secret agent - agente segreto
simple - semplice, mero
Tale - storia, resoconto
Joseph - Giuseppe
Mr Verloc, going out in the morning, left his shop nominally in charge of his brother-in-law. It could be done, because there was very little business at any time, and practically none at all before the evening. Mr Verloc cared but little about his ostensible business. And, moreover, his wife was in charge of his brother-in-law.
Mr - Signor
nominally - nominalmente
charge - costo, prezzo, carico, accusa, imputazione, carica, incarico
law - legge
practically - praticamente
none - nessuno, niente
ostensible - apparente
Moreover - inoltre
The shop was small, and so was the house. It was one of those grimy brick houses which existed in large quantities before the era of reconstruction dawned upon London. The shop was a square box of a place, with the front glazed in small panes. In the daytime the door remained closed; in the evening it stood discreetly but suspiciously ajar.
those - quelle, quei, quegli
grimy - torbido
brick - mattone, laterizio, tegola
existed - esistere
quantities - grandezza, quantita, numero
era - era, epoca
reconstruction - ricostruzione
dawned - spuntare, albeggiare, alba, aurora, albori
upon - su, a
square - quadrato, squadra, piazza, sagrato, casella, convenzionale
glazed - gelicidio, velatura
panes - vetro
daytime - giornata, di
remained - stare, restare, rimanere
discreetly - con discrezione
ajar - socchiuso
The window contained photographs of more or less undressed dancing girls; nondescript packages in wrappers like patent medicines; closed yellow paper envelopes, very flimsy, and marked two-and-six in heavy black figures; a few numbers of ancient French comic publications hung across a string as if to dry; a dingy blue china bowl, a casket of black wood, bottles of marking ink, and rubber stamps; a few books, with titles hinting at impropriety; a few apparently old copies of obscure newspapers, badly printed, with titles like The Torch, The Gong-rousing titles. And the two gas jets inside the panes were always turned low, either for economy's sake or for the sake of the customers.
contained - contenere
undressed - svestirsi
nondescript - ordinario
packages - pacco, pacchetto, impacchettamento
wrappers - involucro
patent - brevetto
medicines - medicina, farmaco
low - basso
envelopes - busta
flimsy - leggero
marked - Marco
heavy - pesante
figures - figura, fisico, personaggio, cifra, forma, calcolare, risolvere
ancient - antico
French - francese
comic - comico, fumetto, striscia, giornaletto, giornalino
publications - pubblicazione, periodico, rivista
hung - appendere, attaccare
string - spago, stringa, laccetto, legaccio, corda
dry - secco, asciutto, asciugarsi, trinsecchire, tessiccare
dingy - sporco
China - porcellana
bowl - boccia
casket - scrigno, cofanetto, urna
wood - legno
marking - marcatura, (mark), Marco
ink - inchiostro, inchiostrare, firmare, tatuare
rubber - gomma, di gomma
stamps - conio, bollo, battere i piedi, pestare i piedi, stampare, timbrare, affrancare
hinting at - alludere
impropriety - improprieta, sconvenienza
apparently - chiaramente, evidentemente, apparentemente, sembra che
copies - copia, replica, copiare, imitare, ricevere
obscure - oscuro, nascosto, oscurato, confuso, poco chiaro, vago
badly - male
printed - stampare, scrivere in stampatello, impronta, stampa
torch - fiaccola, torcia, incendiare
rousing - svegliare
jets - giavazzo
inside - interno, dentro, dall'interno, checkriservato
either - ciascuno, entrambi, ogni, neanche, nemmeno
economy - economia, risparmio
sake - (per amore di)
These customers were either very young men, who hung about the window for a time before slipping in suddenly; or men of a more mature age, but looking generally as if they were not in funds.
hung about - gironzolare
slipping - scivolare
suddenly - all'improvviso, improvvisamente
more mature - piu maturo
generally - in genere, generalmente, di solito, in generale, a grandi linee
funds - fondo, finanziare
Some of that last kind had the collars of their overcoats turned right up to their moustaches, and traces of mud on the bottom of their nether garments, which had the appearance of being much worn and not very valuable. And the legs inside them did not, as a general rule, seem of much account either.
Last - ultimo
collars - bavero, bavera, collo, colletto, collare
overcoats - soprabito, cappotto
moustaches - baffi, mostaccio
traces - traccia
mud - fango
bottom - fondo, parte inferiore, sedere, passivo
nether - netti
garments - vestito, indumento, capo, abito
appearance - apparizione, comparsa, visione, apparenza, aspetto
valuable - prezioso
general - generale
Seem - sembrare, parere, apparire
account - conto
With their hands plunged deep in the side pockets of their coats, they dodged in sideways, one shoulder first, as if afraid to start the bell going.
plunged - tuffarsi
deep - profondo, spesso, esteso, profondo (1, 2)
side pockets - tasche laterali
dodged - schivare, scansare, eludere
sideways - laterale
bell - campana
The bell, hung on the door by means of a curved ribbon of steel, was difficult to circumvent. It was hopelessly cracked; but of an evening, at the slightest provocation, it clattered behind the customer with impudent virulence.
curved - curva, curvare
ribbon - nastro, fettuccia
of steel - d'acciaio
circumvent - eludere, circonvenire
hopelessly - senza speranza
cracked - rompersi, incrinarsi
slightest - insignificante, leggero, debole, lieve, disprezzare, sminuire
provocation - provocazione
clattered - lo sbattere
impudent - impertinente, sfrontato, impudente
virulence - virulenza
It clattered; and at that signal, through the dusty glass door behind the painted deal counter, Mr Verloc would issue hastily from the parlour at the back. His eyes were naturally heavy; he had an air of having wallowed, fully dressed, all day on an unmade bed. Another man would have felt such an appearance a distinct disadvantage.
signal - segnale, campo, segnalare, indicare
dusty - polveroso, impolverato
deal - accordo
counter - contatore
issue - emissione, fuoriuscita, esito, questione, problematica
hastily - frettolosamente, precipitatamente
parlour - salotto
naturally - naturalmente
wallowed - sguazzare, diguazzare
fully - pienamente, completamente, appieno, ampiamente
unmade - disfare
such - tale
distinct - chiaro, distinto, diverso
disadvantage - svantaggio
In a commercial transaction of the retail order much depends on the seller's engaging and amiable aspect. But Mr Verloc knew his business, and remained undisturbed by any sort of ćsthetic doubt about his appearance.
commercial - commerciale
transaction - transazione
retail - vendita al dettaglio, vendere al dettaglio
depends - dipendere, fare affidamento
seller - venditore
engaging - attirare, convergere, ingaggiare, intavolare, irretire
amiable - amabile, affabile, affettuoso
aspect - aspetto
undisturbed - indisturbato
sort - sorta, tipo
ćsthetic - estetico
doubt - dubitare, dubbio, perplessita
With a firm, steady-eyed impudence, which seemed to hold back the threat of some abominable menace, he would proceed to sell over the counter some object looking obviously and scandalously not worth the money which passed in the transaction: a small cardboard box with apparently nothing inside, for instance, or one of those carefully closed yellow flimsy envelopes, or a soiled volume in paper covers with a promising title. Now and then it happened that one of the faded, yellow dancing girls would get sold to an amateur, as though she had been alive and young.
firm - fermo, sicuro
steady - fermo, saldo, fidato, sicuro, costante
impudence - impudenza, sfrontatezza
seemed - sembrare, parere, apparire
hold back - trattenere, nascondere
threat - minaccia
abominable - abominabile, detestabile, efferato, odioso
menace - minaccia
proceed - procedere
Obviously - ovviamente
scandalously - scandalosamente
worth - valore
passed - passare
cardboard box - scatola di cartone
instance - volta
carefully - minuziosamente, accuratamente, meticolosamente, puntigliosamente
soiled - suolo, terreno, terra
volume - volume
covers - coperto, coperchio, copertura, nascondiglio, copertina, coperta
promising - promessa, giuramento, voto, promettere, giurare
faded - affievolirsi
amateur - dilettante, appassionato, amateur, amatore
though - comunque, nonostante, in ogni caso, ad ogni modo, anche se
alive - vivo, attivo, animato
Sometimes it was Mrs Verloc who would appear at the call of the cracked bell. Winnie Verloc was a young woman with a full bust, in a tight bodice, and with broad hips. Her hair was very tidy. Steady-eyed like her husband, she preserved an air of unfathomable indifference behind the rampart of the counter.
Mrs - Signor
appear - apparire
bust - seno
tight - aderente, teso, stretto, tirato, nitido
bodice - corpino, corpetto
broad - largo
hips - anca
tidy - ordinato
preserved - riserva, preservare, proteggere, salvaguardare, conservare
unfathomable - insondabile, imperscrutabile, incomprensibile
indifference - indifferenza
rampart - muro, cinto, cinta, recinto, baluardo
Then the customer of comparatively tender years would get suddenly disconcerted at having to deal with a woman, and with rage in his heart would proffer a request for a bottle of marking ink, retail value sixpence (price in Verloc's shop one-and-sixpence), which, once outside, he would drop stealthily into the gutter.
comparatively - relativamente
tender - tenero
disconcerted - sconcertare, sconvolgere
rage - rabbia, furia, furore, infuriare, imperversare
heart - cuore
proffer - profferta, proporre
request - chiedere, richiesta, talian: t-needed
value - valore, valutare, stimare, apprezzare, valorizzare
sixpence - moneta da sei penny
drop - goccia
stealthily - furtivamente, di nascosto
gutter - grondaia
The evening visitors-the men with collars turned up and soft hats rammed down-nodded familiarly to Mrs Verloc, and with a muttered greeting, lifted up the flap at the end of the counter in order to pass into the back parlour, which gave access to a passage and to a steep flight of stairs.
soft - morbido
rammed - memoria
nodded - annuire, accennare, scuotere, addormentarsi, appisolarsi
familiarly - familiarmente
muttered - mormorare
greeting - saluto, benvenuto
lifted - alzare, sollevare
flap - lembo
pass into - passare in
access - accesso
passage - passaggio
steep - ripido
stairs - scalino, scala
The door of the shop was the only means of entrance to the house in which Mr Verloc carried on his business of a seller of shady wares, exercised his vocation of a protector of society, and cultivated his domestic virtues. These last were pronounced. He was thoroughly domesticated. Neither his spiritual, nor his mental, nor his physical needs were of the kind to take him much abroad.
entrance - entrata
shady - ombroso, ombreggiato, opaco, losco, bieco, torvo
wares - merce
vocation - vocazione
protector - protettore, protettrice
Society - societa, associazione
cultivated - coltivare
virtues - virtu, merito
pronounced - dichiarare, emettere, pronunziare, pronunciare
thoroughly - completamente, totalmente, assolutamente
domesticated - addomesticare
neither - nessuno, né X né Y, neanche, nemmeno, neppure, manco
spiritual - spirituale, spiritual
nor - neanche, nemmeno
mental - mentale
physical - fisico
abroad - all'estero
He found at home the ease of his body and the peace of his conscience, together with Mrs Verloc's wifely attentions and Mrs Verloc's mother's deferential regard.
ease - facilita, riposo, attenuare
peace - pace, armonia
conscience - coscienza
wifely - mogliesco
attentions - attenzione, allerta, sull'attenti
deferential - deferente, deferenziale, ossequente
regard - considerare
Winnie's mother was a stout, wheezy woman, with a large brown face. She wore a black wig under a white cap. Her swollen legs rendered her inactive.
stout - solido
wheezy - affannoso
wig - parrucca
cap - berretto
swollen - gonfiare, gonfiarsi, aumentare
rendered - rendere
inactive - inattivo
She considered herself to be of French descent, which might have been true; and after a good many years of married life with a licensed victualler of the more common sort, she provided for the years of widowhood by letting furnished apartments for gentlemen near Vauxhall Bridge Road in a square once of some splendour and still included in the district of Belgravia.
considered - considerare, pensare, osservare, prendere, prestare attenzione
descent - discesa, ascendenza
been true - e stato vero
licensed - licenza, permesso
victualler - vettovagliamento
provided - soddisfare, prevedere, supporre, provvedere, fornire, erogare
widowhood - vedovanza
furnished - fornire
gentlemen - gentiluomo, galantuomo, signore, signor
Bridge - ponte
splendour - splendore
district - distretto
This topographical fact was of some advantage in advertising her rooms; but the patrons of the worthy widow were not exactly of the fashionable kind. Such as they were, her daughter Winnie helped to look after them. Traces of the French descent which the widow boasted of were apparent in Winnie too. They were apparent in the extremely neat and artistic arrangement of her glossy dark hair.
topographical - topografico
advantage - vantaggio, beneficio
advertising - pubblicita, (advertise), annunciare, promuovere, divulgare
patrons - patrono, mecenate, cliente, proprietario
worthy - degno
widow - vedova, vedovare
exactly - esattamente, appunto
fashionable - alla moda
look after - prendersi cura di
boasted - vantarsi
apparent - apparente, visibile, evidente, chiaro
extremely - estremamente
neat - preciso, ordinato
artistic - artistico
arrangement - arrangiamento, sistemazione, incontro, composizione
glossy - lucido, patinato, luccicante
Winnie had also other charms: her youth; her full, rounded form; her clear complexion; the provocation of her unfathomable reserve, which never went so far as to prevent conversation, carried on on the lodgers'part with animation, and on hers with an equable amiability. It must be that Mr Verloc was susceptible to these fascinations. Mr Verloc was an intermittent patron.
charms - fascino
youth - gioventu, giovinezza, giovane, giovanotto, ragazzo
rounded - rotondo, tondo
clear - trasparente, limpido, pulito, chiaro, nitido
complexion - carnagione
reserve - riserva, riservare
prevent - impedire, prevenire
lodgers - inquilino
animation - ravvivamento, animazione, vivificazione
equable - equo
amiability - amabilita
susceptible - suscettibile
fascinations - fascinazione, fascino, passione
intermittent - intermittente
patron - patrono, mecenate, cliente, proprietario
He came and went without any very apparent reason. He generally arrived in London (like the influenza) from the Continent, only he arrived unheralded by the Press; and his visitations set in with great severity. He breakfasted in bed, and remained wallowing there with an air of quiet enjoyment till noon every day-and sometimes even to a later hour.
influenza - influenza, febbre
Continent - continente
unheralded - senza avviso previo
press - premere, pigiare
visitations - diritto di visita
set - Seth
severity - severita, gravita, serieta
wallowing - sguazzare
enjoyment - divertimento
noon - mezzogiorno
But when he went out he seemed to experience a great difficulty in finding his way back to his temporary home in the Belgravian square.
