THE MYSTERIOUS SKETCH, by Erckmann-Chatrian
mysterious - misterioso, ignoto
sketch - abbozzare, schizzare, delineare, sunteggiare, sintetizzare
Opposite the chapel of saint Sebalt in Nuremberg, at the corner of Trabaus Street, there stands a little tavern, tall and narrow, with a toothed gable and dusty windows, whose roof is surmounted by a plaster Virgin. It was there that I spent the unhappiest days of my life.
chapel - cappella, chiesetta
saint - santo
corner - angolo, sporgenza, angolo sporgente, pietra d'angolo
tavern - taverna, osteria, birreria
narrow - stretto
gable - timpano
dusty - polveroso, impolverato
whose - talian: di chi, cui
roof - tetto
surmounted - sormontare, superare
plaster - gesso, unguento, intonaco, calco
Virgin - vergine
unhappiest - triste, rattristato, mogio, abbacchiato
I had gone to Nuremberg to study the old German masters; but in default of ready money, I had to paint portraits-and such portraits! Fat old women with their cats on their laps, big-wigged aldermen, burgomasters in three-cornered hats-all horribly bright with ochre and vermilion. From portraits I descended to sketches, and from sketches to silhouettes.
German - tedesco, tedesca, germano, germana
default - mora, morosita, default, inadempienza, predefinito
portraits - ritratto
such - tale
laps - giri
wigged - parrucca
aldermen - aldermanno
burgomasters - sindaco, borgomastro (used only in Germany)
cornered - angolo, sporgenza, angolo sporgente, pietra d'angolo
horribly - orribilmente
bright - luminoso, brillante
ochre - ocra
vermilion - vermiglio, vermiglione
descended - scendere
sketches - abbozzare, schizzare, delineare, sunteggiare, sintetizzare
silhouettes - silhouette, controluce, sagoma
Nothing is more annoying than to have your landlord come to you every day with pinched lips, shrill voice, and impudent manner to say: "Well, sir, how soon are you going to pay me? Do you know how much your bill is? No; that doesn't worry you! You eat, drink, and sleep calmly enough. God feeds the sparrows.
annoying - infastidirsi, infastidire, importunare, disturbare
landlord - proprietario
pinched - pizzicare, acciuffare, pizzico
lips - labbro, beccuccio
shrill - stridulo, stridore, stridio, stridente
voice - voce
impudent - impertinente, sfrontato, impudente
manner - maniera, modo
worry - preoccuparsi, disturbare, preoccupare, preoccupazione
calmly - con calma
God - Dio
feeds - dar da mangiare, nutrire
sparrows - passero
Your bill now amounts to two hundred florins and ten kreutzers-it is not worth talking about."
amounts - ammontare, quantita
florins - fiorino
worth - valore
Those who have not heard any one talk in this way can form no idea of it; love of art, imagination, and the sacred enthusiasm for the beautiful are blasted by the breath of such an attack. You become awkward and timid; all your energy evaporates, as well as your feeling of personal dignity, and you bow respectfully at a distance to the burgomaster Schneegans.
those - quelle, quei, quegli
imagination - immaginazione
sacred - sacro
enthusiasm - entusiasmo, foga
blasted - ventata
breath - respiro, lena, alito, fiato
attack - attacco, assalire, attaccare
awkward - maldestro, impacciato, goffo, imbarazzato, poco opportuno
timid - timido, pavido, impaurito
energy - energia, forza
evaporates - evaporare
dignity - dignita
bow - inchinarsi, chinare il capo
respectfully - rispettosamente
distance - distanza
Burgomaster - sindaco, borgomastro (used only in Germany)
One night, not having a sou, as usual, and threatened with imprisonment by this worthy Mister Rap, I determined to make him a bankrupt by cutting my throat. Seated on my narrow bed, opposite the window, in this agreeable mood, I gave myself up to a thousand philosophical reflections, more or less comforting.
usual - solito, usuale, consueto, abituale
threatened - minacciare, impaurire, intimidire, avvisare, promettere
imprisonment - detenzione, incarcerazione
worthy - degno
mister - signore
rap - colpo, colpetto
determined - determinare, stabilire, capire, verificare, accertarsi
bankrupt - fallito, fallire, bancarotta
throat - gola
seated - posto, seduta, sedile, scranno
agreeable - gradevole
mood - umore
myself - mi
philosophical - filosofico
reflections - riflessione, riflesso, riverbero
comforting - agio, comodita, benessere
"What is man?" I asked myself. "An omnivorous animal; his jaws, provided with canines, incisors, and molars, prove it. The canines are made to tear meat; the incisors to bite fruits; and the molars to masticate, grind, and triturate animal and vegetable substances that are pleasant to smell and to taste.
omnivorous - onnivoro
jaws - mascella, mandibola
provided with - dotato, fornito
canines - canino, cagnesco
incisors - incisivo
molars - molare
Prove - provare, dimostrare
tear - lacrima
bite - mordere, morsicare, abboccare, pungere, morso, puntura
masticate - masticare
grind - macinare
triturate - Triturar
substances - sostanza
pleasant - piacevole, gradito, gradevole
smell - odore, olfatto, odorato, sentire l'odore, fiutare, odorare
taste - gusto, sapore, inclinazione, gustare, assaggiare
But when he has nothing to masticate, this being is an absurdity in Nature, a superfluity, a fifth wheel to the coach."
absurdity - assurdita
nature - natura
superfluity - superfluita, superfluo
fifth wheel - quinta ruota
coach - carrozza, vettura, diligenza, cocchio, carrozza ferroviaria
Such were my reflections. I dared not open my razor for fear that the invincible force of my logic would inspire me with the courage to make an end of it all. After having argued so finely, I blew out my candle, postponing the sequel till the morrow.
dared - osare
razor - rasoio
fear - paura
invincible - invincibile, imbattibile
force - forza
logic - logica
inspire - ispirare
courage - coraggio
argued - discutere, dibattere, contestare, litigare, argomentare
finely - finemente
blew out - mettere fuori
candle - candela
postponing - rimandare
sequel - seguito
morrow - domani
That abominable Rap had completely stupefied me. I could do nothing but silhouettes, and my sole desire was to have some money to rid myself of his odious presence. But on this night a singular change came over my mind.
abominable - abominabile, detestabile, efferato, odioso
completely - completamente, interamente, del tutto, totalmente
stupefied - stupefare, abbrutire, sbalordire, confondere
sole - (pianta del piede)
desire - desiderare, volere, desiderio, voglia
rid - sbarazzare
odious - odioso
presence - presenza
singular - singolare
mind - mente
I awoke about one o'clock-I lit my lamp, and, enveloping myself in my grey gabardine, I drew upon the paper a rapid sketch after the Dutch school-something strange and bizarre, which had not the slightest resemblance to my ordinary conceptions.
awoke - svegliarsi
enveloping - busta
gabardine - gabardine
upon - su, a
rapid - rapido, deciso, rapida, cataratta
Dutch - olandese, nederlandese, neerlandese
strange - strano, anormale
bizarre - bizzarro
slightest - insignificante, leggero, debole, lieve, disprezzare, sminuire
resemblance - rassomiglianza
ordinary - pezza, ordinario, ordinaria
conceptions - concezione, concepimento, concetto
Imagine a dreary courtyard enclosed by high dilapidated walls. These walls are furnished with hooks, seven or eight feet from the ground. You see, at a glance, that it is a butchery.
