The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 8
His acquaintance with Arab manners and customs was insufficient to preserve him always from errors of the grossest description, and by the _style_ of his version he has given to the whole a false character, thus sacrificing, in a great measure, what is most valuable in the original work,--I mean its minute accuracy with respect to those peculiarities which distinguish the Arabs from every other nation, not only of the West, but also of the East.
La sua conoscenza dei costumi e delle usanze arabe era insufficiente a preservarlo sempre da errori della natura più grossolana, e attraverso lo _stile_ della sua versione ha conferito all'insieme un carattere falso, sacrificando così, in larga misura, ciò che è più prezioso nell'opera originale, — intendo la sua minuziosa accuratezza riguardo a quelle peculiarità che distinguono gli Arabi da ogni altra nazione, non solo dell'Occidente, ma anche dell'Oriente.
Deceived by the vague nature of Galland's version, travellers in Persia, Turkey, and India, have often fancied that the Arabian Tales describe the particular manners of the natives of those countries; but no one who has read them in the original language, having an intimate acquaintance with the Arabs, can be of this opinion: it is in Arabian countries, and especially in Egypt, that we see the people, the dresses, and the buildings, which it describes in almost every case, even when the scene is laid in Persia, in India, or in China.
Ingannati dalla natura vaga della versione di Galland, i viaggiatori in Persia, Turchia e India hanno spesso creduto che i Racconti Arabi descrivessero i costumi particolari degli abitanti di quei paesi; ma nessuno che li abbia letti nella lingua originale, avendo una conoscenza intima degli Arabi, può essere di questa opinione: è nei paesi arabi, e specialmente in Egitto, che vediamo il popolo, gli abiti e gli edifici che essi descrivono in quasi ogni caso, anche quando la scena è ambientata in Persia, in India, o in Cina.
"Convinced of the truth of this assertion, I consider myself possessed of the chief qualifications for the proper accomplishment of my present undertaking, from my having lived several years in Cairo, associating almost exclusively with Arabs, speaking their language, conforming to their general habits with the most scrupulous exactitude, and received into their society on terms of perfect equality.
«Convinto della verità di questa affermazione, mi considero in possesso dei principali requisiti per il corretto compimento della mia presente impresa, grazie all'aver vissuto diversi anni al Cairo, frequentando quasi esclusivamente Arabi, parlando la loro lingua, conformandomi alle loro abitudini generali con la più scrupolosa esattezza, ed essendo stato accolto nella loro società in condizioni di perfetta uguaglianza.
Vocabulary
- sua
- His, her, its (possessive adjective)
- conoscenza
- Knowledge, acquaintance, familiarity with something
- costumi
- Customs, habits, traditional ways of behaving
- usanze
- Customs, practices, traditional ways and conventions
- arabe
- Arab, Arabian (feminine plural adjective)
- era
- Was, period of time in history
- insufficiente
- Insufficient, inadequate, not enough for purpose
- preservarlo
- To preserve it, protect it from harm
- sempre
- Always, constantly, continuously at all times
- da
- From, by, indicating origin or agent
- errori
- Errors, mistakes, inaccuracies or blunders
- natura
- Nature, natural world, inherent character
- più
- More, most, additional in quantity
- grossolana
- Coarse, rough, crude, lacking refinement
- attraverso
- Through, across, by way of something
- stile
- Style, manner of writing or expression
- versione
- Version, translation, particular form or variant
- ha
- Has, third person singular of avere
- conferito
- Conferred, granted, bestowed upon someone
- insieme
- Together, as a whole, combined entity
- carattere
- Character, nature, distinctive qualities of person
- falso
- False, fake, untrue, fraudulent or spurious
- sacrificando
- Sacrificing, giving up, abandoning for other
- così
- Thus, so, in this manner or way
- in
- In, within, indicating location or time
- larga
- Large, wide, broad in extent
- misura
- Measure, extent, amount of something
- ciò
- That, this, what (demonstrative pronoun)
- che
- That, which, who (relative pronoun)
- prezioso
- Precious, valuable, highly esteemed or prized
- opera
- Work, composition, artistic or literary creation
- originale
- Original, primary, first version of work
- intendo
- I intend, I mean, I understand
- minuziosa
- Meticulous, detailed, minute in attention
- accuratezza
- Accuracy, precision, exactness in details
- riguardo
- Regard, respect, concerning or about something
- quelle
- Those (feminine plural demonstrative adjective)
- peculiarità
- Peculiarities, distinctive characteristics, unique features
- distinguono
- Distinguish, differentiate, set apart from others
- Arabi
- Arabs, people from Arabian peninsula
- ogni
- Every, each, all without exception
- altra
- Other, another, different from first
- nazione
- Nation, country, political state or community
- non
- Not, negation particle in Italian
- solo
- Only, alone, solely without other things
- Occidente
- West, Western world, Europe and Americas
- ma
- But, yet, however indicating contrast
- anche
- Also, too, as well, in addition
- Oriente
- East, Eastern world, Asia and Middle East
- Ingannati
- Deceived, tricked, misled by false information
- vaga
- Vague, unclear, imprecise or indefinite
- di
- Of, from, indicating possession or origin
- viaggiatori
- Travelers, explorers, people who journey
- Persia
- Persia, historical region in Middle East
- Turchia
- Turkey, country in Western Asia
- India
- India, country in South Asia
- hanno
- Have, third person plural of avere
- spesso
- Often, frequently, many times repeatedly
- creduto
- Believed, thought, supposed, past participle
- Racconti
- Tales, stories, narratives or accounts
- descrivessero
- Described, might describe, subjunctive mood
- particolari
- Particulars, details, specific facts or circumstances
- abitanti
- Inhabitants, residents, people living in place
- quei
- Those, those over there (demonstrative)
- paesi
- Countries, lands, rural areas or villages
- nessuno
- No one, nobody, not anyone at all
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