Experience - esperienza, esperire
difficulty - difficolta
temporary - temporaneo
Belgravian - Belgravia
He left it late, and returned to it early-as early as three or four in the morning; and on waking up at ten addressed Winnie, bringing in the breakfast tray, with jocular, exhausted civility, in the hoarse, failing tones of a man who had been talking vehemently for many hours together.
waking up - svegliarsi
bringing in - apportare
tray - vassoio
jocular - scherzoso
exhausted - esaurire
civility - civilta
hoarse - fioco
failing - Non riuscendo
tones - tono
vehemently - veementemente, energeticamente
His prominent, heavy-lidded eyes rolled sideways amorously and languidly, the bedclothes were pulled up to his chin, and his dark smooth moustache covered his thick lips capable of much honeyed banter.
prominent - ordine del giorno
lidded - coperchio, tappo
rolled - rotolo
amorously - amorevolmente
languidly - languidamente
bedclothes - biancheria da letto
pulled - tirare
chin - mento
smooth - liscio, mellifluo, facile, dolce, soffice, blando
moustache - baffi, mostaccio
covered - coperto, coperchio, copertura, nascondiglio, copertina, coperta
thick lips - labbra spesse
capable - capace
honeyed - miele, carino, tesoro, gioia
banter - chiacchierata, stuzzicare
In Winnie's mother's opinion Mr Verloc was a very nice gentleman. From her life's experience gathered in various "business houses" the good woman had taken into her retirement an ideal of gentlemanliness as exhibited by the patrons of private-saloon bars. Mr Verloc approached that ideal; he attained it, in fact.
gathered - cogliere, collezionare, radunarsi, raccogliere, bottinare
various - vario
retirement - pensionamento
Ideal - ideale
gentlemanliness - galanteria
exhibited - mostrare, dimostrare, esposizione
private - personale, riservato, privato, privata
saloon - sala
bars - barra, tavoletta, sbarra
approached - avvicinarsi
attained - raggiungere, ottenere, attenere
"Of course, we'll take over your furniture, mother," Winnie had remarked.
furniture - mobilio
remarked - osservazione, commento
The lodging-house was to be given up. It seems it would not answer to carry it on. It would have been too much trouble for Mr Verloc. It would not have been convenient for his other business.
lodging - alloggio, allettamento, (lodge), casino, guardiola, portineria
Seems - sembrare, parere, apparire
trouble - guaio, problema, impiccio, tumulto
Convenient - conveniente, comodo
What his business was he did not say; but after his engagement to Winnie he took the trouble to get up before noon, and descending the basement stairs, make himself pleasant to Winnie's mother in the breakfast-room downstairs where she had her motionless being. He stroked the cat, poked the fire, had his lunch served to him there.
engagement - impegno, connessione, partecipazione, adesione, presenza
descending - scendere
basement - scantinato, seminterrato, basamento
pleasant - piacevole, gradito, gradevole
motionless - immobile, immoto, inerte
stroked - colpo
poked - cacciare, dare un colpetto
served - servizio, servire, essere in forza, operare, lavorare per
He left its slightly stuffy cosiness with evident reluctance, but, all the same, remained out till the night was far advanced. He never offered to take Winnie to theatres, as such a nice gentleman ought to have done. His evenings were occupied. His work was in a way political, he told Winnie once. She would have, he warned her, to be very nice to his political friends.
slightly - leggermente
stuffy - chiuso
cosiness - accogliente
evident - evidente
reluctance - riluttanza
advanced - avanzare, progredire, anticipare, migliorare, avvicinarsi
offered - offrire
gentleman - gentiluomo, galantuomo, signore, signor
occupied - occupare
political - politico
warned - avvertire, avvisare
And with her straight, unfathomable glance she answered that she would be so, of course.
straight - dritto, retto, diretto, liscio, puro, in linea, convenzionale
glance - dare un'occhiata, sbirciare, occhieggiare, radere, rasentare
How much more he told her as to his occupation it was impossible for Winnie's mother to discover. The married couple took her over with the furniture. The mean aspect of the shop surprised her. The change from the Belgravian square to the narrow street in Soho affected her legs adversely. They became of an enormous size.
occupation - occupazione
impossible - impossibile, insopportabile, impossibile (2)
discover - scoprire, trovare
couple - coppia, paio, agganciare, accoppiare
surprised - sorpresa, stupire, sorprendere, meravigliare
narrow - stretto
affected - avere effetto su
adversely - negativamente
enormous - enorme, grandissimo, vasto, smisurato
size - dimensioni
On the other hand, she experienced a complete relief from material cares. Her son-in-law's heavy good nature inspired her with a sense of absolute safety. Her daughter's future was obviously assured, and even as to her son Stevie she need have no anxiety. She had not been able to conceal from herself that he was a terrible encumbrance, that poor Stevie.
experienced - esperienza, esperire
relief - sollievo
material - materiale
good nature - buona natura
inspired - ispirare
sense - senso, coscienza, sensazione, significato, tocco
absolute - assoluto
safety - sicurezza
assured - assicurato, (assure), assicurare, garantire
anxiety - ansia, ansieta, bramosia
conceal - nascondere, celare
encumbrance - ingombro
But in view of Winnie's fondness for her delicate brother, and of Mr Verloc's kind and generous disposition, she felt that the poor boy was pretty safe in this rough world. And in her heart of hearts she was not perhaps displeased that the Verlocs had no children.
view - vista, veduta, visualizzazione, visione, opinione
fondness - affezione
delicate - delicato (1, 2)
generous - magnanimo, generoso, abbondante
disposition - carattere
safe - sicuro, protetto, cassaforte
rough - ruvido, rugoso, scabro, approssimato, mosso, difficile, rude
hearts - cuore
Perhaps - forse
displeased - dispiacere
As that circumstance seemed perfectly indifferent to Mr Verloc, and as Winnie found an object of quasi-maternal affection in her brother, perhaps this was just as well for poor Stevie.
circumstance - circostanza, dettaglio, caso, circonlocuzione, situazione
perfectly - perfettamente, propriamente, totalmente
indifferent - indifferente
quasi - quasi
maternal - materno
affection - affetto
For he was difficult to dispose of, that boy. He was delicate and, in a frail way, good-looking too, except for the vacant droop of his lower lip. Under our excellent system of compulsory education he had learned to read and write, notwithstanding the unfavourable aspect of the lower lip. But as errand-boy he did not turn out a great success.
dispose of - smaltire
frail - fragile, debole
Except - salvo, tranne, eccetto, fatto salvo
vacant - vacante
droop - pendere
lower lip - labbro inferiore
excellent - eccellente, eccezionale
system - sistema
compulsory education - l'istruzione obbligatoria
notwithstanding - nonostante
unfavourable - sfavorevole
errand - commissione, ambasciata, incombenza, incarico
He forgot his messages; he was easily diverted from the straight path of duty by the attractions of stray cats and dogs, which he followed down narrow alleys into unsavoury courts; by the comedies of the streets, which he contemplated open-mouthed, to the detriment of his employer's interests; or by the dramas of fallen horses, whose pathos and violence induced him sometimes to shriek pierceingly in a crowd, which disliked to be disturbed by sounds of distress in its quiet enjoyment of the national spectacle. When led away by a grave and protecting policeman, it would often become apparent that poor Stevie had forgotten his address-at least for a time. A brusque question caused him to stutter to the point of suffocation. When startled by anything perplexing he used to squint horribly. However, he never had any fits (which was encouraging); and before the natural outbursts of impatience on the part of his father he could always, in his childhood's days, run for protection behind the short skirts of his sister Winnie. On the other hand, he might have been suspected of hiding a fund of reckless naughtiness. When he had reached the age of fourteen a friend of his late father, an agent for a foreign preserved milk firm, having given him an opening as office-boy, he was discovered one foggy afternoon, in his chief's absence, busy letting off fireworks on the staircase. He touched off in quick succession a set of fierce rockets, angry catherine wheels, loudly exploding squibs-and the matter might have turned out very serious. An awful panic spread through the whole building. Wild-eyed, choking clerks stampeded through the passages full of smoke, silk hats and elderly business men could be seen rolling independently down the stairs. Stevie did not seem to derive any personal gratification from what he had done. His motives for this stroke of originality were difficult to discover. It was only later on that Winnie obtained from him a misty and confused confession. It seems that two other office-boys in the building had worked upon his feelings by tales of injustice and oppression till they had wrought his compassion to the pitch of that frenzy. But his father's friend, of course, dismissed him summarily as likely to ruin his business. After that altruistic exploit Stevie was put to help wash the dishes in the basement kitchen, and to black the boots of the gentlemen patronising the Belgravian mansion. There was obviously no future in such work. The gentlemen tipped him a shilling now and then. Mr Verloc showed himself the most generous of lodgers. But altogether all that did not amount to much either in the way of gain or prospects; so that when Winnie announced her engagement to Mr Verloc her mother could not help wondering, with a sigh and a glance towards the scullery, what would become of poor Stephen now.
easily - tranquillamente, facilmente, agevolmente
diverted - deviare, distrarre, divertirsi, distrarsi
Duty - dovere, obbligo, servizio, attivita, tassa, dazio
attractions - attrazione, attrattiva
stray - allontanarsi, smarrirsi
alleys - vicolo
unsavoury - disgustoso
Courts - cortile, corte, tribunale, assemblea, giuria
comedies - commedia
contemplated - considerare, contemplare
detriment - detrimento, scapito, svantaggio
employer - datore di lavoro
dramas - dramma
whose - talian: di chi, cui
pathos - the quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions
violence - violenza
induced - persuadere, incitare, indurre, provocare
shriek - gridare, strillare
pierceingly - in modo penetrante
crowd - folla
disliked - antipatia, avversione, non piacersi
disturbed - disturbare
distress - angoscia, pena, miseria, sconforto, pericolo
national - nazionale
spectacle - spettacolo
grave - tomba
protecting - proteggere
brusque - brusco, sbrigativo, spicciativo, spiccio
caused - causa, provocare, causare, produrre, ottenere
stutter - balbuzie
suffocation - soffocazione
startled - scattare, sobbalzare, spaventare, sorprendere, schivare, evitare
perplexing - confondere, rendere perplesso
squint - socchiudere gli occhi, strabicare
horribly - orribilmente
fits - in forma*
encouraging - incoraggiare, raccomandare, esortare, favorire
outbursts - esplosione, scoppio, scroscio
Impatience - Impazienza
childhood - infanzia
protection - protezione
suspected - sospettare
hiding - nascondersi
fund - fondo, finanziare
reckless - avventato, spericolato
naughtiness - cattiveria
reached - arrivare a, raggiungere
agent - agente
foreign - estraneo, estranea, straniero, straniera
discovered - scoprire, trovare
foggy - nebbioso
chief - capo, direzione
absence - assenza, mancanza, difetto, invito aperto, ferro libero
letting off - lasciare andare
fireworks - fuoco d'artificio, fuoco artificiale
staircase - scalinata, tromba delle scale
touched - commosso
in quick succession - in rapida successione
fierce - feroce, risoluto
rockets - razzo
Catherine - Caterina
wheels - ruota, timone, ruota del timone, pezzo grosso, cerchio
loudly - a voce alta, forte
exploding - esplodere
squibs - \"\"
matter - materia, problema, argomento, questione, faccenda, causa
serious - serio, grave, critico
awful - pessimo, terribile, orribile, impressionante, tremendamente
panic - panico
spread - spartire, allargare, spargere, diffondere, sparpagliare
wild - selvaggio, selvatico
choking - soffocare
clerks - impiegato
stampeded - timbrato
passages - passaggio
smoke - fumo
silk - seta
elderly - anziano, anziana, anziani, anziane
rolling - rotolamento
independently - in modo indipendente
derive - derivare
gratification - gratificazione
motives - motivo
stroke - colpo
originality - originalita
obtained - ottenere, riuscire, avere, stabilirsi
misty - con foschia, nebbioso, velato
confused - confondere
confession - confessione
feelings - sentimenti
tales - storia, resoconto
injustice - ingiustizia
oppression - oppressione
compassion - compassione
pitch - piantare, fissare
frenzy - frenesia
dismissed - licenziare, congedare, mandare via, dimettere, rompere le righe
summarily - sommariamente, sbrigativamente
Likely - E probabile
ruin - rovina, rovinare
altruistic - altruista, altruistico
exploit - gesto eroico, gesta eroiche, gesta, prodezza, impresa
wash the dishes - lavare i piatti
patronising - patrocinare
mansion - reggia, dimora, palazzo, villa
tipped - punta
shilling - scellino, (shill), uomo di paglia, prestanome, compare
most generous - il piu generoso
altogether - del tutto, nel complesso
amount to - ammontare a
gain - acquistare, conseguire
prospects - prospettiva, lungimiranza, possibilita, eventualita
announced - annunciare, segnalare, pronunciare
wondering - chiedersi, (wonder), meraviglia, domandarsi
sigh - sospirare
towards - verso, incontro, per, presso
scullery - retrocucina
It appeared that Mr Verloc was ready to take him over together with his wife's mother and with the furniture, which was the whole visible fortune of the family. Mr Verloc gathered everything as it came to his broad, good-natured breast. The furniture was disposed to the best advantage all over the house, but Mrs Verloc's mother was confined to two back rooms on the first floor.
appeared - apparire
visible - visibile
Fortune - sorte, destino, fortuna, dote
good-natured - (good-natured) di buon carattere
breast - mammella, poppa, petto, seno
disposed - eliminare, disporre, mettere, depositare, distribuire
confined - limitare
first floor - primo piano
The luckless Stevie slept in one of them. By this time a growth of thin fluffy hair had come to blur, like a golden mist, the sharp line of his small lower jaw. He helped his sister with blind love and docility in her household duties. Mr Verloc thought that some occupation would be good for him. His spare time he occupied by drawing circles with compass and pencil on a piece of paper.
luckless - senza fortuna
growth - crescita, accrescimento
fluffy - soffice
blur - sbavare, offuscare
Golden - Dorato
mist - nebbia, foschia
sharp - affilato, aguzzo, intelligente, acuto, appuntito, diesis, acre
lower jaw - mascella inferiore
blind - cieco, orbo, tenda, accecare, ciecamente
docility - docilita
household - famiglia, nucleo familiare, domestico, casalinghi
duties - dovere, obbligo, servizio, attivita, tassa, dazio
spare time - tempo libero
circles - cerchio, disco, sfera, curva, circolo, gruppo, cenacolo
compass - bussola
He applied himself to that pastime with great industry, with his elbows spread out and bowed low over the kitchen table. Through the open door of the parlour at the back of the shop Winnie, his sister, glanced at him from time to time with maternal vigilance.
applied - applicare
pastime - passatempo
industry - industria
elbows - gomito, raccordo, gomitata, sgomitare
bowed - inchinarsi, chinare il capo
glanced - dare un'occhiata, sbirciare, occhieggiare, radere, rasentare
vigilance - vigilanza
Such was the house, the household, and the business Mr Verloc left behind him on his way westward at the hour of half-past ten in the morning.
westward - verso ovest
It was unusually early for him; his whole person exhaled the charm of almost dewy freshness; he wore his blue cloth overcoat unbuttoned; his boots were shiny; his cheeks, freshly shaven, had a sort of gloss; and even his heavy-lidded eyes, refreshed by a night of peaceful slumber, sent out glances of comparative alertness.
unusually - insolitamente
exhaled - espirare, esalare
charm - fascino
almost - quasi
dewy - rugiada
freshness - freschezza
cloth - stoffa, tessuto, tela, panno, straccio
overcoat - soprabito, cappotto
unbuttoned - sbottonare
shiny - luccicante, brillante, luminoso, splendente, lucente
cheeks - guancia, gota, chiappa, faccia tosta, sfrontatezza, impudenza
freshly - appena
shaven - rasato
gloss - lucentezza, brillante
refreshed - rinfrescare
peaceful - pacifico
slumber - sonnolenza, dormiveglia, appisolarsi, assopirsi, appalugarsi
glances - dare un'occhiata, sbirciare, occhieggiare, radere, rasentare
comparative - comparativo
alertness - vigilanza
Through the park railings these glances beheld men and women riding in the Row, couples cantering past harmoniously, others advancing sedately at a walk, loitering groups of three or four, solitary horsemen looking unsociable, and solitary women followed at a long distance by a groom with a cockade to his hat and a leather belt over his tight-fitting coat.
railings - ringhiere
beheld - guardare, ecco
Row - fila
couples - coppia, paio, agganciare, accoppiare
cantering - piccolo galoppo
harmoniously - armoniosamente
advancing - avanzare, progredire, anticipare, migliorare, avvicinarsi
sedately - con calma
loitering - vagabondaggio, (loiter), bighellonare, attardarsi, aggirarsi
solitary - solitario
horsemen - cavaliere
unsociable - asociale
long distance - distanza lunga
groom - stalliere
cockade - coccarda
leather belt - cintura di cuoio
fitting - montaggio
Carriages went bowling by, mostly two-horse broughams, with here and there a victoria with the skin of some wild beast inside and a woman's face and hat emerging above the folded hood. And a peculiarly London sun-against which nothing could be said except that it looked bloodshot-glorified all this by its stare.
carriages - carrozza, portamento, postura, carrello
bowling - a game played by rolling a ball down an alley
mostly - soprattutto, per lo piu
Victoria - Vittoria, Victoria
skin - pelle, interfaccia, scuoiare
beast - bestia, belva
emerging - emergere, venire fuori, venire alla luce
folded - piegare
hood - cappuccio
peculiarly - in modo particolare
against - contrario, contro, in cambio di
bloodshot - sanguigna
glorified - glorificare
stare - fissare
It hung at a moderate elevation above Hyde Park Corner with an air of punctual and benign vigilance. The very pavement under Mr Verloc's feet had an old-gold tinge in that diffused light, in which neither wall, nor tree, nor beast, nor man cast a shadow. Mr Verloc was going westward through a town without shadows in an atmosphere of powdered old gold.
moderate - moderato, modesto, moderare
elevation - elevazione
corner - angolo, sporgenza, angolo sporgente, pietra d'angolo
punctual - puntuale
benign - benigno
pavement - pavimentazione stradale, pavimentazione, manto, manto stradale
gold - oro, d'oro
tinge - sfumatura
diffused - diffondere
cast - gettare, posare, lanciare, addizionare, sommare, calcolare
shadows - ombra, pedinare
atmosphere - atmosfera
powdered - polvere
There were red, coppery gleams on the roofs of houses, on the corners of walls, on the panels of carriages, on the very coats of the horses, and on the broad back of Mr Verloc's overcoat, where they produced a dull effect of rustiness. But Mr Verloc was not in the least conscious of having got rusty.
coppery - ramato
gleams - brillare
roofs - tetto
corners - angolo, sporgenza, angolo sporgente, pietra d'angolo
panels - pannello, sportello, anta, organo, giuria, vignetta
produced - produrre, realizzare, fornire, prodotto, prodotti
dull - spuntato, smussato, noioso, soporifero, tedioso
effect - effetto, effettuare
rustiness - arrugginimento
conscious - cosciente, conscio, consapevole
rusty - arrugginito
He surveyed through the park railings the evidences of the town's opulence and luxury with an approving eye. All these people had to be protected. Protection is the first necessity of opulence and luxury.
