The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Page 7
I never saw a circle of such hateful faces; and there was the man in the middle, with a kind of black sneering coolness—frightened too, I could see that—but carrying it off, sir, really like Satan.
Non avevo mai visto un cerchio di facce così odiose; e lì c'era quell'uomo nel mezzo, con una sorta di fredda arroganza oscura—spaventato anche lui, potevo vederlo—ma che la faceva franca, signore, proprio come Satana.
'If you choose to make capital out of this accident,' said he, 'I am naturally helpless.
«Se scegliete di trarre vantaggio da questo incidente», disse lui, «sono naturalmente impotente.
No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene,' says he.
Nessun gentiluomo desidera altro che evitare una scenata», disse.
'Name your figure.'
«Dite la vostra cifra.»
Well, we screwed him up to a hundred pounds for the child's family; he would have clearly liked to stick out; but there was something about the lot of us that meant mischief, and at last he struck.
Bene, lo costringemmo a sborsare cento sterline per la famiglia della bambina; avrebbe chiaramente preferito tener duro; ma c'era qualcosa in tutti noi che lasciava presagire guai, e alla fine cedette.
The next thing was to get the money; and where do you think he carried us but to that place with the door?—whipped out a key, went in, and presently came back with the matter of ten pounds in gold and a cheque for the balance on Coutts's, drawn payable to bearer and signed with a name that I can't mention, though it's one of the points of my story, but it was a name at least very well known and often printed.
Il passo successivo era ottenere il denaro; e dove credete che ci portasse se non a quel posto con la porta?—tirò fuori una chiave, entrò, e poco dopo tornò con una decina di sterline in oro e un assegno per il saldo su Coutts's, emesso pagabile al portatore e firmato con un nome che non posso citare, sebbene sia uno dei punti salienti della mia storia, ma era un nome almeno molto noto e spesso stampato.
The figure was stiff; but the signature was good for more than that if it was only genuine.
La cifra era considerevole; ma la firma valeva anche di più, se soltanto era autentica.
Vocabulary
- Non
- Negation word meaning 'not' in Italian
- avevo
- First person singular imperfect of 'avere' (to have)
- mai
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever'
- visto
- Past participle of 'vedere,' meaning 'seen'
- cerchio
- A circular shape or ring of people or objects
- facce
- Plural of 'faccia,' meaning faces or expressions
- così
- Adverb meaning 'so,' 'thus,' or 'in this way'
- odiose
- Adjective meaning hateful, detestable, or repulsive
- lì
- Adverb meaning 'there,' indicating a specific location
- c'era
- Contraction of 'ci era,' meaning 'there was'
- quell'uomo
- Demonstrative phrase meaning 'that man' nearby
- mezzo
- Noun or adjective meaning 'middle,' 'half,' or 'center'
- sorta
- Noun meaning 'sort,' 'kind,' or 'type' of something
- fredda
- Adjective meaning 'cold,' describing temperature or demeanor
- arroganza
- Noun meaning arrogance, an attitude of superiority over others
- oscura
- Adjective meaning 'dark,' 'obscure,' or 'mysterious'
- spaventato
- Past participle meaning frightened, scared, or terrified
- anche
- Adverb meaning 'also,' 'too,' or 'even'
- potevo
- First person singular imperfect of 'potere' (to be able)
- vederlo
- Infinitive 'vedere' plus pronoun 'lo,' meaning 'to see him'
- faceva
- Third person singular imperfect of 'fare' (to do/make)
- franca
- Adjective meaning free, frank, or unpunished (farla franca: get away)
- signore
- Noun meaning 'gentleman,' 'lord,' or formal address 'sir'
- proprio
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'exactly,' 'really,' or 'own'
- Se
- Conjunction meaning 'if,' introducing a conditional clause
- scegliete
- Second person plural present of 'scegliere,' meaning 'you choose'
- trarre
- Infinitive meaning 'to draw,' 'to derive,' or 'to extract'
- vantaggio
- Noun meaning 'advantage,' benefit, or gain from something
- incidente
- Noun meaning 'incident,' accident, or unexpected event
- disse
- Third person singular passato remoto of 'dire' (to say)
- naturalmente
- Adverb meaning 'naturally,' 'of course,' or 'obviously'
- impotente
- Adjective meaning powerless, helpless, or unable to act
- Nessun
- Adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any,' negating a noun
- gentiluomo
- Noun meaning 'gentleman,' a man of refined manners and status
- desidera
- Third person singular present of 'desiderare' (to desire/wish)
- altro
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other,' 'another,' or 'else'
- evitare
- Infinitive meaning 'to avoid' or 'to prevent' something
- scenata