dreary - melanconico, malinconico
courtyard - cortile, corte
enclosed - cintare
dilapidated - dilapidare, sperperare, buttare via, gettare alle ortiche
furnished - fornire
hooks - gancio, gancetto, uncino, ritornello, parte orecchiabile
ground - terra
glance - dare un'occhiata, sbirciare, occhieggiare, radere, rasentare
butchery - macelleria
On the left, there extends a lattice structure; you perceive through it a quartered beef suspended from the roof by enormous pulleys. Great pools of blood run over the flagstones and unite in a ditch full of refuse.
extends - ampliare
lattice - grata, graticcio, cannicciata, traliccio
structure - struttura
perceive - percepire
beef - manzo, carne bovina
suspended - appendere, sospendere
enormous - enorme, grandissimo, vasto, smisurato
pulleys - carrucola, puleggia
blood - sangue
run over - traboccare, versare, ripetere
flagstones - lastra, tegola
unite - unire
ditch - fosso
refuse - rifiutare
The light falls from above, between the chimneys where the weathercocks stand out from a bit of the sky the size of your hand, and the roofs of the neighbouring houses throw bold shadows from story to story.
chimneys - camino, ciminiera, fumaiolo, bulbo
weathercocks - galletto segnavento, banderuola
bit - morso
sky - cielo
size - dimensioni
roofs - tetto
throw - gettare, lanciare
bold - ardito, coraggioso
shadows - ombra, pedinare
At the back of this place is a shed, beneath the shed a pile of wood, and upon the pile of wood some ladders, a few bundles of straw, some coils of rope, a chicken-coop, and an old dilapidated rabbit-hutch.
shed - capannone, rimessa
beneath - sotto
pile - pila, mucchio
wood - legno
ladders - scala, smagliatura
bundles - insieme, fascina, fascio, pacchetto, fagotto
straw - festuca, pagliuzza, paglia
Coils - attorcigliarsi
rope - corda
coop - stia
rabbit-hutch - (rabbit-hutch) conigliera
How did these heterogeneous details suggest themselves to my imagination? I don't know; I had no reminiscences, and yet every stroke of the pencil seemed the result of observation, and strange because it was all so true. Nothing was lacking.
heterogeneous - eterogeneo
suggest - proporre, suggerire
themselves - essi stessi
reminiscences - reminiscenza
stroke - colpo
seemed - sembrare, parere, apparire
observation - osservazione
lacking - mancare di
But on the right, one corner of the sketch remained a blank. I did not know what to put there.... Something suddenly seemed to writhe there, to move! Then I saw a foot, the sole of a foot. Notwithstanding this improbable position, I followed my inspiration without reference to my own criticism.
remained - stare, restare, rimanere
blank - intonso, in bianco, vuoto, intatto, vergine, cartuccia a salve
suddenly - all'improvviso, improvvisamente
writhe - contorcersi
notwithstanding - nonostante
improbable - improbabile
position - posizione, posto, lavoro, piazzare, posizionare
inspiration - inspirazione, inalazione, respiro, ispirazione, illuminazione
reference - riferimento
criticism - critica
This foot was joined to a leg-over this leg, stretched out with effort, there soon floated the skirt of a dress. In short, there appeared by degrees an old woman, pale, dishevelled, and wasted, thrown down at the side of a well, and struggling to free herself from a hand that clutched her throat.
stretched - tendere
effort - sforzo
floated - galleggiare, appianatoia, frattazzo, pialletto, carro allegorico
appeared - apparire
by degrees - gradualmente
pale - pallido
dishevelled - spettinare
wasted - sprecare
thrown down - gettato giu
side - lato
struggling - in difficolta, (struggle), lotta, lottare
clutched - afferrare
It was a murder scene that I was drawing. The pencil fell from my hand.
murder - assassinio, omicidio, uccisione, assassinare, massacrare
scene - scena
This woman, in the boldest attitude, with her thighs bent on the curb of the well, her face contracted by terror, and her two hands grasping the murderer's arm, frightened me. I could not look at her. But the man-he, the person to whom that arm belonged-I could not see him. It was impossible for me to finish the sketch.
boldest - ardito, coraggioso
attitude - atteggiamento, postura, comportamento, approccio
thighs - coscia
bent on - essere determinato
curb - frenare, tenere a freno
contracted - contrarre
terror - terrore
grasping - afferrare, avvinghiare, avvinghiarsi, agguantare
murderer - assassino, assassina
frightened - spaurire, spaventare
whom - chi, cui
belonged - appartenere a
impossible - impossibile, insopportabile, impossibile (2)
"I am tired," I said, my forehead dripping with perspiration; "there is only this figure to do; I will finish it tomorrow. It will be easy then."
forehead - fronte
dripping - gocciolare
perspiration - sudore
figure - figura, fisico, personaggio, cifra, forma, calcolare, risolvere
And again I went to bed, thoroughly frightened by my vision.
thoroughly - completamente, totalmente, assolutamente
vision - vista, acutezza visiva, visione, allucinazione, miraggio
The next morning, I got up very early. I was dressing in order to resume my interrupted work, when two little knocks were heard on my door.
resume - riprendere
interrupted - interrompere, celare, ricoprire, tagliare
knocks - colpo, botta, botto, autocombustione, bussare
"Come in!"
The door opened. An old man, tall, thin, and dressed in black, appeared on the threshold. This man's face, his eyes set close together and his large nose like the beak of an eagle, surmounted by a high bony forehead, had something severe about it. He bowed to me gravely.
threshold - soglia, soglia di casa, entrata, uscio
set - Seth
beak - becco
eagle - aquila, moneta di dieci dollaro
bony - ossuto, stecchino
severe - rigido, duro, grave, severo
bowed - inchinarsi, chinare il capo
gravely - gravemente
"Mister Christian Vénius, the painter?" said he.
Christian - cristiano, cristiana
painter - pittore
"That is my name, sir."
He bowed again, adding:
"The Baron Frederick Van Spreckdal."
Baron - barone
van - furgone
The appearance of the rich amateur, Van Spreckdal, judge of the criminal court, in my poor lodging, greatly disturbed me. I could not help throwing a stealthy glance at my old worm-eaten furniture, my damp hangings and my dusty floor. I felt humiliated by such dilapidation; but Van Spreckdal did not seem to take any account of these details; and sitting down at my little table:
appearance - apparizione, comparsa, visione, apparenza, aspetto
amateur - dilettante, appassionato, amateur, amatore
judge - giudicare
criminal - criminale, delittuoso
Court - cortile, corte, tribunale, assemblea, giuria
lodging - alloggio, allettamento, (lodge), casino, guardiola, portineria
greatly - molto, grandemente, assai, oltremodo
disturbed - disturbare
throwing - lanciare
stealthy - furtivo
worm - verme, miserabile, drago
furniture - mobilio
damp - umido, bagnato, madido, umidita, grisu, smorzare, soffocare
hangings - appeso
humiliated - umiliare, avvilire
dilapidation - dilapidazione
Seem - sembrare, parere, apparire
account - conto
sitting down - sedersi
"Mister Vénius," he resumed, "I come--" But at this instant his glance fell upon the unfinished sketch-he did not finish his phrase.
resumed - riprendere
instant - immediato
unfinished - incompleto
I was sitting on the edge of my little bed; and the sudden attention that this personage bestowed upon one of my productions made my heart beat with an indefinable apprehension.
edge - orlo, bordo, lato, vantaggio, lama, filo, arco
sudden - improvviso, improvvisa
attention - attenzione, allerta, sull'attenti
personage - personaggio
bestowed - depositare, immagazzinare, collocare, alloggiare, donare, gloss
productions - produzione
heart - cuore
beat - battere
indefinable - indefinibile
apprehension - apprensione
At the end of a minute, Van Spreckdal lifted his head:
lifted - alzare, sollevare
"Are you the author of that sketch?" he asked me with an intent look.
author - autore, autrice, creare
intent - intento
"Yes, sir."
