← The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 10

English → It Preface Level 7/10

Lane, all things in the East have changed, and every day witnesses the decay of some old custom, to be followed by a bastard European imitation.

Lane, tutte le cose in Oriente sono cambiate, e ogni giorno testimonia il declino di qualche antica usanza, destinata ad essere seguita da una bastarda imitazione europea.

During Mohammad 'Alee's rule, all traces of the state and circumstance of the Memlook court gradually passed away.

Durante il governo di Mohammad 'Alee, tutte le tracce del fasto e delle circostanze della corte Memlook svanirono gradualmente.

European dress has displaced oriental costume, cloth of gold, and dresses of honour; European architecture elbows the quaint beauty of the old Arab capital; and the cavalcade of fifty horsemen around a grandee is succeeded by an English carriage that profanes the quiet streets of the city, and frightens away both 'Efreets and their memory.

L'abito europeo ha soppiantato il costume orientale, il tessuto d'oro e le vesti d'onore; l'architettura europea fa a gomitate con la pittoresca bellezza dell'antica capitale araba; e la cavalcata di cinquanta cavalieri attorno a un gran signore è sostituita da una carrozza inglese che profana le quiete strade della città, e mette in fuga sia gli 'Efreet che il loro ricordo.

Mr. Lane saw the last of Cairo in its integrity; and he has not overstated his qualifications, as author of the "Modern Egyptians," for the task of translating the Arabian Nights.

Il signor Lane ha visto il Cairo per l'ultima volta nella sua integrità; e non ha esagerato le proprie qualifiche, come autore degli "Egiziani Moderni", per il compito di tradurre le Mille e una Notte.

Of the copy from which this translation was made, and the method observed in its execution, I may again quote the preface to the first edition.

Della copia dalla quale è stata effettuata questa traduzione, e del metodo osservato nella sua esecuzione, posso nuovamente citare la prefazione alla prima edizione.

Mr. Lane says,--

Il signor Lane dice:--

"I have taken as my general standard of the original text the Cairo edition lately printed; it being greatly superior to the other printed editions, and probably to every manuscript copy.[1]

"Ho preso come mio standard generale del testo originale l'edizione del Cairo stampata di recente; essendo essa di gran lunga superiore alle altre edizioni a stampa, e probabilmente a ogni copia manoscritta.[1]

It appears to agree almost exactly with the celebrated MS. of Von Hammer, than which no copy more copious, I believe, exists; and contains all the tales in the old version except those which, as Von Hammer says, Galland appears to have taken from other works, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, in the Royal Library of Paris.

Sembra concordare quasi esattamente con il celebre manoscritto di Von Hammer, del quale non credo esista copia più copiosa; e contiene tutti i racconti della versione antica ad eccezione di quelli che, come dice Von Hammer, Galland sembra aver tratto da altre opere, arabe, persiane e turche, nella Biblioteca Reale di Parigi.

Vocabulary

tutte
All (feminine plural form of tutto)
le
The (feminine plural definite article)
cose
Things, objects, matters
in
In, into (preposition indicating location or direction)
Oriente
The East, Orient; eastern regions of the world
sono
Are (third person plural of essere, to be)
cambiate
Changed (past participle of cambiare, feminine plural)
e
And (coordinating conjunction)
ogni
Every, each (invariable adjective)
giorno
Day (unit of time)
testimonia
Witnesses, testifies (third person singular of testimoniare)
il
The (masculine singular definite article)
declino
Decline, deterioration, gradual falling off
di
Of, from (very common Italian preposition)
qualche
Some, a few (invariable adjective before singular noun)
antica
Ancient, old (feminine singular adjective)
usanza
Custom, tradition, habitual practice
destinata
Destined, fated (feminine singular past participle)
ad
To, at (preposition used before vowel)
essere
To be (fundamental auxiliary and copular verb)
seguita
Followed (feminine singular past participle of seguire)
da
By, from (preposition of agent or origin)
una
A, an (feminine singular indefinite article)
bastarda
Bastard, hybrid, corrupt (feminine adjective, pejorative)
imitazione
Imitation, copy, reproduction of something original
europea
European (feminine singular adjective)
Durante
During (preposition indicating time period)
governo
Government, rule, administration
tracce
Traces, tracks, remnants (feminine plural noun)
del
Of the (masculine singular contracted preposition)
fasto
Pomp, splendor, ostentatious display
delle
Of the (feminine plural contracted preposition)
circostanze
Circumstances, conditions, surrounding situations
della
Of the (feminine singular contracted preposition)
corte
Court (royal or noble court, also courtyard)
svanirono
Vanished, disappeared (third person plural past tense)
gradualmente
Gradually, slowly, step by step
abito
Dress, garment, suit of clothing
europeo
European (masculine singular adjective)
ha
Has (third person singular of avere, to have)
soppiantato
Supplanted, replaced, ousted (past participle)
costume
Costume, custom, traditional dress or habit
orientale
Eastern, oriental (masculine/feminine singular adjective)
tessuto
Fabric, woven cloth, tissue
oro
Gold (precious metal, also used as adjective)
vesti
Garments, robes (plural of veste, clothing)
onore
Honor, dignity, respect, distinction
architettura
Architecture, style and design of buildings
fa
Makes, does (third person singular of fare)
gomitate
Elbowing; fare a gomitate means to elbow out
con
With (preposition indicating accompaniment or means)
la
The (feminine singular definite article)
pittoresca
Picturesque, visually charming (feminine adjective)
bellezza
Beauty, loveliness, aesthetic quality
capitale
Capital city (noun, feminine)
araba
Arab, Arabic (feminine singular adjective)
cavalcata
Cavalcade, procession of horse riders
cinquanta
Fifty (cardinal number)
cavalieri
Knights, horsemen, riders (masculine plural noun)
attorno
Around, surrounding (preposition or adverb)
un
A, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
gran
Great, grand (apocopated adjective before noun)
signore
Lord, gentleman, nobleman, sir
è
Is (third person singular of essere, to be)
sostituita
Replaced, substituted (feminine singular past participle)
carrozza
Carriage, coach (horse-drawn vehicle)
inglese
English (adjective or noun, invariable for gender)
che
That, which, who (relative or conjunctive pronoun)
profana
Profanes, desecrates, violates sanctity of something
quiete
Quiet, stillness, calm (feminine noun)
strade
Streets, roads (feminine plural noun)
città
City, town (invariable feminine noun)
mette
Puts, places (third person singular of mettere)
fuga
Flight, escape; mettere in fuga means to put to flight
sia
Both, whether (used in sia...sia construction)
gli
The (masculine plural definite article)
loro
Their, they, them (pronoun or possessive)
ricordo
Memory, remembrance, souvenir
signor
Mr., Mister (apocopated title before name)
visto
Seen (past participle of vedere, to see)
per
For, through, in order to (preposition)
ultima
Last (feminine singular superlative adjective)
volta
Time, occasion; una volta means once
nella
In the (feminine singular contracted preposition)
sua
His, her, its (feminine singular possessive adjective)
integrità
Integrity, wholeness, original untouched condition
non
Not (negative adverb)
esagerato
Exaggerated, overstated (past participle of esagerare)
proprie
Own, proper (feminine plural possessive adjective)
qualifiche
Qualifications, credentials, titles
come
As, like, how (conjunction or adverb)
autore
Author, writer (masculine noun)
degli
Of the (masculine plural contracted preposition)
Moderni
Modern (masculine plural adjective)
compito
Task, assignment, duty to be performed
tradurre
To translate (infinitive verb)
Mille
Thousand; part of Mille e Una Notte (Arabian Nights)
Notte
Night (feminine noun, singular)
Della
Of the (feminine singular contracted preposition)
copia
Copy, duplicate of a text or document
dalla
From the (feminine singular contracted preposition)
quale
Which, that (relative pronoun or interrogative)
stata
Been (feminine past participle of essere)
effettuata
Carried out, made (feminine past participle of effettuare)
questa
This (feminine singular demonstrative adjective/pronoun)
traduzione
Translation (feminine noun)
metodo
Method, systematic approach or procedure
osservato
Observed, followed (past participle of osservare)
esecuzione
Execution, performance, carrying out of a task
posso
I can, I am able (first person singular of potere)
nuovamente
Again, once more, anew
citare
To cite, to quote a source or reference
prefazione
Preface, foreword at beginning of a book
alla
To the (feminine singular contracted preposition)
prima
First (feminine ordinal adjective or adverb)
edizione
Edition, published version of a book
dice
Says, tells (third person singular of dire)
Ho
I have (first person singular of avere)
preso
Taken (past participle of prendere, to take)
mio
My (masculine singular possessive adjective)
standard
Standard, benchmark, reference point
generale
General, overall, not specific (adjective)
testo
Text, written content of a document or book
originale
Original, first version, not a copy
stampata
Printed (feminine past participle of stampare)
recente
Recent, latest, not long ago
essendo
Being (gerund of essere, used in constructions)
essa
It, she (feminine third person pronoun)
lunga
Long (feminine singular adjective)
superiore
Superior, better, higher in quality
alle
To the (feminine plural contracted preposition)
altre
Other (feminine plural adjective/pronoun)
edizioni
Editions (feminine plural of edizione)
stampa
Press, printing, print (feminine noun)
probabilmente
Probably, in all likelihood
manoscritta
Handwritten, manuscript (feminine adjective/noun)
Sembra
Seems, appears (third person singular of sembrare)
concordare
To agree, to correspond, to match up
quasi
Almost, nearly, practically
esattamente
Exactly, precisely, accurately
celebre
Famous, celebrated, renowned
manoscritto
Manuscript, handwritten document or text
credo
I believe, I think (first person singular of credere)
esista
Exists (present subjunctive of esistere)
più
More, most (comparative or superlative adverb)
copiosa
Copious, abundant, extensive (feminine adjective)
contiene
Contains, includes (third person singular of contenere)
tutti
All, everyone (masculine plural pronoun/adjective)
i
The (masculine plural definite article)
racconti
Tales, stories, short narratives (masculine plural)
versione
Version, translation, rendering of a text
eccezione
Exception, exclusion from a general rule
quelli
Those (masculine plural demonstrative pronoun)
sembra
Seems, appears (third person singular of sembrare)
aver
To have (apocopated infinitive of avere)
tratto
Drawn, taken (past participle of trarre, to draw)
opere
Works, literary or artistic compositions (plural)
arabe
Arab, Arabic (feminine plural adjective)
persiane
Persian (feminine plural adjective)
turche
Turkish (feminine plural adjective)
Biblioteca
Library, collection of books (feminine noun)
Reale
Royal (adjective, masculine/feminine singular)
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