The Souls of Black Folk — Page 7
This, then, is the end of his striving: to be a co-worker in the kingdom of culture, to escape both death and isolation, to husband and use his best powers and his latent genius.
Questo, dunque, è il fine del suo sforzo: essere un collaboratore nel regno della cultura, sfuggire sia alla morte che all'isolamento, custodire e impiegare le sue migliori capacità e il suo genio latente.
These powers of body and mind have in the past been strangely wasted, dispersed, or forgotten.
Queste forze del corpo e della mente sono state in passato stranamente sprecate, disperse o dimenticate.
The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the Shadowy and of Egypt the Sphinx.
L'ombra di un possente passato negro aleggia nel racconto dell'Etiopia l'Oscura e dell'Egitto la Sfinge.
Through history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.
Nel corso della storia, le capacità di singoli uomini neri brillano qua e là come stelle cadenti, e si spengono talvolta prima che il mondo ne abbia correttamente misurato lo splendore.
Here in America, in the few days since Emancipation, the black man's turning hither and thither in hesitant and doubtful striving has often made his very strength to lose effectiveness, to seem like absence of power, like weakness.
Qui in America, nei pochi giorni trascorsi dall'Emancipazione, il voltarsi qua e là dell'uomo nero in uno sforzo esitante e incerto ha spesso fatto sì che la sua stessa forza perdesse efficacia, sembrasse assenza di potere, sembrasse debolezza.
And yet it is not weakness,—it is the contradiction of double aims.
Eppure non si tratta di debolezza, — è la contraddizione di un doppio obiettivo.
The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan—on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde—could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause.
La lotta dal doppio obiettivo dell'artigiano nero — da un lato sfuggire al disprezzo dei bianchi per una nazione di semplici taglialegna e portatori d'acqua, e dall'altro arare e inchiodare e scavare per un'orda ridotta in miseria — poteva solo avere come risultato di farne un artigiano mediocre, poiché egli metteva in ciascuna causa soltanto mezzo cuore.
By the poverty and ignorance of his people, the Negro minister or doctor was tempted toward quackery and demagogy; and by the criticism of the other world, toward ideals that made him ashamed of his lowly tasks.
A causa della povertà e dell'ignoranza del suo popolo, il pastore o il medico negro era tentato verso la ciarlataneria e la demagogia; e dalla critica dell'altro mondo, verso ideali che lo facevano vergognare dei suoi umili compiti.
Vocabulary
- Questo
- This; demonstrative pronoun referring to something near
- dunque
- Therefore; consequently; used to introduce conclusions
- il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- fine
- End; purpose; objective or goal
- del
- Of the; contraction of di and il
- suo
- His; her; its; possessive adjective third person
- sforzo
- Effort; exertion; hard work or labor
- essere
- To be; fundamental auxiliary and main verb
- un
- A; an; indefinite article masculine singular
- collaboratore
- Collaborator; colleague; person who works with others
- nel
- In the; contraction of in and il
- regno
- Kingdom; realm; domain or sphere of activity
- della
- Of the; contraction of di and la
- cultura
- Culture; civilization; arts and intellectual pursuits
- sfuggire
- To escape; to evade; to avoid or flee
- sia
- May be; subjunctive of essere; or; either
- alla
- To the; contraction of a and la
- morte
- Death; the end of life; passing away
- che
- That; which; who; relative pronoun or conjunction
- all
- To the; contraction of a and il
- isolamento
- Isolation; solitude; state of being separated
- custodire
- To guard; to keep; to protect or preserve
- impiegare
- To use; to employ; to apply or utilize
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- sue
- His; hers; its; feminine plural possessive adjective
- migliori
- Best; superior; of highest quality or excellence
- capacità
- Capacity; ability; talent or skill in something
- genio
- Genius; exceptional intellectual or creative ability
- latente
- Latent; hidden; present but not visible or active
- Queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative pronoun
- forze
- Forces; strengths; powers or military troops
- corpo
- Body; physical form; main part of something
- mente
- Mind; intellect; mental faculties or consciousness
- sono
- Are; first person plural of essere
- state
- Have been; feminine plural past participle of essere
- in
- In; into; within; preposition of location
- passato
- Past; history; gone by in time
- stranamente
- Strangely; oddly; in a peculiar or unusual manner
- sprecate
- Wasted; squandered; used carelessly or uselessly
- disperse
- Dispersed; scattered; spread out in different directions
- dimenticate
- Forgotten; neglected; no longer remembered or valued
- ombra
- Shadow; shade; dark silhouette or obscure form
- di
- Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin
- possente
- Powerful; mighty; having great strength or force
- racconto
- Story; tale; narrative account of events
- dell
- Of the; contraction of di and il
- Oscura
- Dark; obscure; gloomy or unclear
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- Nel
- In the; contraction of in and il
- corso
- Course; duration; passage of time or events
- storia
- History; story; past events or narrative account
- singoli
- Individual; single; particular persons or things
- uomini
- Men; males; plural of uomo
- brillano
- Shine; gleam; shine brightly like stars
- qua
- Here; in this place; at this location
- là
- There; in that place; over there
- come
- Like; as; how; comparison or manner
- stelle
- Stars; celestial bodies; points of light in sky
- cadenti
- Falling; falling down; descending from above
- si
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun; impersonal construction
- spengono
- Go out; extinguish; cease to shine or burn
- talvolta
- Sometimes; occasionally; at times or now and then
- prima
- Before; first; previously in time or order
- mondo
- World; earth; all humanity or society
- ne
- Of it; of them; partitive pronoun
- abbia
- May have; subjunctive of avere; has
- correttamente
- Correctly; accurately; properly or rightly measured
- misurato
- Measured; assessed; evaluated or determined the extent
- lo
- The; it; masculine singular definite article
- splendore
- Splendor; brilliance; magnificent beauty or glory
- Qui
- Here; in this place; at this moment
- nei
- In the; contraction of in and i
- pochi
- Few; a small number; not many
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