"What is the price of it?"
"I never sell my sketches. It is the plan for a picture."
"Ah!" said he, picking up the paper with the tips of his long yellow fingers.
picking - scegliere
tips - punta
fingers - dito
He took a lens from his waistcoat pocket and began to study the design in silence.
lens - lentille, lente, lenticchia
waistcoat - panciotto, gile, corpetto
Pocket - tasca, buca, sacca, intascare, imbucare, tascabile
silence - silenzio, silenziare, azzittire, mettere a tacere
The sun was now shining obliquely into the garret. Van Spreckdal never said a word; the hook of his immense nose increased, his heavy eyebrows contracted, and his long pointed chin took a turn upward, making a thousand little wrinkles in his long, thin cheeks. The silence was so profound that I could distinctly hear the plaintive buzzing of a fly that had been caught in a spider's web.
shining - brillare, far luce con
obliquely - obliquamente
garret - soffitta, solaio
Hook - gancio, gancetto, uncino, ritornello, parte orecchiabile
immense - immenso
increased - aumentare, ingrossare, crescere, incrementare, aggravio
heavy - pesante
eyebrows - sopracciglio
chin - mento
upward - verso l'alto
wrinkles - ruga
cheeks - guancia, gota, chiappa, faccia tosta, sfrontatezza, impudenza
profound - profondo
distinctly - distintamente
plaintive - querulo
buzzing - ronzio, (buzz), brusio, bisbiglio, mormorio
caught - presa, conquista, fermaglio, fermaglio di sicurezza, trappola
spider - ragno
web - rete, vela, Web
"And the dimensions of this picture, Mister Vénius?" he said without looking at me.
dimensions - aspetto, dimensione
"Three feet by four."
"The price?"
"Fifty ducats."
ducats - ducato
Van Spreckdal laid the sketch on the table, and drew from his pocket a large purse of green silk shaped like a pear; he drew the rings of it--
laid - posare
purse - portafoglio, borsa, borsellino, borsetta
silk - seta
shaped - condizione, stato, forma, sagoma
pear - pera, pero
rings - anello
"Fifty ducats," said he, "here they are."
I was simply dazzled.
Simply - semplicemente, in parole povere
dazzled - abbagliare, abbacinare, impressionare
The Baron rose and bowed to me, and I heard his big ivory-headed cane resounding on each step until he reached the bottom of the stairs. Then recovering from my stupour, I suddenly remembered that I had not thanked him, and I flew down the five flights like lightning; but when I reached the bottom, I looked to the right and left; the street was deserted.
rose - Rosa
ivory - avorio, eburneo
cane - canna, canna di bambu, canna da zucchero, giunco, bastone
resounding - risuonare
step - passo
reached - arrivare a, raggiungere
bottom - fondo, parte inferiore, sedere, passivo
stairs - scalino, scala
recovering from - recuperare
stupour - stupore
lightning - fulmine, folgore, saetta, lampo
deserted - abbandonare
"Well," I said, "this is strange."
And I went upstairs again all out of breath.
The surprising way in which Van Spreckdal had appeared to me threw me into deep wonderment. "Yesterday," I said to myself, as I contemplated the pile of ducats glittering in the sun, "yesterday I formed the wicked intention of cutting my throat, all for the want of a few miserable florins, and now today Fortune has showered them from the clouds.
surprising - sorprendente, (surprise), sorpresa, stupire, sorprendere
threw - gettare, lanciare
deep - profondo, spesso, esteso, profondo (1, 2)
wonderment - stupore
contemplated - considerare, contemplare
glittering - scintillante, (glitter), glitter, brillantini
wicked - cattivo
intention - intenzione, intento
miserable - infelice
Fortune - sorte, destino, fortuna, dote
clouds - annuvolarsi, oscurare, annebbiare
Indeed it was fortunate that I did not open my razor; and, if the same temptation ever comes to me again, I will take care to wait until the morrow."
indeed - infatti, davvero, realmente, effettivamente, gia
fortunate - fortunato
temptation - tentazione
care - cura, attenzione
After making these judicious reflections, I sat down to finish the sketch; four strokes of the pencil and it would be finished. But here an incomprehensible difficulty awaited me. It was impossible for me to take those four sweeps of the pencil; I had lost the thread of my inspiration, and the mysterious personage no longer stood out in my brain.
judicious - giudizioso
strokes - colpo
incomprehensible - incomprensibile
difficulty - difficolta
awaited - aspettare, attendere, servire
sweeps - spazzare, scopare, ramazzare, setacciare, spazzata
thread - filo, refe, filo conduttore, forum
brain - cervello, or when used as food
I tried in vain to evoke him, to sketch him, and to recover him; he no more accorded with the surroundings than with a figure by Raphael in a Teniers inn-kitchen. I broke out into a profuse perspiration.
in vain - invano
evoke - evocare, rammemorare, checkrammentare
recover - rimettersi, riprendersi
accorded - accordo
surroundings - periferia, circostante
Inn - osteria, locanda
broke out - scoppiare
profuse - profuso, abbondante
At this moment, Rap opened the door without knocking, according to his praiseworthy custom. His eyes fell upon my pile of ducats and in a shrill voice he cried:
knocking - bussare, (knock), colpo, botta, botto, autocombustione
according - accordo
praiseworthy - lodevole, encomiabile
custom - usanza, costume, uso, personalizzato, fatto ad hoc
cried - piangere, gridare, urlare, pianto, urlo, verso
"Eh! eh! so I catch you. Will you still persist in telling me, Mr. Painter, that you have no money?"
eh - eh
catch - presa, conquista, fermaglio, fermaglio di sicurezza, trappola
persist - persistere
Mr - Signor
And his hooked fingers advanced with that nervous trembling that the sight of gold always produces in a miser.
hooked - gancio, gancetto, uncino, ritornello, parte orecchiabile
advanced - avanzare, progredire, anticipare, migliorare, avvicinarsi
nervous - nervoso
trembling - tremare, (tremble), tremolare, tremore
sight - vista, spettacolo, mirino, vedere, avvistare, mirare
gold - oro, d'oro
produces - produrre, realizzare, fornire, prodotto, prodotti
miser - avaro, avara, pitocco, pitocca
For a few seconds I was stupefied.
The memory of all the indignities that this individual had inflicted upon me, his covetous look, and his impudent smile exasperated me. With a single bound, I caught hold of him, and pushed him out of the room, slamming the door in his face.
memory - memoria, ricordo
indignities - indegnita
individual - individuo, soggetto, singolo, specifico, individuale, personale
inflicted - infliggere, comminare
covetous - bramoso
smile - sorriso, sorridere
exasperated - esasperare
single - singolo, solo, intero, unico, single
bound - vincolato, (bind), legare, connettere, rilegare
hold - tenere
pushed - spingere
slamming - sbattere
This was done with the crack and rapidity of a spring snuff-box.
crack - rompersi, incrinarsi
rapidity - rapidita
snuff - tabacco da fiuto
But from outside the old usurer screamed like an eagle:
usurer - usuraio, usuraia, strozzino, strozzina
screamed - urlo, grido, gridare, sbraitare, urlare
"My money, you thief, my money!"
thief - ladro, ladra, ladruncolo, borsaiolo
The lodgers came out of their rooms, asking:
lodgers - inquilino
"What is the matter? What has happened?"
matter - materia, problema, argomento, questione, faccenda, causa
I opened the door suddenly and quickly gave Mister Rap a kick in the spine that sent him rolling down more than twenty steps.
kick - calciare, prendere a calci
spine - colonna vertebrale, costa, dorso, spina dorsale
rolling - rotolamento
steps - passo
"That's what's the matter!" I cried, quite beside myself. Then I shut the door and bolted it, while bursts of laughter from the neighbours greeted Mister Rap in the passage.
beside - accanto, vicino
shut - chiudere
bolted - catenaccio
bursts - scoppiare, esplodere, strappare, separare, scoppio, esplosione
laughter - risata, riso
greeted - salutare
passage - passaggio
I was satisfied with myself; I rubbed my hands together. This adventure had put new life into me; I resumed my work, and was about to finish the sketch when I heard an unusual noise.
satisfied - soddisfare, accontentare, saziare
rubbed - strofinamento, strofinare, fregare
adventure - avventura
unusual - insolito, particolare, inusuale
noise - rumore, strepito
Butts of muskets were grounded on the pavement. I looked out of my window and saw three soldiers in full uniform with grounded arms in front of my door.
