Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 5
The portionless, who struggle with no such unnecessary inherited encumbrances, find it labor enough to subdue and cultivate a few cubic feet of flesh.
Los que no tienen herencia, que no luchan con tales cargas hereditarias innecesarias, encuentran que ya es bastante trabajo someter y cultivar unos pocos pies cúbicos de carne.
But men labor under a mistake.
Pero los hombres trabajan bajo un error.
The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost.
La mejor parte del hombre pronto es arada en la tierra como abono.
By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, as it says in an old book, laying up treasures which moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal.
Por un destino aparente, comúnmente llamado necesidad, se ocupan, como dice un libro antiguo, en atesorar riquezas que la polilla y el óxido corromperán y los ladrones horadarán y robarán.
It is a fool's life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before.
Es la vida de un necio, como descubrirán cuando lleguen al final de ella, si no antes.
It is said that Deucalion and Pyrrha created men by throwing stones over their heads behind them:—
Se dice que Deucalión y Pirra crearon a los hombres lanzando piedras por encima de sus cabezas hacia atrás:—
Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum, Et documenta damus quâ simus origine nati.
Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum, Et documenta damus quâ simus origine nati.
Or, as Raleigh rhymes it in his sonorous way,—
O, como lo versifica Raleigh a su sonora manera,—
"From thence our kind hard-hearted is, enduring pain and care, Approving that our bodies of a stony nature are."
«De allí que nuestra estirpe sea de corazón duro, soportando dolor y aflicción, demostrando que nuestros cuerpos son de naturaleza pétrea.»
So much for a blind obedience to a blundering oracle, throwing the stones over their heads behind them, and not seeing where they fell.
Así es la obediencia ciega a un oráculo torpe, que lanza las piedras por encima de sus cabezas hacia atrás sin ver dónde caen.
Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them.
La mayoría de los hombres, incluso en este país comparativamente libre, por pura ignorancia y error, están tan ocupados con las preocupaciones artificiales y los trabajos groseramente superfluos de la vida que no pueden recoger sus frutos más delicados.
Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that.
Sus dedos, a causa del excesivo trabajo, son demasiado torpes y tiemblan demasiado para ello.
Vocabulary
- Los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- que
- That, which, who (relative pronoun)
- no
- Not, no (negation)
- tienen
- They have (third person plural of tener)
- herencia
- Inheritance, legacy, heritage
- luchan
- They fight, struggle (third person plural of luchar)
- con
- With (preposition)
- tales
- Such, such kind of (adjective)
- cargas
- Loads, burdens, charges (plural noun)
- hereditarias
- Hereditary, inherited (feminine plural adjective)
- innecesarias
- Unnecessary, not needed (feminine plural adjective)
- encuentran
- They find, meet (third person plural of encontrar)
- ya
- Already, now, then (adverb)
- es
- Is (third person singular of ser)
- bastante
- Enough, quite, sufficient (adjective/adverb)
- trabajo
- Work, labor, job (noun)
- someter
- To submit, subject, subdue (verb)
- cultivar
- To cultivate, grow, develop (verb)
- unos
- Some, a few (masculine plural)
- pocos
- Few, a few (masculine plural adjective)
- pies
- Feet (plural noun)
- cúbicos
- Cubic (masculine plural adjective)
- de
- Of, from (preposition)
- carne
- Meat, flesh, body (noun)
- Pero
- But, however (conjunction)
- los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- hombres
- Men, humans (plural noun)
- trabajan
- They work (third person plural of trabajar)
- bajo
- Under, below, low (preposition/adjective)
- un
- A, an (masculine singular indefinite article)
- error
- Error, mistake (noun)
- La
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- mejor
- Better, best (adjective/adverb)
- parte
- Part, portion, side (noun)
- del
- Of the, from the (preposition + article)
- hombre
- Man, human, mankind (noun)
- pronto
- Soon, quickly, promptly (adverb)
- en
- In, on, at (preposition)
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- tierra
- Earth, land, ground, soil (noun)
- como
- Like, as, how (preposition/adverb/conjunction)
- Por
- By, for, through (preposition)
- destino
- Destiny, fate, destination (noun)
- aparente
- Apparent, seeming, obvious (adjective)
- comúnmente
- Commonly, usually, generally (adverb)
- llamado
- Called, named (past participle/adjective)
- necesidad
- Necessity, need, requirement (noun)
- se
- Oneself, themselves (reflexive pronoun)
- ocupan
- They occupy, busy themselves (third person plural of ocupar)
- dice
- Says, tells (third person singular of decir)
- libro
- Book (noun)
- antiguo
- Ancient, old, antique (adjective)
- riquezas
- Riches, wealth, treasures (plural noun)
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- ladrones
- Thieves, robbers (plural noun)
- robarán
- Will steal, will rob (third person plural future of robar)
- Es
- Is (third person singular of ser)
- vida
- Life, living (noun)
- necio
- Foolish, stupid, fool (adjective/noun)
- descubrirán
- Will discover, will find out (third person plural future of descubrir)
- cuando
- When (adverb/conjunction)
- lleguen
- They arrive, come (third person plural subjunctive of llegar)
- al
- To the, at the (preposition + article)
- final
- Final, end (adjective/noun)
- ella
- She, her (feminine singular pronoun)
- si
- If (conjunction)
- antes
- Before, previously (adverb)
- Se
- Oneself, themselves (reflexive pronoun)
- crearon
- They created (third person plural preterite of crear)
- lanzando
- Throwing, hurling, launching (present participle of lanzar)
- piedras
- Stones, rocks (plural noun)
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