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 il passare degli anni e con l'aumento della ricchezza e dell'influenza, con la comodità e il lusso da questi invitati, e la conseguente corruzione così indotta, con il desiderio insaziabile sempre di maggiore ricchezza e di maggiore influenza, il veleno dell'avidità e del potere rapace entrò nel sistema per lavorare in modo insidioso in ogni sua parte, trasformando lentamente la benefica istituzione del sedicesimo e del diciassettesimo secolo in un incubo gravante su tutte le attività del popolo nel diciannovesimo, un ostacolo inflessibile allo sviluppo del paese, un orribile anacronismo in questi tempi moderni.
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.
Bisogna anche ricordare che la Spagna, negli anni successivi alle sue brillanti conquiste del quindicesimo e sedicesimo secolo, perse forza e vigore a causa della corruzione interna indotta dalla ricchezza non guadagnata che affluiva nella madrepatria dalle colonie, e dal prosciugamento del suo sangue migliore.
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.
Né i suoi figli svilupparono mai quello spirito economico che è il fondamento permanente di ogni impero, ma lasciarono che la ricchezza delle Indie scorresse attraverso il loro paese, principalmente verso Londra e Amsterdam, per formare lì, in mani più pratiche, le basi degli imperi coloniali britannico e olandese.
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.
Il sacerdote e il soldato erano supremi, così i suoi figli migliori presero in mano la croce o la spada per mantenere il suo dominio nelle lontane colonie, un movimento che, protrattosi a lungo, significò per lei una forma di suicidio nazionale.
Vocabulary
- Solo
- Only; alone; single
- con
- With; accompanied by
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- passare
- To pass; to spend time; to go by
- degli
- Of the; some (partitive article)
- anni
- Years; plural of anno
- aumento
- Increase; growth; rise in quantity
- della
- Of the; from the (feminine singular)
- ricchezza
- Wealth; richness; abundance of resources
- influenza
- Influence; effect; power over something
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- comodità
- Comfort; convenience; ease and facility
- lusso
- Luxury; extravagance; expensive and refined living
- da
- From; by; since; at the place of
- questi
- These; this one; those persons
- invitati
- Invited guests; people invited to event
- conseguente
- Consequent; resulting; following as result
- corruzione
- Corruption; decay; moral or political degradation
- così
- So; thus; in this manner; therefore
- indotta
- Induced; brought about; caused to happen
- desiderio
- Desire; wish; longing for something
- insaziabile
- Insatiable; never satisfied; always wanting more
- sempre
- Always; ever; constantly; at all times
- di
- Of; from; by; expressing possession or origin
- maggiore
- Greater; larger; major; of greater importance
- veleno
- Poison; venom; toxic or harmful substance
- avidità
- Greed; avarice; excessive desire for wealth
- del
- Of the; from the (masculine singular)
- potere
- Power; authority; ability to do something
- rapace
- Rapacious; greedy; given to plunder and theft
- entrò
- Entered; went in; came into place
- nel
- In the; into the (masculine singular)
- sistema
- System; organized structure; method of organization
- per
- For; in order to; by; through
- lavorare
- To work; to labor; to function
- in
- In; into; at; within a place
- modo
- Mode; manner; way; method of doing
- insidioso
- Insidious; treacherous; deceitfully harmful or dangerous
- ogni
- Every; each; all; without exception
- sua
- His; her; its; one's (possessive feminine)
- parte
- Part; piece; share; role; side
- trasformando
- Transforming; changing; converting into something else
- lentamente
- Slowly; gradually; at a slow pace
- benefica
- Beneficial; helpful; producing good effects
- istituzione
- Institution; organization; established public or private body
- secolo
- Century; period of one hundred years
- un
- A; an; one (masculine singular indefinite article)
- incubo
- Nightmare; bad dream; cause of distress
- su
- On; upon; over; above; regarding
- tutte
- All; every one; the whole of
- le
- The (feminine plural definite article)
- attività
- Activity; action; occupation; business operations
- popolo
- People; population; nation; common folk
- ostacolo
- Obstacle; barrier; impediment to progress
- inflessibile
- Inflexible; rigid; unyielding; not able to bend
- allo
- To the; at the (masculine singular)
- sviluppo
- Development; growth; expansion; unfolding process
- paese
- Country; nation; rural area; village
- orribile
- Horrible; awful; dreadful; causing horror
- anacronismo
- Anachronism; thing out of proper time
- tempi
- Times; periods; eras; plural of tempo
- moderni
- Modern; contemporary; of present times
- Bisogna
- It is necessary; one must; should be done
- anche
- Also; too; as well; in addition
- ricordare
- To remember; to recall; to remind
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- Spagna
- Spain; European country on Iberian Peninsula
- negli
- In the; during the (masculine plural)
- successivi
- Successive; following; coming after in sequence
- alle
- To the; at the (feminine plural)
- sue
- Her; his; its; one's (possessive feminine)
- brillanti
- Brilliant; shining; splendid; excellent and bright
- conquiste
- Conquests; victories; territories won by conquest
- perse
- Lost; misplaced; past tense of perdere
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