Butts - urtare
muskets - moschetto
grounded - terra
pavement - pavimentazione stradale, pavimentazione, manto, manto stradale
soldiers - soldato
uniform - Udine
I said to myself in my terror: "Can it be that that scoundrel of a Rap has had any bones broken?"
scoundrel - canaglia, farabutto, furfante, mascalzone
bones - osso, lisca, spina
And here is the strange peculiarity of the human mind: I, who the night before had wanted to cut my own throat, shook from head to foot, thinking that I might well be hanged if Rap were dead.
peculiarity - peculiarita
human - umano
shook - scossa, (shake), scuotere, agitare, scuotere la testa
hanged - impiccato
dead - morto
The stairway was filled with confused noises. It was an ascending flood of heavy footsteps, clanking arms, and short syllables.
stairway - scalinata, gradinata
confused - confondere
noises - rumore, strepito
ascending - salire, riuscire
flood - inondazione, alluvione
Footsteps - impronta, pedata, orma, passo, gradino
clanking - sferragliare
syllables - sillaba
Suddenly somebody tried to open my door. It was shut.
Then there was a general clamour.
general - generale
clamour - clamore
"In the name of the law-open!"
law - legge
I arose, trembling and weak in the knees.
arose - sorgere, apparire, nascere
weak - debole
"Open!" the same voice repeated.
I thought to escape over the roofs; but I had hardly put my head out of the little snuff-box window, when I drew back, seized with vertigo. I saw in a flash all the windows below with their shining panes, their flower-pots, their bird-cages, and their gratings.
escape - scappare, fuggire, darsela a gambe, evitare, eludere
hardly - aspramente, appena, quasi, checkmica
seized with - preso da
vertigo - vertigine
flash - lampo
shining - stinco
panes - vetro
pots - pentola, vaso
cages - gabbia, cabina
gratings - grattugiare
Lower, the balcony; still lower, the street-lamp; still lower again, the sign of the "Red Cask" framed in iron-work; and, finally, three glittering bayonets, only awaiting my fall to run me through the body from the sole of my foot to the crown of my head.
lower - oscurarsi
balcony - balcone
sign - segno
cask - botte
framed - incorniciare, incastrare, impalcatura, incastellatura, armatura
iron - ferreo, ferroso, ferrico, inflessibile, stirare
finally - finalmente, alla fine, per concludere, infine, definitivamente
bayonets - baionetta
awaiting - aspettare, attendere, servire
fall to - toccare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa, cadere
crown - corona
On the roof of the opposite house a tortoise-shell cat was crouching behind a chimney, watching a band of sparrows fighting and scolding in the gutter.
tortoise-shell - (tortoise-shell) guscio di tartaruga
crouching - accucciarsi
chimney - camino, ciminiera, fumaiolo, bulbo
fighting - lotta
scolding - rimproveri, (scold), bisbetica, brontolona, megera, linguaccia
gutter - grondaia
One cannot imagine to what clearness, intensity, and rapidity the human eye acquires when stimulated by fear.
clearness - chiarezza
intensity - intensita
acquires - acquisire
stimulated - stimolare
At the third summons I heard:
third - terzo, terza, atterzare
summons - convocazione
"Open, or we shall force it!"
shall - talian: 'shall' followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense', talian: ('indicating determination') 'shall' followed by the infinitive is translated using the future tense, which can be emphasised using ", si c
Seeing that flight was impossible, I staggered to the door and drew the bolt.
staggered - barcollare
bolt - catenaccio
Two hands immediately fell upon my collar. A dumpy, little man, smelling of wine, said:
immediately - immediatamente, subito, su due piedi
collar - bavero, bavera, collo, colletto, collare
dumpy - tozzo, grassottello
little man - piccolo uomo
smelling - odorare, (smell), odore, olfatto, odorato, sentire l'odore
"I arrest you!"
arrest - arresto, arrestare
He wore a bottle-green redingote, buttoned to the chin, and a stovepipe hat. He had large brown whiskers, rings on every finger, and was named Passauf.
buttoned - bottone
stovepipe - stufa
whiskers - basetta, basettoni, favoriti, fedine, pelo, vibrissa
finger - dito
He was the chief of police.
chief - capo, direzione
Five bull-dogs with flat caps, noses like pistols, and lower jaws turning upward, observed me from outside.
Bull - maschio (dei grandi mammiferi), toro
flat caps - berretti piatti
pistols - pistola
observed - osservare
"What do you want?" I asked Passauf.
"Come downstairs," he cried roughly, as he gave a sign to one of his men to seize me.
roughly - aprprossimativamente, a grosso modo
seize - prendere, afferrare, approfittare, sfruttare
This man took hold of me, more dead than alive, while several other men turned my room upside down.
alive - vivo, attivo, animato
several - diversi, vari
upside - in alto
I went downstairs supported by the arms like a person in the last stages of consumption-with hair dishevelled and stumbling at every step.
went downstairs - scendere
supported - sostenere
Last - ultimo
stages - fase, stadio, tappa, scena, palco
consumption - consumo, consunzione, deperimento
stumbling - scivolone, scivolare, inciampare, imbattersi, incontrare
They thrust me into a cab between two strong fellows, who charitably let me see the ends of their clubs, held to their wrists by a leather string-and then the carriage started off.
thrust - stoccata, spinta
cab - taxi
fellows - uomo, tipo
charitably - caritatevolmente
held - tenere
wrists - polso
leather - cuoio
string - spago, stringa, laccetto, legaccio, corda
carriage - carrozza, portamento, postura, carrello
I heard behind us the feet of all the urchins of the town.
urchins - monello, birichino, peste, discolo
"What have I done?" I asked one of my keepers.
keepers - portiere
He looked at the other with a strange smile and said:
"Hans-he asks what he has done!"