surveyed - sondaggio, inchiesta, indagine, ricognizione
evidences - prova, evidenza
opulence - opulenza
luxury - lusso
approving - approvare
be protected - essere protetto
necessity - necessita, bisogno
They had to be protected; and their horses, carriages, houses, servants had to be protected; and the source of their wealth had to be protected in the heart of the city and the heart of the country; the whole social order favourable to their hygienic idleness had to be protected against the shallow enviousness of unhygienic labour.
protected - proteggere
servants - servo, servitore, domestico, famiglio
source - fonte, sorgente, informatore, source
wealth - ricchezza, patrimonio, abbondanza
social order - ordine sociale
favourable - favorevole
idleness - ozio, indolenza, pigrizia, oziosita, inutilita
shallow - superficiale, poco profondo, poco profondo (1, 2), checksuperficiale (3), secca
enviousness - invidia
unhygienic - antigienico
labour - lavoro, lavoratori, lavoranti, parto, travaglio, doglie
It had to-and Mr Verloc would have rubbed his hands with satisfaction had he not been constitutionally averse from every superfluous exertion. His idleness was not hygienic, but it suited him very well. He was in a manner devoted to it with a sort of inert fanaticism, or perhaps rather with a fanatical inertness.
rubbed - strofinamento, strofinare, fregare
satisfaction - soddisfazione
constitutionally - costituzionalmente
averse - avverso, contrario
superfluous - superfluo
exertion - sforzo, fatica
hygienic - igienico
suited - talian: t-needed
manner - maniera, modo
devoted - devoti
fanaticism - fanatismo
Rather - rato
fanatical - fanatico
inertness - apatia, indolenza, inerzia
Born of industrious parents for a life of toil, he had embraced indolence from an impulse as profound as inexplicable and as imperious as the impulse which directs a man's preference for one particular woman in a given thousand. He was too lazy even for a mere demagogue, for a workman orator, for a leader of labour. It was too much trouble.
industrious - industrioso, laborioso
toil - lavoro, fatica, disputa, tenzone, litigio
embraced - abbracciare, aderire, inglobare, abbraccio
indolence - indolenza, ignavia, malvolere, neghienza
impulse - impulso, aire, slancio, abbrivo
profound - profondo
inexplicable - inspiegabile, incomprensibile, inesplicabile
imperious - imperioso
directs - diretto
preference - preferenza
particular - specifico, proprio, particolare, speciale, minuzioso
lazy - pigro
mere - semplice, solo
demagogue - duce, demagogo
workman - operaio
orator - oratore, oratrice
leader - capo, duce
He required a more perfect form of ease; or it might have been that he was the victim of a philosophical unbelief in the effectiveness of every human effort. Such a form of indolence requires, implies, a certain amount of intelligence.
required - esigere, prevedere, richiedere, necessitare, domandare
more perfect - piu perfetto
victim - vittima
philosophical - filosofico
unbelief - incredulita
effectiveness - efficacia
human - umano
effort - sforzo
requires - esigere, prevedere, richiedere, necessitare, domandare
implies - implicare
Certain - certo, sicuro, tale, determinato
amount - ammontare, quantita
intelligence - intelligenza
Mr Verloc was not devoid of intelligence-and at the notion of a menaced social order he would perhaps have winked to himself if there had not been an effort to make in that sign of scepticism. His big, prominent eyes were not well adapted to winking. They were rather of the sort that closes solemnly in slumber with majestic effect.
devoid - privo, senza
notion - nozione, concetto, opinione, inclinazione, intenzione
menaced - minaccia
social - sociale, socievole, estroverso, mondano
winked - (strizzare l'occhio)
sign - segno
scepticism - scetticismo
adapted - adattare, adattarsi, adattato
winking - ammiccare
Rather - preferibilmente, piuttosto, abbastanza, meglio
solemnly - solennemente
majestic - maestoso
Undemonstrative and burly in a fat-pig style, Mr Verloc, without either rubbing his hands with satisfaction or winking sceptically at his thoughts, proceeded on his way. He trod the pavement heavily with his shiny boots, and his general get-up was that of a well-to-do mechanic in business for himself.
undemonstrative - non dimostrativo
burly - tarchiato
rubbing - strofinare, (rub), strofinamento, fregare
sceptically - scetticamente
thoughts - idea, pensata, pensiero
proceeded - procedere
trod - calpestato
heavily - pesantemente, fortemente, intensamente
mechanic - meccanico
He might have been anything from a picture-frame maker to a lock-smith; an employer of labour in a small way.
picture-frame - (picture-frame) cornice
Maker - fattore, facitore
lock - serratura
Smith - Ferraro, Ferrari, Ferrero, Ferreri
But there was also about him an indescribable air which no mechanic could have acquired in the practice of his handicraft however dishonestly exercised: the air common to men who live on the vices, the follies, or the baser fears of mankind; the air of moral nihilism common to keepers of gambling hells and disorderly houses; to private detectives and inquiry agents; to drink sellers and, I should say, to the sellers of invigorating electric belts and to the inventors of patent medicines. But of that last I am not sure, not having carried my investigations so far into the depths. For all I know, the expression of these last may be perfectly diabolic. I shouldn't be surprised. What I want to affirm is that Mr Verloc's expression was by no means diabolic.
indescribable - indescrivibile
acquired - acquisire
handicraft - artigianato
dishonestly - disonestamente
vices - morsa, morsetto
follies - follia, stravaganza, unicum, eccentricita
baser - base
fears - paura
mankind - umanita, genere umano
moral - morale
nihilism - nichilismo, nullismo
keepers - portiere
gambling - giochi d'azzardo
hells - inferno
disorderly - disordinato
Detectives - investigatore
inquiry - inchiesta, indagine
agents - agente
sellers - venditore
invigorating - rinvigorire
Electric - elettrico, elettronico
belts - cintura, cintola, cinghia, colpo, cinghiata, zona
inventors - inventore, inventrice, ideatore
investigations - investigazione
depths - profondita
expression - espressione
diabolic - diabolico
shouldn - dovrebbe
affirm - affermare
Before reaching Knightsbridge, Mr Verloc took a turn to the left out of the busy main thoroughfare, uproarious with the traffic of swaying omnibuses and trotting vans, in the almost silent, swift flow of hansoms. Under his hat, worn with a slight backward tilt, his hair had been carefully brushed into respectful sleekness; for his business was with an Embassy.
reaching - arrivare a, raggiungere
thoroughfare - talian: t-needed
uproarious - esilarante
swaying - ondeggiare, (sway), ondeggiamento, fluttuazione, dondolio
omnibuses - autobus
trotting - trottare
vans - furgone
silent - silenzioso, muto, silente, tranquillo, silenzio
swift - rapido, veloce, pronto, agile
flow - fluire
Slight - insignificante, leggero, debole, lieve, disprezzare, sminuire
backward - indietro, retromarcia, riluttante, antiquato, fuori moda
tilt - inclinarsi
brushed - spazzola, pennello, incontro, scontro, spazzolare, spazzolarsi
respectful - rispettoso
sleekness - eleganza
embassy - ambasciata
And Mr Verloc, steady like a rock-a soft kind of rock-marched now along a street which could with every propriety be described as private. In its breadth, emptiness, and extent it had the majesty of inorganic nature, of matter that never dies. The only reminder of mortality was a doctor's brougham arrested in august solitude close to the curbstone.
Rock - roccia
along - lungo
propriety - correttezza
breadth - larghezza
emptiness - vuoto
extent - estensione, misura
Majesty - maesta
inorganic - inorganico
nature - natura
reminder - promemoria, avviso
mortality - mortalita
arrested - arresto, arrestare
solitude - solitudine
curbstone - (pietra del cordone del marciapiede)
The polished knockers of the doors gleamed as far as the eye could reach, the clean windows shone with a dark opaque lustre. And all was still. But a milk cart rattled noisily across the distant perspective; a butcher boy, driving with the noble recklessness of a charioteer at Olympic Games, dashed round the corner sitting high above a pair of red wheels.
polished - polacco
knockers - bussare
gleamed - brillare
reach - arrivare a, raggiungere
shone - brillare, far luce con
opaque - opaco, opaca, offuscato, arcano, oscuro
lustre - lucentezza
cart - carretto
rattled - far tintinnare/sbatacchiare
noisily - rumorosamente
distant - distante, remoto
perspective - prospettiva
butcher - macellaio, (butch), maschiaccio
noble - nobile, aristocratico, splendido
recklessness - imprudenza
charioteer - auriga
Olympic - olimpico
dashed - lineetta, linea, scatto, spruzzo, pizzico, goccio, saltare
round the corner - dietro l'angolo
A guilty-looking cat issuing from under the stones ran for a while in front of Mr Verloc, then dived into another basement; and a thick police constable, looking a stranger to every emotion, as if he too were part of inorganic nature, surging apparently out of a lamp-post, took not the slightest notice of Mr Verloc.
guilty - colpevole
issuing - emissione, fuoriuscita, esito, questione, problematica
stones - pietra, roccia, sasso, tsassolino, gemma
dived - tuffarsi
thick - spesso, pesante, folto, tonto
police constable - agente di polizia
Stranger - Straniero
emotion - emozione
surging - in aumento
notice - percezione, notifica, avviso, comunicazione, preavviso, notare
With a turn to the left Mr Verloc pursued his way along a narrow street by the side of a yellow wall which, for some inscrutable reason, had No. 1 Chesham Square written on it in black letters. Chesham Square was at least sixty yards away, and Mr Verloc, cosmopolitan enough not to be deceived by London's topographical mysteries, held on steadily, without a sign of surprise or indignation.
pursued - perseguire, perseguitare, tormentare, inseguire, cercare
side - lato
inscrutable - impenetrabile, incomprensibile, insondabile
yards - iarda
Cosmopolitan - cosmopolita
be deceived - essere ingannato
mysteries - mistero, arcano, enigma
held on - tenuto in piedi
steadily - costantemente
surprise - sorpresa, stupire, sorprendere, meravigliare
indignation - indignazione
At last, with business-like persistency, he reached the Square, and made diagonally for the number 10.
persistency - persistenza
diagonally - diagonalmente
This belonged to an imposing carriage gate in a high, clean wall between two houses, of which one rationally enough bore the number 9 and the other was numbered 37; but the fact that this last belonged to Porthill Street, a street well known in the neighbourhood, was proclaimed by an inscription placed above the ground-floor windows by whatever highly efficient authority is charged with the duty of keeping track of London's strayed houses. Why powers are not asked of Parliament (a short act would do) for compelling those edifices to return where they belong is one of the mysteries of municipal administration. Mr Verloc did not trouble his head about it, his mission in life being the protection of the social mechanism, not its perfectionment or even its criticism.
belonged - appartenere a
imposing - imporre, abusare
carriage - carrozza, portamento, postura, carrello
Gate - cancello, portone
rationally - razionalmente
bore - forare, perforare
act - atto, legge, numero, scena, messinscena, agire, recitare, fare
in the neighbourhood - nelle vicinanze
proclaimed - proclamare
inscription - inscrizione, motto
ground-floor - (ground-floor) piano terra
whatever - qualunque, qualsiasi, qualsivoglia, come vuoi
highly - altamente
efficient - efficiente, performante
authority - autorita
charged - costo, prezzo, carico, accusa, imputazione, carica, incarico
track - traccia, scia, tracciamento, sentiero, impronta, mulattiera
strayed - allontanarsi, smarrirsi
powers - potere, influenza, potenza, forza, elettricita, corrente
Parliament - parlamento
compelling - impellente, indifferibile, urgente, pressante
edifices - edificio
municipal administration - autorita locali
mission - missione
mechanism - meccanismo
perfectionment - perfezionamento
criticism - critica
It was so early that the porter of the Embassy issued hurriedly out of his lodge still struggling with the left sleeve of his livery coat. His waistcoat was red, and he wore knee-breeches, but his aspect was flustered. Mr Verloc, aware of the rush on his flank, drove it off by simply holding out an envelope stamped with the arms of the Embassy, and passed on.
porter - facchino
issued - emissione, fuoriuscita, esito, questione, problematica
hurriedly - frettolosamente
Lodge - casino, guardiola, portineria, loggia, alloggiare
struggling with - lottare con
sleeve - manica, manicotto, contenitore, fodera
livery - livrea
waistcoat - panciotto, gile, corpetto
knee-breeches - (knee-breeches) calzoni alla zuava, calzoni
flustered - agitazione
aware - all'erta, consapevole, conscio, checkconsapevole
rush - precipitarsi, portare d'urgenza
flank - aggirare il fianco, proteggere il fianco, fiancheggiare, affiancare, soccoscio
Simply - semplicemente, in parole povere
holding out - resistere, sopportare
envelope - busta
stamped - timbrato, (stamp), conio, bollo, battere i piedi, pestare i piedi, stampare, timbrare, affrancare
He produced the same talisman also to the footman who opened the door, and stood back to let him enter the hall.
talisman - talismano
footman - valletto
stood back - stare indietro, ritirarsi, allontanarsi
enter - entrare, immettere, digitare
hall - corridoio, sala
A clear fire burned in a tall fireplace, and an elderly man standing with his back to it, in evening dress and with a chain round his neck, glanced up from the newspaper he was holding spread out in both hands before his calm and severe face.
burned - bruciare
fireplace - camino, caminetto, focolare
evening dress - abito da sera
chain - catena, incatenare, concatenare
round - rotondo, tondo
neck - collo
holding - possesso
Calm - calmo
severe - rigido, duro, grave, severo
He didn't move; but another lackey, in brown trousers and claw-hammer coat edged with thin yellow cord, approaching Mr Verloc listened to the murmur of his name, and turning round on his heel in silence, began to walk, without looking back once.
lackey - lacche, leccaculo, lecchino
claw - artiglio
hammer - martello, cane, percussore, martellare, colpire, picchiare
edged - orlo, bordo, lato, vantaggio, lama, filo, arco
cord - cordone
approaching - avvicinarsi
murmur - mormorio, brusio, sussurro, mormorare
turning round - girare
heel - calcagno, tallone
silence - silenzio, silenziare, azzittire, mettere a tacere
Mr Verloc, thus led along a ground-floor passage to the left of the great carpeted staircase, was suddenly motioned to enter a quite small room furnished with a heavy writing-table and a few chairs. The servant shut the door, and Mr Verloc remained alone. He did not take a seat.
thus - cosi
led - LED
ground - terra
carpeted - tappeto, moquette, coprire
motioned - movimento, mozione, mozioni
small room - una stanza piccola
servant - servo, servitore, domestico, famiglio
shut - chiudere
alone - da solo, soltanto
seat - posto, seduta, sedile, scranno
With his hat and stick held in one hand he glanced about, passing his other podgy hand over his uncovered sleek head.
stick - mettere, infilare
held - tenere
passing - talian: t-needed
podgy - grassotto, tozzo
uncovered - scoprire, scoperchiare, rivelare, svelare
sleek - elegante, lucido, liscio, slanciato
Another door opened noiselessly, and Mr Verloc immobilising his glance in that direction saw at first only black clothes, the bald top of a head, and a drooping dark grey whisker on each side of a pair of wrinkled hands. The person who had entered was holding a batch of papers before his eyes and walked up to the table with a rather mincing step, turning the papers over the while.
noiselessly - senza rumore
immobilising - immobilizzare
direction - direzione, senso di marcia, regia, conduzione
bald - calvo, pelato, liscio
top - cima, sommita, coperchio, cappuccio, parte superiore, top
drooping - pendere
whisker - basetta, basettoni, favoriti, fedine, pelo, vibrissa
wrinkled - ruga
entered - entrare, immettere, digitare
batch - infornata, lotto, partita, mucchio
mincing - tritare, (mince), macinato, macinare, moderare
step - passo
privy councillor Wurmt, Chancelier d'Ambassade, was rather short-sighted. This meritorious official laying the papers on the table, disclosed a face of pasty complexion and of melancholy ugliness surrounded by a lot of fine, long dark grey hairs, barred heavily by thick and bushy eyebrows.
privy councillor - consigliere privato
sighted - vista, spettacolo, mirino, vedere, avvistare, mirare
meritorious - meritevole
official - ufficiale, funzionario
laying - posa
disclosed - scoprire, divulgare, rivelare, svelare, scoperchiare, far noto
pasty - pasticcio, polpettone
melancholy - malinconia
ugliness - bruttezza
surrounded - circondare, accerchiare, assediare
barred - barra
bushy - cespuglioso
eyebrows - sopracciglio
He put on a black-framed pince-nez upon a blunt and shapeless nose, and seemed struck by Mr Verloc's appearance. Under the enormous eyebrows his weak eyes blinked pathetically through the glasses.
framed - incorniciare, incastrare, impalcatura, incastellatura, armatura
pince - ordine del giorno
nez - ordine del giorno
blunt - smussato
shapeless - senza forma
struck - cancellare, colpire, coniare, scioperare, sembrare, arrendersi, sciopero
weak - debole
blinked - sbattere le ciglia, ammiccare, lampeggiare, segnalare
pathetically - pateticamente
He made no sign of greeting; neither did Mr Verloc, who certainly knew his place; but a subtle change about the general outlines of his shoulders and back suggested a slight bending of Mr Verloc's spine under the vast surface of his overcoat. The effect was of unobtrusive deference.
