonged, extended, lasting longer than expected
- durante
- During, for; preposition indicating a span of time
- mucho
- Much, a lot; indicating large quantity or degree
- tiempo
- Time, weather; duration or atmospheric conditions
- representó
- Represented, signified, or stood for something
- forma
- Form, shape, or manner of doing something
- suicidio
- Suicide; act of intentionally ending one's own life
- nacional
- National; relating to a nation or its people
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