That smile froze my blood.
froze - gelare
Soon a deep shadow enveloped the carriage; the horses'hoofs resounded under an archway. We were entering the Raspelhaus. Of this place one might say:
shadow - ombra, pedinare
enveloped - circondare, avviluppare
hoofs - zoccolo, zampa
resounded - risuonare
archway - arco
entering - entrare, (enter), immettere, digitare
"Dans cet antre,
cet - ordine del giorno
Je vois fort bien comme l'on entre,
vois - ordine del giorno
fort - forte, fortezza, fortilizio, fortino
bien - ordine del giorno
comme - ordine del giorno
entre - ordine del giorno
Et ne vois point comme on en sort."
et - e
sort - sorta, tipo
All is not rose-coloured in this world; from the claws of Rap I fell into a dungeon, from which very few poor devils have a chance to escape.
claws - artiglio
dungeon - prigione sotterranea, segreta, torrione
devils - diavolo
chance - caso
Large dark courtyards and rows of windows like a hospital, and furnished with gratings; not a sprig of verdure, not a festoon of ivy, not even a weathercock in perspective-such was my new lodging. It was enough to make one tear his hair out by the roots.
courtyards - cortile, corte
rows - fila
sprig - talian: t-needed
verdure - vegetazione
festoon - ghirlanda, festone, inghirlandare
ivy - edera
weathercock - galletto segnavento, banderuola
perspective - prospettiva
roots - radice
The police officers, accompanied by the jailer, took me temporarily to a lock-up.
officers - funzionario, ufficiale, agente, checkufficiale
accompanied - accompagnare
jailer - carceriere, carceriera, custode, guardiano
temporarily - temporaneamente
lock-up - (lock-up) chiudere
The jailer, if I remember rightly, was named Kasper Schlüssel; with his grey woollen cap, his pipe between his teeth, and his bunch of keys at his belt, he reminded me of the Owl-God of the Caribs. He had the same golden yellow eyes, that see in the dark, a nose like a comma, and a neck that was sunk between the shoulders.
rightly - giustamente
woollen - lana
cap - berretto
pipe - cornamusa, canna d'organo, condotto, tubo, pipe, barra verticale
bunch of keys - mazzo di chiavi
belt - cintura, cintola, cinghia, colpo, cinghiata, zona
reminded - ricordare
Owl - gufo
Caribs - e
Golden - Dorato
comma - virgola
neck - collo
sunk - affondato, (sink), affondare
shoulders - spalla
Schlüssel shut me up as calmly as one locks up his socks in a cupboard, while thinking of something else. As for me, I stood for more than ten minutes with my hands behind my back and my head bowed. At the end of that time I made the following reflection: "When falling, Rap cried out, 'I am assassinated,'but he did not say by whom.
locks up - si blocca
socks - calza, calzino
cupboard - armadio, credenza, madia, dispensa
stood for - significare
reflection - riflessione, riflesso, riverbero
assassinated - assassinare
I will say it was my neighbour, the old merchant with the spectacles: he will be hanged in my place."
merchant - mercante, mercantessa, commerciante, negoziante
spectacles - spettacolo
This idea comforted my heart, and I drew a long breath. Then I looked about my prison. It seemed to have been newly whitewashed, and the walls were bare of designs, except in one corner, where a gallows had been crudely sketched by my predecessor. The light was admitted through a bull's-eye about nine or ten feet from the floor; the furniture consisted of a bundle of straw and a tub.
comforted - agio, comodita, benessere
prison - prigione, carcere, fresco
newly - di recente
whitewashed - calce, cappotto, imbiancare, lavare via, cancellare
bare - nudo
Except - salvo, tranne, eccetto, fatto salvo
gallows - forca
crudely - crudamente
sketched - abbozzare, schizzare, delineare, sunteggiare, sintetizzare
predecessor - predecessore, antecessore, precedente
admitted - far entrare, ammettere, riconoscere, ricoverare
consisted - consistere di
bundle - insieme, fascina, fascio, pacchetto, fagotto
tub - tinozza, vaschetta, contenitore, bagnarola
I sat down upon the straw with my hands around my knees in deep despondency. It was with great difficulty that I could think clearly; but suddenly imagining that Rap, before dying, had denounced me, my legs began to tingle, and I jumped up coughing, as if the hempen cord were already tightening around my neck.
despondency - abbattimento, scoraggiamento, sconforto
Clearly - chiaramente, certamente, evidentemente
dying - morire
denounced - denunciare
tingle - formicolare, solletico
jumped up - saltare su
coughing - tosse, (cough), tossire, colpo di tosse
hempen - canapa
cord - cordone
tightening - stringere
At the same moment, I heard Schlüssel walking down the corridor; he opened the lock-up, and told me to follow him. He was still accompanied by the two officers, so I fell into step resolutely.
corridor - corridoio, corridoio aereo
lock - serratura
resolutely - risolutamente
We walked down long galleries, lighted at intervals by small windows from within. Behind a grating I saw the famous Jic-Jack, who was going to be executed on the morrow. He had on a strait-jacket and sang out in a raucous voice:
galleries - galleria, palchetto, balconata, loggia
intervals - intervallo
within - dentro, all'interno
grating - grattugiare
Jack - Gianni, Giacomo, Giacobbe, Jacopo, Iago
executed - giustiziare, lanciare
Strait - stretto, stretta
raucous - roco, rauco, chiassoso, rumoroso
"Je suis le roi de ces montagnes."
roi - ordine del giorno
de - ordine del giorno
montagnes - ordine del giorno
Seeing me, he called out:
"Eh! comrade! I'll keep a place for you at my right."
comrade - compagno, compagna, checkcamerata
The two police officers and the Owl-God looked at each other and smiled, while I felt the goose-flesh creep down the whole length of my back.
smiled - sorriso, sorridere
goose - oca, papero
flesh - carne
creep - abbarbicarsi, insinuarsi, strisciare, scorrimento, spostamento
Length - lunghezza
Schlüssel shoved me into a large and very dreary hall, with benches arranged in a semicircle. The appearance of this deserted hall, with its two high grated windows, and its Christ carved in old brown oak with His arms extended and His head sorrowfully inclined upon His shoulder, inspired me with I do not know what kind of religious fear that accorded with my actual situation.
shoved - spingere
hall - corridoio, sala
benches - panchina
arranged - disporre, ordinare, preparare, arrangiare
semicircle - semicerchio
grated - griglia
Christ - Cristo, porco Dio, porcodio
carved - tagliare, trinciare, scalcare, intagliare, scolpire
oak - quercia
extended - ampliare
sorrowfully - dolorosamente
inclined - inclinare
inspired - ispirare
religious - religioso
actual - reale, effettivo, concreto, esistente, attuale, corrente
All my ideas of false accusation disappeared, and my lips tremblingly murmured a prayer.
accusation - accusa
disappeared - sparire, scomparire
tremblingly - tremante
murmured - mormorio, brusio, sussurro, mormorare
prayer - preghiera
I had not prayed for a long time; but misfortune always brings us to thoughts of submission. Man is so little in himself!
prayed - pregare
misfortune - malasorte, disgrazia
thoughts - idea, pensata, pensiero
submission - sottomissione
Opposite me, on an elevated seat, two men were sitting with their backs to the light, and consequently their faces were in shadow. However, I recognized Van Spreckdal by his aquiline profile, illuminated by an oblique reflection from the window. The other person was fat, he had round, chubby cheeks and short hands, and he wore a robe, like Van Spreckdal.
elevated - elevato, (elevate), elevare, aumentare
seat - posto, seduta, sedile, scranno
consequently - di conseguenza
recognized - riconoscere
profile - profilo
illuminated - illuminare, chiarire, miniare
oblique - obliquo
round - rotondo, tondo
Chubby - grassoccio, cicciuto, paffutello, paffuto, pienotto
robe - veste, abito
Below was the clerk of the court, Conrad; he was writing at a low table and was tickling the tip of his ear with the feather-end of his pen. When I entered, he stopped to look at me curiously.
low - basso
clerk - impiegato
tickling - solletico, (tickle), solleticare, titillare
tip - punta
feather - piuma, penna, barbetta
entered - entrare, immettere, digitare
curiously - curiosamente
They made me sit down, and Van Spreckdal, raising his voice, said to me:
raising - sollevando
"Christian Vénius, where did you get this sketch?"
He showed me the nocturnal sketch which was then in his possession. It was handed to me. After having examined it, I replied:
nocturnal - notturno
possession - possesso
examined - esaminare
replied - rispondere, replicare, ripetere, risposta, replica
"I am the author of it."
