The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 — Page 1
Nil sapientiæ odiosius acumine nimio.—_Seneca_.
Nil sapientiæ odiosius acumine nimio.—_Seneca_.
At Paris, just after dark one gusty evening in the autumn of 18-, I was enjoying the twofold luxury of meditation and a meerschaum, in company with my friend C. Auguste Dupin, in his little back library, or book-closet, _au troisième_, No. 33, _Rue Dunôt, Faubourg St. Germain_.
A Parigi, subito dopo il calar delle tenebre, in una ventosa sera d'autunno del 18-, mi stavo godendo il duplice lusso della meditazione e di una pipa di schiuma di mare, in compagnia del mio amico C. Auguste Dupin, nella sua piccola biblioteca sul retro, o stanzino dei libri, _au troisième_, n. 33, _Rue Dunôt, Faubourg St. Germain_.
For one hour at least we had maintained a profound silence; while each, to any casual observer, might have seemed intently and exclusively occupied with the curling eddies of smoke that oppressed the atmosphere of the chamber.
Per almeno un'ora avevamo mantenuto un profondo silenzio; mentre ciascuno di noi, agli occhi di qualsiasi osservatore occasionale, avrebbe potuto sembrare intento ed esclusivamente occupato a seguire i volute turbinanti di fumo che appesantivano l'atmosfera della stanza.
For myself, however, I was mentally discussing certain topics which had formed matter for conversation between us at an earlier period of the evening; I mean the affair of the Rue Morgue, and the mystery attending the murder of Marie Rogêt.
Per quanto mi riguardava, tuttavia, stavo mentalmente riflettendo su certi argomenti che avevano costituito materia di conversazione tra noi in un momento precedente della serata; intendo l'affaire della Rue Morgue, e il mistero legato all'assassinio di Marie Rogêt.
I looked upon it, therefore, as something of a coincidence, when the door of our apartment was thrown open and admitted our old acquaintance, Monsieur G——, the Prefect of the Parisian police.
Considerai quindi come una sorta di coincidenza il fatto che la porta del nostro appartamento venisse spalancata per lasciar entrare il nostro vecchio conoscente, il signor G——, il Prefetto della polizia parigina.
We gave him a hearty welcome; for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man, and we had not seen him for several years.
Gli riservammo un'accoglienza calorosa; poiché nell'uomo vi era quasi tanta parte di divertente quanta di spregevole, e non lo vedevamo da diversi anni.
We had been sitting in the dark, and Dupin now arose for the purpose of lighting a lamp, but sat down again, without doing so, upon G.
Eravamo rimasti seduti al buio, e Dupin si alzò con l'intenzione di accendere una lampada, ma si risedette senza farlo, poiché G.
Vocabulary
- Parigi
- Paris; capital city of France.
- subito
- Suddenly; all at once; immediately.
- dopo
- After; following in time or sequence.
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article in Italian.
- calar
- To fall; to descend; to lower or drop.
- delle
- Of the; feminine plural partitive article combination.
- tenebre
- Darkness; shadows; gloom or obscurity.
- in
- In; into; within a location or time period.
- una
- A; one; feminine singular indefinite article.
- ventosa
- Windy; characterized by strong wind or breezes.
- sera
- Evening; the time near sunset or night.
- autunno
- Autumn; fall season between summer and winter.
- del
- Of the; masculine singular partitive article combination.
- calar
- To fall; to descend; to lower or drop.
- mi
- Me; to me; reflexive or indirect object pronoun.
- stavo
- I was; first person singular imperfect of stare.
- godendo
- Enjoying; present participle of godere.
- duplice
- Double; twofold; having two parts or aspects.
- lusso
- Luxury; elegance; something expensive and fine.
- della
- Of the; feminine singular partitive article combination.
- meditazione
- Meditation; deep reflection or contemplative thought.
- di
- Of; from; marking possession or composition.
- pipa
- Pipe; smoking pipe for tobacco.
- schiuma
- Foam; froth; bubbling white surface layer.
- mare
- Sea; ocean; large body of salt water.
- compagnia
- Company; companionship; group of people together.
- mio
- My; mine; possessive adjective first person singular.
- amico
- Friend; person with whom one is friendly.
- nella
- In the; feminine singular preposition article combination.
- sua
- His; her; its; third person singular possessive.
- piccola
- Small; little; diminutive in size or importance.
- biblioteca
- Library; collection of books for reading.
- sul
- On the; masculine singular preposition article combination.
- retro
- Back; rear; the back part of something.
- stanzino
- Small room; diminutive of stanza.
- dei
- Of the; masculine plural partitive article combination.
- libri
- Books; written works of literature or knowledge.
- Per
- For; in order to; per; by means of.
- almeno
- At least; a minimum of; no fewer than.
- un
- A; one; masculine singular indefinite article.
- ora
- Hour; time period of sixty minutes.
- avevamo
- We had; first person plural past imperfect.
- mantenuto
- Maintained; kept; held steady or in place.
- profondo
- Deep; extending far down or inward.
- silenzio
- Silence; absence of sound or noise.
- mentre
- While; during; at the same time as.
- ciascuno
- Each; each one; every individual person.
- noi
- We; us; first person plural pronoun.
- agli
- To the; masculine plural preposition article combination.
- occhi
- Eyes; organs of sight on face.
- qualsiasi
- Any; whatever; any kind or type.
- osservatore
- Observer; person who watches or observes carefully.
- occasionale
- Occasional; happening from time to time.
- avrebbe
- Would have; conditional past third person.
- potuto
- Been able; past participle of potere.
- sembrare
- To seem; to appear; to look like.
- intento
- Intent; absorbed; focused on something.
- ed
- And; conjunction used before vowels.
- esclusivamente
- Exclusively; solely; only; to the exclusion.
- occupato
- Occupied; busy; engaged in activity.
- seguire
- To follow; to pursue; to watch carefully.
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article.
- volute
- Spirals; swirls; spiral forms or patterns.
- turbinanti
- Swirling; whirling; spinning in circular motion.
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