The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 2
Several reprints of that edition have testified to the continued popularity of the work, and the necessity for the present issue shows that an acquaintance of nearly half a century has not yet wearied the public of the standard translation of the _Thousand and One Nights_.
Diverse ristampe di quella edizione hanno testimoniato la continua popolarità dell'opera, e la necessità della presente edizione dimostra che una conoscenza di quasi mezzo secolo non ha ancora stancato il pubblico della traduzione canonica delle _Mille e una notte_.
The secret of Mr. Lane's success is to be found partly in the instinctive sympathy for the spirit of the East, which enabled him faithfully to reproduce the characteristic tone of the original, and partly in the rich store of illustrations of oriental life and thought contained in his Notes.
Il segreto del successo del signor Lane va ricercato in parte nella simpatia istintiva per lo spirito dell'Oriente, che gli permise di riprodurre fedelmente il tono caratteristico dell'originale, e in parte nel ricco corredo di illustrazioni della vita e del pensiero orientale contenute nelle sue Note.
In the various cheap versions, based upon Galland's French paraphrase, the Eastern tone and local colour is wholly wanting; and the peculiarities of life and manners, which contrast so markedly with those of the West, are left unnoted and unexplained.
Nelle varie versioni economiche, basate sulla parafrasi francese di Galland, il tono orientale e il colore locale sono del tutto assenti; e le peculiarità della vita e dei costumi, che contrastano così nettamente con quelli dell'Occidente, vengono lasciate senza nota e senza spiegazione.
Such versions may serve in an inadequate degree to make the Arabian Nights known to those who care only for the bare stories; but educated readers, who are capable of something more than the mere enjoyment of the romance, and desire to understand the character and habits of the actors and the spectators, find in Mr. Lane's translation, and in his only, a complete satisfaction of their want.
Tali versioni possono servire in modo inadeguato a far conoscere le Notti Arabe a coloro che si interessano solo alle storie nude e crude; ma i lettori colti, capaci di qualcosa di più del semplice godimento del racconto e desiderosi di comprendere il carattere e le abitudini dei protagonisti e degli spettatori, trovano nella traduzione del signor Lane, e solo in essa, una soddisfazione completa del loro bisogno.
Vocabulary
- Diverse
- Various, several different things or people
- ristampe
- Reprints of a previously published text or book
- di
- Of, from; common preposition with many uses
- quella
- That (feminine singular demonstrative adjective/pronoun)
- edizione
- Edition of a book or published work
- hanno
- They have; third person plural of avere
- testimoniato
- Witnessed or testified to something
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- continua
- Continuous, ongoing, uninterrupted
- popolarità
- Popularity, the state of being widely liked
- dell'
- Of the (contraction of di + l')
- opera
- Work, opus; literary or artistic creation
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- necessità
- Necessity, need, urgent requirement
- della
- Of the (feminine singular contraction di + la)
- presente
- Present, current; this very thing or moment
- dimostra
- Demonstrates, shows, proves something clearly
- che
- That, which, who; conjunction or relative pronoun
- una
- A, an (feminine indefinite article)
- conoscenza
- Knowledge, acquaintance, familiarity with something
- quasi
- Almost, nearly, approximately
- mezzo
- Half; middle; means or medium
- secolo
- Century, a period of one hundred years
- non
- Not; basic negation adverb
- ha
- Has; third person singular of avere
- ancora
- Still, yet, again
- stancato
- Tired, wearied, made exhausted
- il
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- pubblico
- Public, audience, readership
- traduzione
- Translation of a text into another language
- canonica
- Canonical, authoritative, standard version
- delle
- Of the (feminine plural contraction di + le)
- segreto
- Secret, hidden, mysterious; a secret
- successo
- Success, achievement, favorable outcome
- signor
- Mister, sir; title of respect for a man
- va
- Goes; third person singular of andare
- ricercato
- Sought, researched; refined or elaborate
- in
- In, into; basic preposition of location
- parte
- Part, portion, role, side
- nella
- In the (feminine singular contraction in + la)
- simpatia
- Sympathy, liking, warmth toward someone
- istintiva
