The Souls of Black Folk — Page 13

English → Pt Full Text Level 8/10

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.

Os homens chamam essa sombra de preconceito, e com erudição a explicam como a defesa natural da cultura contra a barbárie, do saber contra a ignorância, da pureza contra o crime, das raças "superiores" contra as "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.

Ao que o Negro clama Amém! e jura que, na medida em que esse estranho preconceito se funda numa justa homenagem à civilização, à cultura, à retidão e ao progresso, ele humildemente se inclina e submissamente presta reverência.

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.

Mas diante daquele preconceito inominável que ultrapassa tudo isso, ele se encontra impotente, consternado e quase sem palavras; diante daquele desrespeito pessoal e da zombaria, do ridículo e da humilhação sistemática, da distorção dos fatos e da licença desregrada da fantasia, do cínico ignorar do que é melhor e do ruidoso acolhimento do que é pior, do desejo onipresente de incutir desprezo por tudo que é negro, de Toussaint ao diabo — diante disso ergue-se um desespero nauseante que desarmaria e desanimaria qualquer nação, exceto aquela hoste negra para quem "desânimo" é uma palavra não escrita.

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.

Mas o enfrentamento de um preconceito tão vasto não poderia deixar de trazer o inevitável questionamento de si mesmo, o autodepreciamento e o rebaixamento dos ideais que sempre acompanham a repressão e se desenvolvem numa atmosfera de desprezo e ódio.

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?

Sussurros e presságios chegaram pelos quatro ventos: Olhai! estamos doentes e morrendo, clamavam as hostes negras; não sabemos escrever, nosso voto é inútil; que necessidade temos de educação, se sempre devemos cozinhar e 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?

E a Nação ecoou e reforçou essa autocrítica, dizendo: Contentai-vos em ser servos, e nada mais; que necessidade têm os meio-homens de uma cultura superior?

Vocabulary

homens: Men; adult male human beings.
chamam: They call; third person plural of chamar.
essa: That; demonstrative pronoun referring to nearby thing.
sombra: Shadow or shade; darkness cast by an object.
preconceito: Prejudice; preconceived biased opinion about someone.
erudição: Erudition; extensive scholarly knowledge and learning.
explicam: They explain; third person plural of explicar.
defesa: Defense; act of protecting or justifying something.
natural: Natural; existing in or caused by nature.
cultura: Culture; shared customs, arts, and social institutions.
contra: Against; preposition indicating opposition or resistance.
barbárie: Barbarism; savage or uncivilized behavior or condition.
saber: Knowledge or knowing; to know or understand something.
ignorância: Ignorance; lack of knowledge or awareness.
pureza: Purity; state of being free from contamination.
crime: Crime; an illegal act punishable by law.
raças: Races; groups categorized by physical characteristics.
superiores: Superior; higher in rank, quality, or status.
inferiores: Inferior; lower in rank, quality, or status.
Negro: Black person; term referring to a person of African descent.
clama: Cries out or proclaims; third person singular of clamar.
Amém: Amen; expression of agreement or affirmation, often religious.
jura: Swears or vows; third person singular of jurar.
medida: Measure or extent; degree to which something applies.
esse: That; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
estranho: Strange or stranger; something or someone unfamiliar.
funda: Founds or is based; third person singular of fundar.
justa: Just or fair; characterized by fairness and righteousness.
homenagem: Homage or tribute; respectful recognition of someone's worth.
civilização: Civilization; advanced state of human social development.
retidão: Rectitude; moral uprightness and straightforward behavior.
progresso: Progress; forward movement toward improvement or development.
humildemente: Humbly; in a modest and unpretentious manner.
inclina: Bows or inclines; third person singular of inclinar.
submissamente: Submissively; in a yielding and obedient manner.
presta: Pays or renders; third person singular of prestar.
reverência: Reverence; deep respect and veneration shown to someone.
diante: Before or in front of; preposition of position.
inominável: Unspeakable or unnameable; too horrible to name.
ultrapassa: Surpasses or exceeds; goes beyond a limit or boundary.
tudo: Everything; all things without exception.
encontra: Finds or encounters; third person singular of encontrar.
impotente: Powerless or impotent; lacking ability to act effectively.
consternado: Dismayed; filled with anxiety and distress.
quase: Almost; very nearly but not completely.
sem: Without; preposition indicating absence of something.
palavras: Words; units of language used to communicate meaning.
desrespeito: Disrespect; lack of regard or courtesy toward others.
pessoal: Personal; relating to or concerning a specific individual.
zombaria: Mockery; act of ridiculing or making fun of someone.
ridículo: Ridicule; deserving or causing laughter and contempt.
humilhação: Humiliation; act of causing someone to feel ashamed.
sistemática: Systematic; done according to a fixed plan or method.
distorção: Distortion; misrepresentation or twisting of the truth.
fatos: Facts; things known to be true or real.
licença: License; permission or freedom to act without restraint.
desregrada: Unrestrained; lacking rules or moral control.
fantasia: Fantasy; imagination or a wild and fanciful idea.
cínico: Cynical; believing people are motivated only by self-interest.
ignorar: To ignore; to deliberately disregard or pay no attention.
melhor: Better or best; of a higher quality or degree.
ruidoso: Noisy; making or characterized by a lot of noise.
acolhimento: Welcome or reception; warm acceptance of someone.
pior: Worse or worst; of lower quality or greater severity.
desejo: Desire or wish; strong feeling of wanting something.
onipresente: Omnipresent; present everywhere at the same time.
incutir: To instill; to gradually introduce a feeling or idea.
desprezo: Contempt or disdain; feeling that something is worthless.
negro: Black; relating to dark color or Black identity.
diabo: Devil; the supreme evil being in Christian tradition.
ergue-se: Rises up; reflexive form of erguer, to raise.
desespero: Despair; complete loss of hope and hopelessness.
nauseante: Nauseating; causing a feeling of sickness or revulsion.
desarmaria: Would disarm; conditional form of desarmar, to weaken resolve.
desanimaria: Would discourage; conditional form of desanimar, to demoralize.
qualquer: Any or whatever; indefinite pronoun indicating any one.
nação: Nation; a large group sharing history, culture, territory.
exceto: Except; other than or with the exclusion of.
aquela: That; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun referring to something distant.
hoste: Host or multitude; a large group or army of people.
negra: Black; feminine form referring to Black identity or color.
quem: Who or whom; relative or interrogative pronoun.
desânimo: Discouragement; loss of confidence, enthusiasm, or spirit.
palavra: Word; a single unit of language expressing meaning.
escrita: Written; past participle of escrever, also means writing.
enfrentamento: Confrontation; act of facing or dealing with difficulty.
tão: So or as; adverb indicating degree or intensity.
vasto: Vast; of very great extent or enormous size.
poderia: Could; conditional form of poder, to be able.
deixar: To let or leave; to allow or cause something.
trazer: To bring; to carry something to a place or person.
inevitável: Inevitable; certain to happen and unable to be avoided.
questionamento: Questioning; act of doubting or interrogating something.
si: Oneself; reflexive pronoun used after prepositions.
mesmo: Himself, itself, or same; reflexive or emphatic pronoun.
autodepreciamento: Self-deprecation; belittling or undervaluing oneself excessively.
rebaixamento: Degradation; act of lowering someone's status or dignity.
ideais: Ideals; principles or values considered perfect standards.
sempre: Always; at all times without exception.
acompanham: Accompany; they follow or go along with something.
repressão: Repression; suppression of ideas, freedoms, or a group.
desenvolvem: They develop; third person plural of desenvolver.
atmosfera: Atmosphere; surrounding mood or emotional environment.
ódio: Hatred; intense dislike or hostility toward someone.
Sussurros: Whispers; soft, hushed sounds or quiet spoken words.
presságios: Omens; signs believed to foretell future events.
chegaram: They arrived; third person plural past tense of chegar.
quatro: Four; the number 4.
ventos: Winds; moving currents of air, often used figuratively.
Olhai: Behold or look; archaic imperative plural of olhar.
estamos: We are; first person plural of estar.
doentes: Sick; people who are ill or suffering from disease.
morrendo: Dying; present participle of morrer, to die.
clamavam: They cried out; imperfect past tense of clamar.
hostes: Hosts or multitudes; large groups of people.
sabemos: We know; first person plural of saber.
escrever: To write; to produce text or compose written work.
nosso: Our; first person plural possessive adjective or pronoun.
voto: Vote or vow; a formal expression of choice or promise.
inútil: Useless; not serving any practical purpose or function.
necessidade: Necessity; something that is absolutely needed or required.
temos: We have; first person plural of ter.
educação: Education; process of acquiring knowledge and skills.
devemos: We must or should; first person plural of dever.
cozinhar: To cook; to prepare food using heat.
servir: To serve; to work for or attend to others' needs.
Nação: Nation; a country or large community of people.
ecoou: Echoed; past tense of ecoar, to reverberate a sound.
reforçou: Reinforced; past tense of reforçar, to strengthen or support.
autocrítica: Self-criticism; critical judgment of one's own actions.
dizendo: Saying; present participle of dizer, to say.
Contentai-vos: Be content; archaic imperative plural reflexive of contentar.
servos: Servants or serfs; people who serve others in bondage.
nada: Nothing; not anything at all.
mais: More; indicating greater quantity or additional amount.
têm: They have; third person plural of ter.
meio-homens: Half-men; dehumanizing term implying incomplete or lesser humanity.
superior: Superior; of higher quality, rank, or ability than others.

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