White nights, and other stories — Page 8
All the passers-by gave me such friendly looks that they seemed almost greeting me, they all seemed so pleased at something.
Alle Vorübergehenden sahen mich so freundlich an, dass sie mich fast zu grüßen schienen, sie alle schienen über etwas so erfreut zu sein.
They were all smoking cigars, every one of them.
Sie alle rauchten Zigarren, jeder Einzelne von ihnen.
And I felt pleased as I never had before.
Und ich fühlte mich so froh wie nie zuvor.
It was as though I had suddenly found myself in Italy--so strong was the effect of nature upon a half-sick townsman like me, almost stifling between city walls.
Es war, als hätte ich mich plötzlich in Italien wiedergefunden – so stark war die Wirkung der Natur auf einen halbkranken Städter wie mich, der zwischen Stadtmauern fast erstickte.
There is something inexpressibly touching in nature round Petersburg, when at the approach of spring she puts forth all her might, all the powers bestowed on her by Heaven, when she breaks into leaf, decks herself out and spangles herself with flowers....
Es liegt etwas unsagbar Rührendes in der Natur rund um Petersburg, wenn sie beim Nahen des Frühlings all ihre Kraft entfaltet, all die Kräfte, die ihr der Himmel verliehen hat, wenn sie in Blätter ausbricht, sich schmückt und sich mit Blumen übersät....
Somehow I cannot help being reminded of a frail, consumptive girl, at whom one sometimes looks with compassion, sometimes with sympathetic love, whom sometimes one simply does not notice; though suddenly in one instant she becomes, as though by chance, inexplicably lovely and exquisite, and, impressed and intoxicated, one cannot help asking oneself what power made those sad, pensive eyes flash with such fire?
Irgendwie muss ich unweigerlich an ein zartes, schwindsüchtiges Mädchen denken, das man manchmal mit Mitleid betrachtet, manchmal mit inniger Zuneigung, das man manchmal einfach nicht beachtet; obwohl sie plötzlich in einem einzigen Augenblick, wie durch Zufall, unbegreiflich lieblich und hinreißend wird, und man, beeindruckt und berauscht, sich nicht helfen kann zu fragen, welche Kraft jene traurigen, nachdenklichen Augen mit solchem Feuer aufleuchten ließ?
What summoned the blood to those pale, wan cheeks?
Was trieb das Blut in jene blassen, fahlen Wangen?
What bathed with passion those soft features?
Was durchströmte jene sanften Züge mit Leidenschaft?
What set that bosom heaving?
Was ließ jenen Busen sich heben?
What so suddenly called strength, life and beauty into the poor girl's face, making it gleam with such a smile, kindle with such bright, sparkling laughter?
Was rief so plötzlich Kraft, Leben und Schönheit in das Gesicht des armen Mädchens, ließ es mit solch einem Lächeln erstrahlen, mit solch hellem, funkelndem Lachen aufleuchten?
You look round, you seek for some one, you conjecture....
Man blickt sich um, man sucht nach jemandem, man mutmaßt....
Vocabulary
- Alle
- All, everyone; refers to all people
- Vorübergehenden
- Passersby; people walking past
- sahen
- Saw; past tense of sehen
- mich
- Me; first-person accusative pronoun
- so
- So, such; used for degree or manner
- freundlich
- Friendly, kind; describing a pleasant demeanor
- an
- At, on; preposition or separable verb prefix
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- sie
- They or she; third-person pronoun
- fast
- Almost, nearly; adverb of approximation
- zu
- To, too; preposition or infinitive marker
- grüßen
- To greet; to offer a salutation to someone
- schienen
- Seemed, appeared; past tense of scheinen
- alle
- All; every one of a group
- über
- About, over; preposition indicating topic or position
- etwas
- Something, somewhat; indefinite pronoun or adverb
- erfreut
- Pleased, delighted; happy about something
- sein
- To be; infinitive of the verb sein
- Sie
- They or formal you; third-person plural pronoun
- rauchten
- Smoked; past tense of rauchen
- Zigarren
- Cigars; rolled tobacco products
- jeder
- Each, every; referring to each individual
- Einzelne
- Individual, single one; each separate person
- von
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- ihnen
- Them; third-person dative plural pronoun
- Und
- And; coordinating conjunction linking clauses
- ich
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- fühlte
- Felt; past tense of fühlen
- froh
- Happy, glad; feeling joy or contentment
- wie
- As, like, how; comparative or interrogative word
- nie
- Never; adverb indicating something did not occur
- zuvor
- Before, previously; referring to an earlier time
- Es
- It; neuter third-person pronoun
- war
- Was; past tense of sein
- als
- As, when, than; conjunction for comparison or time
- hätte
- Would have; subjunctive II of haben
- plötzlich
- Suddenly, all at once; without warning
- in
- In, into; preposition of location or direction
- Italien
- Italy; southern European country known for warmth
- wiedergefunden
- Rediscovered, found again; past participle of wiederfinden
- stark
- Strong, powerful; of great force or intensity
- die
- The; definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- Wirkung
- Effect, impact; result produced by a cause
- der
- The; definite article for masculine or genitive
- Natur
- Nature; the natural world and its phenomena
- auf
- On, upon; preposition of position or direction
- einen
- A, one; indefinite article in accusative masculine
- halbkranken
- Half-sick; someone who is somewhat ill
- Städter
- City dweller; person who lives in an urban area
- zwischen
- Between, among; preposition of position
