The Souls of Black Folk — Page 13
Men call the shadow prejudice, and learnedly explain it as the natural defence of culture against barbarism, learning against ignorance, purity against crime, the "higher" against the "lower" races.
Los hombres llaman a esta sombra prejuicio, y la explican eruditamente como la defensa natural de la cultura contra la barbarie, del saber contra la ignorancia, de la pureza contra el crimen, de las razas «superiores» contra las «inferiores».
To which the Negro cries Amen! and swears that to so much of this strange prejudice as is founded on just homage to civilization, culture, righteousness, and progress, he humbly bows and meekly does obeisance.
A lo cual el Negro exclama ¡Amén! y jura que ante todo aquello de este extraño prejuicio que se funda en un justo homenaje a la civilización, la cultura, la rectitud y el progreso, se inclina humildemente y rinde dócil reverencia.
But before that nameless prejudice that leaps beyond all this he stands helpless, dismayed, and well-nigh speechless; before that personal disrespect and mockery, the ridicule and systematic humiliation, the distortion of fact and wanton license of fancy, the cynical ignoring of the better and the boisterous welcoming of the worse, the all-pervading desire to inculcate disdain for everything black, from Toussaint to the devil,—before this there rises a sickening despair that would disarm and discourage any nation save that black host to whom "discouragement" is an unwritten word.
Pero ante ese prejuicio sin nombre que va más allá de todo esto, el Negro se halla indefenso, consternado y casi sin palabras; ante ese irrespeto personal y esa burla, el ridículo y la humillación sistemática, la distorsión de los hechos y el caprichoso libertinaje de la fantasía, el cínico ignorar lo mejor y el bullicioso acoger lo peor, el deseo omnipresente de inculcar desdén por todo lo negro, desde Toussaint hasta el diablo,—ante todo esto surge una desesperación nauseabunda que desarmaría y desalentaría a cualquier nación, salvo a esa hueste negra para la cual el «desaliento» es una palabra que nunca se ha escrito.
But the facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate.
Pero enfrentarse a un prejuicio tan vasto no podía dejar de traer consigo el inevitable cuestionamiento de sí mismo, el autodesprecio y el rebajamiento de los ideales que siempre acompañan a la represión y se multiplican en una atmósfera de desprecio y odio.
Whisperings and portents came home upon the four winds: Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must always cook and serve?
Susurros y presagios llegaron desde los cuatro vientos: ¡Mirad! estamos enfermos y moribundos, clamaban las huestes oscuras; no sabemos escribir, nuestro voto es inútil; ¿para qué la educación, si siempre hemos de cocinar y servir?
And the Nation echoed and enforced this self-criticism, saying: Be content to be servants, and nothing more; what need of higher culture for half-men?
Y la Nación hizo eco y reforzó esta autocrítica, diciendo: Contentaos con ser siervos, y nada más; ¿qué necesidad tiene de una cultura superior quien no es más que medio hombre?
Vocabulary
- hombres
- Men; adult male human beings
- llaman
- They call; third person plural of llamar
- sombra
- Shadow; dark area caused by blocked light
- prejuicio
- Prejudice; preconceived negative opinion about someone
- explican
- They explain; third person plural of explicar
- eruditamente
- Learnedly; in a scholarly or erudite manner
- defensa
- Defense; protection or justification against attack
- natural
- Natural; existing in or caused by nature
- cultura
- Culture; shared customs, arts, and social behavior
- contra
- Against; in opposition to something or someone
- barbarie
- Barbarism; extreme cruelty or uncivilized behavior
- saber
- Knowledge; to know; understanding or information
- ignorancia
- Ignorance; lack of knowledge or awareness
- pureza
- Purity; state of being free from contamination
- crimen
- Crime; an illegal act punishable by law
- razas
- Races; groups of people sharing physical characteristics
- superiores
- Superior; higher in rank, quality, or status
- inferiores
- Inferior; lower in rank, quality, or status
- cual
- Which; relative pronoun referring to something mentioned
- Negro
- Black person; term referring to a Black individual
- exclama
- Exclaims; says something suddenly with strong emotion
- Amén
- Amen; expression of agreement or affirmation
- jura
- Swears; solemnly declares or takes an oath
- ante
- Before; in front of; faced with something
- todo
- Everything; all; complete or entire amount
- aquello
- That; neuter demonstrative pronoun for distant things
- extraño
- Strange; foreign; unusual or unfamiliar thing
- funda
- Is based; founds; establishes on a foundation
- justo
- Just; fair; rightful or deserved recognition
- homenaje
- Homage; tribute paid to honor someone
- civilización
- Civilization; advanced stage of human social development
- rectitud
- Rectitude; moral uprightness and honesty of character
- progreso
- Progress; forward movement toward improvement or development
- inclina
- Inclines; bows; leans toward something respectfully
- humildemente
- Humbly; in a modest and respectful manner
- rinde
- Renders; yields; pays tribute to something
- dócil
- Docile; easily taught or controlled; submissive
- reverencia
- Reverence; deep respect and admiration for something
- sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- nombre
- Name; word used to identify a person
- allá
- Beyond; over there; indicating a distant place
- halla
- Finds; discovers; encounters something or someone
- indefenso
- Defenseless; unprotected and unable to defend oneself
- consternado
- Dismayed; filled with anxiety or great concern
