Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 14
It would be some advantage to live a primitive and frontier life, though in the midst of an outward civilization, if only to learn what are the gross necessaries of life and what methods have been taken to obtain them; or even to look over the old day-books of the merchants, to see what it was that men most commonly bought at the stores, what they stored, that is, what are the grossest groceries.
Sarebbe un certo vantaggio vivere una vita primitiva e di frontiera, anche in mezzo a una civiltà esteriore, se non altro per apprendere quali siano i bisogni essenziali della vita e quali metodi siano stati adottati per soddisfarli; o anche solo per scorrere i vecchi libri mastri dei mercanti, per vedere cosa fosse che gli uomini acquistavano più comunemente nei negozi, cosa conservassero, cioè quali siano le provviste più grossolane.
For the improvements of ages have had but little influence on the essential laws of man's existence; as our skeletons, probably, are not to be distinguished from those of our ancestors.
Poiché i progressi dei secoli hanno avuto ben poca influenza sulle leggi essenziali dell'esistenza umana; proprio come i nostri scheletri, probabilmente, non si distinguono da quelli dei nostri antenati.
By the words, _necessary of life_, I mean whatever, of all that man obtains by his own exertions, has been from the first, or from long use has become, so important to human life that few, if any, whether from savageness, or poverty, or philosophy, ever attempt to do without it.
Con le parole, _necessario della vita_, intendo qualunque cosa, tra tutto ciò che l'uomo ottiene con le proprie fatiche, sia stata fin dall'inizio, o sia diventata per lungo uso, così importante per la vita umana che pochi, se ve ne sono, sia per selvatichezza, sia per povertà, sia per filosofia, tentino mai di farne a meno.
To many creatures there is in this sense but one necessary of life, Food.
Per molte creature esiste in questo senso un solo necessario della vita, il Cibo.
To the bison of the prairie it is a few inches of palatable grass, with water to drink; unless he seeks the Shelter of the forest or the mountain's shadow.
Per il bisonte della prateria sono pochi centimetri di erba appetibile, con acqua da bere; a meno che non cerchi il Riparo della foresta o l'ombra della montagna.
None of the brute creation requires more than Food and Shelter.
Nessuna creatura bruta richiede più del Cibo e del Riparo.
Vocabulary
- Sarebbe
- sa-REB-be — It would be (conditional of essere)
- un
- un — A, an (masculine indefinite article)
- certo
- CHER-to — A certain, sure, definite
- vantaggio
- van-TAD-jo — Advantage, benefit, gain
- vivere
- VEE-ve-re — To live, to exist, to dwell
- una
- U-na — A, an (feminine indefinite article)
- vita
- VEE-ta — Life, existence, way of living
- primitiva
- pri-mi-TEE-va — Primitive, simple, original, early
- frontiera
- fron-TIYE-ra — Frontier, border, boundary region
- anche
- AN-ke — Also, too, even
- mezzo
- MED-zo — Middle, midst, half, center
- civiltà
- chi-vil-TA — Civilization, culture, refinement
- esteriore
- es-te-RYO-re — Exterior, outward, external appearance
- se
- se — If, whether (conjunction)
- altro
- AL-tro — Other, else, another thing
- apprendere
- ap-PREN-de-re — To learn, to acquire knowledge
- quali
- KWA-li — Which, what (relative/interrogative pronoun)
- siano
- SYA-no — Are (subjunctive of essere, third plural)
- bisogni
- bi-ZO-nyi — Needs, necessities, requirements
- essenziali
- es-sen-TSYA-li — Essential, fundamental, absolutely necessary
- metodi
- ME-to-di — Methods, procedures, systematic approaches
- stati
- STA-ti — Been, states (past participle of essere)
- adottati
- a-dot-TA-ti — Adopted, taken up, employed (past participle)
- soddisfarli
- sod-dis-FAR-li — To satisfy them, to fulfill them
- solo
- SO-lo — Only, alone, just
- scorrere
- SKOR-re-re — To browse, to skim through, to flow
- vecchi
- VEK-ki — Old, ancient (plural adjective)
- libri
- LEE-bri — Books (plural of libro)
- mastri
- MAS-tri — Ledgers, master account books
- mercanti
- mer-KAN-ti — Merchants, traders, dealers
- vedere
- ve-DE-re — To see, to observe, to view
- cosa
- KO-za — Thing, what, something
- fosse
- FOS-se — Were (imperfect subjunctive of essere)
- uomini
- WO-mi-ni — Men, human beings (plural)
- acquistavano
- ak-kwis-TA-va-no — They used to buy, they purchased
- più
- pyù — More, most, anymore
- comunemente