- Noun meaning a scene, outburst, or public display of anger
- Dite
- Second person plural imperative of 'dire,' meaning 'say' or 'tell'
- vostra
- Second person plural possessive adjective meaning 'your'
- cifra
- Noun meaning 'figure,' 'number,' or 'sum' of money
- costringemmo
- First person plural passato remoto of 'costringere' (to force/compel)
- sborsare
- Infinitive meaning 'to pay out,' 'to shell out' money
- cento
- Cardinal number meaning 'one hundred'
- sterline
- Plural noun meaning 'pounds sterling,' British currency
- famiglia
- Noun meaning 'family,' a group of related individuals
- bambina
- Noun meaning 'little girl,' a young female child
- avrebbe
- Third person singular conditional of 'avere' (to have)
- chiaramente
- Adverb meaning 'clearly,' 'obviously,' or 'evidently'
- preferito
- Past participle of 'preferire,' meaning 'preferred' or 'favorite'
- tener
- Shortened infinitive of 'tenere,' meaning 'to hold' or 'keep'
- duro
- Adjective meaning 'hard,' 'tough,' or 'firm'
- qualcosa
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'something' or 'anything'
- tutti
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all,' 'everyone,' or 'every'
- lasciava
- Third person singular imperfect of 'lasciare' (to let/leave)
- presagire
- Infinitive meaning 'to foresee,' 'to predict,' or 'to sense'
- guai
- Plural noun meaning 'troubles,' 'problems,' or 'woes'
- fine
- Noun meaning 'end,' 'conclusion,' or 'purpose'
- cedette
- Third person singular passato remoto of 'cedere' (to yield/give in)
- passo
- Noun meaning 'step,' 'pace,' or 'move' in a process
- successivo
- Adjective meaning 'next,' 'following,' or 'subsequent'
- ottenere
- Infinitive meaning 'to obtain,' 'to get,' or 'to achieve'
- denaro
- Noun meaning 'money,' 'cash,' or financial funds
- dove
- Adverb meaning 'where,' indicating place or location
- credete
- Second person plural present of 'credere' (to believe/think)
- portasse
- Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'portare' (to bring)
- se
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or reflexive pronoun 'himself/herself'
- quel
- Masculine singular demonstrative adjective meaning 'that'
- posto
- Noun meaning 'place,' 'spot,' or 'position'
- porta
- Noun meaning 'door' or verb third person singular 'brings/carries'
- tirò
- Third person singular passato remoto of 'tirare' (to pull/draw out)
- fuori
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'outside,' 'out,' or 'beyond'
- chiave
- Noun meaning 'key,' used to open locks or doors
- entrò
- Third person singular passato remoto of 'entrare' (to enter)
- poco
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'little,' 'few,' or 'a bit'
- dopo
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'after,' 'later,' or 'then'
- tornò
- Third person singular passato remoto of 'tornare' (to return)
- decina
- Noun meaning 'about ten,' an approximate group of ten
- oro
- Noun meaning 'gold,' the precious metal or its color
- assegno
- Noun meaning 'check' or 'cheque,' a written payment order
- saldo
- Noun meaning 'balance,' 'remainder,' or settlement of a debt
- emesso
- Past participle of 'emettere,' meaning 'issued' or 'emitted'
- pagabile
- Adjective meaning 'payable,' able to be paid or due
- portatore
- Noun meaning 'bearer,' the person carrying or holding something
- firmato
- Past participle of 'firmare,' meaning 'signed' with a signature
- nome
- Noun meaning 'name,' the word used to identify someone
- posso
- First person singular present of 'potere' (to be able/can)
- citare
- Infinitive meaning 'to cite,' 'to quote,' or 'to mention'
- sebbene
- Conjunction meaning 'although,' 'even though,' introducing concession
- sia
- Third person singular present subjunctive of 'essere' (to be)
- punti
- Plural noun meaning 'points,' 'dots,' or key elements
- salienti
- Adjective meaning 'salient,' notable, or most important features
- storia
- Noun meaning 'story,' 'history,' or 'tale'
- almeno
- Adverb meaning 'at least,' indicating a minimum quantity or condition
- molto
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'very,' 'much,' or 'a lot'
- noto
- Adjective meaning 'known,' 'notable,' or 'well-known'
- spesso
- Adverb meaning 'often,' indicating frequent occurrence
- stampato
- Past participle of 'stampare,' meaning 'printed' or 'published'
- considerevole
- Adjective meaning 'considerable,' significant, or noteworthy in size
- firma
- Noun meaning 'signature' or 'firm,' a signed name or company
- valeva
- Third person singular imperfect of 'valere' (to be worth)
- più
- Adverb meaning 'more,' 'most,' or 'no longer' (with negation)
- soltanto
- Adverb meaning 'only,' 'just,' or 'merely'
- autentica
- Adjective meaning 'authentic,' 'genuine,' or 'real'
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