Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None — Page 8
—And now, after having been long on the way in this fashion, we Argonauts of the ideal, more courageous perhaps than prudent, and often enough shipwrecked and brought to grief, nevertheless dangerously healthy, always healthy again,—it would seem as if, in recompense for it all, that we have a still undiscovered country before us, the boundaries of which no one has yet seen, a beyond to all countries and corners of the ideal known hitherto, a world so over-rich in the beautiful, the strange, the questionable, the frightful, and the divine, that our curiosity as well as our thirst for possession thereof, have got out of hand—alas! that nothing will now any longer satisfy us!—
—E ora, dopo essere stati a lungo in cammino in tal modo, noi Argonauti dell'ideale, più coraggiosi forse che prudenti, e abbastanza spesso naufragati e ridotti alla disperazione, eppure pericolosamente sani, sempre di nuovo sani,—sembrerebbe quasi che, in compenso di tutto ciò, abbiamo davanti a noi un paese ancora inesplorato, i cui confini nessuno ha ancora visto, un al di là di tutti i paesi e di tutti gli angoli dell'ideale finora conosciuti, un mondo così straordinariamente ricco di bello, di strano, di problematico, di terribile e di divino, che la nostra curiosità come pure la nostra sete di possesso ne sono andate fuori controllo—ahimè! che nulla ormai potrà più soddisfarci!—
"How could we still be content with THE MAN OF THE PRESENT DAY after such outlooks, and with such a craving in our conscience and consciousness? Sad enough; but it is unavoidable that we should look on the worthiest aims and hopes of the man of the present-day with ill-concealed amusement, and perhaps should no longer look at them.
"Come potremmo ancora accontentarci dell'UOMO DEL GIORNO PRESENTE dopo simili prospettive, e con un tale desiderio ardente nella nostra coscienza e consapevolezza? Abbastanza triste; ma è inevitabile che guardiamo ai più degni scopi e speranze dell'uomo del giorno presente con mal celato divertimento, e forse non dovremmo più guardarli affatto.
Vocabulary
- E
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- ora
- Now; at the present moment
- dopo
- After; following in time or order
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary verb
- stati
- Been; past participle of 'essere'
- a
- To; at; preposition indicating direction or location
- lungo
- Long; extended in time or space
- in
- In; inside; preposition of location
- cammino
- Journey; path; the act of walking or traveling
- tal
- Such; of this kind; short form of 'tale'
- modo
- Way; manner; method of doing something
- noi
- We; first person plural pronoun
- dell'
- Of the; contracted preposition before vowel
- ideale
- Ideal; a perfect standard or aspiration
- più
- More; to a greater degree or extent
- coraggiosi
- Courageous; brave; showing fearlessness and daring
- forse
- Perhaps; maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility
- che
- That; which; who; subordinating conjunction
- prudenti
- Prudent; cautious; showing careful good judgment
- e
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- abbastanza
- Enough; fairly; sufficiently; quite often
- spesso
- Often; frequently; happening many times
- naufragati
- Shipwrecked; having suffered a wreck at sea
- ridotti
- Reduced; brought down to a lesser state
- alla
- To the; contracted preposition with feminine article
- disperazione
- Desperation; despair; state of hopeless distress
- eppure
- And yet; nevertheless; despite that fact
- pericolosamente
- Dangerously; in a risky or hazardous manner
- sani
- Healthy; in good physical or mental condition
- sempre
- Always; at all times; continuously
- di
- Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin
- nuovo
- New; again; recently made or experienced
- sembrerebbe
- It would seem; conditional form of 'sembrare'
- quasi
- Almost; nearly; not quite reaching a state
- compenso
- Compensation; reward; something given in return
- tutto
- Everything; all; the entirety of something
- ciò
- This; that; referring to something previously mentioned
- abbiamo
- We have; first person plural of 'avere'
- davanti
- In front; ahead; before us spatially
- un
- A; an; indefinite article masculine singular
- paese
- Country; land; village; a place or nation
- ancora
- Still; yet; again; not yet completed