- Instinctive, natural, arising from instinct
- per
- For, through, by; common preposition
- lo
- The (masculine singular article before s+consonant)
- spirito
- Spirit, soul, essence, mind
- Oriente
- The East, the Orient
- gli
- Him, to him; or the (masculine plural article)
- permise
- Allowed, permitted (past tense of permettere)
- riprodurre
- To reproduce, copy, or replicate faithfully
- fedelmente
- Faithfully, accurately, loyally
- tono
- Tone, style, manner of expression
- caratteristico
- Characteristic, distinctive, typical of something
- originale
- Original, first version, not a copy
- nel
- In the (masculine singular contraction in + il)
- ricco
- Rich, abundant, full of something
- corredo
- Accompaniment, set of supplementary materials
- illustrazioni
- Illustrations, drawings, pictures in a text
- vita
- Life, lifestyle, way of living
- pensiero
- Thought, thinking, intellectual tradition
- orientale
- Eastern, Oriental, relating to the East
- contenute
- Contained, included within something
- nelle
- In the (feminine plural contraction in + le)
- sue
- His, her, its (feminine plural possessive)
- Note
- Notes, annotations, scholarly comments
- varie
- Various, several, different kinds
- versioni
- Versions, editions, renditions of a work
- economiche
- Inexpensive, cheap, economical editions
- basate
- Based on, founded upon something
- sulla
- On the (feminine singular contraction su + la)
- parafrasi
- Paraphrase, loose retelling of a text
- francese
- French, relating to France or its language
- colore
- Color, local flavor, vivid characteristic detail
- locale
- Local, pertaining to a specific place
- sono
- Are; first/third person plural of essere
- tutto
- All, entirely, completely, everything
- assenti
- Absent, missing, not present
- le
- The (feminine plural definite article)
- peculiarità
- Peculiarities, distinctive features, oddities
- dei
- Of the (masculine plural contraction di + i)
- costumi
- Customs, habits, traditions, costumes
- contrastano
- Contrast sharply with something else
- così
- So, thus, in this way
- nettamente
- Sharply, clearly, distinctly, markedly
- con
- With; basic preposition of accompaniment
- quelli
- Those (masculine plural demonstrative pronoun)
- Occidente
- The West, Western civilization
- vengono
- Come, are (third person plural of venire)
- lasciate
- Left, abandoned, left without explanation
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- nota
- Note, annotation, explanatory comment
- spiegazione
- Explanation, clarification of something unclear
- Tali
- Such, those kinds of (demonstrative adjective)
- possono
- Can, are able to (third person plural potere)
- servire
- To serve, to be useful for a purpose
- modo
- Way, manner, mode of doing something
- inadeguato
- Inadequate, insufficient, not satisfactory
- a
- To, at; basic preposition of direction
- far
- To make, to cause (infinitive fare, contracted)
- conoscere
- To know, to get acquainted with something
- Notti
- Nights (plural of notte)
- Arabe
- Arabian, Arabic (feminine plural adjective)
- coloro
- Those who, those people (pronoun)
- si
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself, themselves
- interessano
- Are interested in, care about something
- solo
- Only, alone, just
- alle
- To the (feminine plural contraction a + le)
- storie
- Stories, tales, narratives
- nude
- Bare, plain, unadorned, stripped down
- crude
- Raw, crude, unrefined, blunt
- ma
- But; adversative conjunction
- i
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- lettori
- Readers, those who read texts
- colti
- Cultured, educated, refined, learned
- capaci
- Capable, able, competent
- qualcosa
- Something, anything; indefinite pronoun
- più
- More, plus; comparative adverb
- semplice
- Simple, plain, uncomplicated
- godimento
- Enjoyment, pleasure, satisfaction
- racconto
- Story, tale, short narrative
- desiderosi
- Desirous, eager, wishing for something
- comprendere
- To understand, to comprehend, to include
- carattere
- Character, nature, personality, trait
- abitudini
- Habits, customs, regular practices
- protagonisti
- Protagonists, main characters of a story
- degli
- Of the (masculine plural contraction di + gli)
- spettatori
- Spectators, observers, passive onlookers
- trovano
- Find, discover (third person plural trovare)
- essa
- It, she (third person singular feminine pronoun)
- soddisfazione
- Satisfaction, fulfillment of a need or desire
- completa
- Complete, full, total, entire
- loro
- Their, theirs; them; they (pronoun/adjective)
- bisogno
- Need, necessity, requirement
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