Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 10
Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost.
La vejez no está mejor, apenas igual de bien, cualificada para ser instructora que la juventud, pues no ha ganado tanto como ha perdido.
One may almost doubt if the wisest man has learned any thing of absolute value by living.
Casi se podría dudar de si el hombre más sabio ha aprendido algo de valor absoluto por el hecho de vivir.
Practically, the old have no very important advice to give the young, their own experience has been so partial, and their lives have been such miserable failures, for private reasons, as they must believe; and it may be that they have some faith left which belies that experience, and they are only less young than they were.
En la práctica, los viejos no tienen ningún consejo muy importante que dar a los jóvenes, su propia experiencia ha sido tan parcial, y sus vidas han sido tan miserables fracasos, por razones privadas, según deben creer; y puede ser que les quede alguna fe que contradice esa experiencia, y que simplemente sean menos jóvenes de lo que eran.
I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors.
He vivido unos treinta años en este planeta, y todavía no he escuchado la primera sílaba de un consejo valioso o siquiera sincero por parte de mis mayores.
They have told me nothing, and probably cannot tell me any thing to the purpose.
No me han dicho nada, y probablemente no pueden decirme nada que venga al caso.
Here is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me; but it does not avail me that they have tried it.
He aquí la vida, un experimento en gran medida no ensayado por mí; pero de nada me sirve que ellos lo hayan ensayado.
If I have any experience which I think valuable, I am sure to reflect that this my Mentors said nothing about.
Si tengo alguna experiencia que considero valiosa, estoy seguro de advertir que sobre esto mis Mentores no dijeron nada.
One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plough along in spite of every obstacle.
Un granjero me dice: «No puedes vivir únicamente de alimentos vegetales, pues no proporcionan nada con qué formar los huesos»; y así dedica religiosamente una parte de su día a abastecer a su organismo con la materia prima de los huesos; caminando todo el tiempo que habla detrás de sus bueyes, los cuales, con huesos formados de vegetales, lo arrastran a él y a su pesado arado hacia adelante a pesar de todo obstáculo.
Vocabulary
- vejez
- Old age, the later stage of life
- mejor
- Better or best; comparative form of 'bueno'
- apenas
- Hardly, scarcely, or just barely
- igual
- Equal, same, or alike in comparison
- cualificada
- Qualified, having the required skills or credentials
- instructora
- Female instructor or teacher of a subject
- juventud
- Youth, the period of being young
- pues
- Well, since, because; used as a connector
- ganado
- Gained or won; past participle of 'ganar'
- tanto
- So much, as much; indicates a large degree
- perdido
- Lost; past participle of 'perder'
- Casi
- Almost, nearly; close to but not completely
- podría
- Could, would be able to; conditional of 'poder'
- dudar
- To doubt, to be uncertain about something
- sabio
- Wise, learned; having great knowledge and judgment
- aprendido
- Learned; past participle of 'aprender'
- valor
- Value, worth, or courage; importance of something
- absoluto
- Absolute, complete, total without exception
- hecho
- Fact, deed; also past participle of 'hacer'
- práctica
- Practice, practical application of something
- viejos
- Old people, the elderly; plural of 'viejo'
- ningún
- No, none, not any; negative adjective
- consejo
- Advice, counsel given to guide someone
- jóvenes
- Young people, youth; plural of 'joven'
- propia
- Own, one's own; belonging to oneself
- experiencia
- Experience, knowledge gained through living
- parcial
- Partial, biased, incomplete or one-sided
- vidas
- Lives; plural of 'vida', the existence of living
- miserables
- Miserable, wretched, extremely unhappy or poor
- fracasos
- Failures, unsuccessful attempts or outcomes
- razones
- Reasons, causes, or justifications for something
- privadas
- Private, personal, not public; feminine plural
- según
- According to, depending on circumstances
- creer
- To believe, to think something is true
- quede
- Remain, be left; subjunctive of 'quedar'
- fe
- Faith, belief, trust in something or someone
- contradice
- Contradicts, goes against a statement or belief
- simplemente
- Simply, merely, just; in a simple manner
- vivido
- Lived; past participle of 'vivir'
- treinta
- Thirty; the number 30
- planeta
- Planet, a celestial body orbiting a star
- todavía
- Still, yet; indicates continuation of a state
- escuchado
- Listened, heard; past participle of 'escuchar'
- sílaba
- Syllable, a unit of pronunciation in words
- valioso
- Valuable, precious, worth a great deal
- siquiera
- Even, at least; used to emphasize minimum expectation
- sincero
- Sincere, honest, genuine in feeling or expression
- parte
- Part, portion; also side or direction
- mayores
- Elders, older people; plural of 'mayor'
- dicho
- Said, told; past participle of 'decir'
- probablemente
- Probably, likely; adverb of probability
- decirme
- Tell me; infinitive 'decir' with attached pronoun
- venga
- Come; subjunctive or imperative of 'venir'
- caso
- Case, situation, instance relevant to discussion
- experimento
- Experiment, a test to discover or verify something
- medida
- Measure, extent, degree of something
- ensayado
- Tried, tested, rehearsed; past participle of 'ensayar'
- sirve
- Serves, is useful; third person singular of 'servir'
- considero
- I consider, regard; first person of 'considerar'
- valiosa
- Valuable, precious; feminine form of 'valioso'
- seguro
- Sure, certain, safe; confident about something
- advertir
- To warn, to advise or alert someone
- Mentores
- Mentors, experienced advisors who guide others
- dijeron
- They said; third person plural preterite of 'decir'
- granjero
- Farmer, a person who works on a farm
- únicamente
- Only, solely, exclusively; limiting adverb
- alimentos
- Foods, nourishment; things consumed for sustenance
- vegetales
- Vegetables, plant-based foods
- proporcionan
- Provide, supply, furnish; third person plural of 'proporcionar'
- formar
- To form, to build, to shape something
- huesos
- Bones, the hard structures forming the skeleton
- así
- Thus, so, in this way; manner adverb
- dedica
- Dedicates, devotes time or effort to something
- religiosamente
- Religiously, faithfully, with great dedication
- abastecer
- To supply, to provide with necessary goods
- organismo
- Organism, body; a living system or entity
- materia
- Matter, material, substance; raw physical content
- prima
- Raw, primary; as in 'materia prima' (raw material)
- caminando
- Walking; present participle of 'caminar'
- detrás
- Behind, in back of; positional preposition
- bueyes
- Oxen, castrated bulls used for farming labor
- formados
- Formed, shaped; past participle of 'formar'
- arrastran
- Drag, pull along the ground; third person plural
- pesado
- Heavy, weighty; describing great physical weight
- arado
- Plow, a farming tool used to till soil
- hacia
- Toward, towards; preposition of direction
- adelante
- Forward, ahead; in a forward direction
- pesar
- Despite, in spite of; used in 'a pesar de'
- obstáculo
- Obstacle, hindrance, something blocking progress
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