- Stadtmauern
- City walls; fortified walls surrounding a town
- erstickte
- Suffocated, stifled; past tense of ersticken
- liegt
- Lies, is located; third-person singular of liegen
- unsagbar
- Unspeakable, indescribable; beyond words
- Rührendes
- Something touching or moving; emotionally affecting thing
- rund
- Around, round; surrounding or approximately
- um
- Around, at; preposition of position or time
- wenn
- When, if; conditional or temporal conjunction
- beim
- At the, upon the; contraction of bei dem
- Nahen
- Approaching, nearing; the arrival of something
- des
- Of the; genitive definite article
- Frühlings
- Of spring; genitive of Frühling
- all
- All; entire, complete amount
- ihre
- Her, their; possessive pronoun for feminine or plural
- Kraft
- Strength, power; physical or inner force
- entfaltet
- Unfolds, develops; brings forth fully
- Kräfte
- Forces, powers; plural of Kraft
- ihr
- Her, its; possessive or dative pronoun
- Himmel
- Sky, heaven; the expanse above the earth
- verliehen
- Granted, bestowed; past participle of verleihen
- hat
- Has; third-person singular present of haben
- Blätter
- Leaves; plural of Blatt, foliage on trees
- ausbricht
- Breaks out, bursts forth; third-person singular of ausbrechen
- sich
- Itself, oneself; reflexive pronoun
- schmückt
- Adorns, decorates; third-person singular of schmücken
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction
- mit
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- Blumen
- Flowers; plural of Blume
- übersät
- Strewn with, covered; scattered thickly over
- Irgendwie
- Somehow, in some way; in an unspecified manner
- muss
- Must; modal verb expressing necessity
- unweigerlich
- Inevitably, without fail; certainly bound to happen
- ein
- A, one; indefinite article or numeral
- zartes
- Delicate, tender; adjective for something fragile
- schwindsüchtiges
- Consumptive, tubercular; suffering from wasting illness
- Mädchen
- Girl; young female person
- denken
- To think; to form thoughts or consider
- das
- The, that; neuter article or relative pronoun
- man
- One, you; indefinite pronoun for people in general
- manchmal
- Sometimes; on certain occasions
- Mitleid
- Pity, compassion; sympathy for another's suffering
- betrachtet
- Regards, looks at; observes or considers carefully
- inniger
- More heartfelt, deeper; of greater tenderness
- Zuneigung
- Affection, fondness; warm feeling toward someone
- einfach
- Simply, just; straightforward or uncomplicated
- nicht
- Not; negation particle
- beachtet
- Notices, pays attention to; heeds someone
- obwohl
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction
- einem
- A, one; dative indefinite article
- einzigen
- Single, only; one and no other
- Augenblick
- Moment, instant; a very brief period of time
- durch
- Through, by; preposition of means or passage
- Zufall
- Chance, coincidence; an unplanned occurrence
- unbegreiflich
- Incomprehensible, unfathomable; impossible to understand
- lieblich
- Lovely, charming; sweetly pleasing in appearance
- hinreißend
- Captivating, ravishing; overwhelmingly attractive
- wird
- Becomes, will; third-person singular of werden
- beeindruckt
- Impressed; moved by something remarkable
- berauscht
- Intoxicated, enraptured; overwhelmed by excitement
- helfen
- To help; to assist or support someone
- kann
- Can; modal verb expressing ability
- fragen
- To ask; to pose a question
- welche
- Which, what; interrogative or relative pronoun
- jene
- Those, that; demonstrative pronoun for distant things
- traurigen
- Sad, sorrowful; expressing grief or melancholy
- nachdenklichen
- Thoughtful, pensive; given to deep reflection
- Augen
- Eyes; the organs of sight
- solchem
- Such, of such; dative form of solch
- Feuer
- Fire; flames or passionate intensity
- aufleuchten
- To light up, flash; to suddenly shine brightly
- ließ
- Let, caused; past tense of lassen
- Was
- What; interrogative pronoun
- trieb
- Drove, propelled; past tense of treiben
- Blut
- Blood; the red fluid circulating in the body
- blassen
- Pale, pallid; lacking color in the face
- fahlen
- Wan, sallow; dull and pallid in color
- Wangen
- Cheeks; the sides of the face
- durchströmte
- Flowed through; past tense of durchströmen
- sanften
- Gentle, soft; mild and tender in character
- Züge
- Features, traits; facial characteristics or features
- Leidenschaft
- Passion; intense emotion or strong feeling
- jenen
- Those; accusative/dative form of jener
- Busen
- Bosom, breast; the chest area
- heben
- To lift, raise; to move something upward
- rief
- Called, summoned; past tense of rufen
- Leben
- Life; the state of being alive
- Schönheit
- Beauty; the quality of being attractive
- Gesicht
- Face; the front part of the head
- armen
- Poor, wretched; lacking resources or pitiable
- Mädchens
- Girl's; genitive of Mädchen
- es
- It; neuter third-person pronoun
- solch
- Such; of that kind or degree
- Lächeln
- Smile; a gentle upward expression of the face
- erstrahlen
- To shine forth, radiate; to gleam brilliantly
- hellem
- Bright, light; dative of hell
- funkelndem
- Sparkling, glittering; dative of funkelnd
- Lachen
- Laughter; the sound of laughing
- Man
- One, people; impersonal subject pronoun
- blickt
- Looks, glances; third-person singular of blicken
- sucht
- Searches, looks for; third-person singular of suchen
- nach
- After, toward, for; preposition of direction or search
- jemandem
- Someone; dative form of jemand
- mutmaßt
- Surmises, speculates; guesses or conjectures
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