Certainly - certamente, senza dubbio, non ci piove, evidentemente
subtle - sottile, inafferrabile
outlines - contorno, sagoma, descrizione, sunto, bozza, contornare
shoulders - spalla
suggested - proporre, suggerire
bending - piegare, (bend), curvare, piegarsi, curvarsi
spine - colonna vertebrale, costa, dorso, spina dorsale
vast - ampio, vasto, esteso, grande
surface - superficie, venire a galla, emergere
unobtrusive - discreto
deference - deferenza
"I have here some of your reports," said the bureaucrat in an unexpectedly soft and weary voice, and pressing the tip of his forefinger on the papers with force. He paused; and Mr Verloc, who had recognised his own handwriting very well, waited in an almost breathless silence.
bureaucrat - burocrate
unexpectedly - inaspettatamente
weary - annoiato, tediato, spossato, stanco, annoiare, annoiarsi
voice - voce
pressing - urgente, imminente, pressante, insistente, persistente
tip - punta
forefinger - indice, dito indice
force - forza
paused - mettere in pausa, pausa
recognised - riconoscere
handwriting - scrittura, grafia, calligrafia, (handwrite), manoscrivere
breathless - senza fiato
"We are not very satisfied with the attitude of the police here," the other continued, with every appearance of mental fatigue.
satisfied - soddisfare, accontentare, saziare
attitude - atteggiamento, postura, comportamento, approccio
continued - continuare
fatigue - stanchezza, affaticamento, corvé, usura
The shoulders of Mr Verloc, without actually moving, suggested a shrug. And for the first time since he left his home that morning his lips opened.
actually - in realta
shrug - spalluccia, fare spallucce
Since - da allora, a partire da, da quando, poiché, giacché, dacché
lips - labbro, beccuccio
"Every country has its police," he said philosophically. But as the official of the Embassy went on blinking at him steadily he felt constrained to add: "Allow me to observe that I have no means of action upon the police here."
philosophically - filosoficamente
blinking at - lampeggiare a
constrained - costringere, limitare
allow - lasciare, permettere, concedere, consentire
observe - osservare
"What is desired," said the man of papers, "is the occurrence of something definite which should stimulate their vigilance. That is within your province-is it not so?"
desired - desiderare, volere, desiderio, voglia
Occurrence - occorrenza
definite - definito
stimulate - stimolare
within - dentro, all'interno
province - provincia
Mr Verloc made no answer except by a sigh, which escaped him involuntarily, for instantly he tried to give his face a cheerful expression. The official blinked doubtfully, as if affected by the dim light of the room. He repeated vaguely.
escaped - scappare, fuggire, darsela a gambe, evitare, eludere
involuntarily - involontariamente
instantly - istantaneamente
cheerful - allegro, felice, gioioso, luminoso
doubtfully - dubbiosamente
dim light - luce fioca
vaguely - vagamente
"The vigilance of the police-and the severity of the magistrates. The general leniency of the judicial procedure here, and the utter absence of all repressive measures, are a scandal to Europe. What is wished for just now is the accentuation of the unrest-of the fermentation which undoubtedly exists-"
magistrates - magistrato
leniency - clemenza
judicial - giudiziale, giudiziario
procedure - procedura, iter, procedimento, metodo
utter - completo, totale
repressive - repressivo
measures - misurazione, misura, righello, regolo, funzione di misura
Scandal - scandalo
wished - desiderio, voglia, volere, desiderare, augurare
accentuation - accentuazione
unrest - agitazione
fermentation - fermentazione
Undoubtedly - indubbiamente, senza dubbio
exists - esistere
"Undoubtedly, undoubtedly," broke in Mr Verloc in a deep deferential bass of an oratorical quality, so utterly different from the tone in which he had spoken before that his interlocutor remained profoundly surprised. "It exists to a dangerous degree. My reports for the last twelve months make it sufficiently clear."
bass - basso
oratorical - oratoria
quality - qualita
utterly - completamente
tone - tono
interlocutor - interlocutore
profoundly - profondamente
degree - laurea, grado
sufficiently - sufficientemente
"Your reports for the last twelve months," state Councillor Wurmt began in his gentle and dispassionate tone, "have been read by me. I failed to discover why you wrote them at all."
state - Stato
councillor - consigliere
gentle - gentile
dispassionate - spassionato
failed - fallire, non riuscire
A sad silence reigned for a time. Mr Verloc seemed to have swallowed his tongue, and the other gazed at the papers on the table fixedly. At last he gave them a slight push.
reigned - regno, regnare
swallowed - inghiottire, ingoiare
tongue - lingua, linguetta
gazed at - guardato
fixedly - fisso, fissamente
push - spingere
"The state of affairs you expose there is assumed to exist as the first condition of your employment. What is required at present is not writing, but the bringing to light of a distinct, significant fact-I would almost say of an alarming fact."
state - stato, dichiarare, statuire, esporre, indicare
affairs - affare
expose - esporre, evidenziare, rivelare, mettere in luce
assumed - presupporre, ritenere, assumere
exist - esistere
condition - condizione, influenzare, condizionare
employment - impiego, assunzione, occupazione
significant - significativo, eloquente, epocale, rimarchevole
alarming - allarme
"I need not say that all my endeavours shall be directed to that end," Mr Verloc said, with convinced modulations in his conversational husky tone. But the sense of being blinked at watchfully behind the blind glitter of these eye-glasses on the other side of the table disconcerted him. He stopped short with a gesture of absolute devotion.
endeavours - tentare
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
directed - diretto
Convinced - convincere
modulations - modulazione
conversational - conversazionale
husky - rauco
blinked at - lampeggiare a
watchfully - con attenzione
glitter - glitter, brillantini
gesture - gesto
devotion - devozione
The useful, hard-working, if obscure member of the Embassy had an air of being impressed by some newly-born thought.
impressed - impressionare, imprimere, confiscare, requisire
newly - di recente
"You are very corpulent," he said.
corpulent - corpulento
This observation, really of a psychological nature, and advanced with the modest hesitation of an officeman more familiar with ink and paper than with the requirements of active life, stung Mr Verloc in the manner of a rude personal remark. He stepped back a pace.
observation - osservazione
psychological - psicologico
modest - modesto, irrisorio, esiguo
hesitation - esitazione
officeman - ufficiale
more familiar - piu familiare
requirements - requisito, richiesta
active - attivo
stung - pungiglione, aculeo
rude - rude, maleducato, oscena, offensivo
remark - osservazione, commento
stepped - steppa
pace - passo
"Eh? What were you pleased to say?" he exclaimed, with husky resentment.
eh - eh
exclaimed - esclamare
resentment - risentimento
The Chancelier d'Ambassade entrusted with the conduct of this interview seemed to find it too much for him.
entrusted - confidare
conduct - conduzione, comportamento, condotta, condurre, comportarsi
"I think," he said, "that you had better see Mr Vladimir. Yes, decidedly I think you ought to see Mr Vladimir. Be good enough to wait here," he added, and went out with mincing steps.
decidedly - decisamente
steps - passo
At once Mr Verloc passed his hand over his hair. A slight perspiration had broken out on his forehead. He let the air escape from his pursed-up lips like a man blowing at a spoonful of hot soup. But when the servant in brown appeared at the door silently, Mr Verloc had not moved an inch from the place he had occupied throughout the interview.
perspiration - sudore
broken out - scoppiato
forehead - fronte
escape - scappare, fuggire, darsela a gambe, evitare, eludere
pursed - borse
blowing at - soffiare
spoonful - cucchiaiata, cucchiaio
silently - silenziosamente
inch - pollice
throughout - in ogni parte, dappertutto
He had remained motionless, as if feeling himself surrounded by pitfalls.
pitfalls - pericolo, insidia, trappola, trabocchetto, tranello
He walked along a passage lighted by a lonely gas-jet, then up a flight of winding stairs, and through a glazed and cheerful corridor on the first floor. The footman threw open a door, and stood aside. The feet of Mr Verloc felt a thick carpet.
lonely - solo, solitario, malinconico, desolato, isolato
jet - giavazzo
flight of winding stairs - una rampa di scale a chiocciola
corridor - corridoio, corridoio aereo
threw - gettare, lanciare
aside - a parte, in disparte
carpet - tappeto, moquette, coprire
The room was large, with three windows; and a young man with a shaven, big face, sitting in a roomy arm-chair before a vast mahogany writing-table, said in French to the Chancelier d'Ambassade, who was going out with the papers in his hand:
roomy - spazioso
arm-chair - (arm-chair) poltrona
mahogany - mogano
"You are quite right, mon cher. He's fat-the animal."
Mr Vladimir, First Secretary, had a drawing-room reputation as an agreeable and entertaining man. He was something of a favourite in society.
secretary - segretario, ministro, scrittoio, serpentario, checksegretaria
reputation - reputazione, rumore, caratura
agreeable - gradevole
entertaining - divertente, (entertain), divertire
His wit consisted in discovering droll connections between incongruous ideas; and when talking in that strain he sat well forward of his seat, with his left hand raised, as if exhibiting his funny demonstrations between the thumb and forefinger, while his round and clean-shaven face wore an expression of merry perplexity.
wit - spirito
consisted - consistere di
discovering - scoprire, trovare
droll - scemenza
connections - connessione, coincidenza
incongruous - incongruo
strain - sforzare, sforzarsi, tirare
forward - avanti, in avanti
raised - alzare, innalzare
exhibiting - mostrare, dimostrare, esposizione
demonstrations - dimostrazione
thumb - pollice, dito grosso
merry - felice, allegro
perplexity - perplessita
But there was no trace of merriment or perplexity in the way he looked at Mr Verloc. Lying far back in the deep arm-chair, with squarely spread elbows, and throwing one leg over a thick knee, he had with his smooth and rosy countenance the air of a preternaturally thriving baby that will not stand nonsense from anybody.
trace - traccia
merriment - burla
lying - mentire
squarely - in modo corretto
throwing - lanciare
rosy - roseo
countenance - sembianza, apparenza, espressione
preternaturally - in modo preterintenzionale
thriving - florido, fiorente, prospero, rigoglioso, (thrive), prosperare
nonsense - sciocchezza, senza senso, priva di significato, ridicolaggine
Anybody - qualcuno
"You understand French, I suppose?" he said.
suppose - supporre, immaginare
Mr Verloc stated huskily that he did. His whole vast bulk had a forward inclination. He stood on the carpet in the middle of the room, clutching his hat and stick in one hand; the other hung lifelessly by his side. He muttered unobtrusively somewhere deep down in his throat something about having done his military service in the French artillery.
stated - stato, dichiarare, statuire, esporre, indicare
huskily - con la voce
bulk - massa, mole, volume, blocco, grosso
inclination - inclinazione, dislivello
Middle - mezzo, centro, cintura, checkmeta, medio, mezzano, centrale
clutching - afferrare
lifelessly - senza vita
unobtrusively - discretamente, alla chetichella
somewhere - da qualche parte, in qualche luogo, in qualche parte
throat - gola
military service - servizio militare
Artillery - artiglieria
At once, with contemptuous perversity, Mr Vladimir changed the language, and began to speak idiomatic English without the slightest trace of a foreign accent.
contemptuous - sprezzante, sdegnoso
perversity - perversita
idiomatic - idiomatico
accent - accento
"Ah! Yes. Of course. Let's see. How much did you get for obtaining the design of the improved breech-block of their new field-gun?"
obtaining - ottenere, riuscire, avere, stabilirsi
breech - culatta
block - blocco
field - campo, ambito
gun - arma da fuoco
"Five years'rigorous confinement in a fortress," Mr Verloc answered unexpectedly, but without any sign of feeling.
rigorous - rigoroso
confinement - confinamento
fortress - fortezza, rocca
"You got off easily," was Mr Vladimir's comment. "And, anyhow, it served you right for letting yourself get caught. What made you go in for that sort of thing-eh?"
comment - commento
anyhow - in ogni caso, in ogni modo, in qualche modo, in qualsiasi modo
caught - presa, conquista, fermaglio, fermaglio di sicurezza, trappola
Mr Verloc's husky conversational voice was heard speaking of youth, of a fatal infatuation for an unworthy-
fatal - fatale
infatuation - infatuazione
unworthy - non degno, indegno, immeritevole
"Aha! Cherchez la femme," Mr Vladimir deigned to interrupt, unbending, but without affability; there was, on the contrary, a touch of grimness in his condescension. "How long have you been employed by the Embassy here?" he asked.
Aha - a-ha
deigned - degnarsi
interrupt - interrompere, celare, ricoprire, tagliare
unbending - svergare
affability - affabilita
contrary - contrario, opposto
touch - toccare, commuovere, tocco, tatto
grimness - cupezza
condescension - condiscendenza
employed - impiegare, ingaggiare
"Ever since the time of the late Baron Stott-Wartenheim," Mr Verloc answered in subdued tones, and protruding his lips sadly, in sign of sorrow for the deceased diplomat. The First Secretary observed this play of physiognomy steadily.
Baron - barone
subdued - sottomettere, soggiogare
protruding - protendersi, sportare, sporgere, protrudere
sadly - tristemente
sorrow - tristezza, dolore, pena, afflizione
deceased - decesso, morire
diplomat - diplomatico, diplomatica
observed - osservare
physiognomy - fisionomia
"Ah! ever since. Well! What have you got to say for yourself?" he asked sharply.
sharply - in modo acuto
Mr Verloc answered with some surprise that he was not aware of having anything special to say. He had been summoned by a letter-And he plunged his hand busily into the side pocket of his overcoat, but before the mocking, cynical watchfulness of Mr Vladimir, concluded to leave it there.
summoned - convocare
busily - intentamente
side pocket - tasca laterale
mocking - beffeggiante, dileggiante, deridente, burlesco, deridere
cynical - cinico
watchfulness - vigilanza
concluded - finire, concludere
"Bah!" said that latter. "What do you mean by getting out of condition like this? You haven't got even the physique of your profession. You-a member of a starving proletariat-never! You-a desperate socialist or anarchist-which is it?"
latter - secondo, quest'ultimo
physique - fisico
profession - professione
Starving - Morire di fame, (starve)
proletariat - proletariato
desperate - disperato
socialist - socialista
anarchist - anarchico, anarchica
"Anarchist," stated Mr Verloc in a deadened tone.
stated - statistica
deadened - intontire, smorzare, attenuare, sminuire
"Bosh!" went on Mr Vladimir, without raising his voice. "You startled old Wurmt himself. You wouldn't deceive an idiot. They all are that by-the-by, but you seem to me simply impossible. So you began your connection with us by stealing the French gun designs. And you got yourself caught. That must have been very disagreeable to our government. You don't seem to be very smart."
raising - sollevando
deceive - ingannare
idiot - idiota, squasimodeo
connection - connessione, coincidenza
stealing - rubare, (steal), derubare, fregare, accattivarsi
disagreeable - sconveniente, antipatico, sgradevole
government - governo
smart - elegante
Mr Verloc tried to exculpate himself huskily.
exculpate - scagionare
"As I've had occasion to observe before, a fatal infatuation for an unworthy-"
ve - ordine del giorno
Occasion - occasione, occasionare
Mr Vladimir raised a large white, plump hand. "Ah, yes. The unlucky attachment-of your youth. She got hold of the money, and then sold you to the police-eh?"
plump - grassottello
unlucky - sfortunato
attachment - legame, allegato
hold - tenere
The doleful change in Mr Verloc's physiognomy, the momentary drooping of his whole person, confessed that such was the regrettable case. Mr Vladimir's hand clasped the ankle reposing on his knee. The sock was of dark blue silk.
doleful - addolorato
momentary - momentaneo
confessed - confessare
regrettable - riprovevole, deplorevole, increscioso, deprecabile
case - caso
clasped - fibbia, gancio, fermaglio, stringere, serrare
ankle - caviglia
reposing - riposo
sock - calza, calzino
dark blue - blu scuro
"You see, that was not very clever of you. Perhaps you are too susceptible."
clever - furbo, astuto, sveglio, scaltro
Mr Verloc intimated in a throaty, veiled murmur that he was no longer young.
intimated - stretto, intimo, privato, proprio, personale
throaty - gola
veiled - velo
"Oh! That's a failing which age does not cure," Mr Vladimir remarked, with sinister familiarity. "But no! You are too fat for that. You could not have come to look like this if you had been at all susceptible. I'll tell you what I think is the matter: you are a lazy fellow. How long have you been drawing pay from this Embassy?"
cure - curare, guarire
sinister - sinistro, sinistra
familiarity - familiarita
fellow - uomo, tipo
"Eleven years," was the answer, after a moment of sulky hesitation. "I've been charged with several missions to London while His Excellency Baron Stott-Wartenheim was still Ambassador in Paris. Then by his Excellency's instructions I settled down in London. I am English."
sulky - malinconico, scontroso, irritato, sediolo
several - diversi, vari
missions - missione
excellency - Eccellenza
ambassador - ambasciatore, ambasciatrice
instructions - istruzione, addestramento, insegnamento, tirocinio, bugiardino
settled - sistemarsi, mettersi
"You are! Are you? Eh?"