- ko-mu-ne-MEN-te — Commonly, usually, ordinarily
- negozi
- ne-GO-tsi — Shops, stores, businesses
- conservassero
- kon-ser-VAS-se-ro — They kept, preserved (imperfect subjunctive)
- cioè
- cho-È — That is, namely, in other words
- provviste
- prov-VIS-te — Supplies, provisions, stored goods
- grossolane
- gros-so-LA-ne — Coarse, rough, crude, unrefined
- Poiché
- poi-KÉ — Since, because, as (conjunction)
- progressi
- pro-GRES-si — Progress, advances, improvements
- secoli
- SE-ko-li — Centuries, ages (plural of secolo)
- hanno
- AN-no — They have (third plural of avere)
- avuto
- a-VU-to — Had (past participle of avere)
- ben
- ben — Well, quite, very (adverb)
- poca
- PO-ka — Little, not much (feminine adjective)
- influenza
- in-flu-EN-tsa — Influence, effect, impact
- leggi
- LED-ji — Laws, rules (plural of legge)
- esistenza
- e-zis-TEN-tsa — Existence, being, life
- umana
- u-MA-na — Human (feminine adjective)
- proprio
- PRO-pryo — Own, exactly, really, just
- come
- KO-me — As, like, how
- nostri
- NOS-tri — Our (masculine plural possessive)
- scheletri
- SKE-le-tri — Skeletons, skeletal structures (plural)
- probabilmente
- pro-ba-bil-MEN-te — Probably, likely, in all probability
- si
- si — Oneself, each other (reflexive pronoun)
- distinguono
- dis-TIN-gwo-no — They distinguish, differ from
- quelli
- KWEL-li — Those, those ones (demonstrative pronoun)
- antenati
- an-te-NA-ti — Ancestors, forebears, predecessors
- parole
- pa-RO-le — Words (plural of parola)
- _necessario
- ne-ches-SA-ryo — Necessary, essential, indispensable
- vita_
- VEE-ta — Life (used here as a conceptual label)
- intendo
- in-TEN-do — I mean, I intend, I understand
- qualunque
- kwa-LUN-kwe — Any, whatever, whichever
- tra
- tra — Among, between, within (preposition)
- tutto
- TUT-to — All, everything, whole
- ciò
- chò — That, this, what (neuter pronoun)
- uomo
- WO-mo — Man, human being, person
- ottiene
- ot-TYE-ne — Obtains, gets, achieves (third singular)
- proprie
- PRO-prye — Own (feminine plural possessive adjective)
- fatiche
- fa-TEE-ke — Labors, efforts, toils, hardships
- sia
- SYA — Is, be (present subjunctive of essere)
- stata
- STA-ta — Been (past participle of essere, feminine)
- fin
- fin — Since, until, up to (preposition)
- inizio
- i-NITS-yo — Beginning, start, outset
- diventata
- di-ven-TA-ta — Become (past participle, feminine)
- lungo
- LUN-go — Long, along, lengthy
- uso
- U-zo — Use, custom, habit, practice
- così
- ko-ZÌ — So, thus, in this way
- importante
- im-por-TAN-te — Important, significant, relevant
- pochi
- PO-ki — Few, not many (plural adjective)
- ve
- ve — There, to you (particle/pronoun)
- ne
- ne — Of it, of them (partitive pronoun)
- sono
- SO-no — Are (third plural of essere)
- selvatichezza
- sel-va-ti-KET-tsa — Wildness, savagery, untamed nature
- povertà
- po-ver-TÀ — Poverty, want, lack of resources
- filosofia
- fi-lo-so-FEE-a — Philosophy, love of wisdom
- tentino
- ten-TEE-no — They attempt (present subjunctive of tentare)
- mai
- ma-i — Never, ever (adverb)
- farne
- FAR-ne — To do without it, make of it
- meno
- ME-no — Less, fewer, minus
- molte
- MOL-te — Many (feminine plural adjective)
- creature
- kre-a-TU-re — Creatures, beings, living things
- esiste
- e-ZIS-te — Exists, there is (third singular)
- questo
- KWES-to — This (masculine demonstrative pronoun/adjective)
- senso
- SEN-so — Sense, meaning, direction, feeling
- necessario
- ne-ches-SA-ryo — Necessary, essential, indispensable
- Cibo
- CHEEbo — Food, nourishment, sustenance
- bisonte
- bi-ZON-te — Bison, buffalo (large bovine animal)
- prateria
- pra-te-REE-a — Prairie, grassland, open plain
- centimetri
- chen-TEE-me-tri — Centimeters (unit of measurement)
- erba
- ER-ba — Grass, herb, plant
- appetibile
- ap-pe-TEE-bi-le — Appetizing, desirable, palatable
- acqua
- AK-kwa — Water (liquid essential for life)
- bere
- BE-re — To drink (infinitive)
- cerchi
- CHER-ki — Seeks, looks for (present of cercare)
- Riparo
- ri-PA-ro — Shelter, refuge, protection from elements
- foresta
- fo-RES-ta — Forest, woodland, wooded area
- ombra
- OM-bra — Shade, shadow, darkness
- montagna
- mon-TAN-ya — Mountain, large elevated landform
- Nessuna
- nes-SU-na — No, none, not any (feminine)
- creatura
- kre-a-TU-ra — Creature, being, living entity
- bruta
- BRU-ta — Brute, beast, animal (feminine adjective)
- richiede
- ri-KYE-de — Requires, demands, needs (third singular)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →