The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Page 82
It was thus rather the exacting nature of my aspirations than any particular degradation in my faults, that made me what I was, and, with even a deeper trench than in the majority of men, severed in me those provinces of good and ill which divide and compound man's dual nature.
Fue así más bien la naturaleza exigente de mis aspiraciones que cualquier degradación particular en mis faltas, lo que me hizo lo que era, y, con una zanja aún más profunda que en la mayoría de los hombres, separó en mí esas provincias del bien y del mal que dividen y componen la naturaleza dual del hombre.
In this case, I was driven to reflect deeply and inveterately on that hard law of life, which lies at the root of religion and is one of the most plentiful springs of distress.
En este caso, me vi impulsado a reflexionar profunda e inveteradamente sobre esa dura ley de la vida, que yace en la raíz de la religión y es una de las fuentes más abundantes de angustia.
Though so profound a double-dealer, I was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I laboured, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering.
Aunque tan profundo impostor, no era en ningún sentido un hipócrita; ambos lados de mí estaban completamente serios; no era más yo mismo cuando dejaba de lado la restricción y me sumergía en la vergüenza, que cuando trabajaba, a la luz del día, en el avance del conocimiento o el alivio del dolor y el sufrimiento.
And it chanced that the direction of my scientific studies, which led wholly towards the mystic and the transcendental, reacted and shed a strong light on this consciousness of the perennial war among my members.
Y ocurrió que la dirección de mis estudios científicos, que conducía totalmente hacia lo místico y lo trascendental, reaccionó y arrojó una luz fuerte sobre esta conciencia de la guerra perenne entre mis miembros.
With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.
Con cada día, y desde ambos lados de mi inteligencia, lo moral y lo intelectual, me acerqué así constantemente a esa verdad, por cuyo descubrimiento parcial he sido condenado a tan espantoso naufragio: que el hombre no es verdaderamente uno, sino verdaderamente dos.
I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point.
Digo dos, porque el estado de mi propio conocimiento no pasa más allá de ese punto.
Vocabulary
- Fue
- Third person singular past of ser/ir; was/went
- así
- Thus, so, like this, in this way
- más
- More, most, plus
- bien
- Well, good, fine, correctly
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- naturaleza
- Nature, natural world, character, essence
- exigente
- Demanding, exacting, requiring much
- de
- Of, from, about
- mis
- My (plural possessive adjective)
- aspiraciones
- Aspirations, ambitions, goals, desires
- que
- That, which, who, than
- cualquier
- Any, whichever, whatever
- degradación
- Degradation, deterioration, decline
- particular
- Particular, specific, private, individual
- en
- In, on, at
- faltas
- Faults, mistakes, absences, lacks
- lo
- It, him, the (masculine direct object pronoun)
- me
- Me, myself, to me
- hizo
- Third person past of hacer; made, did
- era
- Was, used to be (imperfect of ser)
- y
- And
- con
- With, along with
- una
- A, an, one (feminine indefinite article)
- zanja
- Ditch, trench, gap, divide
- aún
- Still, yet, even
- profunda
- Deep, profound (feminine)
- mayoría
- Majority, most, greater part
- los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- hombres
- Men, mankind, people
- separó
- Third person past of separar; separated, divided
- mí
- Me (prepositional pronoun after preposition)
- esas
- Those (feminine plural demonstrative)
- provincias
- Provinces, regions, areas
- del
- Of the, from the (de + el)
- mal
- Evil, bad, illness, harm
- dividen
- They divide, split, separate
- componen
- They compose, make up, constitute
- dual
- Dual, double, twofold
- hombre
- Man, human being, mankind
- En
- In, on, at
- este
- This (masculine demonstrative)
- caso
- Case, instance, situation, event
- vi
- I saw (past of ver)
- impulsado
- Driven, impelled, propelled, urged
- a
- To, at, towards
- reflexionar
- To reflect, think, ponder, consider
- e
- And (before words starting with i- or hi-)
- sobre
- On, about, concerning, over
- esa
- That (feminine singular demonstrative)
- dura
- Hard, harsh, tough, severe (feminine)
- ley
- Law, rule, regulation
- vida
- Life, living, existence
- yace
- Lies, rests, is located (from yacer)
- raíz
- Root, origin, base, foundation
- religión
- Religion, faith, belief system
- es
- Is, are (third person of ser)
- las
- The (feminine plural definite article)
- fuentes
- Sources, fountains, springs, origins
- abundantes
- Abundant, plentiful, copious
- angustia
- Anguish, distress, anxiety, suffering
- Aunque
- Although, even though, though
- tan
- So, such, as, very
- profundo
- Deep, profound (masculine)
- impostor
- Impostor, fraud, fake, pretender
- no
- No, not
- ningún
- No, none, not any (masculine before noun)
- sentido
- Sense, feeling, meaning, direction
- un
- A, an, one (masculine indefinite article)
- hipócrita
- Hypocrite, hypocritical person
- ambos
- Both, the two
- lados
- Sides, edges, flanks
- estaban
- They were, were (imperfect of estar)
- completamente
- Completely, totally, entirely, fully
- serios
- Serious, earnest, grave (masculine plural)
- yo
- I, me (subject pronoun)
- mismo
- Same, self, very, himself
- cuando
- When, whenever
- dejaba
- I/he/she left, let, allowed (imperfect of dejar)
- lado
- Side, edge, flank
- restricción
- Restriction, limitation, constraint
- sumergía
- I/he/she submerged, immersed, plunged (imperfect)
- vergüenza
- Shame, embarrassment, disgrace
- trabajaba
- I/he/she worked, was working (imperfect)
- luz
- Light, brightness, electricity
- día
- Day, daytime
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- avance
- Advance, progress, advancement
- conocimiento
- Knowledge, understanding, awareness
- o
- Or, either
- alivio
- Relief, alleviation, ease, comfort
- dolor
- Pain, ache, grief, sorrow
- sufrimiento
- Suffering, pain, distress
- Y
- And
- ocurrió
- It happened, occurred (past of ocurrir)
- dirección
- Direction, address, management, leadership
- estudios
- Studies, research, investigations
- científicos
- Scientific, scientists (adjective/noun plural)
- conducía
- It/he/she led, drove, conducted (imperfect)
- totalmente
- Totally, completely, entirely, fully
- hacia
- Toward, towards, to
- místico
- Mystic, mystical
- trascendental
- Transcendental, momentous, significant
- reaccionó
- He/she/it reacted, responded (past)
- arrojó
- He/she/it threw, cast, hurled (past)
- fuerte
- Strong, loud, intense, hard
- esta
- This (feminine demonstrative)
- conciencia
- Conscience, consciousness, awareness
- guerra
- War, warfare, conflict
- perenne
- Perennial, perpetual, everlasting
- entre
- Between, among, amid
- miembros
- Members, limbs
- Con
- With, along with
- cada
- Each, every
- desde
- From, since, starting from
- mi
- My (singular possessive adjective)
- inteligencia
- Intelligence, intellect, understanding
- moral
- Moral, ethical, morale
- intelectual
- Intellectual, mental
- acerqué
- I approached, brought near (past)
- constantemente
- Constantly, continually, always
- verdad
- Truth, reality
- por
- For, by, through, because of
- cuyo
- Whose, of which
- descubrimiento
- Discovery, finding, uncovering
- parcial
- Partial, biased, incomplete
- he
- I have (auxiliary verb for present perfect)
- sido
- Been (past participle of ser)
- condenado
- Condemned, sentenced, doomed
- espantoso
- Frightful, dreadful, horrifying, terrible
- naufragio
- Shipwreck, wreck, ruin
- verdaderamente
- Truly, really, genuinely
- uno
- One, a, someone
- sino
- But, but rather, except
- dos
- Two
- Digo
- I say, I tell
- porque
- Because, for, since
- estado
- State, condition, been
- propio
- Own, proper, appropriate, characteristic
- pasa
- Passes, happens, goes by
- allá
- There, over there, beyond
- ese
- That (masculine demonstrative)
- punto
- Point, dot, spot, moment
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