Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 4
The twelve labors of Hercules were trifling in comparison with those which my neighbors have undertaken; for they were only twelve, and had an end; but I could never see that these men slew or captured any monster or finished any labor.
Le dodici fatiche di Ercole erano insignificanti in confronto a quelle che i miei vicini hanno intrapreso; poiché erano soltanto dodici, e avevano una fine; ma non riuscii mai a vedere che questi uomini uccidessero o catturassero alcun mostro o portassero a termine alcuna fatica.
They have no friend Iolas to burn with a hot iron the root of the hydra's head, but as soon as one head is crushed, two spring up.
Non hanno un amico Iola che bruci con un ferro rovente la radice della testa dell'idra, ma non appena una testa viene schiacciata, ne spuntano due.
I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of.
Vedo giovani uomini, miei concittadini, la cui sfortuna è quella di aver ereditato fattorie, case, granai, bestiame e attrezzi agricoli; poiché queste cose si acquistano più facilmente di quanto non ci si liberi di esse.
Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.
Meglio sarebbe stato se fossero nati nel pascolo aperto e allattati da una lupa, così avrebbero potuto vedere con occhi più chiari in quale campo erano chiamati a lavorare.
Who made them serfs of the soil?
Chi li ha resi servi della gleba?
Why should they eat their sixty acres, when man is condemned to eat only his peck of dirt?
Perché dovrebbero consumarsi i loro sessanta acri, quando l'uomo è condannato a inghiottire solo la sua piccola dose di terra?
Why should they begin digging their graves as soon as they are born?
Perché dovrebbero cominciare a scavarsi la fossa non appena vengono al mondo?
They have got to live a man's life, pushing all these things before them, and get on as well as they can.
Devono vivere la vita di un uomo, spingendo davanti a sé tutte queste cose, e andare avanti come meglio possono.
How many a poor immortal soul have I met well nigh crushed and smothered under its load, creeping down the road of life, pushing before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty, its Augean stables never cleansed, and one hundred acres of land, tillage, mowing, pasture, and wood-lot!
Quante povere anime immortali ho incontrato quasi del tutto schiacciate e soffocate sotto il loro carico, che strisciavano lungo la strada della vita, spingendo davanti a sé un granaio di settantacinque piedi per quaranta, le loro stalle augiane mai ripulite, e cento acri di terra tra campi coltivati, prati da falciare, pascoli e boschi!
Vocabulary
- dodici
- The number twelve
- fatiche
- Labors, toils, or arduous tasks
- Ercole
- Hercules, hero of Greek and Roman mythology
- erano
- They were; third person plural imperfect of essere
- insignificanti
- Insignificant, trivial, of little importance
- confronto
- Comparison or contrast between two things
- quelle
- Those; feminine plural demonstrative pronoun
- vicini
- Neighbors or nearby people
- intrapreso
- Undertaken or started a task or endeavor
- poiché
- Conjunction meaning since, because, or given that
- soltanto
- Only, merely, just; used to restrict a statement
- fine
- End or conclusion of something
- riuscii
- I managed or succeeded; first person singular passato remoto of riuscire
- mai
- Never or ever; negation or emphasis adverb
- vedere
- To see or to witness something
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative adjective
- uomini
- Men; plural of uomo
- uccidessero
- They killed; third person plural imperfect subjunctive of uccidere
- catturassero
- They captured; third person plural imperfect subjunctive of catturare
- alcun
- Any or some; used in negative or indefinite contexts
- mostro
- Monster or frightening creature
- portassero
- They brought or carried; imperfect subjunctive of portare
- termine
- End, term, or conclusion of something
- alcuna
- Any or some; feminine form of alcuno
- fatica
- Toil, labor, or physical effort
- amico
- Friend or close companion
- bruci
- Burns; third person singular present subjunctive of bruciare
- ferro
- Iron; a metal or a branding tool
- rovente
- Red-hot, burning, or scorching hot
- radice
- Root of a plant or base of something
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the body
- idra
- Hydra; mythological multi-headed serpent creature
- appena
- As soon as or just barely
- schiacciata
- Crushed, squashed, or pressed flat
- ne
- Pronoun meaning of it, from it, or some
- spuntano
- They sprout or emerge; third person plural present
- giovani
- Young people or youth
- concittadini
- Fellow citizens or townspeople
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning whose, whom, or which
- sfortuna
- Misfortune, bad luck, or ill fate
- quella