- inesplorato
- Unexplored; not yet examined or discovered
- i
- The; definite article masculine plural
- cui
- Whose; of which; relative pronoun indicating possession
- confini
- Borders; boundaries; limits of a territory
- nessuno
- No one; nobody; not any person
- ha
- Has; third person singular of 'avere'
- visto
- Seen; past participle of 'vedere'
- al
- To the; contracted preposition with masculine article
- là
- There; beyond; in that place
- tutti
- All; everyone; every single one
- paesi
- Countries; lands; villages; plural of 'paese'
- gli
- The; definite article masculine plural before vowels
- angoli
- Corners; angles; remote or hidden areas
- finora
- Until now; so far; up to this point
- conosciuti
- Known; familiar; past participle of 'conoscere'
- mondo
- World; the Earth; all of human existence
- così
- So; thus; in this way or manner
- straordinariamente
- Extraordinarily; in an exceptional and remarkable way
- ricco
- Rich; wealthy; abundant in resources or qualities
- bello
- Beautiful; handsome; pleasing to the senses
- strano
- Strange; odd; unusual or unfamiliar in nature
- problematico
- Problematic; presenting difficulties or causing complications
- terribile
- Terrible; dreadful; causing fear or awe
- divino
- Divine; godlike; relating to or resembling a deity
- la
- The; definite article feminine singular
- nostra
- Our; first person plural possessive feminine form
- curiosità
- Curiosity; desire to learn or know things
- come
- How; like; as; in what manner
- pure
- Also; as well; too; even
- sete
- Thirst; strong desire for liquid or something
- possesso
- Possession; ownership; having or holding something
- ne
- Of it; of them; pronoun replacing a quantity
- sono
- Are; first or third person plural of 'essere'
- andate
- Gone; past participle of 'andare' feminine plural
- fuori
- Outside; out; beyond normal limits or control
- controllo
- Control; restraint; ability to manage or direct
- ahimè
- Alas; exclamation expressing sorrow or regret
- nulla
- Nothing; not anything; complete absence
- ormai
- By now; anymore; at this point in time
- potrà
- Will be able; future tense of 'potere'
- soddisfarci
- Satisfy us; to fulfill our desires or needs
- Come
- How; in what way; interrogative or exclamatory
- potremmo
- We could; conditional of 'potere'
- accontentarci
- Content ourselves; to be satisfied with something
- UOMO
- Man; human being; adult male person
- DEL
- Of the; contracted preposition masculine singular
- GIORNO
- Day; daytime; a period of twenty-four hours
- PRESENTE
- Present; current; existing at this time now
- simili
- Similar; like; such; resembling one another
- prospettive
- Prospects; perspectives; views of future possibilities
- con
- With; together; in company or association
- tale
- Such; of that kind; so great or intense
- desiderio
- Desire; wish; strong longing for something
- ardente
- Ardent; burning; intensely passionate or fervent
- nella
- In the; contracted preposition feminine singular
- coscienza
- Conscience; consciousness; moral awareness within oneself
- consapevolezza
- Awareness; consciousness; knowledge of one's situation
- Abbastanza
- Enough; fairly; sufficiently; quite or rather
- triste
- Sad; sorrowful; unhappy in feeling or mood
- ma
- But; however; introducing a contrasting idea
- è
- Is; third person singular of 'essere'
- inevitabile
- Inevitable; unavoidable; certain to happen eventually
- guardiamo
- We look at; we observe; first plural indicative
- ai
- To the; contracted preposition masculine plural
- degni
- Worthy; deserving; meeting a standard of merit
- scopi
- Goals; purposes; aims or objectives to achieve
- speranze
- Hopes; expectations; feelings of desired future outcomes
- uomo
- Man; human being; an adult male person
- del
- Of the; contracted preposition masculine singular
- giorno
- Day; daytime period of twenty-four hours
- presente
- Present; current time; existing right now
- mal
- Poorly; badly; short form of 'male'
- celato
- Hidden; concealed; kept secret or out of sight
- divertimento
- Entertainment; amusement; activity done for pleasure
- non
- Not; negation particle used before verbs
- dovremmo
- We should; conditional tense of 'dovere'
- guardarli
- Look at them; to observe them; infinitive with clitic
- affatto
- At all; completely; used to strengthen negation
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