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.
Las levas nativas habían luchado lealmente bajo el mando español contra los invasores holandeses y británicos, o en la supresión de revueltas locales entre su propio pueblo, que siempre se debían a algún agravio específico, nunca dirigidas de manera definitiva contra la soberanía española.
The Philippines were shut off from contact with any country but Spain, and even this communication was restricted and carefully guarded.
Las Filipinas estaban aisladas del contacto con cualquier país que no fuera España, e incluso esta comunicación era restringida y cuidadosamente vigilada.
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.
Había un elaborado gobierno central que, sin embargo, apenas tocaba la vida de los pueblos nativos, quienes eran guiados y gobernados por los párrocos, siendo cada pueblo en cierta manera una entidad independiente.
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.
De este período de calma, justo antes de que comenzara el proceso de desintegración, afortunadamente se ha dejado un registro que puede caracterizarse como la producción literaria española más notable relativa a las Filipinas, siendo el relato sereno, comprensivo y juicioso de alguien que había dedicado su madurez al trabajo allí y quien, lleno de años y experiencia, se sentó a contar la historia de su vida.
[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] En él no hay lamentos pueriles, ni quejas malhumoradas de que los malayos tropicales no ordenen sus vidas como lo hacía la gente del pueblo español donde él pudo haberse criado, ni lamentos egoístas de ingratitud por bendiciones no solicitadas y solo imperfectamente comprendidas por los nativos, ni fatua autocomplacencia respecto a las condiciones reales, sino una paciente consideración de las dificultades encontradas, el bien logrado y los males inevitables propios de cualquier obra humana.
Vocabulary
- levas
- Levies; military conscription or recruitment of troops
- nativas
- Native; belonging originally to a particular place or region
- habían
- Third person plural past perfect auxiliary verb 'had'
- luchado
- Fought; past participle of luchar, to struggle or fight
- lealmente
- Loyally; in a faithful and devoted manner
- bajo
- Under; beneath the authority or command of someone
- mando
- Command; authority or leadership over a group
- español
- Spanish; relating to Spain or its language
- contra
- Against; in opposition to someone or something
- invasores
- Invaders; those who enter a place by force
- holandeses
- Dutch; people or things from the Netherlands
- británicos
- British; relating to Great Britain or its people
- supresión
- Suppression; forcible putting down of a revolt or activity
- revueltas
- Revolts; uprisings or rebellions against authority
- locales
- Local; relating to a particular area or community
- entre
- Among; in the middle of or within a group
- propio
- Own; belonging specifically to oneself or themselves
- pueblo
- People; a community or nation sharing common identity
- siempre
- Always; at all times without exception
- debían
- Were due to; were owed or attributable to a cause
- algún
- Some; an unspecified particular thing or instance
- agravio
- Grievance; a wrong or injustice causing resentment
- específico
- Specific; clearly defined or particular in nature
- nunca
- Never; not at any time or on any occasion
- dirigidas
- Directed; aimed or targeted toward a particular goal
- manera
- Manner; a way or method of doing something
- definitiva
- Definitive; conclusive or final in a decisive way
- soberanía
- Sovereignty; supreme authority or power over a territory
- española
- Spanish; feminine form relating to Spain
- Filipinas
- Philippines; archipelago nation in Southeast Asia
- estaban
- Were; third person plural imperfect of estar
- aisladas
- Isolated; cut off from contact with the outside world
- contacto
- Contact; communication or interaction with others
- cualquier
- Any; referring to no particular one of a set
- país
- Country; a nation with its own government and territory
- fuera
- Were/be outside; subjunctive form of ser or estar
- España
- Spain; country in southwestern Europe
- incluso
- Even; used to emphasize an extreme or surprising case
- comunicación
- Communication; exchange of information between parties
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of ser
- restringida
- Restricted; limited or controlled by rules or authority
- cuidadosamente
- Carefully; done with great attention and caution
- vigilada
- Monitored; watched over and kept under surveillance
- Había
- There was/were; imperfect form of haber
- elaborado
- Elaborate; complex and carefully developed system
- gobierno
- Government; system of ruling and administering a state
- central
- Central; relating to the main governing authority
- sin
- Without; lacking or absent of something
- embargo
- However; used in phrase 'sin embargo' meaning nevertheless
- apenas
- Hardly; scarcely or almost not at all
- tocaba
- Touched; had an effect or influence on something
- vida
- Life; the existence and daily activities of a person
- pueblos
- Towns; small communities or villages of people
- nativos
- Natives; indigenous people of a particular region
