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.
Este, então, é o fim de seu esforço: ser um colaborador no reino da cultura, escapar tanto da morte quanto do isolamento, preservar e usar seus melhores poderes e seu gênio latente.
These powers of body and mind have in the past been strangely wasted, dispersed, or forgotten.
Esses poderes de corpo e mente foram, no passado, estranhamente desperdiçados, dispersos ou esquecidos.
The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the Shadowy and of Egypt the Sphinx.
A sombra de um poderoso passado negro perpassa a história da Etiópia das Sombras e do Egito da Esfinge.
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.
Ao longo da história, os poderes de homens negros isolados relampejam aqui e ali como estrelas cadentes, e se apagam às vezes antes que o mundo tenha avaliado corretamente o seu brilho.
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.
Aqui na América, nos poucos dias desde a Emancipação, o ir e vir do homem negro em seu esforço hesitante e duvidoso muitas vezes fez com que sua própria força perdesse eficácia, parecendo ausência de poder, parecendo fraqueza.
And yet it is not weakness,—it is the contradiction of double aims.
E no entanto não é fraqueza — é a contradição de objetivos duplos.
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.
A luta de duplo objetivo do artesão negro — por um lado escapar do desprezo branco por uma nação de meros lenhadores e carregadores de água, e por outro lado arar e pregar e cavar para uma horda assolada pela pobreza — só poderia resultar em fazê-lo um artesão medíocre, pois ele tinha apenas meio coração em cada causa.
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.
Pela pobreza e ignorância de seu povo, o pastor ou médico negro era tentado ao charlatanismo e à demagogia; e pela crítica do outro mundo, a ideais que o faziam envergonhar-se de suas tarefas humildes.
Vocabulary
- Este
- This; this one (demonstrative pronoun)
- então
- Then; at that time; therefore
- fim
- End; conclusion; purpose or goal
- de
- Of; from; belonging to (preposition)
- seu
- His; her; your; their (possessive adjective)
- esforço
- Effort; exertion; attempt or endeavor
- ser
- To be; to exist (infinitive verb)
- um
- A; an; one (indefinite article)
- colaborador
- Collaborator; contributor; partner in work
- no
- In the; on the (contraction of em+o)
- reino
- Kingdom; realm; domain or territory
- da
- Of the; from the (contraction of de+a)
- cultura
- Culture; cultivation; arts and civilization
- escapar
- To escape; to flee; to get away
- tanto
- So much; as much; tanto...quanto (as...as)
- morte
- Death; the end of life
- quanto
- How much; as much as; how many
- do
- Of the; from the (contraction of de+o)
- isolamento
- Isolation; the state of being alone
- preservar
- To preserve; to keep safe; to maintain
- usar
- To use; to employ; to utilize
- seus
- His; her; your; their (plural possessive)
- melhores
- Best; finest; most excellent (plural)
- poderes
- Powers; abilities; strengths (plural noun)
- gênio
- Genius; exceptional intellectual or creative ability
- latente
- Latent; hidden; present but not visible
- Esses
- Those; those ones (plural demonstrative pronoun)
- corpo
- Body; physical form; main part
- mente
- Mind; intellect; thought and consciousness
- foram
- Were; past tense of ser (plural)
- passado
- Past; bygone; previous time period
- estranhamente
- Strangely; oddly; in a strange manner
- dispersos
- Scattered; dispersed; spread out widely
- ou
- Or; either...or (conjunction)
- esquecidos
- Forgotten; neglected; left in oblivion
- sombra
- Shadow; shade; darkness or obscurity
- poderoso
- Powerful; mighty; having great strength
- negro
- Black; dark; of African descent
- história
- History; story; narrative of events
- Etiópia
- Ethiopia; ancient African nation and kingdom
- das
- Of the; from the (feminine plural)
- Sombras
- Shadows; shades; darkness (plural noun)
- Egito
- Egypt; North African country and civilization
- Esfinge
- Sphinx; mythical creature with human head
- Ao
- At the; to the (contraction of a+o)
- longo
- Long; along; ao longo de (along with)
- os
- The; them (masculine plural article/pronoun)
- homens
- Men; human males (plural noun)
- negros
- Black men; dark-skinned people (plural)
- isolados
- Isolated; alone; separated from others
- aqui
- Here; in this place; in this location
- ali
- There; in that place; over there
- como
- Like; as; how; in the manner of
- estrelas
- Stars; celestial bodies; points of light
- se
- If; oneself; reflexive pronoun (himself/herself)
- apagam
- Go out; fade; extinguish or disappear
- às
- At the; to the (feminine plural)
- vezes
- Times; occasions; às vezes (sometimes)
- antes
- Before; previously; rather; prior to
- que
- That; which; who; relative pronoun
- mundo
- World; earth; all people and places
- tenha
- Have; has; subjunctive of ter
- avaliado
- Evaluated; assessed; judged the value of
- corretamente
- Correctly; properly; in the right manner
- brilho
- Brightness; shine; splendor or radiance
- Aqui
- Here; in this place; at this location
- na
- In the; on the (contraction of em+a)
- América
- America; the Western Hemisphere continent
- nos
- In the; on the; us (contraction/pronoun)
- poucos
- Few; a small number of; not many
- dias
- Days; periods of twenty-four hours
- desde
- Since; from; beginning at a time
- Emancipação
- Emancipation; freeing from bondage or slavery
- ir
- To go; to travel; to move forward
- vir
- To come; to arrive; to approach
- homem
- Man; human male; person or individual
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