- That; feminine singular demonstrative pronoun
- ereditato
- Inherited; received property or traits from ancestors
- fattorie
- Farms; agricultural properties or rural estates
- case
- Houses or homes; plural of casa
- granai
- Granaries or barns for storing grain
- bestiame
- Livestock or farm animals collectively
- attrezzi
- Tools or implements used for work
- agricoli
- Agricultural; relating to farming or cultivation
- queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective
- cose
- Things or objects; plural of cosa
- acquistano
- They acquire or buy; third person plural present
- più
- More or most; comparative adverb
- facilmente
- Easily or without difficulty
- quanto
- How much or as much as
- liberi
- Frees; third person singular present of liberare
- esse
- Them; feminine third person plural pronoun
- Meglio
- Better; comparative adverb of bene
- sarebbe
- Would be; third person singular conditional of essere
- fossero
- Were; third person plural imperfect subjunctive of essere
- nati
- Born; past participle plural of nascere
- pascolo
- Pasture or grazing land for animals
- aperto
- Open or unclosed; adjective from aprire
- allattati
- Suckled or nursed; fed with milk at birth
- lupa
- She-wolf; female wolf
- così
- Thus, so, or in this way
- avrebbero
- They would have; third person plural conditional of avere
- potuto
- Been able; past participle of potere
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio
- chiari
- Clear or bright; plural adjective of chiaro
- quale
- Which or what; interrogative or relative pronoun
- campo
- Field or open land for farming
- chiamati
- Called or summoned; past participle plural of chiamare
- lavorare
- To work or to labor
- Chi
- Who; interrogative pronoun referring to people
- resi
- Made or rendered; past participle plural of rendere
- servi
- Servants or serfs; plural of servo
- gleba
- Glebe or sod; land bound to feudal serfs
- Perché
- Why or because; interrogative and causal conjunction
- dovrebbero
- They should; third person plural conditional of dovere
- consumarsi
- To wear oneself out or be consumed entirely
- sessanta
- The number sixty
- acri
- Acres; units of land measurement
- quando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- uomo
- Man; an adult male person
- condannato
- Condemned or sentenced; doomed to something
- inghiottire
- To swallow or gulp down
- solo
- Only, alone, or just; adjective or adverb
- piccola
- Small or little; feminine singular adjective
- dose
- Dose or portion of something
- terra
- Earth, land, or soil
- cominciare
- To begin or start something
- scavarsi
- To dig oneself; reflexive form of scavare
- fossa
- Pit, ditch, or grave dug in the ground
- vengono
- They come; third person plural present of venire
- mondo
- World or the realm of human existence
- Devono
- They must; third person plural present of dovere
- vivere
- To live or to exist
- vita
- Life or the state of living
- spingendo
- Pushing; present participle of spingere
- davanti
- In front or ahead; positional adverb
- sé
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun used with prepositions
- tutte
- All; feminine plural of tutto
- andare
- To go or to move forward
- avanti
- Forward or ahead; directional adverb
- meglio
- Better; comparative adverb of bene
- possono
- They can; third person plural present of potere
- Quante
- How many; feminine plural interrogative adjective
- povere
- Poor or wretched; feminine plural of povero
- anime
- Souls or spirits; plural of anima
- immortali
- Immortal; not subject to death, undying
- incontrato
- Met or encountered; past participle of incontrare
- quasi
- Almost or nearly; adverb of approximation
- tutto
- Everything or completely; pronoun or adverb
- schiacciate
- Crushed or squashed flat; feminine plural past participle
- soffocate
- Suffocated or stifled; deprived of air or freedom
- sotto
- Under or below; positional preposition
- carico
- Load, burden, or cargo
- strisciavano
- They crawled or crept; imperfect of strisciare
- lungo
- Along or long; preposition or adjective
- strada
- Road, street, or path
- granaio
- Granary or barn for storing grain
- settantacinque
- The number seventy-five
- piedi
- Feet; plural of piede, unit of measurement or body part
- quaranta
- The number forty
- stalle
- Stables or stalls for housing animals
- ripulite
- Cleaned out or tidied up; past participle plural
- cento
- One hundred; cardinal number
- tra
- Between, among, or within; preposition
- campi
- Fields; plural of campo
- coltivati
- Cultivated or farmed; past participle plural of coltivare
- prati
- Meadows or grassy fields; plural of prato
- falciare
- To mow or cut grass with a scythe
- pascoli
- Pastures or grazing lands; plural of pascolo
- boschi
- Woods or forests; plural of bosco
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