- quienes
- Who; relative pronoun referring to people
- eran
- Were; third person plural imperfect of ser
- guiados
- Guided; led or directed by someone in authority
- gobernados
- Governed; ruled or administered by an authority
- párrocos
- Parish priests; local Catholic clergy in charge of parishes
- siendo
- Being; present participle of ser
- cada
- Each; every individual one of a group
- cierta
- Certain; a particular or specific one
- entidad
- Entity; an independent unit with distinct existence
- independiente
- Independent; self-governing and not controlled by others
- período
- Period; a specific span or era of time
- calma
- Calm; a state of peace and tranquility
- justo
- Just; exactly or right before something occurs
- antes
- Before; earlier in time than something else
- comenzara
- Would begin; past subjunctive of comenzar
- proceso
- Process; a series of actions leading to a result
- desintegración
- Disintegration; the breaking apart of a unified structure
- afortunadamente
- Fortunately; luckily, in a favorable or fortunate way
- dejado
- Left; past participle of dejar, to leave or leave behind
- registro
- Record; a written account or documentation of events
- puede
- Can/may; third person singular of poder
- caracterizarse
- Be characterized; to be defined by particular features
- producción
- Production; the creation or output of literary work
- literaria
- Literary; relating to literature or written works
- más
- Most/more; comparative or superlative degree marker
- notable
- Notable; worthy of attention or remarkably significant
- relativa
- Relative; relating or pertaining to a particular subject
- relato
- Account; a narrative or story describing events
- sereno
- Serene; calm, clear, and undisturbed in tone
- comprensivo
- Comprehensive; showing understanding and broad coverage
- juicioso
- Judicious; showing sound judgment and wisdom
- alguien
- Someone; an unspecified person
- había
- Had; third person singular past perfect of haber
- dedicado
- Dedicated; devoted one's time and effort to something
- madurez
- Maturity; the state of being fully developed or experienced
- trabajo
- Work; labor or a task requiring effort and time
- allí
- There; in or at that particular place
- quien
- Who; relative pronoun referring to a person
- lleno
- Full; filled completely with something
- años
- Years; units of time equal to twelve months
- experiencia
- Experience; knowledge gained through practice and living
- sentó
- Sat down; past tense of sentar, to sit
- contar
- To tell; to narrate or recount a story
- historia
- History/story; a narrative or account of past events
- hay
- There are; present tense of haber indicating existence
- lamentos
- Laments; expressions of grief, regret, or sorrow
- pueriles
- Puerile; childishly silly or trivially immature
- ni
- Nor/neither; negative conjunction linking two items
- quejas
- Complaints; expressions of dissatisfaction or grievance
- malhumoradas
- Ill-humored; grumpy, irritable, or sullen in tone
- malayos
- Malays; people of Malay ethnic origin in Southeast Asia
- tropicales
- Tropical; relating to the hot, humid tropical regions
- ordenen
- Arrange; present subjunctive of ordenar, to order
- vidas
- Lives; plural of vida, the existence of living beings
- hacía
- Did/made; third person singular imperfect of hacer
- gente
- People; a group of human beings in general
- donde
- Where; relative adverb indicating a place
- pudo
- Could; third person singular preterite of poder
- haberse
- Have been; reflexive infinitive of haber
- criado
- Raised; brought up or reared in a particular place
- egoístas
- Selfish; caring only for oneself without regard for others
- ingratitud
- Ingratitude; failure to appreciate or acknowledge help received
- bendiciones
- Blessings; benefits or gifts regarded as divinely given
- solicitadas
- Requested; asked for or sought after by someone
- solo
- Only; merely, exclusively, nothing more than
- imperfectamente
- Imperfectly; in an incomplete or flawed manner
- comprendidas
- Understood; grasped or comprehended by someone
- fatua
- Fatuous; silly and pointless, lacking intelligence
- autocomplacencia
- Self-complacency; excessive satisfaction with oneself
- respecto
- Regarding; with reference or relation to something
- condiciones
- Conditions; circumstances or situations affecting outcomes
- reales
- Real; actual, existing in fact, not imagined
- sino
- But rather; conjunction contrasting a negative statement
- paciente
- Patient; showing calm endurance in difficult situations
- consideración
- Consideration; careful thought and regard for something
- dificultades
- Difficulties; challenges or problems encountered
- encontradas
- Encountered; met with or come across during experience
- bien
- Well; in a good or satisfactory manner
- logrado
- Achieved; successfully accomplished despite obstacles
- males
- Evils/ills; harmful or bad things or conditions
- inevitables
- Inevitable; unable to be avoided or prevented
- propios
- Own; belonging to or characteristic of oneself
- obra
- Work; a creative or constructed product of human effort
- humana
- Human; relating to people and their nature or activities
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →