The Souls of Black Folk — Page 8
The would-be black savant was confronted by the paradox that the knowledge his people needed was a twice-told tale to his white neighbors, while the knowledge which would teach the white world was Greek to his own flesh and blood.
Der angehende schwarze Gelehrte sah sich dem Paradoxon gegenübergestellt, dass das Wissen, das sein Volk brauchte, seinen weißen Nachbarn eine längst bekannte Geschichte war, während das Wissen, das die weiße Welt belehren würde, für sein eigenes Fleisch und Blut ein Buch mit sieben Siegeln war.
The innate love of harmony and beauty that set the ruder souls of his people a-dancing and a-singing raised but confusion and doubt in the soul of the black artist; for the beauty revealed to him was the soul-beauty of a race which his larger audience despised, and he could not articulate the message of another people.
Die angeborene Liebe zur Harmonie und Schönheit, die die einfacheren Seelen seines Volkes zum Tanzen und Singen brachte, weckte in der Seele des schwarzen Künstlers nur Verwirrung und Zweifel; denn die Schönheit, die ihm offenbart wurde, war die SeelenSchönheit einer Rasse, die sein größeres Publikum verachtete, und er konnte die Botschaft eines anderen Volkes nicht zum Ausdruck bringen.
This waste of double aims, this seeking to satisfy two unreconciled ideals, has wrought sad havoc with the courage and faith and deeds of ten thousand thousand people,—has sent them often wooing false gods and invoking false means of salvation, and at times has even seemed about to make them ashamed of themselves.
Diese Verschwendung durch doppelte Ziele, dieses Streben, zwei unvereinbare Ideale zu befriedigen, hat traurige Verwüstung an dem Mut und dem Glauben und den Taten von zehntausendmal zehntausend Menschen angerichtet – hat sie oft dazu gebracht, falschen Göttern nachzulaufen und falsche Heilsmittel anzurufen, und hat manchmal sogar so ausgesehen, als würde es sie sich ihrer selbst schämen lassen.
Away back in the days of bondage they thought to see in one divine event the end of all doubt and disappointment; few men ever worshipped Freedom with half such unquestioning faith as did the American Negro for two centuries.
Weit zurück in den Tagen der Knechtschaft glaubten sie, in einem einzigen göttlichen Ereignis das Ende aller Zweifel und Enttäuschungen zu sehen; kaum ein Mensch hat die Freiheit jemals mit auch nur halb so bedingungslosem Glauben verehrt wie der amerikanische Neger über zwei Jahrhunderte lang.
To him, so far as he thought and dreamed, slavery was indeed the sum of all villainies, the cause of all sorrow, the root of all prejudice; Emancipation was the key to a promised land of sweeter beauty than ever stretched before the eyes of wearied Israelites.
Für ihn, soweit er dachte und träumte, war die Sklaverei tatsächlich der Inbegriff aller Schurkereien, die Ursache alles Leids, die Wurzel aller Vorurteile; die Emanzipation war der Schlüssel zu einem gelobten Land von süßerer Schönheit, als sie sich je vor den Augen müder Israeliten erstreckt hatte.
Vocabulary
- Der
- Definite article for masculine nouns in nominative case.
- angehende
- Aspiring, prospective, beginning in a profession or role.
- schwarze
- Black; dark in color.
- Gelehrte
- Scholar, learned person, intellectual or academic.
- sah
- Saw; past tense of 'sehen' (to see).
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun for third person or formal address.
- dem
- Dative form of definite article; to the.
- Paradoxon
- Paradox; a seemingly contradictory statement or situation.
- gegenübergestellt
- Confronted, faced with; past participle of gegenüberstellen.
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing dependent clause.
- das
- That, the; neuter definite article or pronoun.
- Wissen
- Knowledge; information or understanding of something.
- sein
- His, its; possessive adjective for third person.
- Volk
- People, nation; ethnic or cultural group.
- brauchte
- Needed; past tense of 'brauchen' (to need).
- seinen
- His, its; possessive adjective in accusative/dative form.
- weißen
- White; adjective in accusative or dative form.
- Nachbarn
- Neighbors; people living nearby or adjacent.
- eine
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine nouns.
- längst
- Long ago, for a long time; ancient.
- bekannte
- Known, familiar; acquainted with something.
- Geschichte
- History, story; narrative of past events.
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be).
- während
- While, during; indicating time or contrast.
- die
- The; definite article for feminine/plural nouns.
- weiße
- White; adjective in nominative or accusative form.
- Welt
- World; the earth and all its inhabitants.
- belehren
- Instruct, teach, enlighten someone about something.
- würde
- Would; conditional form of 'werden' (to become).
- für
- For; preposition indicating purpose or direction.
- eigenes
- Own; possessive adjective meaning one's personal.
- Fleisch
- Flesh, meat; body tissue or food.
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction joining words or clauses.
- Blut
- Blood; vital fluid circulating in body.
- ein
- A, an; indefinite article for masculine nouns.
- Buch
- Book; written work bound with pages.
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
- sieben
- Seven; number between six and eight.
- Siegeln
- Seals; devices or marks for authentication.
- Die
- The; definite article for feminine/plural nouns.
- angeborene
- Innate, inborn; existing from birth naturally.
- Liebe
- Love; strong affection and care for.
- zur
- To the; contraction of 'zu' and 'der'.
- Harmonie
- Harmony; pleasing agreement or consonance.
- Schönheit
- Beauty; quality of being aesthetically pleasing.
- einfacheren
- Simpler; comparative form of simple or plain.
- Seelen
- Souls; spiritual or moral essence of beings.
- seines
- His, its; possessive adjective in genitive form.
- Volkes
- People's; genitive form of 'Volk' (people).
- zum
- To the; contraction of 'zu' and 'dem'.
- Tanzen
- Dancing; movement to music in rhythm.
- Singen
- Singing; producing musical sounds with voice.
- brachte
- Brought; past tense of 'bringen' (to bring).
- weckte
- Awakened, aroused; past tense of 'wecken'.
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating position or direction.
- der
- The; definite article for feminine nouns.
- Seele
- Soul; spiritual essence or moral nature.
- des
- Of the; genitive form of definite article.
- schwarzen
- Black; adjective in genitive or dative form.
- Künstlers
- Artist's; genitive form of 'Künstler' (artist).
- nur
- Only, just; sole or exclusive.
- Verwirrung
- Confusion, bewilderment; state of being confused.
- Zweifel
- Doubt; uncertainty or lack of conviction.
- denn
- For, because; causal conjunction or discourse particle.
- ihm
- Him, to him; dative pronoun for third person.
- offenbart
- Revealed, disclosed; past participle of 'offenbaren'.
- wurde
- Was; past tense of 'werden' (to become).
- einer
- One, a; indefinite article in dative form.
- Rasse
- Race; ethnic or biological human classification.
- größeres
- Larger, greater; comparative form of 'groß'.
- Publikum
- Audience, public; group of spectators or readers.
- verachtete
- Despised, contemned; past tense of 'verachten'.
- er
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun.
- konnte
- Could; past tense of 'können' (to be able).
- Botschaft
- Message, embassy; communication or diplomatic mission.
- eines
- One, of a; indefinite article in genitive form.
- anderen
- Other, another; different person or thing.
- nicht
- Not; negation or denial particle.
- Ausdruck
- Expression, utterance; act of expressing or conveying.
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