Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 7
It is very evident what mean and sneaking lives many of you live, for my sight has been whetted by experience; always on the limits, trying to get into business and trying to get out of debt, a very ancient slough, called by the Latins _æs alienum_, another's brass, for some of their coins were made of brass; still living, and dying, and buried by this other's brass; always promising to pay, promising to pay, tomorrow, and dying today, insolvent; seeking to curry favor, to get custom, by how many modes, only not state-prison offences; lying, flattering, voting, contracting yourselves into a nutshell of civility or dilating into an atmosphere of thin and vaporous generosity, that you may persuade your neighbor to let you make his shoes, or his hat, or his coat, or his carriage, or import his groceries for him; making yourselves sick, that you may lay up something against a sick day, something to be tucked away in an old chest, or in a stocking behind the plastering, or, more safely, in the brick bank; no matter where, no matter how much or how little.
Es ist sehr offensichtlich, was für ein armseliges und kriecherisches Leben viele von Ihnen führen, denn mein Blick ist durch Erfahrung geschärft worden; immer an den Grenzen, versuchen in ein Geschäft einzusteigen und versuchen, aus den Schulden herauszukommen, einem sehr alten Sumpf, von den Lateinern _æs alienum_ genannt, das Messing eines anderen, denn einige ihrer Münzen wurden aus Messing hergestellt; noch immer lebend, und sterbend, und begraben durch dieses Messing eines anderen; immer versprechend zu zahlen, versprechend zu zahlen, morgen, und heute sterbend, zahlungsunfähig; darauf bedacht, sich einzuschmeicheln, Kundschaft zu gewinnen, durch wie viele Mittel auch immer, nur keine staatsgefängnistauglichen Vergehen; lügend, schmeichelnd, abstimmend, euch selbst in eine Nussschale der Höflichkeit zusammenziehend oder euch in eine Atmosphäre dünner und dampfartiger Großzügigkeit ausdehnend, damit ihr euren Nachbarn überreden könnt, euch seine Schuhe, oder seinen Hut, oder seinen Mantel, oder seine Kutsche machen zu lassen, oder seine Lebensmittel für ihn einzuführen; euch selbst krank machend, damit ihr etwas für einen Krankheitstag zurücklegen könnt, etwas, das in einer alten Truhe verstaut werden soll, oder in einem Strumpf hinter dem Putz, oder, sicherer, in der Ziegelsteinbank; gleichgültig wo, gleichgültig wie viel oder wie wenig.
I sometimes wonder that we can be so frivolous, I may almost say, as to attend to the gross but somewhat foreign form of servitude called Negro Slavery, there are so many keen and subtle masters that enslave both north and south.
Ich wundere mich manchmal, dass wir so leichtfertig sein können, ich darf es fast sagen, uns mit der groben, aber irgendwie fremden Form der Knechtschaft zu befassen, die man Negersklaverei nennt, es gibt so viele scharfsinnige und subtile Herren, die sowohl den Norden als auch den Süden versklaven.
Vocabulary
- sehr
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'much'
- offensichtlich
- Adjective meaning 'obvious' or 'evident'
- armseliges
- Adjective meaning 'wretched', 'pitiful', or 'miserable'
- kriecherisches
- Adjective meaning 'crawling', 'groveling', or 'servile'
- Leben
- Noun meaning 'life' or 'existence'
- führen
- Verb meaning 'to lead' or 'to conduct a life'
- denn
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- Blick
- Noun meaning 'glance', 'gaze', or 'view'
- Erfahrung
- Noun meaning 'experience' or 'practical knowledge'
- geschärft
- Past participle meaning 'sharpened' or 'honed'
- immer
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'ever'
- Grenzen
- Noun meaning 'borders', 'limits', or 'boundaries'
- versuchen
- Verb meaning 'to try' or 'to attempt'
- Geschäft
- Noun meaning 'business', 'shop', or 'deal'
- einzusteigen
- Infinitive meaning 'to enter' or 'to get into'
- Schulden
- Noun meaning 'debts' or 'financial obligations'
- herauszukommen
- Infinitive meaning 'to get out of' or 'to escape from'
- Sumpf
- Noun meaning 'swamp', 'bog', or 'marsh'
- genannt
- Past participle meaning 'called' or 'named'
- Messing
- Noun meaning 'brass' (the metal alloy)
- einige
- Determiner meaning 'some' or 'a few'
- Münzen
- Noun meaning 'coins' (plural of Münze)
- hergestellt
- Past participle meaning 'manufactured' or 'produced'
- noch
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'even'
- lebend
- Present participle meaning 'living' or 'while alive'
- sterbend
- Present participle meaning 'dying' or 'while dying'
- begraben
