The Souls of Black Folk — Page 1
The Souls of Black Folk
Las almas del pueblo negro
by W. E. B. Du Bois
por W. E. B. Du Bois
Herein is Written
Aquí está escrito
The Forethought
El prefacio
I. Of Our Spiritual Strivings
I. De nuestras luchas espirituales
II. Of the Dawn of Freedom
II. Del amanecer de la libertad
III. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others
III. Del Sr. Booker T. Washington y otros
IV. Of the Meaning of Progress
IV. Del significado del progreso
V. Of the Wings of Atalanta
V. De las alas de Atalanta
VI. Of the Training of Black Men
VI. De la educación de los hombres negros
VII. Of the Black Belt
VII. Del cinturón negro
VIII. Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece
VIII. De la búsqueda del vellocino de oro
IX. Of the Sons of Master and Man
IX. De los hijos del amo y del hombre
X. Of the Faith of the Fathers
X. De la fe de los padres
XI. Of the Passing of the First-Born
XI. De la muerte del primogénito
XII. Of Alexander Crummell
XII. De Alexander Crummell
XIII. Of the Coming of John
XIII. De la llegada de John
XIV. Of the Sorrow Songs
XIV. De los cantos de dolor
The Afterthought
El epílogo
To Burghardt and Yolande
A Burghardt y Yolande
The Lost and the Found
Los perdidos y los encontrados
The Forethought
El prefacio
Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here at the dawning of the Twentieth Century.
Aquí yacen enterradas muchas cosas que, si se leen con paciencia, pueden mostrar el extraño significado de ser negro aquí en los albores del siglo XX.
This meaning is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.
Este significado no carece de interés para usted, amable lector; pues el problema del siglo XX es el problema de la línea del color.
I pray you, then, receive my little book in all charity, studying my words with me, forgiving mistake and foible for sake of the faith and passion that is in me, and seeking the grain of truth hidden there.
Le ruego, pues, que reciba mi pequeño libro con toda benevolencia, estudiando mis palabras conmigo, perdonando errores y flaquezas en aras de la fe y la pasión que hay en mí, y buscando el grano de verdad escondido en él.
I have sought here to sketch, in vague, uncertain outline, the spiritual world in which ten thousand thousand Americans live and strive.
He intentado aquí esbozar, en contornos vagos e inciertos, el mundo espiritual en el que diez millones de americanos viven y luchan.
First, in two chapters I have tried to show what Emancipation meant to them, and what was its aftermath.
Primero, en dos capítulos he intentado mostrar lo que la Emancipación significó para ellos, y cuáles fueron sus consecuencias.
Vocabulary
- almas
- Souls or spirits of people
- pueblo
- People, town, or community group
- negro
- Black; referring to color or race
- por
- By, for, or through; common preposition
- Aquí
- Here; indicating a nearby location
- está
- Is; third person singular of 'estar'
- escrito
- Written; past participle of 'escribir'
- prefacio
- Preface or introduction to a book
- nuestras
- Our; feminine plural possessive adjective
- luchas
- Struggles, fights, or battles
- espirituales
- Spiritual; relating to the spirit or soul
- amanecer
- Dawn; the beginning of a new day
- libertad
- Freedom or liberty from oppression
- Sr
- Abbreviation for 'Señor', meaning 'Mr.'
- otros
- Others; additional people or things
- significado
- Meaning or significance of something
- progreso
- Progress or advancement toward a goal
- alas
- Wings; appendages used for flying
- educación
- Education; formal process of learning
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings
- negros
- Black men; plural adjective referring to race
- cinturón
- Belt; also refers to a geographic belt or zone
- búsqueda
- Search or quest for something desired
- vellocino
- Fleece; as in Golden Fleece from mythology
- oro
- Gold; precious yellow metal
- hijos
- Sons or children of someone
- amo
- Master or owner; one with authority over others
- hombre
- Man; adult male human being
- fe
- Faith or belief in something or someone
- padres
- Fathers or parents; ancestors
- muerte
- Death; the end of life
- primogénito
- Firstborn child, especially a son
- llegada
- Arrival; the act of reaching a destination
- cantos
- Songs or chants; musical expressions
- dolor
- Pain, sorrow, or suffering
- epílogo
- Epilogue; closing section of a literary work
- perdidos
- Lost; people or things that are missing
- encontrados
- Found; people or things that were discovered
- yacen
- Lie; rest in a place, often of the dead
- enterradas
- Buried; placed underground or hidden away
- muchas
- Many; a large number of things
- cosas
- Things; general objects or matters
- si
- If; conditional conjunction
- leen
- Read; third person plural of 'leer'
- paciencia
- Patience; calm ability to wait
- pueden
- Can; third person plural of 'poder'
- mostrar
- To show or reveal something to someone
- extraño
- Strange, unusual, or foreign
- ser
- To be; also a noun meaning 'being'
- aquí
- Here; in this place or location
- albores
- Dawn or early beginnings of an era
- siglo
- Century; a period of one hundred years
- Este
- This; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun
- carece
- Lacks; third person singular of 'carecer'
- interés
- Interest; curiosity or importance of something
- usted
- You; formal second person singular pronoun
- amable
- Kind or friendly; pleasant in manner
- lector
- Reader; person who reads a text
- pues
- Well, for, since; connective discourse word
- problema
- Problem or issue to be addressed
- línea
- Line; boundary or division between groups
- color
- Color; hue, also referring to race
- Le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'you' or 'him/her'
- ruego
- I beg or request; from verb 'rogar'
- reciba
- Receive; formal subjunctive of 'recibir'
- pequeño
- Small or little in size
- libro
- Book; a written or printed literary work
- toda
- All or entire; feminine singular adjective
- benevolencia
- Benevolence; goodwill or kindness toward others
- estudiando
- Studying; present participle of 'estudiar'
- palabras
- Words; units of spoken or written language
- conmigo
- With me; prepositional phrase combining con and mí
- perdonando
- Forgiving; present participle of 'perdonar'
- errores
- Errors or mistakes made unintentionally
- flaquezas
- Weaknesses or frailties of character
- aras
- Altars; used in phrase 'en aras de' meaning for the sake of
- pasión
- Passion; strong feeling or intense emotion
- hay
- There is or there are; from 'haber'
- buscando
- Searching; present participle of 'buscar'
- grano
- Grain; small seed or kernel of truth
- verdad
- Truth; something that is factually correct
- escondido
- Hidden or concealed from view
- He
- I have; first person singular of 'haber'
- intentado
- Tried or attempted; past participle of 'intentar'
- esbozar
- To sketch or outline something briefly
- contornos
- Contours or outlines of a shape or concept
- vagos
- Vague or unclear; lacking precision
- e
- And; variant of 'y' used before 'i' sounds
- inciertos
- Uncertain or indefinite; not clearly defined
- mundo
- World; the earth or a particular realm
- espiritual
- Spiritual; relating to spirit or inner life
- diez
- Ten; the number 10
- millones
- Millions; large quantities of people or things
- americanos
- Americans; people from the United States
- viven
- Live; third person plural of 'vivir'
- luchan
- Struggle or fight; third person plural of 'luchar'
- Primero
- First; ordinal number indicating order
- dos
- Two; the number 2
- capítulos
- Chapters; main divisions of a book
- he
- I have; first person singular of 'haber'
- Emancipación
- Emancipation; freedom from bondage or oppression
- significó
- Meant or signified; past tense of 'significar'
- ellos
- They; third person masculine plural pronoun
- cuáles
- Which ones; interrogative plural pronoun
- fueron
- Were; third person plural preterite of 'ser'
- consecuencias
- Consequences; results that follow from an action
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →