Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None — Page 15
" My brother was very much discouraged by the feebleness of the response he was given, and as he was striving just then to give up the practice of taking hydrate of chloral—a drug he had begun to take while ill with influenza,—the following spring, spent in Rome, was a somewhat gloomy one for him.
Mi hermano estaba muy desanimado por la debilidad de la respuesta que se le dio, y como en ese momento se esforzaba por abandonar el hábito de tomar hidrato de cloral —un medicamento que había comenzado a tomar durante una enfermedad de gripe—, la primavera siguiente, pasada en Roma, fue para él algo sombría.
He writes about it as follows:—"I spent a melancholy spring in Rome, where I only just managed to live,—and this was no easy matter.
Él escribe sobre ello de la siguiente manera: «Pasé una primavera melancólica en Roma, donde apenas logré sobrevivir, y esto no fue cosa fácil.
This city, which is absolutely unsuited to the poet-author of 'Zarathustra', and for the choice of which I was not responsible, made me inordinately miserable.
Esta ciudad, que es absolutamente inadecuada para el poeta-autor de 'Zaratustra', y por cuya elección yo no era responsable, me hizo desgraciado en extremo.
I tried to leave it.
Intenté abandonarla.
I wanted to go to Aquila—the opposite of Rome in every respect, and actually founded in a spirit of enmity towards that city (just as I also shall found a city some day), as a memento of an atheist and genuine enemy of the Church—a person very closely related to me,—the great Hohenstaufen, the Emperor Frederick II.
Quería ir a Aquila —lo opuesto de Roma en todos los sentidos, y fundada precisamente con un espíritu de enemistad hacia esa ciudad (tal como yo también fundaré una ciudad algún día), como recuerdo de un ateo y verdadero enemigo de la Iglesia —una persona muy estrechamente relacionada conmigo—, el gran Hohenstaufen, el emperador Federico II.
But Fate lay behind it all: I had to return again to Rome.
Pero el Destino estaba detrás de todo ello: tuve que regresar de nuevo a Roma.
In the end I was obliged to be satisfied with the Piazza Barberini, after I had exerted myself in vain to find an anti-Christian quarter.
Al final me vi obligado a conformarme con la Piazza Barberini, después de haberme esforzado en vano por encontrar un barrio anticristiano.
I fear that on one occasion, to avoid bad smells as much as possible, I actually inquired at the Palazzo del Quirinale whether they could not provide a quiet room for a philosopher.
Me temo que en una ocasión, para evitar los malos olores en la medida de lo posible, llegué a preguntar en el Palazzo del Quirinale si no podían proporcionarle una habitación tranquila a un filósofo.
Vocabulary
- Mi
- My; possessive adjective first person singular
- hermano
- Brother; male sibling
- estaba
- Was; imperfect past tense of estar
- muy
- Very; adverb of degree or intensity
- desanimado
- Discouraged, disheartened; lacking enthusiasm or hope
- por
- By, for, through; preposition indicating cause or agent
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- debilidad
- Weakness; lack of strength or vigor
- de
- Of, from; preposition indicating possession or origin
- respuesta
- Response, answer; reaction to question or situation
- que
- That, which, who; relative or subordinating conjunction
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- le
- To him, to her; indirect object pronoun
- dio
- Gave; past tense of dar
- como
- As, like; preposition or conjunction of comparison
- en
- In, on, at; preposition indicating location or time
- ese
- That; demonstrative adjective masculine singular
- momento
- Moment; brief period of time
- esforzaba
- Strived, tried hard; imperfect of esforzarse
- abandonar
- To abandon, give up; to leave behind
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- hábito
- Habit, custom; regular pattern of behavior
- tomar
- To take, drink; common verb with multiple uses
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- medicamento
- Medication, medicine; substance for treating illness
- había
- Had; pluperfect past tense of haber
- comenzado
- Begun, started; past participle of comenzar
- durante
- During; preposition indicating time span
- una
- A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- enfermedad
- Illness, disease; state of being unwell
- gripe
- Flu, influenza; viral respiratory infection
- primavera
- Spring; season between winter and summer
- siguiente
- Following, next; occurring after something else
- pasada
- Past, passed; feminine form of past adjective
- fue
- Was; past tense of ser
- para
- For; preposition indicating purpose or destination
- él
- He; masculine third person singular pronoun
- algo
- Something; indefinite pronoun or adverb
- sombría
- Dark, gloomy; lacking light or cheerfulness
- Él
- He; masculine third person singular pronoun
- escribe
- Writes; present tense of escribir
- sobre
- On, about, over; preposition
- ello
- It; neuter pronoun referring to ideas
- manera
- Way, manner; mode or method of doing
- Pasé
- I spent, passed; past tense of pasar
- melancólica
- Melancholic, sad; characterized by gloom
- donde
- Where; adverb or conjunction of place
- apenas
- Hardly, scarcely; barely, almost not
- logré
- Managed, succeeded; past tense of lograr
- sobrevivir
- To survive; to remain alive despite difficulty
- esto
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- no
- No, not; negation adverb
- cosa
- Thing; object or matter
- fácil
- Easy; not difficult or challenging
- Esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- ciudad
- City; urban area with many inhabitants
- es
- Is; present tense of ser
- absolutamente
- Absolutely; completely, totally, entirely
- inadecuada
- Inadequate, unsuitable; not good enough
- poeta
- Poet; person who writes poetry
- autor
- Author; person who writes books
- cuya
- Whose; relative possessive adjective feminine
- elección
- Choice, election; act of selecting
- yo
- I; first person singular pronoun
- era
- Was; imperfect past tense of ser
- responsable
- Responsible; accountable or liable
- me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun
- hizo
- Made, did; past tense of hacer
- desgraciado
- Unfortunate, wretched; very unlucky or unhappy
- extremo
- Extreme, utmost; of greatest degree
- Intenté
- I tried, attempted; past tense of intentar
- abandonarla
- To abandon it; infinitive with feminine pronoun
- Quería
- Wanted, desired; imperfect of querer
- ir
- To go; infinitive of ir
- lo
- It; masculine singular direct object pronoun
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