The Souls of Black Folk — Page 6
After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world.
Depois do Egípcio e do Indiano, do Grego e do Romano, do Teutão e do Mongol, o Negro é uma espécie de sétimo filho, nascido com um véu, e dotado de segunda visão neste mundo americano,—um mundo que não lhe oferece nenhuma verdadeira autoconsciência, mas apenas lhe permite ver-se a si mesmo através da revelação do outro mundo.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.
É uma sensação peculiar, esta dupla consciência, este sentido de estar sempre a olhar para si mesmo através dos olhos dos outros, de medir a própria alma pela fita métrica de um mundo que observa com desdém divertido e pena.
One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.
Alguém sente sempre a sua duplicidade,—um Americano, um Negro; duas almas, dois pensamentos, dois esforços irreconciliados; dois ideais em guerra num único corpo escuro, cuja tenaz força sozinha o impede de ser despedaçado.
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.
A história do Negro Americano é a história desta luta,—este anseio de alcançar uma virilidade autoconsciente, de fundir o seu duplo eu num eu melhor e mais verdadeiro.
In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.
Nesta fusão, ele não deseja que nenhum dos eus anteriores se perca.
He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa.
Ele não africanizaria a América, pois a América tem demasiado a ensinar ao mundo e a África.
He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world.
Ele não branquearia a sua alma Negra numa torrente de americanismo branco, pois sabe que o sangue Negro tem uma mensagem para o mundo.
He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.
Ele simplesmente deseja tornar possível que um homem seja ao mesmo tempo Negro e Americano, sem ser amaldiçoado e cuspido pelos seus semelhantes, sem ter as portas da Oportunidade fechadas brutalmente na sua cara.
Vocabulary
- Depois
- After, afterward; indicating something that comes later
- do
- Contraction of 'de' and 'o'; of the
- Egípcio
- Egyptian; relating to Egypt or its people
- e
- And; a basic coordinating conjunction
- Indiano
- Indian; relating to India or its people
- Grego
- Greek; relating to Greece or its people
- Romano
- Roman; relating to Rome or ancient Roman culture
- Teutão
- Teuton; member of an ancient Germanic people
- Mongol
- Mongol; relating to Mongolia or its people
- o
- The; masculine singular definite article
- Negro
- Black; referring to a Black person or dark color
- é
- Is; third person singular of 'ser' (to be)
- uma
- A/an; feminine singular indefinite article
- espécie
- Species, kind, sort; a type or category
- de
- Of, from; basic preposition indicating origin or possession
- sétimo
- Seventh; the ordinal number following sixth
- filho
- Son, child; male offspring of a parent
- nascido
- Born; past participle of 'nascer,' to be born
- com
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or possession
- um
- A/an; masculine singular indefinite article
- véu
- Veil; thin covering worn over face or head
- dotado
- Gifted, endowed; possessing a natural talent or ability
- segunda
- Second; feminine form of ordinal number two
- visão
- Vision; ability to see or a mental image
- neste
- In this; contraction of 'em' and 'este'
- mundo
- World; the earth or all of existence
- americano
- American; relating to America or its people
- que
- That, which, who; relative pronoun or conjunction
- não
- No, not; basic negation word
- lhe
- Him, her, to him/her; indirect object pronoun
- oferece
- Offers; third person singular present of 'oferecer'
- nenhuma
- No, none; feminine form of negative indefinite pronoun
- verdadeira
- True, real; feminine adjective meaning genuine or authentic
- autoconsciência
- Self-awareness; consciousness of one's own identity and existence
- mas
- But; adversative conjunction indicating contrast
- apenas
- Only, just; limiting adverb restricting scope
- permite
- Allows, permits; third person singular of 'permitir'
- ver-se
- To see oneself; reflexive form of 'ver'
- a
- The/to; feminine article or preposition
- si
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- mesmo
- Same, himself; used for emphasis or identity
- através
- Through, across; preposition indicating passage or means
- da
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'a'
- revelação
- Revelation; disclosure of something previously hidden or unknown
- outro
- Other, another; referring to a different person or thing
- É
- Is; third person singular of 'ser' (to be)
- sensação
- Sensation, feeling; a physical or emotional experience
- peculiar
- Peculiar, strange; distinctively unusual or particular
- esta
- This; feminine demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- dupla
- Double, dual; feminine adjective meaning twofold
- consciência
- Conscience, consciousness; awareness of self or moral sense
- este
- This; masculine demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- sentido
- Sense, feeling, direction; a meaning or perception
- estar
- To be; verb indicating temporary state or condition
- sempre
- Always; at all times, without exception
- olhar
- To look, gaze; act of directing one's eyes
- para
- For, to, toward; preposition indicating direction or purpose
- dos
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'os' (plural)
- olhos
- Eyes; organs of sight on a person's face
- outros
- Others; plural of 'outro,' referring to different people
- medir
- To measure; to assess the size or extent of something
- própria
- Own, proper; feminine adjective indicating belonging to oneself
- alma
- Soul; spiritual or immaterial part of a person
