The Souls of Black Folk — Page 9
In song and exhortation swelled one refrain—Liberty; in his tears and curses the God he implored had Freedom in his right hand.
En canción y exhortación se hinchaba un estribillo: ¡Libertad!; en sus lágrimas y maldiciones, el Dios que imploraba tenía la Libertad en su mano derecha.
At last it came,—suddenly, fearfully, like a dream.
Por fin llegó, de repente, de manera aterradora, como un sueño.
With one wild carnival of blood and passion came the message in his own plaintive cadences:—
Con un salvaje carnaval de sangre y pasión llegó el mensaje en sus propias cadencias plañideras:
"Shout, O children! Shout, you're free! For God has bought your liberty!"
"¡Gritad, oh hijos! ¡Gritad, sois libres! ¡Pues Dios ha comprado vuestra libertad!"
Years have passed away since then,—ten, twenty, forty; forty years of national life, forty years of renewal and development, and yet the swarthy spectre sits in its accustomed seat at the Nation's feast.
Han pasado los años desde entonces: diez, veinte, cuarenta; cuarenta años de vida nacional, cuarenta años de renovación y desarrollo, y sin embargo el espectro moreno sigue sentado en su lugar habitual en el banquete de la Nación.
In vain do we cry to this our vastest social problem:—
En vano clamamos ante este, nuestro más vasto problema social:
"Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble!"
"Toma cualquier forma menos esa, y mis firmes nervios ¡Jamás temblarán!"
The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land.
La Nación aún no ha hallado paz por sus pecados; el liberto aún no ha encontrado en la libertad su tierra prometida.
Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people,—a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people.
Cualquier bien que haya podido llegar en estos años de cambio, la sombra de una profunda decepción pesa sobre el pueblo negro: una decepción tanto más amarga cuanto que el ideal no alcanzado era ilimitado, salvo por la simple ignorancia de un pueblo humilde.
The first decade was merely a prolongation of the vain search for freedom, the boon that seemed ever barely to elude their grasp,—like a tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp, maddening and misleading the headless host.
La primera década fue apenas una prolongación de la vana búsqueda de la libertad, el don que parecía escaparse siempre de sus manos, como un tentador fuego fatuo que enloquecía y extraviaba a la multitud sin cabeza.
Vocabulary
- En
- In, on, or at a location or time.
- canción
- A song or musical composition with lyrics.
- exhortación
- An urgent or earnest appeal or encouragement.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun indicating action upon oneself.
- un
- Indefinite article meaning one or a.
- Libertad
- Freedom or liberty from constraint or oppression.
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning his, her, its, or their.
- lágrimas
- Tears that fall from the eyes when crying.
- el
- Definite article meaning the for masculine nouns.
- Dios
- God, the supreme being in religious belief.
- que
- Relative pronoun meaning that, which, or who.
- imploraba
- Begged or pleaded earnestly for help or mercy.
- tenía
- Had or possessed something in past tense.
- la
- Definite article meaning the for feminine nouns.
- mano
- The hand, the extremity of the arm.
- derecha
- Right side, opposite of left or correct.
- Por
- By, for, or through indicating agency or purpose.
- fin
- End, conclusion, or finally after a period.
- llegó
- Arrived or reached a destination in past.
- de
- Of, from, or indicating possession or origin.
- repente
- Suddenly or unexpectedly without prior warning.
- manera
- Way, manner, or method of doing something.
- como
- As, like, or in the manner of.
- sueño
- Dream or sleep, a state of unconsciousness.
- salvaje
- Wild, untamed, or fierce and uncontrolled.
- carnaval
- Carnival, a festive celebration before Lent.
- sangre
- Blood, the red liquid flowing through veins.
- pasión
- Passion, intense emotion or strong feeling.
- mensaje
- Message or communication conveyed to someone.
- propias
- Own or belonging to oneself or itself.
- Gritad
- Shout or cry out loudly as a command.
- hijos
- Sons or children, male offspring or descendants.
- sois
- You are in plural or formal context.
- libres
- Free or not under the control of others.
- Pues
- Well, thus, or since introducing statement.
- ha
- Has or auxiliary verb in present perfect.
- comprado
- Bought or purchased something in past tense.
- vuestra
- Your or belonging to you in plural.
- Han
- Have or auxiliary verb in plural third person.
- pasado
- Past or time gone by previously.
- años
- Years or periods of twelve months.
- desde
- From or since indicating starting point in time.
- entonces
- Then or at that time in past.
- diez
- Ten or the number 10.
- veinte
- Twenty or the number 20.
- cuarenta
- Forty or the number 40.
- vida
- Life or the state of being alive.
- nacional
- National or relating to an entire nation.
- renovación
- Renewal or restoration to better condition.
- desarrollo
- Development or growth and progress over time.
- sin
- Without or lacking something completely.
- embargo
- However or nevertheless despite what was stated.
- espectro
- Specter, ghost, or range of possibilities.
- moreno
- Brown or dark-complexioned person or color.
- sigue
- Continues or follows in a sequence.
- sentado
- Seated or sitting in a fixed position.
- lugar
- Place, location, or a specific position.
- habitual
- Usual or customary and regularly occurring.
- banquete
- Banquet or formal elaborate ceremonial feast.
- Nación
- Nation or organized political community of people.
- vano
- Vain or futile without achieving desired result.
- ante
- Before or in front of something.
- este
- This or indicating something nearby or present.
- nuestro
- Our or belonging to us collectively.
- más
- More or greater in quantity or degree.
- vasto
- Vast or extremely large in extent.
- problema
- Problem or difficulty requiring solution and attention.
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