A long silence followed; the clerk of the court, Conrad, wrote down my reply. I heard his pen scratch over the paper, and I thought: "Why did they ask me that question? That has nothing to do with the kick I gave Rap in the back."
reply - rispondere, replicare, ripetere, risposta, replica
scratch - grattare, graffiare, raspare, obliterare, graffio
"You are the author of it?" asked Van Spreckdal. "What is the subject?"
"It is a subject of pure fancy."
pure - puro
fancy - capriccio
"You have not copied the details from some spot?"
copied - copia, replica, copiare, imitare, ricevere
spot - macchia, brufolo, foruncolo, zona, area, pubblicita, individuare
"No, sir; I imagined it all."
"Accused Christian," said the judge in a severe tone, "I ask you to reflect. Do not lie."
accused - accusare
tone - tono
reflect - riflettere, essere riflesso, seguire, evidenziare, riportare
lie - bugia
"I have spoken the truth."
truth - verita, veritate
"Write that down, clerk," said Van Spreckdal.
The pen scratched again.
scratched - grattare, graffiare, raspare, obliterare, graffio
"And this woman," continued the judge-"this woman who is being murdered at the side of the well-did you imagine her also?"
continued - continuare
murdered - assassinio, omicidio, uccisione, assassinare, massacrare
"Certainly."
Certainly - certamente, senza dubbio, non ci piove, evidentemente
"You have never seen her?"
"Never."
Van Spreckdal rose indignantly; then, sitting down again, he seemed to consult his companion in a low voice.
indignantly - indignatamente
consult - consultarsi, consultare
companion - amico, compagno
These two dark profiles silhouetted against the brightness of the window, and the three men standing behind me, the silence in the hall-everything made me shiver.
profiles - profilo
silhouetted - silhouette, controluce, sagoma
against - contrario, contro, in cambio di
brightness - luminosita
shiver - rabbrividire, tremare
"What do you want with me? What have I done?" I murmured.
Suddenly Van Spreckdal said to my guardians:
guardians - guardiano, custode, tutore, tutrice
"You can take the prisoner back to the carriage; we will go to Metzerstrasse."
prisoner - prigioniero, prigioniera
Then, addressing me:
"Christian Vénius," he cried, "you are in a deplorable situation. Collect your thoughts and remember that if the law of man is inflexible, there still remains for you the mercy of God. This you can merit by confessing your crime."
deplorable - deplorabile, deplorevole, deprecabile
collect - riunirsi
inflexible - inflessibile
remains - stare, restare, rimanere
mercy - misericordia, pieta, compassione, benevolenza
merit - merito, merto, meritare
confessing - confessare
crime - crimine, delitto, reato, criminalita
These words stunned me like a blow from a hammer. I fell back with extended arms, crying:
stunned - stordire, intontire, stupefare, sorprendere, incantare
blow - colpo
hammer - martello, cane, percussore, martellare, colpire, picchiare
crying - piangere, (cry), gridare, urlare, pianto, urlo, verso
"Ah! what a terrible dream!"
dream - sogno, sognare
And I fainted.
fainted - debole
When I regained consciousness, the carriage was rolling slowly down the street; another one preceded us. The two officers were always with me. One of them on the way offered a pinch of snuff to his companion; mechanically I reached out my hand toward the snuff-box, but he withdrew it quickly.
regained - riprendere, riappropriarsi, recuperare, riguadagnare
consciousness - conoscenza, coscienza
slowly - lentamente, piano, a rilento
preceded - precedere
offered - offrire
pinch - pizzicare, acciuffare, pizzico
mechanically - meccanicamente, macchinalmente
toward - verso, incontro, per, presso
withdrew - ritirare, ritirarsi
My cheeks reddened with shame, and I turned away my head to conceal my emotion.
reddened - arrossire
shame - vergogna
conceal - nascondere, celare
emotion - emozione
"If you look outside," said the man with the snuff-box, "we shall be obliged to put handcuffs on you."
be obliged - essere obbligato
handcuffs - manetta, ammanettare, bloccare
"May the devil strangle you, you infernal scoundrel!" I said to myself. And as the carriage now stopped, one of them got out, while the other held me by the collar; then, seeing that his comrade was ready to receive me, he pushed me rudely to him.
devil - diavolo
strangle - strangolare
infernal - infernale
receive - ricevere
rudely - ignorantemente, villanamente, scortesemente, inurbanamente
These infinite precautions to hold possession of my person boded no good; but I was far from predicting the seriousness of the accusation that hung over my head until an alarming circumstance opened my eyes and threw me into despair.
infinite - infinito
precautions - precauzione
boded - far presagire
predicting - predire, profetizzare
seriousness - serieta, gravita
hung over - sbornia
alarming - allarme
circumstance - circostanza, dettaglio, caso, circonlocuzione, situazione
despair - disperazione
They pushed me along a low alley, the pavement of which was unequal and broken; along the wall there ran a yellowish ooze, exhaling a fetid odour. I walked down this dark place with the two men behind me. A little further there appeared the chiaroscuro of an interior courtyard.
along - lungo
alley - vicolo
unequal - diseguale, impari
yellowish - giallastro, gialliccio, giallognolo
ooze - fluire
exhaling - espirare, esalare
fetid - fetido
odour - odore
place with - posto con
further - ulteriore, ulteriormente
chiaroscuro - chiaroscuro
interior - interiore, interno
I grew more and more terror-sticken as I advanced. It was no natural feeling: it was a poignant anxiety, outside of nature-like a nightmare. I recoiled instinctively at each step.
sticken - colpito
poignant - appuntito, affilato, chiaro, eloquente, acuto
anxiety - ansia, ansieta, bramosia
nightmare - incubo, brutto sogno
recoiled - rinculo, ritrarsi, rinculare
instinctively - istintivamente
"Go on!" cried one of the policemen, laying his hand on my shoulder; "go on!"
laying - posa
But what was my astonishment when, at the end of the passage, I saw the courtyard that I had drawn the night before, with its walls furnished with hooks, its rubbish-heap of old iron, its chicken-coops, and its rabbit-hutch. Not a dormer window, high or low, not a broken pane, not the slightest detail had been omitted.
astonishment - stupore, meraviglia, sorpresa, sbigottimento
rubbish-heap - (rubbish-heap) cumulo di rifiuti
coops - stia
rabbit - coniglio
hutch - gabbia, conigliera
dormer window - abbaino
pane - vetro
omitted - omettere
I was thunderstruck by this strange revelation.
thunderstruck - astonished
revelation - rivelazione
Near the well were the two judges, Van Spreckdal and Richter. At their feet lay the old woman extended on her back, her long, thin, grey hair, her blue face, her eyes wide open, and her tongue between her teeth.
judges - giudicare
lay - posare
wide - largo, ampio, vasto, laterale
tongue - lingua, linguetta
It was a horrible spectacle!
horrible - orribile, terribile
spectacle - spettacolo
"Well," said Van Spreckdal, with solemn accents, "what have you to say?"
solemn - solenne
accents - accento
I did not reply.
"Do you remember having thrown this woman, Theresa Becker, into this well, after having strangled her to rob her of her money?"
thrown - gettare, lanciare
strangled - strangolare
rob - derubare, svaligiare
"No," I cried, "no! I do not know this woman; I never saw her before. May God help me!"