"A natural-born British subject," Mr Verloc said stolidly. "But my father was French, and so-"
British - britannici, britannico
stolidly - in modo stabile
"Never mind explaining," interrupted the other. "I daresay you could have been legally a Marshal of France and a Member of Parliament in England-and then, indeed, you would have been of some use to our Embassy."
mind - mente
interrupted - interrompere, celare, ricoprire, tagliare
daresay - osare
legally - legalmente
Marshal - maresciallo
France - Francia
indeed - infatti, davvero, realmente, effettivamente, gia
This flight of fancy provoked something like a faint smile on Mr Verloc's face. Mr Vladimir retained an imperturbable gravity.
fancy - capriccio
provoked - provocare, generare
faint - debole
smile - sorriso, sorridere
retained - conservare, mantenere
imperturbable - imperturbabile
gravity - gravita
"But, as I've said, you are a lazy fellow; you don't use your opportunities. In the time of Baron Stott-Wartenheim we had a lot of soft-headed people running this Embassy. They caused fellows of your sort to form a false conception of the nature of a secret service fund. It is my business to correct this misapprehension by telling you what the secret service is not.
opportunities - occasione, opportunita, possibilita, chance
fellows - uomo, tipo
conception - concezione, concepimento, concetto
secret - segreto
service - servizio, di servizio
misapprehension - fraintendimento
It is not a philanthropic institution. I've had you called here on purpose to tell you this."
Institution - istituzione
on purpose - di proposito
Mr Vladimir observed the forced expression of bewilderment on Verloc's face, and smiled sarcastically.
forced - forza
bewilderment - confusione, perplessita, disorientamento
smiled - sorriso, sorridere
sarcastically - in modo sarcastico
"I see that you understand me perfectly. I daresay you are intelligent enough for your work. What we want now is activity-activity."
intelligent - intelligente
On repeating this last word Mr Vladimir laid a long white forefinger on the edge of the desk. Every trace of huskiness disappeared from Verloc's voice. The nape of his gross neck became crimson above the velvet collar of his overcoat. His lips quivered before they came widely open.
laid - posare
edge - orlo, bordo, lato, vantaggio, lama, filo, arco
huskiness - la pruriginosita
disappeared - sparire, scomparire
nape - nuca
Gross - grossolano, grave, macroscopico, indecente
crimson - cremisi, granata
velvet - velluto
collar - bavero, bavera, collo, colletto, collare
quivered - tremare, tremolare
widely - comunemente, generalmente, diffusamente, universalmente
"If you'll only be good enough to look up my record," he boomed out in his great, clear oratorical bass, "you'll see I gave a warning only three months ago, on the occasion of the Grand Duke Romuald's visit to Paris, which was telegraphed from here to the French police, and-"
record - documento, verbale
boomed - boom
warning - avvertimento, monito, (warn), avvertire, avvisare
grand - grandioso
Duke - duca
telegraphed - telegrafo
"Tut, tut!" broke out Mr Vladimir, with a frowning grimace. "The French police had no use for your warning. Don't roar like this. What the devil do you mean?"
broke out - scoppiare
frowning - accigliarsi, aggrottare le ciglia/sopracciglia
grimace - smorfia
roar - ruggire, sganasciarsi dalle risate
devil - diavolo
With a note of proud humility Mr Verloc apologised for forgetting himself. His voice,-famous for years at open-air meetings and at workmen's assemblies in large halls, had contributed, he said, to his reputation of a good and trustworthy comrade. It was, therefore, a part of his usefulness. It had inspired confidence in his principles.
proud - orgoglioso, fiero
humility - umilta
apologised - scusarsi
open-air - (open-air) all'aria aperta
meetings - riunione
workmen - operaio
assemblies - assemblaggio, assemblato, montaggio, assembramento, assemblea
halls - corridoio, sala
contributed - contribuire
trustworthy - affidabile, attendibile, credibile, fidato
comrade - compagno, compagna, checkcamerata
therefore - dunque, quindi, percio, pertanto
usefulness - utilita
confidence - fiducia, autostima, certezza, sicurezza di sé, confidenza
principles - principio, regola, valore
"I was always put up to speak by the leaders at a critical moment," Mr Verloc declared, with obvious satisfaction. There was no uproar above which he could not make himself heard, he added; and suddenly he made a demonstration.
leaders - capo, duce
critical - critico, incerto, delicato, essenziale, fondamentale
declared - dichiarare
obvious - ovvio, evidente
uproar - baraonda, clamore, fragore, baccano
demonstration - dimostrazione
"Allow me," he said. With lowered forehead, without looking up, swiftly and ponderously he crossed the room to one of the French windows. As if giving way to an uncontrollable impulse, he opened it a little.
lowered - oscurarsi
Swiftly - Rapidamente
ponderously - ponderatamente
crossed - croce, segno della croce, incrocio, cross, diagonale, irritato
giving way - cedere il passo
uncontrollable - incontrollabile
Mr Vladimir, jumping up amazed from the depths of the arm-chair, looked over his shoulder; and below, across the courtyard of the Embassy, well beyond the open gate, could be seen the broad back of a policeman watching idly the gorgeous perambulator of a wealthy baby being wheeled in state across the Square.
jumping up - saltare su
amazed - sorprendere
courtyard - cortile, corte
beyond - oltre, (al) di la di, dall'altra parte di, piu di, dopo
idly - oziare
gorgeous - magnifico, splendido, favoloso, stupendo
perambulator - perambulatore
wealthy - benestante, abbiente, agiato, facoltoso
wheeled - ruota, timone, ruota del timone, pezzo grosso, cerchio
"Constable!" said Mr Verloc, with no more effort than if he were whispering; and Mr Vladimir burst into a laugh on seeing the policeman spin round as if prodded by a sharp instrument. Mr Verloc shut the window quietly, and returned to the middle of the room.
constable - appuntato (carabinieri), agente (polizia), conestabile
whispering - bisbigliare, (whisper), sussurro, sussurrare
burst - scoppiare, esplodere, strappare, separare, scoppio, esplosione
spin round - girare in tondo
prodded - spingere
instrument - strumento
quietly - in silenzio
"With a voice like that," he said, putting on the husky conversational pedal, "I was naturally trusted. And I knew what to say, too."
putting on - indossare
pedal - pedale, pedalare
trusted - fiducia, confidenza, speranza, credito, affidabilita, trust
Mr Vladimir, arranging his cravat, observed him in the glass over the mantelpiece.
arranging - disporre, ordinare, preparare, arrangiare
cravat - foulard
mantelpiece - (mensola di caminetto)
"I daresay you have the social revolutionary jargon by heart well enough," he said contemptuously. "Vox et. . . You haven't ever studied Latin-have you?"
revolutionary - rivoluzionario, rivoluzionaria
jargon - gergo
by heart - a memoria
contemptuously - irrispettosamente, sprezzantemente
et - e
Latin - Latino
"No," growled Mr Verloc. "You did not expect me to know it. I belong to the million. Who knows Latin? Only a few hundred imbeciles who aren't fit to take care of themselves."
growled - ringhio, brontolio, ringhiare
expect - aspettarsi, pensare
belong - appartenere a
imbeciles - imbecille
aren - ordine del giorno
fit - in forma*
care - cura, attenzione
themselves - essi stessi
For some thirty seconds longer Mr Vladimir studied in the mirror the fleshy profile, the gross bulk, of the man behind him. And at the same time he had the advantage of seeing his own face, clean-shaved and round, rosy about the gills, and with the thin sensitive lips formed exactly for the utterance of those delicate witticisms which had made him such a favourite in the very highest society.
mirror - specchio, copia speculare
fleshy - carnoso, polposo
profile - profilo
shaved - radersi, farsi la barba
gills - branchia
sensitive - ricettivo, sensibile, delicato
utterance - pronunciamento
witticisms - freddura, battuta, frizzo, spiritosita
Then he turned, and advanced into the room with such determination that the very ends of his quaintly old-fashioned bow necktie seemed to bristle with unspeakable menaces. The movement was so swift and fierce that Mr Verloc, casting an oblique glance, quailed inwardly.
determination - determinazione
quaintly - in modo pittoresco
old-fashioned - (old-fashioned) vecchio stile
bow - inchinarsi, chinare il capo
necktie - cravatta
bristle - pelo ispido, barba corta ispida, setola, setole
unspeakable - indicibile
menaces - minaccia
movement - movimento
oblique glance - sguardo obliquo
quailed - tremare
inwardly - interiormente
"Aha! You dare be impudent," Mr Vladimir began, with an amazingly guttural intonation not only utterly un-English, but absolutely un-European, and startling even to Mr Verloc's experience of cosmopolitan slums. "You dare! Well, I am going to speak plain English to you. Voice won't do. We have no use for your voice. We don't want a voice.
dare - osare
amazingly - straordinariamente, incredibilmente, sorprendentemente
guttural - gutturale
intonation - intonazione
un - ONU
absolutely - assolutamente
European - europeo, europea
startling - sconvolgente, sorprendente, (startle), scattare, sobbalzare
slums - (quartiere degradato)
plain - semplice
We want facts-startling facts-damn you," he added, with a sort of ferocious discretion, right into Mr Verloc's face.
Damn - dannare, bollare, condannare, maledire, maledetto, fottuto
ferocious - feroce, efferato, abominevole, odioso
discretion - discrezione, riservatezza, discernimento
"Don't you try to come over me with your Hyperborean manners," Mr Verloc defended himself huskily, looking at the carpet. At this his interlocutor, smiling mockingly above the bristling bow of his necktie, switched the conversation into French.
hyperborean - iperboreo
manners - maniera, modo
defended - difendere, proteggere
smiling - sorridere, (smile), sorriso
mockingly - in modo beffardo
bristling - pelo ispido, barba corta ispida, setola, setole
switched - interruttore, scambio, verga, opzione, parametro, argomento
"You give yourself for an 'agent provocateur.' The proper business of an 'agent provocateur'is to provoke. As far as I can judge from your record kept here, you have done nothing to earn your money for the last three years."
provocateur - provocatore
proper - adatto, appropriato, decente, proprio, checkproprio
provoke - provocare, generare
judge - giudicare
earn - guadagnare
"Nothing!" exclaimed Verloc, stirring not a limb, and not raising his eyes, but with the note of sincere feeling in his tone. "I have several times prevented what might have been-"
stirring - mescolando
limb - membro, arto
sincere - sincero, fervido, zelante, assiduo
prevented - impedire, prevenire
"There is a proverb in this country which says prevention is better than cure," interrupted Mr Vladimir, throwing himself into the arm-chair. "It is stupid in a general way. There is no end to prevention. But it is characteristic. They dislike finality in this country. Don't you be too English. And in this particular instance, don't be absurd. The evil is already here.
proverb - proverbio
prevention - prevenzione
stupid - stupido, scemo, stupefatto
characteristic - caratteristico, caratteristica
dislike - antipatia, avversione, non piacersi
finality - definitiva
absurd - assurdo
evil - cattivo, maligno
We don't want prevention-we want cure."
He paused, turned to the desk, and turning over some papers lying there, spoke in a changed business-like tone, without looking at Mr Verloc.
turning over - girare
"You know, of course, of the International Conference assembled in Milan?"
International - internazionale
conference - conferenza
assembled - assemblare, montare, mettere insieme, riunire, riunirsi, adunare
Milan - Milano
Mr Verloc intimated hoarsely that he was in the habit of reading the daily papers. To a further question his answer was that, of course, he understood what he read. At this Mr Vladimir, smiling faintly at the documents he was still scanning one after another, murmured "As long as it is not written in Latin, I suppose."
hoarsely - raucamente
habit - abitudine
daily papers - quotidiani
further - ulteriore, ulteriormente
faintly - debolmente, tenuemente, fiocamente, fievolmente
documents - documento, carta
scanning - scansione
murmured - mormorio, brusio, sussurro, mormorare
"Or Chinese," added Mr Verloc stolidly.
Chinese - cinese, cinesi
"H'm. Some of your revolutionary friends'effusions are written in a charabia every bit as incomprehensible as Chinese-" Mr Vladimir let fall disdainfully a grey sheet of printed matter. "What are all these leaflets headed F. P., with a hammer, pen, and torch crossed? What does it mean, this F. P.?" Mr Verloc approached the imposing writing-table.
effusions - effusione, spargimento, travaso, effusioni
charabia - ordine del giorno
bit - morso
incomprehensible - incomprensibile
disdainfully - sdegnosamente
sheet - foglio, talian: teglia da forno g, talian: foglio g, ('of metal also') lamiera g, ('of ice, stone, marble') lastra g, scotta
printed matter - materia stampata
leaflets - fogliolina, dépliant, volantino
"The Future of the Proletariat. It's a society," he explained, standing ponderously by the side of the arm-chair, "not anarchist in principle, but open to all shades of revolutionary opinion."
in principle - in linea di principio
shades - ombra, persiana, tonalita, gradazione, nuance, varieta
"Are you in it?"
"One of the Vice-Presidents," Mr Verloc breathed out heavily; and the First Secretary of the Embassy raised his head to look at him.
vice - morsa, morsetto
Presidents - presidente, presidentessa, presidente della repubblica
breathed - respirare
"Then you ought to be ashamed of yourself," he said incisively. "Isn't your society capable of anything else but printing this prophetic bosh in blunt type on this filthy paper eh? Why don't you do something? look here. I've this matter in hand now, and I tell you plainly that you will have to earn your money. The good old Stott-Wartenheim times are over. No work, no pay."
ashamed - vergognoso
incisively - incisivamente
printing - stampa, (print), stampare, scrivere in stampatello, impronta
prophetic - profetico
filthy - sudicio, lercio, osceno, sconcio, laido
look here - guardare qui
plainly - a chiare note
Mr Verloc felt a queer sensation of faintness in his stout legs. He stepped back one pace, and blew his nose loudly.
queer - strano, bizzarro
sensation - sensazione, senso, impressione
faintness - stornimento, stordimento, malore, svenevolezza
stepped - passo
blew - colpo
He was, in truth, startled and alarmed. The rusty London sunshine struggling clear of the London mist shed a lukewarm brightness into the First Secretary's private room; and in the silence Mr Verloc heard against a window-pane the faint buzzing of a fly-his first fly of the year-heralding better than any number of swallows the approach of spring.
in truth - in verita
alarmed - allarme
sunshine - luce del sole
struggling - in difficolta, (struggle), lotta, lottare
shed - capannone, rimessa
lukewarm - tiepido
brightness - luminosita
pane - vetro
buzzing - ronzio, (buzz), brusio, bisbiglio, mormorio
heralding - araldo, messaggero
swallows - inghiottire, ingoiare
approach - avvicinarsi
The useless fussing of that tiny energetic organism affected unpleasantly this big man threatened in his indolence.
useless - inutile, buono a nulla, negato
fussing - confusione, trambusto, daffare, rumore, baccano
tiny - minuscolo, piccolo, piccino, minuto
energetic - energico
organism - organismo
unpleasantly - sgradevolmente
threatened - minacciare, impaurire, intimidire, avvisare, promettere
In the pause Mr Vladimir formulated in his mind a series of disparaging remarks concerning Mr Verloc's face and figure. The fellow was unexpectedly vulgar, heavy, and impudently unintelligent. He looked uncommonly like a master plumber come to present his bill.
pause - mettere in pausa, pausa
formulated - formulare
series - serie
disparaging - denigrare
remarks - osservazione, commento
concerning - interesse, preoccupazione, impresa, interessare
figure - figura, fisico, personaggio, cifra, forma, calcolare, risolvere
vulgar - osceno, triviale, volgare, indecente
impudently - impudentemente
unintelligent - ordine del giorno
uncommonly - insolitamente
Master - padrone
plumber - idraulico
The First Secretary of the Embassy, from his occasional excursions into the field of American humour, had formed a special notion of that class of mechanic as the embodiment of fraudulent laziness and incompetency.
occasional - occasionale
excursions - gita, escursione
humour - humour, umorismo, umore, accontentare, assecondare
embodiment - incarnazione
fraudulent - fraudolento
laziness - pigrizia
incompetency - incompetenza
This was then the famous and trusty secret agent, so secret that he was never designated otherwise but by the symbol [delta] in the late Baron Stott-Wartenheim's official, semi-official, and confidential correspondence; the celebrated agent [delta], whose warnings had the power to change the schemes and the dates of royal, imperial, grand ducal journeys, and sometimes caused them to be put off altogether! This fellow! And Mr Vladimir indulged mentally in an enormous and derisive fit of merriment, partly at his own astonishment, which he judged naive, but mostly at the expense of the universally regretted Baron Stott-Wartenheim. His late Excellency, whom the august favour of his Imperial master had imposed as Ambassador upon several reluctant Ministers of Foreign Affairs, had enjoyed in his lifetime a fame for an owlish, pessimistic gullibility. His Excellency had the social revolution on the brain. He imagined himself to be a diplomatist set apart by a special dispensation to watch the end of diplomacy, and pretty nearly the end of the world, in a horrid democratic upheaval. His prophetic and doleful despatches had been for years the joke of foreign offices. He was said to have exclaimed on his deathbed (visited by his Imperial friend and master): "Unhappy Europe! Thou shalt perish by the moral insanity of thy children!" He was fated to be the victim of the first humbugging rascal that came along, thought Mr Vladimir, smiling vaguely at Mr Verloc.
trusty - fidato
designated - nominare
otherwise - altrimenti, differentemente, in altre circostanze, tuttavia
symbol - simbolo
confidential - confidenziale, riservato
correspondence - corrispondenza, carteggio
celebrated - celebrare, festeggiare
delta - Domodossola
warnings - avvertimento, monito
power - potere, influenza, potenza, forza, elettricita, corrente
schemes - schema, piano, progetto, programma, macchinazione
Royal - reale, regale
Imperial - imperiale
ducal - ducale
put off - rimandare
indulged - assecondare, viziare
mentally - mentalmente
derisive - derisorio
partly - in parte
astonishment - stupore, meraviglia, sorpresa, sbigottimento
judged - giudicare
naive - ingenuo, candido, semplice, spontaneo
expense - spesa
universally - universalmente
regretted - rimpiangere, rammaricarsi, pentirsi, rammarico, rimpianto
whom - chi, cui
favour - favore
imposed - imporre, abusare
reluctant - riluttante
ministers - ministro
lifetime - durata, vita utile, vita, un'eternita
fame - fama
owlish - da gufo
pessimistic - pessimista
gullibility - credulita
revolution - rivoluzione
brain - cervello, or when used as food
diplomatist - diplomatico
apart - separatamente, a pezzi
dispensation - deroga
diplomacy - diplomazia
nearly - quasi, praticamente, circa
horrid - orrido
democratic - democratico
upheaval - sollevamento
despatches - spedizione
joke - barzelletta, battuta, scherzo, celia
foreign offices - uffici esteri
deathbed - letto di morte
unhappy - triste, rattristato, mogio, abbacchiato
thou - tu
shalt - 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
perish - perire
insanity - follia, pazzia
thy - tuo, tua, tuoi, tue
humbugging - imbroglio
rascal - briccone, canaglia, manigoldo
"You ought to venerate the memory of Baron Stott-Wartenheim," he exclaimed suddenly.
venerate - adorare, colere
memory - memoria, ricordo
The lowered physiognomy of Mr Verloc expressed a sombre and weary annoyance.
expressed - esprimere
sombre - scuro
annoyance - seccatura, scocciatura, fastidio, disappunto, irritazione
"Permit me to observe to you," he said, "that I came here because I was summoned by a peremptory letter. I have been here only twice before in the last eleven years, and certainly never at eleven in the morning. It isn't very wise to call me up like this. There is just a chance of being seen. And that would be no joke for me."
permit - permettere
peremptory - irrefutabile, inconfutabile, perentorio, imperioso, tassativo
wise - saggio
chance - caso
Mr Vladimir shrugged his shoulders.
shrugged - spalluccia, fare spallucce
"It would destroy my usefulness," continued the other hotly.
destroy - distruggere, annichilare, checkabbattere (4)
hotly - con calore
"That's your affair," murmured Mr Vladimir, with soft brutality. "When you cease to be useful you shall cease to be employed. Yes. Right off. cut short. You shall-" Mr Vladimir, frowning, paused, at a loss for a sufficiently idiomatic expression, and instantly brightened up, with a grin of beautifully white teeth. "You shall be chucked," he brought out ferociously.
affair - affare
brutality - brutalita
cease - cessare, arrestare, smettere, interrompere
employed - dipendente
cut short - interrompere
Loss - perdita
brightened - illuminare
grin - sogghignare
beautifully - in modo splendido
chucked - buttare
brought out - portato fuori
ferociously - ferocemente
Once more Mr Verloc had to react with all the force of his will against that sensation of faintness running down one's legs which once upon a time had inspired some poor devil with the felicitous expression: "My heart went down into my boots." Mr Verloc, aware of the sensation, raised his head bravely.
react - reagire
felicitous - felice
bravely - coraggiosamente
Mr Vladimir bore the look of heavy inquiry with perfect serenity.
serenity - serenita
"What we want is to administer a tonic to the Conference in Milan," he said airily. "Its deliberations upon international action for the suppression of political crime don't seem to get anywhere. England lags. This country is absurd with its sentimental regard for individual liberty. It's intolerable to think that all your friends have got only to come over to-"
administer - amministrare
tonic - (acqua tonica)
airily - spensieratamente
deliberations - deliberazione
suppression - soppressione
crime - crimine, delitto, reato, criminalita
anywhere - ovunque, dappertutto, dovunque
lags - rimanere indietro
sentimental - ordine del giorno
individual - individuo, soggetto, singolo, specifico, individuale, personale
liberty - liberta
intolerable - intollerabile, insopportabile
"In that way I have them all under my eye," Mr Verloc interrupted huskily.
"It would be much more to the point to have them all under lock and key. England must be brought into line. The imbecile bourgeoisie of this country make themselves the accomplices of the very people whose aim is to drive them out of their houses to starve in ditches. And they have the political power still, if they only had the sense to use it for their preservation.
imbecile - imbecille
bourgeoisie - borghesia
accomplices - complice, correo, correa, basista
aim - puntare
starve - morire di fame
ditches - fosso
preservation - conservazione, preservazione, salvaguardia
I suppose you agree that the middle classes are stupid?"
middle classes - classi medie
Mr Verloc agreed hoarsely.
"They are."
"They have no imagination. They are blinded by an idiotic vanity. What they want just now is a jolly good scare. This is the psychological moment to set your friends to work. I have had you called here to develop to you my idea."
imagination - immaginazione
blinded - cieco, orbo, tenda, accecare, ciecamente
idiotic - idiota
vanity - vanita
jolly - allegro
scare - spaventare
develop - sviluppare, accrescere, avanzare, approfondire, creare
And Mr Vladimir developed his idea from on high, with scorn and condescension, displaying at the same time an amount of ignorance as to the real aims, thoughts, and methods of the revolutionary world which filled the silent Mr Verloc with inward consternation.
developed - sviluppare, accrescere, avanzare, approfondire, creare
scorn - disprezzare, disdegnare, disprezzo
displaying - rappresentazione, saggio, schermo, video, espositore, mostrare
ignorance - ignoranza
aims - puntare
methods - metodo
inward - intimo
consternation - costernazione
He confounded causes with effects more than was excusable; the most distinguished propagandists with impulsive bomb throwers; assumed organisation where in the nature of things it could not exist; spoke of the social revolutionary party One moment as of a perfectly disciplined army, where the word of chiefs was supreme, and at another as if it had been the loosest association of desperate brigands that ever camped in a mountain gorge. Once Mr Verloc had opened his mouth for a protest, but the raising of a shapely, large white hand arrested him. Very soon he became too appalled to even try to protest. He listened in a stillness of dread which resembled the immobility of profound attention.
confounded - confondere
causes - causa, provocare, causare, produrre, ottenere
effects - effetto, effettuare
excusable - giustificabile
most distinguished - il piu distinto
propagandists - propagandista
impulsive - impulsivo
bomb - bomba, esplosivo, ordigno, bombardare
throwers - lanciatore
organisation - organizzazione
One moment - Un momento
disciplined - disciplina
army - esercito
chiefs - capo, direzione
supreme - supremo, suprema
loosest - perditempo
Association - associazione
brigands - bandito, brigante, malandrino, masnadiere
camped - accampamento, campeggio
gorge - gola
protest - protestare, protesta
shapely - formoso, tornito, prosperoso, polputo
appalled - spaventare
stillness - immobilita
dread - temere, timore
resembled - rassomigliare, arieggiare
immobility - immobilita
attention - attenzione, allerta, sull'attenti
"A series of outrages," Mr Vladimir continued calmly, "executed here in this country; not only planned here-that would not do-they would not mind. Your friends could set half the Continent on fire without influencing the public opinion here in favour of a universal repressive legislation. They will not look outside their backyard here."
outrages - oltraggio, sdegno, indignazione, oltraggiare
calmly - con calma
executed - giustiziare, lanciare
influencing - influenza, ascendente, influenzare, influire
public - pubblico
in favour - a favore
universal - universale
Legislation - legislazione, leggi
backyard - cortile
Mr Verloc cleared his throat, but his heart failed him, and he said nothing.
cleared - trasparente, limpido, pulito, chiaro, nitido
"These outrages need not be especially sanguinary," Mr Vladimir went on, as if delivering a scientific lecture, "but they must be sufficiently startling-effective. Let them be directed against buildings, for instance. What is the fetish of the hour that all the bourgeoisie recognise-eh, Mr Verloc?"
especially - specialmente, soprattutto, specie, appositamente
sanguinary - sanguinario
delivering - consegnare
scientific - scientifico
lecture - conferenza, lezione, insegnare, sgridare, richiamare
effective - efficace, efficiente
buildings - edificio
fetish - feticismo, feticcio
recognise - riconoscere
Mr Verloc opened his hands and shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"You are too lazy to think," was Mr Vladimir's comment upon that gesture. "Pay attention to what I say. The fetish of to-day is neither royalty nor religion. Therefore the palace and the church should be left alone. You understand what I mean, Mr Verloc?"
too lazy to think - troppo pigro per pensare
royalty - diritto d'autore, royalty
religion - religione
Palace - palazzo
church - chiesa, funzione, messa
The dismay and the scorn of Mr Verloc found vent in an attempt at levity.
dismay - abbattere, abbattersi, mortificare, mortificarsi, scoraggiare
vent - foro, canna
attempt - tentare, cercare, provare, attentare, tentativo
levity - leggerezza
"Perfectly. But what of the Embassies? A series of attacks on the various Embassies," he began; but he could not withstand the cold, watchful stare of the First Secretary.
embassies - ambasciata
attacks - attacco, assalire, attaccare
withstand - resistere, fronteggiare
watchful - vigile
"You can be facetious, I see," the latter observed carelessly. "That's all right. It may enliven your oratory at socialistic congresses. But this room is no place for it. It would be infinitely safer for you to follow carefully what I am saying.
facetious - faceto
carelessly - con noncuranza
That's all right - Va bene cosi
enliven - animare, ravvivare
oratory - oratorio
socialistic - socialista
congresses - congresso
infinitely - infinitamente, interminatamente
safer - sicuro, protetto, cassaforte
As you are being called upon to furnish facts instead of cock-and-bull stories, you had better try to make your profit off what I am taking the trouble to explain to you. The sacrosanct fetish of to-day is science. Why don't you get some of your friends to go for that wooden-faced panjandrum-eh? Is it not part of these institutions which must be swept away before the F. P. comes along?"
being called - essere chiamato
furnish - fornire
instead - in luogo di, invece, al posto di
cock - gallo, maschio di animali
Bull - maschio (dei grandi mammiferi), toro
profit - profitto, lucro, profit, guadagno
sacrosanct - sacrosanto
wooden - di legno, ligneo
panjandrum - pezzo grosso, arrogante, presuntuoso, presuntuosa
institutions - istituzione
swept away - spazzato via
Mr Verloc said nothing. He was afraid to open his lips lest a groan should escape him.
groan - gemito, gemere
"This is what you should try for. An attempt upon a crowned head or on a president is sensational enough in a way, but not so much as it used to be. It has entered into the general conception of the existence of all chiefs of state. It's almost conventional-especially since so many presidents have been assassinated. Now let us take an outrage upon-say a church.
crowned - corona
President - presidente, presidentessa, presidente della repubblica
sensational - sensazionale
entered into - e entrato in gioco
existence - esistenza
conventional - convenzionale
assassinated - assassinare
outrage - oltraggio, sdegno, indignazione, oltraggiare
Horrible enough at first sight, no doubt, and yet not so effective as a person of an ordinary mind might think. No matter how revolutionary and anarchist in inception, there would be fools enough to give such an outrage the character of a religious manifestation. And that would detract from the especial alarming significance we wish to give to the act.
horrible - orribile, terribile
sight - vista, spettacolo, mirino, vedere, avvistare, mirare
ordinary - pezza, ordinario, ordinaria
inception - debutto, inizio, principio
fools - stolto, buffone, giullare, pagliaccio, buffone di corte, matto
character - personaggio, carattere, caratteristica
religious - religioso
manifestation - manifestazione
detract - sminuire
especial - speciale
significance - significanza, significativita, importanza
wish - desiderio, voglia, volere, desiderare, augurare
A murderous attempt on a restaurant or a theatre would suffer in the same way from the suggestion of non-political passion: the exasperation of a hungry man, an act of social revenge. All this is used up; it is no longer instructive as an object lesson in revolutionary anarchism. Every newspaper has ready-made phrases to explain such manifestations away.
murderous - letale, micidiale, mortale, omicida
suffer - soffrire, penare, patire, aggravarsi, subire, lasciare
suggestion - suggestione, suggerimento, proposta
non - No
passion - passione
exasperation - esasperazione
revenge - vendetta, rivincita, rivalsa, ritorsione, vendicarsi
instructive - istruttivo, instruttivo
anarchism - anarchismo
manifestations - manifestazione
I am about to give you the philosophy of bomb throwing from my point of view; from the point of view you pretend to have been serving for the last eleven years. I will try not to talk above your head. The sensibilities of the class you are attacking are soon blunted. Property seems to them an indestructible thing. You can't count upon their emotions either of pity or fear for very long.
Philosophy - filosofia
pretend - fingere, fare finta, far credere
serving - servizio, porzione, (serve), servire, essere in forza
sensibilities - sensibilita
attacking - attacco, assalire, attaccare
blunted - smussato
property - proprieta, beni, possesso, beni immobili
indestructible - indistruttibile
count - conte
emotions - emozione
pity - pieta, peccato, compatire
fear - paura
A bomb outrage to have any influence on public opinion now must go beyond the intention of vengeance or terrorism. It must be purely destructive. It must be that, and only that, beyond the faintest suspicion of any other object. You anarchists should make it clear that you are perfectly determined to make a clean sweep of the whole social creation.
bomb outrage - attentato con la bomba
influence - influenza, ascendente, influenzare, influire
intention - intenzione, intento
vengeance - vendetta, rivalsa, rappresaglia, ritorsione
terrorism - terrorismo
purely - puramente
destructive - distruttivo
faintest - debole
suspicion - sospetto
anarchists - anarchico, anarchica
determined - determinare, stabilire, capire, verificare, accertarsi
sweep - spazzare, scopare, ramazzare, setacciare, spazzata
creation - creazione, creato
But how to get that appallingly absurd notion into the heads of the middle classes so that there should be no mistake? That's the question. By directing your blows at something outside the ordinary passions of humanity is the answer. Of course, there is art. A bomb in the National Gallery would make some noise. But it would not be serious enough. Art has never been their fetish.
appallingly - spaventosamente
directing - diretto
blows - colpi
passions - passione
humanity - umanita, benevolenza
gallery - galleria, palchetto, balconata, loggia
noise - rumore, strepito
It's like breaking a few back windows in a man's house; whereas, if you want to make him really sit up, you must try at least to raise the roof. There would be some screaming of course, but from whom? Artists-art critics and such like-people of no account. Nobody minds what they say. But there is learning-science. Any imbecile that has got an income believes in that.
whereas - laddove, mentre
sit up - sedersi
raise - alzare, innalzare
roof - tetto
screaming - urlo, grido, gridare, sbraitare, urlare
critics - critico, polemista, avversario, oppositore, concorrente
minds - mente
income - introiti, reddito
He does not know why, but he believes It matters somehow. It is the sacrosanct fetish. All the damned professors are radicals at heart. Let them know that their great panjandrum has got to go too, to make room for the Future of the Proletariat. A howl from all these intellectual idiots is bound to help forward the labours of the Milan Conference. They will be writing to the papers.