- casi
- Almost; nearly; not quite reaching a state
- palabras
- Words; units of language used in communication
- irrespeto
- Disrespect; lack of proper regard or courtesy
- personal
- Personal; relating to a specific individual person
- burla
- Mockery; act of making fun of someone
- ridículo
- Ridicule; deserving of laughter or contempt
- humillación
- Humiliation; act of making someone feel ashamed
- sistemática
- Systematic; done according to a fixed organized plan
- distorsión
- Distortion; twisting or misrepresenting the truth
- hechos
- Facts; events that have actually occurred
- caprichoso
- Capricious; given to sudden unpredictable changes
- libertinaje
- Licentiousness; disregard for rules or moral restraint
- fantasía
- Fantasy; imagination or unrealistic mental imagery
- cínico
- Cynical; distrustful of human sincerity or goodness
- ignorar
- To ignore; to deliberately disregard or overlook
- mejor
- Better; best; superior in quality or degree
- bullicioso
- Noisy; boisterous; full of lively commotion
- acoger
- To welcome; to receive or embrace something
- peor
- Worse; worst; inferior in quality or degree
- deseo
- Desire; strong wish or longing for something
- omnipresente
- Omnipresent; present everywhere at the same time
- inculcar
- To instill; to implant ideas firmly in mind
- desdén
- Disdain; feeling of contempt or scorn toward
- negro
- Black; dark color; also refers to Black person
- desde
- From; since; indicating starting point in time
- hasta
- Until; up to; indicating an endpoint or limit
- diablo
- Devil; evil supernatural being or troublesome person
- surge
- Arises; emerges suddenly or powerfully from somewhere
- desesperación
- Desperation; state of hopelessness and extreme distress
- nauseabunda
- Nauseating; causing disgust or a feeling of sickness
- desarmaría
- Would disarm; would strip of weapons or resolve
- desalentaría
- Would discourage; would cause loss of hope
- cualquier
- Any; whichever; used before a noun indefinitely
- nación
- Nation; country or group sharing common identity
- salvo
- Except; save for; excluding a particular thing
- hueste
- Host; army; large group of followers or soldiers
- negra
- Black; feminine form referring to Black community
- desaliento
- Discouragement; loss of confidence or enthusiasm
- palabra
- Word; unit of spoken or written language
- nunca
- Never; at no time; not at any point
- escrito
- Written; past participle of escribir
- enfrentarse
- To face; to confront a challenge or opposition
- tan
- So; as; such; used in comparisons
- vasto
- Vast; very large or extensive in scope
- podía
- Could; was able to; past tense of poder
- dejar
- To let; to allow; to stop doing something
- traer
- To bring; to carry something toward a place
- consigo
- With itself; bringing along as a consequence
- inevitable
- Inevitable; impossible to avoid or prevent
- cuestionamiento
- Questioning; act of doubting or challenging something
- sí
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun; also means 'yes'
- mismo
- Same; himself; oneself; used for emphasis
- autodesprecio
- Self-contempt; feeling of hatred toward oneself
- rebajamiento
- Degradation; lowering of one's status or dignity
- ideales
- Ideals; high standards or principles one aspires to
- siempre
- Always; at all times without exception
- acompañan
- Accompany; go along with something or someone
- represión
- Repression; suppression of thoughts, feelings, or people
- multiplican
- Multiply; increase greatly in number or intensity
- atmósfera
- Atmosphere; surrounding environment or prevailing mood
- desprecio
- Contempt; scorn; feeling that something is worthless
- odio
- Hatred; intense dislike or hostility toward someone
- Susurros
- Whispers; soft, quiet sounds spoken secretly
- presagios
- Omens; signs foretelling a future event
- llegaron
- Arrived; came; past tense of llegar
- cuatro
- Four; the number between three and five
- vientos
- Winds; moving currents of air; all directions
- Mirad
- Look; behold; imperative of mirar addressing a group
- enfermos
- Sick; ill; suffering from disease or ailment
- moribundos
- Dying; at the point of death; near death
- clamaban
- Cried out; shouted urgently; past tense of clamar
- huestes
- Hosts; armies; large groups of people
- oscuras
- Dark; obscure; lacking light or clarity
- sabemos
- We know; first person plural of saber
- escribir
- To write; to form letters or words on paper
- nuestro
- Our; possessive adjective indicating belonging to us
- voto
- Vote; formal expression of choice in election
- inútil
- Useless; serving no practical purpose or value
- educación
- Education; process of learning and acquiring knowledge
- si
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothetical
- cocinar
- To cook; to prepare food using heat
- servir
- To serve; to work for or wait upon others
- Nación
- Nation; sovereign country or people sharing identity
- hizo
- Did; made; past tense of hacer
- eco
- Echo; repetition of sound or idea
- reforzó
- Reinforced; strengthened or supported something further
- autocrítica
- Self-criticism; critical examination of one's own faults
- diciendo
- Saying; present participle of decir
- Contentaos
- Be content; imperative telling a group to satisfy themselves
- ser
- To be; infinitive of the verb ser
- siervos
- Servants; serfs; those bound to serve others
- nada
- Nothing; not anything; complete absence of something
- necesidad
- Necessity; something essential or urgently needed
- superior
- Superior; higher in rank, quality, or ability
- quien
- Who; relative or interrogative pronoun for people
- medio
- Half; middle; partial or incomplete measure
- hombre
- Man; adult male human being
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