- Verb meaning 'to bury' or past participle 'buried'
- versprechend
- Present participle meaning 'promising' or 'pledging'
- zahlen
- Verb meaning 'to pay' money or a debt
- morgen
- Adverb meaning 'tomorrow'
- heute
- Adverb meaning 'today'
- zahlungsunfähig
- Adjective meaning 'insolvent' or 'unable to pay'
- darauf
- Adverb meaning 'thereupon', 'on it', or 'after that'
- bedacht
- Adjective meaning 'intent on', 'mindful of', or 'focused'
- einzuschmeicheln
- Infinitive meaning 'to ingratiate oneself' or 'to flatter'
- Kundschaft
- Noun meaning 'clientele', 'customers', or 'customer base'
- gewinnen
- Verb meaning 'to win', 'to gain', or 'to acquire'
- Mittel
- Noun meaning 'means', 'resources', or 'methods'
- Vergehen
- Noun meaning 'offense', 'misdemeanor', or 'transgression'
- lügend
- Present participle meaning 'lying' or 'telling falsehoods'
- schmeichelnd
- Present participle meaning 'flattering' or 'complimenting insincerely'
- abstimmend
- Present participle meaning 'voting' or 'coordinating'
- selbst
- Pronoun or adverb meaning 'yourself', 'itself', or 'even'
- Nussschale
- Noun meaning 'nutshell', very small or confined space
- Höflichkeit
- Noun meaning 'politeness', 'courtesy', or 'civility'
- zusammenziehend
- Present participle meaning 'contracting', 'shrinking', or 'condensing'
- Atmosphäre
- Noun meaning 'atmosphere' or 'ambient environment'
- dünner
- Adjective comparative meaning 'thinner' or 'more sparse'
- Großzügigkeit
- Noun meaning 'generosity' or 'magnanimity'
- ausdehnend
- Present participle meaning 'expanding' or 'stretching out'
- damit
- Conjunction meaning 'so that' or 'in order that'
- Nachbarn
- Noun meaning 'neighbors' (plural of Nachbar)
- überreden
- Verb meaning 'to persuade' or 'to talk someone into'
- Schuhe
- Noun meaning 'shoes' (plural of Schuh)
- Hut
- Noun meaning 'hat' worn on the head
- Mantel
- Noun meaning 'coat' or 'overcoat'
- Kutsche
- Noun meaning 'carriage' or 'horse-drawn coach'
- lassen
- Verb meaning 'to let', 'to allow', or 'to have done'
- Lebensmittel
- Noun meaning 'groceries', 'food', or 'provisions'
- einzuführen
- Infinitive meaning 'to import', 'to introduce', or 'to bring in'
- krank
- Adjective meaning 'sick' or 'ill'
- Krankheitstag
- Noun meaning 'sick day' taken due to illness
- zurücklegen
- Verb meaning 'to set aside', 'to save', or 'to cover a distance'
- Truhe
- Noun meaning 'chest' or 'trunk' for storing items
- verstaut
- Past participle meaning 'stowed', 'stored', or 'packed away'
- werden
- Auxiliary verb meaning 'to become' or future/passive marker
- soll
- Modal verb meaning 'shall', 'should', or 'is supposed to'
- Strumpf
- Noun meaning 'stocking' or 'sock'
- hinter
- Preposition meaning 'behind' or 'at the back of'
- Putz
- Noun meaning 'plaster', 'render', or decorative trim
- sicherer
- Adjective comparative meaning 'safer' or 'more secure'
- gleichgültig
- Adjective meaning 'indifferent', 'apathetic', or 'regardless'
- viel
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'much' or 'a lot'
- wenig
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'little' or 'few'
- wundere
- Verb form of 'sich wundern', meaning 'to wonder' or 'to be surprised'
- manchmal
- Adverb meaning 'sometimes' or 'occasionally'
- leichtfertig
- Adjective meaning 'careless', 'reckless', or 'flippant'
- können
- Modal verb meaning 'to be able to' or 'can'
- darf
- First person singular of 'dürfen', meaning 'may' or 'am allowed'
- fast
- Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly'
- sagen
- Verb meaning 'to say' or 'to tell'
- groben
- Adjective meaning 'coarse', 'rough', or 'crude'
- irgendwie
- Adverb meaning 'somehow' or 'in some way'
- fremden
- Adjective meaning 'foreign', 'strange', or 'alien'
- Form
- Noun meaning 'form', 'shape', or 'type'
- Knechtschaft
- Noun meaning 'servitude', 'bondage', or 'serfdom'
- befassen
- Verb meaning 'to deal with', 'to occupy oneself with'
- man
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one', 'you', or 'they' generally
- nennt
- Third person singular of 'nennen', meaning 'calls' or 'names'
- gibt
- Third person singular of 'geben', 'es gibt' means 'there are'
- scharfsinnige
- Adjective meaning 'astute', 'shrewd', or 'sharp-minded'
- subtile
- Adjective meaning 'subtle' or 'nuanced'
- Herren
- Noun meaning 'masters', 'gentlemen', or 'lords'
- sowohl
- Conjunction used in 'sowohl…als auch' meaning 'both…and'
- Norden
- Noun meaning 'north' or 'the North'
- Süden
- Noun meaning 'south' or 'the South'
- versklaven
- Verb meaning 'to enslave' or 'to reduce to slavery'
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