- pela
- By the, through the; contraction of 'por' and 'a'
- fita
- Tape, ribbon; a strip of material for measuring
- métrica
- Metric, measuring tape; relating to measurement
- observa
- Observes, watches; third person singular of 'observar'
- desdém
- Disdain, contempt; feeling of scorn toward someone
- divertido
- Amused, entertained; finding something funny or interesting
- pena
- Pity, sorrow; feeling of compassion for another's suffering
- Alguém
- Someone, somebody; an unspecified person
- sente
- Feels; third person singular present of 'sentir'
- sua
- His, her, its, your; possessive adjective (feminine)
- duplicidade
- Duplicity, duality; the state of being twofold
- Americano
- American; relating to America or its people
- duas
- Two; feminine form of the number two
- almas
- Souls; plural of 'alma,' spiritual essences
- dois
- Two; masculine form of the cardinal number two
- pensamentos
- Thoughts; plural of 'pensamento,' mental ideas
- esforços
- Efforts; plural of 'esforço,' attempts or exertions
- irreconciliados
- Unreconciled; not brought into harmony or agreement
- ideais
- Ideals; plural of 'ideal,' lofty principles or goals
- em
- In, at, on; basic preposition of location or state
- guerra
- War; armed conflict between groups or nations
- num
- In a; contraction of 'em' and 'um'
- único
- Unique, single, only; one of a kind
- corpo
- Body; physical structure of a human or animal
- escuro
- Dark; lacking light or of a dark color
- cuja
- Whose; feminine relative pronoun indicating possession
- tenaz
- Tenacious, persistent; stubbornly strong or unyielding
- força
- Strength, force; physical or moral power
- sozinha
- Alone, by itself; feminine adjective meaning solitary
- impede
- Prevents, hinders; stops something from happening
- ser
- To be; infinitive of the verb expressing identity
- despedaçado
- Torn apart, shattered; broken into pieces violently
- A
- The; feminine singular definite article
- história
- History, story; account of past events
- desta
- Of this; contraction of 'de' and 'esta'
- luta
- Struggle, fight; effort against opposition or difficulty
- anseio
- Longing, yearning; intense desire for something
- alcançar
- To reach, achieve; to attain a goal or destination
- virilidade
- Manhood, virility; quality of being a full adult man
- autoconsciente
- Self-conscious, self-aware; conscious of one's own identity
- fundir
- To merge, fuse; to combine into a unified whole
- seu
- His, her, its, your; masculine possessive adjective
- duplo
- Double, dual; masculine adjective meaning twofold
- eu
- I, self; first person singular pronoun or the self
- melhor
- Better, best; comparative adjective for quality
- mais
- More, most; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- verdadeiro
- True, real; masculine adjective meaning genuine
- Nesta
- In this; contraction of 'em' and 'esta'
- fusão
- Fusion, merger; combining of elements into one
- ele
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- deseja
- Wishes, desires; third person singular of 'desejar'
- nenhum
- No, none; masculine negative indefinite pronoun
- eus
- Selves; plural of 'eu,' referring to multiple identities
- anteriores
- Previous, former; plural adjective meaning earlier ones
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun particle
- perca
- Be lost; subjunctive of 'perder,' to lose
- Ele
- He; third person masculine singular subject pronoun
- africanizaria
- Would Africanize; conditional of 'africanizar,' to make African
- América
- America; the continent or the United States
- pois
- Because, since, therefore; causal or explanatory conjunction
- tem
- Has; third person singular of 'ter,' to have
- demasiado
- Too much, excessively; beyond the appropriate amount
- ensinar
- To teach; to impart knowledge or skills to someone
- ao
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'o'
- África
- Africa; the continent south of the Mediterranean
- branquearia
- Would whiten; conditional of 'branquear,' to whiten
- Negra
- Black; feminine adjective referring to Black identity
- numa
- In a; contraction of 'em' and 'uma'
- torrente
- Torrent; a rushing, overwhelming stream or flow
- americanismo
- Americanism; values or characteristics typical of America
- branco
- White; color or adjective referring to White identity
- sabe
- Knows; third person singular of 'saber,' to know
- sangue
- Blood; red fluid circulating through the body
- mensagem
- Message; a communication conveyed from one to another
- simplesmente
- Simply, just; in a simple or straightforward manner
- tornar
- To make, become; to cause a change of state
- possível
- Possible; capable of happening or being done
- homem
- Man; an adult male human being
- seja
- Be; subjunctive form of 'ser,' expressing possibility
- tempo
- Time, weather; duration or atmospheric condition
- sem
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- amaldiçoado
- Cursed; afflicted by a curse or condemned
- cuspido
- Spat upon; past participle of 'cuspir,' to spit
- pelos
- By the; contraction of 'por' and 'os'
- seus
- His, their; masculine plural possessive adjective
- semelhantes
- Fellows, peers; similar beings or fellow human beings
- ter
- To have; infinitive indicating possession or experience
- as
- The; feminine plural definite article
- portas
- Doors; plural of 'porta,' physical or metaphorical doors
- Oportunidade
- Opportunity; a favorable chance or circumstance
- fechadas
- Closed, shut; feminine plural past participle of 'fechar'
- brutalmente
- Brutally; in a cruel, harsh, or savage manner
- na
- In the, on the; contraction of 'em' and 'a'
- cara
- Face; front part of a person's head
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