It matters - E importante
somehow - in qualche modo
damned - dannato, (damn), dannare, bollare, condannare, maledire, maledetto
professors - professore
Radicals - radicale, radicalico, irrazionale, radice
at heart - a cuore
howl - ululato, uggiolio, latrato, guaito, ululare, gannire
intellectual - intellettuale
Idiots - idiota, squasimodeo
bound - vincolato, (bind), legare, connettere, rilegare
labours - lavoro, lavoratori, lavoranti, parto, travaglio, doglie
Their indignation would be above suspicion, no material interests being openly at stake, and it will alarm every selfishness of the class which should be impressed. They believe that in some mysterious way science is at the source of their material prosperity. They do.
openly - apertamente, in modo aperto
stake - palo, paletto, picchetto, piolo
alarm - allarme
selfishness - egoismo
mysterious - misterioso, ignoto
prosperity - prosperita
And the absurd ferocity of such a demonstration will affect them more profoundly than the mangling of a whole street-or theatre-full of their own kind. To that last they can always say: 'Oh! it's mere class hate.' But what is one to say to an act of destructive ferocity so absurd as to be incomprehensible, inexplicable, almost unthinkable; in fact, mad?
ferocity - ferocia
affect - avere effetto su
mangling - maciullare
unthinkable - impensabile
mad - pazzo, folle, matto, insano
Madness alone is truly terrifying, inasmuch as you cannot placate it either by threats, persuasion, or bribes. Moreover, I am a civilised man. I would never dream of directing you to organise a mere butchery, even if I expected the best results from it. But I wouldn't expect from a butchery the result I want. Murder is always with us. It is almost an institution.
madness - pazzia, follia, checkpazzia, insanita
truly - accuratamente, veramente, molto
terrifying - terrificare
placate - placare
threats - minaccia
persuasion - persuasione
bribes - tangente, bustarella, mazzetta, offrire una tangente, corrompere
civilised - incivilire, civilizzare, ingentilire, checkcivilizzare
dream - sogno, sognare
organise - organizzare
butchery - macelleria
expected - aspettarsi, pensare
murder - assassinio, omicidio, uccisione, assassinare, massacrare
The demonstration must be against learning-science. But not every science will do. The attack must have all the shocking senselessness of gratuitous blasphemy. Since bombs are your means of expression, it would be really telling if one could throw a bomb into pure mathematics. But that is impossible.
attack - attacco, assalire, attaccare
shocking - shock, choc
senselessness - insensatezza
gratuitous - gratuito
blasphemy - blasfemia, bestemmia
bombs - bomba, esplosivo, ordigno, bombardare
throw - gettare, lanciare
pure - puro
mathematics - matematico
I have been trying to educate you; I have expounded to you the higher philosophy of your usefulness, and suggested to you some serviceable arguments. The practical application of my teaching interests you mostly. But from the moment I have undertaken to interview you I have also given some attention to the practical aspect of the question. What do you think of having a go at astronomy?"
educate - istruire, educare
expounded - spiegare, illustrare
serviceable - utilizzabile
arguments - argomento
practical application - applicazione pratica
undertaken - intraprendere, impegnarsi, dedicarsi
astronomy - astronomia
For sometime already Mr Verloc's immobility by the side of the arm-chair resembled a state of collapsed coma-a sort of passive insensibility interrupted by slight convulsive starts, such as may be observed in the domestic dog having a nightmare on the hearthrug. And it was in an uneasy doglike growl that he repeated the word:
sometime - un giorno o l'altro
collapsed - collassare, crollare, accasciarsi, bloccarsi
passive - passivo
insensibility - insensibilita
convulsive - convulsivo
domestic - domestico
nightmare - incubo, brutto sogno
Hearthrug - Copriletto
uneasy - ansioso, agitato
doglike - cane
growl - ringhio, brontolio, ringhiare
"Astronomy."
He had not recovered thoroughly as yet from that state of bewilderment brought about by the effort to follow Mr Vladimir's rapid incisive utterance. It had overcome his power of assimilation. It had made him angry. This anger was complicated by incredulity. And suddenly it dawned upon him that all this was an elaborate joke.
recovered - rimettersi, riprendersi
as yet - ancora
brought about - causare
rapid - rapido, deciso, rapida, cataratta
incisive - incisivo
overcome - superare, sconfiggere
assimilation - assimilazione
anger - ira, rabbia, collera
complicated - complicare
incredulity - incredulita
elaborate - elaborato, dettagliato, intricato, approfondire, dettagliare
Mr Vladimir exhibited his white teeth in a smile, with dimples on his round, full face posed with a complacent inclination above the bristling bow of his neck-tie. The favourite of intelligent society women had assumed his drawing-room attitude accompanying the delivery of delicate witticisms.
dimples - bozza, fossetta, formare bozze su
posed - posa
complacent - compiaciuto
tie - legare, attaccare
accompanying - accompagnare
delivery - consegna, distribuzione, parto
Sitting well forward, his white hand upraised, he seemed to hold delicately between his thumb and forefinger the subtlety of his suggestion.
upraised - alzare
delicately - delicatamente
subtlety - sottigliezza
"There could be nothing better. Such an outrage combines the greatest possible regard for humanity with the most alarming display of ferocious imbecility. I defy the ingenuity of journalists to persuade their public that any given member of the proletariat can have a personal grievance against astronomy. Starvation itself could hardly be dragged in there-eh? And there are other advantages.
combines - combinare, mischiare, abbinare, unire, kombinat, combinat
most alarming - piu allarmante
display - rappresentazione, saggio, schermo, video, espositore, mostrare
imbecility - imbecillita
defy - sfidare, abiurare
ingenuity - ingegnosita, ingegno
journalists - giornalista, reporter
persuade - persuadere
grievance - reclamo, lagnanza
starvation - fame
itself - sé, se stesso, sé stesso
hardly - aspramente, appena, quasi, checkmica
dragged - trascinare, tirare
advantages - vantaggio, beneficio
The whole civilised world has heard of Greenwich. The very boot-blacks in the basement of Charing Cross Station know something of it. See?"
Greenwich - east London town
Charing - carbonizzare
Cross - croce, segno della croce, incrocio, cross, diagonale, irritato
The features of Mr Vladimir, so well known in the best society by their humorous urbanity, beamed with cynical self-satisfaction, which would have astonished the intelligent women his wit entertained so exquisitely. "Yes," he continued, with a contemptuous smile, "the blowing up of the first meridian is bound to raise a howl of execration."
features - caratteristica, prestazione, peculiarita, proprieta
humorous - umoristico, divertente, esilarante
urbanity - urbanita
beamed - trave, asse, architrave, traversa, braccio, corno principale
self - stesso
astonished - sorprendere, stupire
entertained - divertire
exquisitely - squisitamente
blowing up - esplodere
meridian - meridiano
execration - esecrazione
"A difficult business," Mr Verloc mumbled, feeling that this was the only safe thing to say.
mumbled - biascicare, mugugnare, farfugliare, balbettare
"What is the matter? Haven't you the whole gang under your hand? The very pick of the basket? That old terrorist Yundt is here. I see him walking about Piccadilly in his green havelock almost every day. And Michaelis, the ticket-of-leave apostle-you don't mean to say you don't know where he is? Because if you don't, I can tell you," Mr Vladimir went on menacingly.
gang - squadra
pick - piccone, stuzzicadenti, scelta, barriera, prendere, raccogliere, scegliere
basket - cestino, cesto, canestro, cesta
terrorist - terrorista
apostle - apostolo
menacingly - minacciosamente
"If you imagine that you are the only one on the secret fund list, you are mistaken."
are mistaken - essere sbagliato
This perfectly gratuitous suggestion caused Mr Verloc to shuffle his feet slightly.
shuffle - mescolare, mischiare, strascicare, trascinarsi
"And the whole Lausanne lot-eh? Haven't they been flocking over here at the first hint of the Milan Conference? This is an absurd country."
flocking - affollamento
hint - accenno, allusione, indizio, aiuto
"It will cost money," Mr Verloc said, by a sort of instinct.
instinct - istinto
"That cock won't fight," Mr Vladimir retorted, with an amazingly genuine English accent. "You'll get your screw every month, and no more till something happens. And if nothing happens very soon you won't get even that. What's your ostensible occupation? What are you supposed to live by?"
fight - lottare, battersi
retorted - replicare, ribattere
genuine - genuino
screw - vite, elica, scopata, chiavare, fottere, scopare, trombare
supposed - supporre, immaginare
"I keep a shop," answered Mr Verloc.
"A shop! What sort of shop?"
"Stationery, newspapers. My wife-"
Stationery - Cancelleria
"Your what?" interrupted Mr Vladimir in his guttural Central Asian tones.
central - centrale, fondamentale
Asian - asiatico, asiatica
"My wife." Mr Verloc raised his husky voice slightly. "I am married."
"That be damned for a yarn," exclaimed the other in unfeigned astonishment. "Married! And you a professed anarchist, too! What is this confounded nonsense? But I suppose it's merely a manner of speaking. Anarchists don't marry. It's well known. They can't. It would be apostasy."
yarn - filo, filato, cordame, cordaggio, trama, fandonia
unfeigned - non finto
professed - professare, dichiarare
merely - soltanto, solamente, meramente, semplicemente
marry - sposare, sposarsi
apostasy - apostasia
"My wife isn't one," Mr Verloc mumbled sulkily. "Moreover, it's no concern of yours."
sulkily - con il broncio
concern - interesse, preoccupazione, impresa, interessare
"Oh yes, it is," snapped Mr Vladimir. "I am beginning to be convinced that you are not at all the man for the work you've been employed on. Why, you must have discredited yourself completely in your own world by your marriage. Couldn't you have managed without? This is your virtuous attachment-eh? What with one sort of attachment and another you are doing away with your usefulness."
snapped - schiocco, scatto, rubamazzetto, sbottare
discredited - screditare, vergogna, onta, disdoro, disonore
completely - completamente, interamente, del tutto, totalmente
marriage - matrimonio, nozze, sposalizio
managed - dirigere, managgiare, riuscire, arrangiarsi, maneggiare
virtuous - virtuoso
Mr Verloc, puffing out his cheeks, let the air escape violently, and that was all. He had armed himself with patience. It was not to be tried much longer. The First Secretary became suddenly very curt, detached, final.
puffing - sbuffare
violently - violentemente
patience - pazienza
curt - sbrigativo
detached - staccare
"You may go now," he said. "A dynamite outrage must be provoked. I give you a month. The sittings of the Conference are suspended. Before it reassembles again something must have happened here, or your connection with us ceases."
dynamite - dinamite
sittings - seduto
suspended - appendere, sospendere
reassembles - riaggregarsi, rimontare
ceases - ces
He changed the note once more with an unprincipled versatility.
unprincipled - senza principi
versatility - versatilita
"think over my philosophy, Mr-Mr-Verloc," he said, with a sort of chaffing condescension, waving his hand towards the door. "Go for the first meridian. You don't know the middle classes as well as I do. Their sensibilities are jaded. The first meridian. Nothing better, and nothing easier, I should think."
think over - riflettere
chaffing - pula, (chaff), crusca
waving - sventolare
jaded - Giada
He had got up, and with his thin sensitive lips twitching humorously, watched in the glass over the mantelpiece Mr Verloc backing out of the room heavily, hat and stick in hand. The door closed.
twitching - contorcersi
humorously - umoristicamente
The footman in trousers, appearing suddenly in the corridor, let Mr Verloc another way out and through a small door in the corner of the courtyard. The porter standing at the gate ignored his exit completely; and Mr Verloc retraced the path of his morning's pilgrimage as if in a dream-an angry dream.
appearing - apparire
ignored - ignorare
exit - uscita
retraced - ripercorrere, (tornare indietro)
path - sentiero
pilgrimage - pellegrinaggio, pellegrinare
This detachment from the material world was so complete that, though the mortal envelope of Mr Verloc had not hastened unduly along the streets, that part of him to which it would be unwarrantably rude to refuse immortality, found itself at the shop door all at once, as if borne from west to east on the wings of a great wind.
detachment - distacco, imparzialita, oggettivita, distaccamento
hastened - affrettarsi, sbrigarsi, affrettare, anticipare
unduly - indebitamente
unwarrantably - in modo ingiustificato
refuse - rifiutare
immortality - immortalita
borne - sopportare
wings - ala, squadra, parafango
wind - vento
He walked straight behind the counter, and sat down on a wooden chair that stood there. No one appeared to disturb his solitude.
disturb - disturbare
Stevie, put into a green baize apron, was now sweeping and dusting upstairs, intent and conscientious, as though he were playing at it; and Mrs Verloc, warned in the kitchen by the clatter of the cracked bell, had merely come to the glazed door of the parlour, and putting the curtain aside a little, had peered into the dim shop.
baize - baietta
apron - grembiule, piazzale
sweeping - spazzata, scopata, (sweep), spazzare, scopare, ramazzare
dusting - spolverata, (dust), polvere, spolverare
intent - intento
conscientious - coscienzioso
clatter - lo sbattere
curtain - tenda, tappezzeria, drappo, drappeggio
peered - Pari
dim - fioco, incerto
Seeing her husband sitting there shadowy and bulky, with his hat tilted far back on his head, she had at once returned to her stove.
shadowy - ombroso
bulky - voluminoso, massiccio, ingombrante, scomodo
tilted - inclinarsi
stove - stufa, fornello, (stave), doga, piolo, strofa, pentagramma
An hour or more later she took the green baize apron off her brother Stevie, and instructed him to wash his hands and face in the peremptory tone she had used in that connection for fifteen years or so-ever since she had, in fact, ceased to attend to the boy's hands and face herself.
instructed - istruire
ceased - cessare, arrestare, smettere, interrompere
attend to - partecipare
She spared presently a glance away from her dishing-up for the inspection of that face and those hands which Stevie, approaching the kitchen table, offered for her approval with an air of self-assurance hiding a perpetual residue of anxiety.
spared - asta
Presently - Attualmente
inspection - ispezione, controllo, esame, analisi
approval - permesso, approvazione, plauso, appoggio
assurance - garanzia
perpetual - perpetuo, perenne
residue - residuo
Formerly the anger of the father was the supremely effective sanction of these rites, but Mr Verloc's placidity in domestic life would have made all mention of anger incredible even to poor Stevie's nervousness. The theory was that Mr Verloc would have been inexpressibly pained and shocked by any deficiency of cleanliness at meal times.
Formerly - In passato
supremely - supremamente
sanction - approvazione, convalida, ratifica, sanzione, approvare, sancire
rites - rito
placidity - placidita, placidezza
mention - cenno, accenno, menzione, menzionare
nervousness - nervosismo
theory - teoria
inexpressibly - in modo inesprimibile
pained - dolore
shocked - shock, choc
deficiency - deficienza
cleanliness - pulizia
Winnie after the death of her father found considerable consolation in the feeling that she need no longer tremble for poor Stevie. She could not bear to see the boy hurt. It maddened her. As a little girl she had often faced with blazing eyes the irascible licensed victualler in defence of her brother.
Death - morte, dipartita, decesso, morire, la morte
considerable - considerabile
consolation - consolazione
tremble - tremare, tremolare, tremore
bear - sopportare
hurt - dolere, fare male, ferire, ferito
maddened - infuriare, urtare, stregare
blazing - incendio
irascible - irascibile
defence - difesa
Nothing now in Mrs Verloc's appearance could lead one to suppose that she was capable of a passionate demonstration.
lead - piombo
passionate - appassionato
She finished her dishing-up. The table was laid in the parlour. Going to the foot of the stairs, she screamed out "Mother!" Then opening the glazed door leading to the shop, she said quietly "Adolf!" Mr Verloc had not changed his position; he had not apparently stirred a limb for an hour and a half.
laid in - accumulare
screamed - urlo, grido, gridare, sbraitare, urlare
leading - che conduce
position - posizione, posto, lavoro, piazzare, posizionare
stirred - rimescolare
He got up heavily, and came to his dinner in his overcoat and with his hat on, without uttering a word. His silence in itself had nothing startlingly unusual in this household, hidden in the shades of the sordid street seldom touched by the sun, behind the dim shop with its wares of disreputable rubbish.
uttering - pronunciare
startlingly - sorprendentemente
unusual - insolito, particolare, inusuale
hidden - nascondere, nascondersi
shades - agone, alosa
sordid - sordido
seldom - raramente, di rado
touched - toccare, commuovere, tocco, tatto
wares - guerra, fare la guerra
disreputable - disdicevole
rubbish - corbelleria, cretinata, assurdita, porcherie, schifezza
Only that day Mr Verloc's taciturnity was so obviously thoughtful that the two women were impressed by it. They sat silent themselves, keeping a watchful eye on poor Stevie, lest he should break out into one of his fits of loquacity. He faced Mr Verloc across the table, and remained very good and quiet, staring vacantly.
taciturnity - taciturnita
thoughtful - pensieroso, pensoso, meditabondo, cogitabondo, premuroso
break out - scoppiare
loquacity - loquacita
vacantly - vacante
The endeavour to keep him from making himself objectionable in any way to the master of the house put no inconsiderable anxiety into these two women's lives. "That boy," as they alluded to him softly between themselves, had been a source of that sort of anxiety almost from the very day of his birth.
endeavour - tentare
objectionable - discutibile
inconsiderable - irrilevante
alluded - alludere
softly - delicatamente, sottovoce
birth - nascita
The late licensed victualler's humiliation at having such a very peculiar boy for a son manifested itself by a propensity to brutal treatment; for he was a person of fine sensibilities, and his sufferings as a man and a father were perfectly genuine.
humiliation - umiliazione, smacco
peculiar - strano, peculiare, particolare
manifested - manifestare
propensity - propensione, tendenza, inclinazione
brutal - brutale
treatment - trattamento, cura
sufferings - sofferenza
Afterwards Stevie had to be kept from making himself a nuisance to the single gentlemen lodgers, who are themselves a queer lot, and are easily aggrieved. And there was always the anxiety of his mere existence to face. Visions of a workhouse infirmary for her child had haunted the old woman in the basement breakfast-room of the decayed Belgravian house.
afterwards - dopo
nuisance - seccatura
single - singolo, solo, intero, unico, single
aggrieved - aggredire
visions - vista, acutezza visiva, visione, allucinazione, miraggio
workhouse - casa di lavoro
infirmary - infermeria
haunted - infestare, tormentare, ritrovo
decayed - imputridire
"If you had not found such a good husband, my dear," she used to say to her daughter, "I don't know what would have become of that poor boy."