"That will do," he replied in a dry voice. And without saying another word he went out with his companion.
dry - secco, asciutto, asciugarsi, trinsecchire, tessiccare
The officers now believed that they had best put handcuffs on me. They took me back to the Raspelhaus, in a state of profound stupidity. I did not know what to think; my conscience itself troubled me; I even asked myself if I really had murdered the old woman!
state - Stato
stupidity - asinata, stupidaggine, fesseria
conscience - coscienza
itself - sé, se stesso, sé stesso
troubled - guaio, problema, impiccio, tumulto
In the eyes of the officers I was condemned.
condemned - condannare
I will not tell you of my emotions that night in the Raspelhaus, when, seated on my straw bed with the window opposite me and the gallows in perspective, I heard the watchmen cry in the silence of the night: "Sleep, people of Nuremberg; the Lord watches over you. One o'clock! Two o'clock! Three o'clock!"
emotions - emozione
watchmen - guardiano, sorvegliante
cry - piangere, gridare, urlare, pianto, urlo, verso
Lord - castellano, signore, nobile, nobiluomo, nobildonna, dominare
Every one may form his own idea of such a night. There is a fine saying that it is better to be hanged innocent than guilty. For the soul, yes; but for the body, it makes no difference; on the contrary, it kicks, it curses its lot, it tries to escape, knowing well enough that its role ends with the rope.
innocent - innocente
guilty - colpevole
soul - anima, spirito
contrary - contrario, opposto
kicks - calciare, prendere a calci
curses - maledire
role - ruolo, parte
Add to this, that it repents not having sufficiently enjoyed life and at having listened to the soul when it preached abstinence.
repents - pentirsi
sufficiently - sufficientemente
preached - predicare
abstinence - astinenza, astemia
"Ah! if I had only known!" it cried, "you would not have led me around by a string with your big words, your beautiful phrases, and your magnificent sentences! You would not have allured me with your fine promises. I should have had many happy moments that are now lost forever. Everything is over! You said to me: 'Control your passions.'Very well! I did control them. Here I am now.
led - LED
magnificent - magnifico
allured - fascino
promises - promessa, giuramento, voto, promettere, giurare
forever - per sempre
control - controllare, influenzare, dirigere, controllo, comando
passions - passione
They are going to hang me, and you-later they will speak of you as a sublime soul, a stoical soul, a martyr to the errors of justice. They will never think about me!"
hang - appendere, attaccare
stoical - stoico
martyr - martire
errors of justice - errori di giustizia
Such were the sad reflections of my poor body.
Day broke; at first, dull and undecided, it threw an uncertain light on my bull's-eye window with its cross-bars; then it blazed against the wall at the back. Outside the street became lively. This was a market-day; it was Friday. I heard the vegetable wagons pass and also the country people with their baskets.
dull - spuntato, smussato, noioso, soporifero, tedioso
undecided - indeciso
uncertain - incerto
Cross - croce, segno della croce, incrocio, cross, diagonale, irritato
bars - barra, tavoletta, sbarra
blazed - incendio
lively - vivace
wagons - carro
pass - passare
baskets - cestino, cesto, canestro, cesta
Some chickens cackled in their coops in passing and some butter sellers chattered together. The market opposite opened, and they began to arrange the stalls.
cackled - chiocciare
passing - talian: t-needed
sellers - venditore
chattered - ciarlare
arrange - organizzare
stalls - stalla, scuderia
Finally it was broad daylight and the vast murmur of the increasing crowd, housekeepers who assembled with baskets on their arms, coming and going, discussing and marketing, told me that it was eight o'clock.
broad - largo
daylight - luce del giorno
vast - ampio, vasto, esteso, grande
murmur - mormorio, brusio, sussurro, mormorare
increasing - in aumento, (increase), aumentare, ingrossare, crescere
crowd - folla
housekeepers - governante, casalinga
assembled - assemblare, montare, mettere insieme, riunire, riunirsi, adunare
With the light, my heart gained a little courage. Some of my black thoughts disappeared. I desired to see what was going on outside.
Gained - acquistare, conseguire
desired - desiderare, volere, desiderio, voglia
Other prisoners before me had managed to climb up to the bull's-eye; they had dug some holes in the wall to mount more easily. I climbed in my turn, and, when seated in the oval edge of the window, with my legs bent and my head bowed, I could see the crowd, and all the life and movement. Tears ran freely down my cheeks.
prisoners - prigioniero, prigioniera
managed - dirigere, managgiare, riuscire, arrangiarsi, maneggiare
climb up - salire
dug - scavato
holes - buco
mount - montare, salire
easily - tranquillamente, facilmente, agevolmente
oval - ovale
bent - piegato, (bend), curvare, piegare, piegarsi, curvarsi
movement - movimento
Tears - lacrima
freely - liberamente
I thought no longer of suicide-I experienced a need to live and breathe, which was really extraordinary.
suicide - suicidio, suicida
experienced - esperienza, esperire
breathe - respirare
extraordinary - straordinario, straordinaria, eccezionale, fantastico
"Ah!" I said, "to live what happiness! Let them harness me to a wheelbarrow-let them put a ball and chain around my leg-nothing matters if I may only live!"
Happiness - felicita, gioia, allegria
harness - braca, imbragatura, imbrago, imbracatura, imbracare
wheelbarrow - carriola
chain - catena, incatenare, concatenare
matters - materia, problema, argomento, questione, faccenda, causa
The old market, with its roof shaped like an extinguisher, supported on heavy pillars, made a superb picture: old women seated before their panniers of vegetables, their cages of poultry and their baskets of eggs; behind them the Jews, dealers in old clothes, their faces the colour of old box-wood; butchers with bare arms, cutting up meat on their stalls; countrymen, with large hats on the backs of their heads, calm and grave with their hands behind their backs and resting on their sticks of hollywood, and tranquilly smoking their pipes. Then the tumult and noise of the crowd-those screaming, shrill, grave, high, and short words-those expressive gestures-those sudden attitudes that show from a distance the progress of a discussion and depict so well the character of the individual-in short, all this captivated my mind, and notwithstanding my sad condition, I felt happy to be still of the world.
extinguisher - estintore
pillars - pilastro
superb - superbo, magnifico
panniers - bisaccia
poultry - pollame
Jews - giudeo, giudea, ebreo, ebrea
dealers - distributore, rivenditore, rappresentante, piazzista
butchers - macellaio
cutting up - tagliare
countrymen - connazionale
Calm - calmo
grave - tomba
resting - riposare
sticks - mettere, infilare
hollywood - area of Los Angeles, the American motion picture industry
tranquilly - tranquillamente
smoking - fumare
pipes - cornamusa, canna d'organo, condotto, tubo, pipe, barra verticale
tumult - tumulto
screaming - urlo, grido, gridare, sbraitare, urlare
expressive - espressivo
gestures - gesto
attitudes - atteggiamento, postura, comportamento, approccio
progress - progresso
discussion - discussione
depict - rappresentare, raffigurare
character - personaggio, carattere, caratteristica
captivated - catturare, attirare l'attenzione, attrarre, accattivare
condition - condizione, influenzare, condizionare
Now, while I looked about in this manner, a man-a butcher-passed, inclining forward and carrying an enormous quarter of beef on his shoulders; his arms were bare, his elbows were raised upward and his head was bent under them. His long hair, like that of Salvator's Sicambrian, hid his face from me; and yet, at the first glance, I trembled.
butcher - macellaio, (butch), maschiaccio
passed - passare
inclining - inclinazione
forward - avanti, in avanti
elbows - gomito, raccordo, gomitata, sgomitare
raised - alzare, innalzare
hid - nascosto
trembled - tremare, tremolare, tremore
"It is he!" I said.
All the blood in my body rushed to my heart. I got down from the window trembling to the ends of my fingers, feeling my cheeks quiver, and the pallor spread over my face, stammering in a choked voice:
rushed - precipitarsi, portare d'urgenza
quiver - tremare, tremolare
pallor - pallore, pallidita
spread - spartire, allargare, spargere, diffondere, sparpagliare
stammering - balbettio, balbettamento, ciangottio
choked - soffocare
"It is he! he is there-there-and I, I have to die to expiate his crime. Oh, God! what shall I do? What shall I do?"
expiate - espiare
A sudden idea, an inspiration from Heaven, flashed across my mind. I put my hand in the pocket of my coat-my box of crayons was there!
