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.
È molto evidente che vita meschina e furtiva conducano molti di voi, poiché la mia vista è stata affilata dall'esperienza; sempre al limite, cercando di avviare un'attività e cercando di uscire dai debiti, un pantano antichissimo, chiamato dai Latini _æs alienum_, il bronzo altrui, poiché alcune delle loro monete erano fatte di bronzo; ancora vivendo, e morendo, e sepolti dal bronzo altrui; sempre promettendo di pagare, promettendo di pagare, domani, e morendo oggi, insolventi; cercando di ingraziarsi il favore, di acquisire clientela, con quanti modi, solo non reati da prigione di Stato; mentendo, adulando, votando, contraendovi in un guscio di noce di cortesia o dilatandovi in un'atmosfera di generosità sottile e vaporosa, affinché possiate persuadere il vostro vicino a lasciarvi fare le sue scarpe, o il suo cappello, o il suo cappotto, o la sua carrozza, o importare per lui i suoi generi alimentari; facendovi ammalare, affinché possiate mettere da parte qualcosa per un giorno di malattia, qualcosa da riporre in un vecchio baule, o in una calza dietro l'intonaco, o, più sicuramente, nella banca di mattoni; non importa dove, non importa quanto o quanto poco.
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.
A volte mi stupisco che possiamo essere così frivoli, potrei quasi dire, da prestare attenzione alla forma grossolana ma in qualche modo estranea di servitù chiamata Schiavitù dei Negri, ci sono così tanti padroni acuti e sottili che asservono sia il nord che il sud.
Vocabulary
- molto
- Very; a lot; much
- evidente
- Evident; obvious; clearly apparent
- che
- That; which; who; what
- vita
- Life; existence; way of living
- meschina
- Mean; petty; wretched; miserable
- furtiva
- Furtive; stealthy; secretive; sneaky
- conducano
- They lead; they conduct (subjunctive mood)
- molti
- Many; a large number of people
- voi
- You (plural); second person plural pronoun
- poiché
- Since; because; given that
- vista
- Sight; vision; eyesight; view
- affilata
- Sharpened; honed; made keen or sharp
- esperienza
- Experience; knowledge gained through practice
- sempre
- Always; ever; at all times
- limite
- Limit; boundary; edge; threshold
- cercando
- Searching; looking for; trying
- avviare
- To start; to launch; to set in motion
- attività
- Activity; business; occupation; enterprise
- uscire
- To exit; to go out; to leave
- debiti
- Debts; financial obligations owed to others
- pantano
- Swamp; quagmire; muddy bog; mire
- antichissimo
- Very ancient; extremely old; archaic
- chiamato
- Called; named; referred to as
- bronzo
- Bronze; a copper-tin metal alloy
- altrui
- Of others; belonging to someone else
- alcune
- Some; a few (feminine plural)
- loro
- Their; them; they (pronoun/possessive)
- monete
- Coins; currency; monetary units
- erano
- Were; third person plural imperfect of 'essere'
- fatte
- Made; done (feminine plural past participle)
- ancora
- Still; yet; again; also anchor
- vivendo
- Living; while living (gerund of 'vivere')
- morendo
- Dying; while dying (gerund of 'morire')
- sepolti
- Buried; interred (masculine plural past participle)
- promettendo
- Promising; while promising (gerund of 'promettere')
- pagare
- To pay; to settle a debt or bill
- domani
- Tomorrow; the following day
- oggi
- Today; the present day
- insolventi
- Insolvent; unable to pay debts
- ingraziarsi
- To ingratiate oneself; to win favor
- favore
- Favor; goodwill; approval; help
- acquisire
- To acquire; to obtain; to gain
- clientela
- Clientele; customers; customer base
- quanti
- How many; as many as
- modi
- Ways; methods; manners; means
- solo
- Only; alone; just; sole
- reati
- Crimes; criminal offenses; illegal acts
- prigione
- Prison; jail; place of incarceration
- Stato
- State; nation; government authority
- mentendo
- Lying; while lying (gerund of 'mentire')
- adulando
- Flattering; while flattering (gerund of 'adulare')
- votando
- Voting; while voting (gerund of 'votare')
- guscio
- Shell; husk; pod; outer casing
- noce
- Walnut; nut; walnut tree
- cortesia
- Courtesy; politeness; kindness; civility
- atmosfera
- Atmosphere; air; ambiance; mood
- generosità
- Generosity; liberality; giving nature
- sottile
- Thin; subtle; fine; delicate
- vaporosa
- Vaporous; airy; misty; gossamer-like
- affinché
- So that; in order that; to the end
- possiate
- You may; you can (subjunctive of 'potere')
- persuadere
- To persuade; to convince; to win over
- vostro
- Your (masculine singular possessive, plural subject)
- vicino
- Neighbor; nearby; close; adjacent
- lasciarvi
- To let you; to leave you; to allow you
- fare
- To do; to make; a very common verb
- scarpe
- Shoes; footwear worn on the feet
- cappello
- Hat; cap; head covering
- cappotto
- Coat; overcoat; heavy outer garment
- carrozza
- Carriage; coach; horse-drawn vehicle
- importare
- To import; to matter; to be important
- generi alimentari
- Groceries; food items; foodstuffs
- ammalare
- To fall ill; to make sick; to sicken
- mettere
- To put; to place; to set something
- parte
- Part; portion; side; share
- qualcosa
- Something; anything; some thing
- giorno
- Day; daytime; a 24-hour period
- malattia
- Illness; disease; sickness; ailment
- riporre
- To put away; to store; to place back
- vecchio
- Old; aged; elderly; ancient
- baule
- Trunk; chest; large traveling luggage
- calza
- Stocking; sock; knitted leg covering
- dietro
- Behind; at the back of; after
- intonaco
- Plaster; rendering on walls; stucco
- più
- More; most; plus; a comparative adverb
- sicuramente
- Surely; certainly; safely; securely
- banca
- Bank; financial institution for savings
- mattoni
- Bricks; rectangular building blocks
- importa
- It matters; it is important; it counts
- dove
- Where; in what place
- quanto
- How much; as much as; how many
- poco
- Little; few; not much; small amount
- volte
- Times; occasions; instances
- stupisco
- I am amazed; I am astonished; I wonder
- possiamo
- We can; we are able to (present tense)
- essere
- To be; the fundamental verb of existence
- così
- So; thus; in this way; like this
- frivoli
- Frivolous; trivial; silly; lightweight
- potrei
- I could; I would be able to (conditional)
- quasi
- Almost; nearly; practically; as if
- dire
- To say; to tell; to speak; to utter
- prestare
- To lend; to loan; to pay attention
- attenzione
- Attention; care; notice; heed
- forma
- Form; shape; format; appearance
- grossolana
- Coarse; crude; rough; gross; unrefined
- qualche
- Some; any; a few (singular indefinite)
- modo
- Way; manner; method; means
- estranea
- Foreign; alien; extraneous; unrelated
- servitù
- Servitude; bondage; slavery; domestic staff
- chiamata
- Called; named; a phone call (feminine)
- Schiavitù
- Slavery; enslavement; condition of being enslaved
- ci
- There; us; here; reflexive particle
- sono
- Are; there are; first/third person plural 'essere'
- tanti
- So many; as many; numerous (masculine plural)
- padroni
- Masters; owners; bosses; landlords
- acuti
- Sharp; acute; shrewd; keen; pointed
- sottili
- Subtle; thin; fine; delicate (plural)
- asservono
- They enslave; they subjugate; they subordinate
- sia
- Both; either; whether; may be (subjunctive)
- nord
- North; northern direction or region
- sud
- South; southern direction or region
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