Heaven - cielo, paradiso
flashed - lampo
crayons - pastello
Then rushing to the wall, I began to trace the scene of the murder with superhuman energy. No uncertainty, no hesitation! I knew the man! I had seen him! He was there before me!
rushing - correre
trace - traccia
superhuman - sovrumano, sovrumana
uncertainty - incertezza
hesitation - esitazione
At ten o'clock the jailer came to my cell. His owl-like impassibility gave place to admiration.
cell - cella
impassibility - impassibilita
admiration - ammirazione
"Is it possible?" he cried, standing at the threshold.
"Go, bring me my judges," I said to him, pursuing my work with an increasing exultation.
pursuing - perseguire, (pursue), perseguitare, tormentare
exultation - esultanza
Schlüssel answered:
"They are waiting for you in the trial-room."
trial - processo
"I wish to make a revelation," I cried, as I put the finishing touches to the mysterious personage.
wish - desiderio, voglia, volere, desiderare, augurare
touches - toccare, commuovere, tocco, tatto
He lived; he was frightful to see. His full-faced figure, foreshortened upon the wall, stood out from the white background with an astonishing vitality.
frightful - spaventoso
foreshortened - scorciatoia
background - sfondo
astonishing - sorprendere, stupire
vitality - vitalita
The jailer went away.
went away - andare via
A few minutes afterward the two judges appeared. They were stupefied. I, trembling, with extended hand, said to them:
afterward - dopo
"There is the murderer!"
After a few minutes of silence, Van Spreckdal asked me:
"What is his name?"
"I don't know; but he is at this moment in the market; he is cutting up meat in the third stall to the left as you enter from Trabaus Street."
stall - stalla, scuderia
enter - entrare, immettere, digitare
"What do you think?" said he, leaning toward his colleague.
leaning - appoggiarsi
colleague - collega
"send for the man," he replied in a grave tone.
send for - concovare
Several officers retained in the corridor obeyed this order. The judges stood, examining the sketch. As for me, I had dropped on my bed of straw, my head between my knees, perfectly exhausted.
retained - conservare, mantenere
obeyed - obbedire, ubbidire, assolvere, conformarsi
examining - esaminare
dropped - goccia
perfectly - perfettamente, propriamente, totalmente
exhausted - esaurire
Soon steps were heard echoing under the archway. Those who have never awaited the hour of deliverance and counted the minutes, which seem like centuries-those who have never experienced the sharp emotions of outrage, terror, hope, and doubt-can have no conception of the inward chills that I experienced at that moment.
echoing - eco
deliverance - liberazione, consegnato, checkverdetto, checkparto
counted - conte
sharp - affilato, aguzzo, intelligente, acuto, appuntito, diesis, acre
outrage - oltraggio, sdegno, indignazione, oltraggiare
doubt - dubitare, dubbio, perplessita
no conception of - nessun concetto, nessuna idea
inward - intimo
chills - freddo
I should have distinguished the step of the murderer, walking between the guards, among a thousand others. They approached. The judges themselves seemed moved. I raised up my head, my heart feeling as if an iron hand had clutched it, and I fixed my eyes upon the closed door. It opened. The man entered.
distinguished - distinguere, discernere, distinguersi
guards - guardia, piantone, custode, elsa
among - tra, fra, in mezzo a
approached - avvicinarsi
fixed - aggiustare, riparare, mettere una pezza, sistemare, preparare
His cheeks were red and swollen, the muscles in his large contracted jaws twitched as far as his ears, and his little restless eyes, yellow like a wolf's, gleamed beneath his heavy yellowish red eyebrows.
swollen - gonfiare, gonfiarsi, aumentare
muscles - muscolo
twitched - (torcersi spasmodicamente)
restless - instancabile, irrequieto
wolf - lupo, donnaiolo, divorare
gleamed - brillare
Van Spreckdal showed him the sketch in silence.
sketch in - aggiungere qualcosa
Then that murderous man, with the large shoulders, having looked, grew pale-then, giving a roar which thrilled us all with terror, he waved his enormous arms, and jumped backward to overthrow the guards.
murderous - letale, micidiale, mortale, omicida
roar - ruggire, sganasciarsi dalle risate
thrilled - eccitare, elettrizzare
waved - onda
jumped - saltare, far saltare
backward - indietro, retromarcia, riluttante, antiquato, fuori moda
overthrow - rovesciare
There was a terrible struggle in the corridor; you could hear nothing but the panting breath of the butcher, his muttered imprecations, and the short words and the shuffling feet of the guard, upon the flagstones.
Struggle - lotta, lottare
the panting - l'ansimare
muttered - mormorare
imprecations - imprecazione
shuffling - rimescolando, (shuffle), mescolare, mischiare, strascicare
guard - guardia, piantone, custode, elsa
This lasted only about a minute.
lasted - ultimo
Finally the assassin re-entered, with his head hanging down, his eyes bloodshot, and his hands fastened behind his back. He looked again at the picture of the murderer; he seemed to reflect, and then, in a low voice, as if talking to himself:
assassin - assassino, assassina
hanging - appeso
bloodshot - sanguigna
fastened - chiudere, fissare, attaccare
"Who could have seen me," he said, "at midnight?"
I was saved!
saved - salvare, soccorrere, redimere, immagazzinare, risparmiare
Many years have passed since that terrible adventure. Thank Heaven! I make silhouettes no longer, nor portraits of burgomasters. Through hard work and perseverance, I have conquered my place in the world, and I earn my living honourably by painting works of art-the sole end, in my opinion, to which a true artist should aspire. But the memory of that nocturnal sketch has always remained in my mind.
Since - da allora, a partire da, da quando, poiché, giacché, dacché
nor - neanche, nemmeno
perseverance - perseveranza
conquered - conquistare, sconfiggere, vincere
earn - guadagnare
honourably - onorevolmente, onorabilmente
aspire - aspirare
Sometimes, in the midst of work, the thought of it recurs. Then I lay down my palette and dream for hours.
midst - in mezzo a*
recurs - ripresentarsi, ripetersi
palette - tavolozza, gamma di colori
How could a crime committed by a man that I did not know-at a place that I had never seen-have been reproduced by my pencil, in all its smallest details?
committed - affidare, impegnarsi, arrestare, imprigionare, ricoverare
reproduced - riprodurre, riprodursi, ricreare, richiamare
Was it chance? No! And moreover, what is chance but the effect of a cause of which we are ignorant?
Moreover - inoltre
effect - effetto, effettuare
cause - causa, provocare, causare, produrre, ottenere
ignorant - ignorante
Was Schiller right when he said: "The immortal soul does not participate in the weaknesses of matter; during the sleep of the body, it spreads its radiant wings and travels, God knows where! What it then does, no one can say, but inspiration sometimes betrays the secret of its nocturnal wanderings."
Schiller - surname
immortal - immortale, indimenticabile
participate - partecipare (a)
weaknesses - debolezza, cagionevolezza, fievolezza, punto debole
spreads - spartire, allargare, spargere, diffondere, sparpagliare
radiant - radiante
wings - ala, squadra, parafango
Betrays - consegnare, tradire, rivelare
secret - segreto
wanderings - vagabondaggio
Who knows? Nature is more audacious in her realities than man in his most fantastic imagining.
audacious - audace, azzardato, avventato
realities - realta
most fantastic - il piu fantastico