Mr Verloc extended as much recognition to Stevie as a man not particularly fond of animals may give to his wife's beloved cat; and this recognition, benevolent and perfunctory, was essentially of the same quality. Both women admitted to themselves that not much more could be reasonably expected. It was enough to earn for Mr Verloc the old woman's reverential gratitude.
extended - ampliare
recognition - riconoscimento
particularly - in particolare, estremamente
fond - tenero
beloved - amato, carissimo, squisito
benevolent - benevolo
perfunctory - superficiale, sbrigativo
essentially - in essenza
admitted - far entrare, ammettere, riconoscere, ricoverare
reasonably - ragionevolmente, giustamente
reverential - reverenziale
gratitude - gratitudine, riconoscenza
In the early days, made sceptical by the trials of friendless life, she used sometimes to ask anxiously: "You don't think, my dear, that Mr Verloc is getting tired of seeing Stevie about?" To this Winnie replied habitually by a slight toss of her head. Once, however, she retorted, with a rather grim pertness: "He'll have to get tired of me first." A long silence ensued.
sceptical - scettico
trials - processo
friendless - senza amici
anxiously - ansiosamente
replied - rispondere, replicare, ripetere, risposta, replica
habitually - abitualmente
toss - tiro, lancio, testa o croce, lancio moneta
grim - macabro
pertness - perizia
get tired - stancarsi
ensued - seguire, conseguire
The mother, with her feet propped up on a stool, seemed to be trying to get to the bottom of that answer, whose feminine profundity had struck her all of a heap. She had never really understood why Winnie had married Mr Verloc. It was very sensible of her, and evidently had turned out for the best, but her girl might have naturally hoped to find somebody of a more suitable age.
propped - sostegno
stool - sgabello
feminine - femminile
profundity - profondita
heap - folla, massa, moltitudine, pila, cumulo
sensible - percepibile, apprezzabile, sensibile, razionale, giudizioso
evidently - evidentemente
more suitable - piu adatto
There had been a steady young fellow, only son of a butcher in the next street, helping his father in business, with whom Winnie had been walking out with obvious gusto. He was dependent on his father, it is true; but the business was good, and his prospects excellent. He took her girl to the theatre on several evenings.
gusto - gusto, entusiasmo
dependent - dipendente
Then just as she began to dread to hear of their engagement (for what could she have done with that big house alone, with Stevie on her hands), that romance came to an abrupt end, and Winnie went about looking very dull. But Mr Verloc, turning up providentially to occupy the first-floor front bedroom, there had been no more question of the young butcher. It was clearly providential.
hear of - sentir parlare di
romance - storia d'amore, romanticheria, idillio, poesia
abrupt - brusco, improvviso, inaspettato, discontinuo, discontinua
turning up - aumentare, alzare, presentarsi
providentially - provvidenzialmente
occupy - occupare
Clearly - chiaramente, certamente, evidentemente
" . . . All idealisation makes life poorer. To beautify it is to take away its character of complexity-it is to destroy it. Leave that to the moralists, my boy. History is made by men, but they do not make it in their heads. The ideas that are born in their consciousness play an insignificant part in the march of events.
idealisation - idealizzazione
beautify - abbellire
complexity - complessita
Moralists - moralista
consciousness - conoscenza, coscienza
insignificant - insignificante, irrilevante, nullo
History is dominated and determined by the tool and the production-by the force of economic conditions. Capitalism has made socialism, and the laws made by the capitalism for the protection of property are responsible for anarchism. No one can tell what form the social organisation may take in the future. Then why indulge in prophetic phantasies?
dominated - dominare
tool - arnese, strumento, utensile, mezzo, attrezzo
production - produzione
economic - economico, economo
conditions - condizione, influenzare, condizionare
Capitalism - capitalismo
Socialism - socialismo
laws - legge
protection of property - protezione della proprieta
responsible - responsabile, di responsabile, di responsabilita, colpevole
indulge in - indulgere in
phantasies - fantasia
At best they can only interpret the mind of the prophet, and can have no objective value. Leave that pastime to the moralists, my boy."
Interpret - interpretare
prophet - profeta, vate, divinatore, aedo
objective - oggettivo, obiettivo, obbiettivo
Michaelis, the ticket-of-leave apostle, was speaking in an even voice, a voice that wheezed as if deadened and oppressed by the layer of fat on his chest.
wheezed - ansimare, rantolare, anelare, boccheggiare
oppressed - opprimere
layer - strato
chest - petto
He had come out of a highly hygienic prison round like a tub, with an enormous stomach and distended cheeks of a pale, semi-transparent complexion, as though for fifteen years the servants of an outraged society had made a point of stuffing him with fattening foods in a damp and lightless cellar. And ever since he had never managed to get his weight down as much as an ounce.
prison - prigione, carcere, fresco
tub - tinozza, vaschetta, contenitore, bagnarola
stomach - stomaco, pancia, digerire, sopportare
distended - distendere
pale - pallido
transparent - ordine del giorno
outraged - oltraggio, sdegno, indignazione, oltraggiare
stuffing - imbottitura, ripieno, (stuff), cose, roba, tessuto, stoffa
fattening - che fa ingrassare, (fatten), ingrassare
damp - umido, bagnato, madido, umidita, grisu, smorzare, soffocare
lightless - senza luce
cellar - cantina
weight - peso, appesantire, gravare, ponderare
ounce - oncia
It was said that for three seasons running a very wealthy old lady had sent him for a cure to Marienbad-where he was about to share the public curiosity once with a crowned head-but the police on that occasion ordered him to leave within twelve hours. His martyrdom was continued by forbidding him all access to the healing waters. But he was resigned now.
seasons - stagione
lady - signora, dama, lady
curiosity - curiosita
martyrdom - martirio
forbidding - proibire, (forbid), vietare, negare, smentire
healing - guarigione
resigned - dimettersi
With his elbow presenting no appearance of a joint, but more like a bend in a dummy's limb, thrown over the back of a chair, he leaned forward slightly over his short and enormous thighs to spit into the grate.
elbow - gomito, raccordo, gomitata, sgomitare
joint - comune, congiunta, giunto, articolazione, diaclasi, canna
bend - curvare, piegare, piegarsi, curvarsi, ammanigliare, curva, nodo
dummy - taciturno, stupido, scemo, manichino, sagoma, fantoccio
thrown over - gettato su
leaned - pendere
thighs - coscia
spit - sputare
grate - griglia
"Yes! I had the time to think things out a little," he added without emphasis. "Society has given me plenty of time for meditation."
emphasis - enfasi, risalto
plenty - abbondanza, cuccagna, abbondantemente
meditation - meditazione
On the other side of the fireplace, in the horse-hair arm-chair where Mrs Verloc's mother was generally privileged to sit, Karl Yundt giggled grimly, with a faint black grimace of a toothless mouth. The terrorist, as he called himself, was old and bald, with a narrow, snow-white wisp of a goatee hanging limply from his chin.
privileged - privilegio, prerogativa
giggled - ridacchiare
grimly - cupamente
toothless - sdentato, inefficace, impotente
Snow-White - (Snow-White) Biancaneve
wisp - ciocca, trefolo, legnolo, pagliuzza
goatee - pizzo, pizzetto
hanging - appeso
limply - in modo zoppicante
An extraordinary expression of underhand malevolence survived in his extinguished eyes. When he rose painfully the thrusting forward of a skinny groping hand deformed by gouty swellings suggested the effort of a moribund murderer summoning all his remaining strength for a last stab. He leaned on a thick stick, which trembled under his other hand.
extraordinary - straordinario, straordinaria, eccezionale, fantastico
underhand - subdolo, sfuggente, viscido, subdolamente, sottobanco
malevolence - malevolenza
survived - sopravvivere, durare, perdurare
extinguished - estinguere
rose - Rosa
painfully - dolorosamente
thrusting - spinta, (thrust), stoccata
skinny - magro, smunto, tutta pelle, scarnito
groping - tastare, palpeggiare, palpare
deformed - deformare
gouty - ingottito
swellings - gonfiore, gnocco
moribund - ordine del giorno
murderer - assassino, assassina
summoning - convocare
remaining - stare, restare, rimanere
strength - forza, vigore, energia, intensita, efficacia
stab - pugnalare
trembled - tremare, tremolare, tremore
"I have always dreamed," he mouthed fiercely, "of a band of men absolute in their resolve to discard all scruples in the choice of means, strong enough to give themselves frankly the name of destroyers, and free from the taint of that resigned pessimism which rots the world.
dreamed - sogno, sognare
fiercely - trucemente, perfidamente, ferocemente, accanitamente
resolve - decidere
discard - buttare
scruples - scrupolo
choice - scelta, ottimo, ottima, di prima scelta
frankly - francamente
destroyers - distruttore, distruttrice, cacciatorpediniere
taint - guastare, contaminare
pessimism - pessimismo
rots - marcire, putrefarsi
No pity for anything on earth, including themselves, and death enlisted for good and all in the service of humanity-that's what I would have liked to see."
earth - terra, massa, tana, mettere a terra, tcollegare a terra
enlisted - arruolarsi
His little bald head quivered, imparting a comical vibration to the wisp of white goatee. His enunciation would have been almost totally unintelligible to a stranger. His worn-out passion, resembling in its impotent fierceness the excitement of a senile sensualist, was badly served by a dried throat and toothless gums which seemed to catch the tip of his tongue.
bald head - testa calva
imparting - impartire
comical - comico
vibration - vibrazione
enunciation - enunciazione
totally - totalmente, completamente
unintelligible - inintelligibile, incomprensibile
resembling - rassomigliare, arieggiare
impotent - debole, impotente
fierceness - fierita
excitement - eccitamento, orgasmo, fregola
senile - barbogio, senile, rimbambito
sensualist - sensualista
dried - secco, asciutto, asciugarsi, trinsecchire, tessiccare
gums - gengiva
catch - presa, conquista, fermaglio, fermaglio di sicurezza, trappola
Mr Verloc, established in the corner of the sofa at the other end of the room, emitted two hearty grunts of assent.
established - stabilire, confermare, instaurare, fondare, istituire
sofa - divano, sofa
emitted - emettere
hearty - di cuore
grunts - grugnito, grugnire
assent - assentire, assenso
The old terrorist turned slowly his head on his skinny neck from side to side.
slowly - lentamente, piano, a rilento
"And I could never get as many as three such men together. So much for your rotten pessimism," he snarled at Michaelis, who uncrossed his thick legs, similar to bolsters, and slid his feet abruptly under his chair in sign of exasperation.
rotten - marcito, marcio, malvagio
snarled - ringhiare
uncrossed - non incrociare
bolsters - capezzale, sostenere, supportare, appoggiare
slid - scivolare, (slide), slittare, derapare, scivolo
abruptly - improvvisamente
He a pessimist! Preposterous! He cried out that the charge was outrageous. He was so far from pessimism that he saw already the end of all private property coming along logically, unavoidably, by the mere development of its inherent viciousness. The possessors of property had not only to face the awakened proletariat, but they had also to fight amongst themselves. Yes.
pessimist - pessimista
preposterous - irragionevole, insensato, assurdo
cried - piangere, gridare, urlare, pianto, urlo, verso
coming along - Andiamo!, unirsi
logically - logicamente, a rigor di logica
unavoidably - inevitabilmente, impreteribilmente, inderogabilmente
development - sviluppo, potenziamento
inherent - insito, inerente, attinente, pertinente
viciousness - cattiveria
possessors - possessore
awakened - svegliare, svegliarsi
amongst - tra, in mezzo a
Struggle, warfare, was the condition of private ownership. It was fatal. Ah! he did not depend upon emotional excitement to keep up his belief, no declamations, no anger, no visions of blood-red flags waving, or metaphorical lurid suns of vengeance rising above the horizon of a doomed society. Not he! Cold reason, he boasted, was the basis of his optimism. Yes, optimism-
Struggle - lotta, lottare
warfare - battaglia, combattimento
ownership - proprieta, padronanza
Depend - dipendere, fare affidamento
emotional - ordine del giorno
belief - credito, credenza, convinzione, opinione, fede
declamations - declamazione
blood - sangue
flags - bandiera
metaphorical - metaforico
lurid - livido
rising - in aumento
horizon - orizzonte
doomed - sentenza, giudizio, decisione, penalita
basis - fondamenta, base, cifra, ammontare, cifra base, ammontare base
optimism - ottimismo
His laborious wheezing stopped, then, after a gasp or two, he added:
laborious - laborioso
wheezing - affanno, (wheeze), ansimare, rantolare, anelare, boccheggiare
gasp - restare senza fiato, restare a bocca aperta
"Don't you think that, if I had not been the optimist I am, I could not have found in fifteen years some means to cut my throat? And, in the last instance, there were always the walls of my cell to dash my head against."
optimist - ottimista
cell - cella
Dash - lineetta, linea, scatto, spruzzo, pizzico, goccio, saltare
The shortness of breath took all fire, all animation out of his voice; his great, pale cheeks hung like filled pouches, motionless, without a quiver; but in his blue eyes, narrowed as if peering, there was the same look of confident shrewdness, a little crazy in its fixity, they must have had while the indomitable optimist sat thinking at night in his cell.
shortness - brevita
breath - respiro, lena, alito, fiato
pouches - sacchetto
quiver - tremare, tremolare
narrowed - stretto
peering - Pari
confident - fiducioso, sicuro
shrewdness - astuzia
crazy - pazzo, matto, folle, impazzito, fuori di testa, fantastico
fixity - fissita
indomitable - invitto, indomito
Before him, Karl Yundt remained standing, one wing of his faded greenish havelock thrown back cavalierly over his shoulder. Seated in front of the fireplace, Comrade Ossipon, ex-medical student, the principal writer of the F. P. leaflets, stretched out his robust legs, keeping the soles of his boots turned up to the glow in the grate.
Wing - ala, squadra, parafango
faded - moda, andazzo, tendenza
greenish - verdastro, verdognolo
thrown back - ributtato
cavalierly - con cavalleria
seated - posto, seduta, sedile, scranno
medical - medico
principal - principale, capitale, preside, talian: t-needed
stretched - tendere
robust - robusto
soles - (pianta del piede)
glow - brillare, alone, luminescenza, luccichio, calore
A bush of crinkly yellow hair topped his red, freckled face, with a flattened nose and prominent mouth cast in the rough mould of the negro type. His almond-shaped eyes leered languidly over the high cheek-bones.
bush - cespuglio
crinkly - scricchiolante
topped - cima, sommita, coperchio, cappuccio, parte superiore, top
freckled - lentiggine
flattened - appiattire, atterrare, appiattirsi
mould - terriccio
negro - nero, nera, negro
almond-shaped - (almond-shaped) a forma di mandorla
leered - (sguardo malizioso)
cheek - guancia, gota, chiappa, faccia tosta, sfrontatezza, impudenza
bones - osso, lisca, spina
He wore a grey flannel shirt, the loose ends of a black silk tie hung down the buttoned breast of his serge coat; and his head resting on the back of his chair, his throat largely exposed, he raised to his lips a cigarette in a long wooden tube, puffing jets of smoke straight up at the ceiling.
flannel - flanella
loose - largo
buttoned - bottone
resting - riposare
largely - largamente, estesamente, in gran parte, per la maggior parte
exposed - esporre, evidenziare, rivelare, mettere in luce
cigarette - sigaretta
tube - tubo, tubetto, lattina
straight up - sinceramente, seriamente, veramente, direttamente
ceiling - soffitto
Michaelis pursued his idea-the idea of his solitary reclusion-the thought vouchsafed to his captivity and growing like a faith revealed in visions.
reclusion - reclusione
vouchsafed - garantire
captivity - cattivita
Faith - fede, fiducia
revealed - rivelare, gettare la maschera, uscire allo scoperto
He talked to himself, indifferent to the sympathy or hostility of his hearers, indifferent indeed to their presence, from the habit he had acquired of thinking aloud hopefully in the solitude of the four whitewashed walls of his cell, in the sepulchral silence of the great blind pile of bricks near a river, sinister and ugly like a colossal mortuary for the socially drowned.
sympathy - compassione, empatia
hostility - ostilita
hearers - ascoltatore
presence - presenza
aloud - a voce alta, ad alta voce
hopefully - con buone speranze, speranzosamente
whitewashed - calce, cappotto, imbiancare, lavare via, cancellare
sepulchral - ordine del giorno
pile - pila, mucchio
bricks - mattone, laterizio, tegola
ugly - brutto, sgradevole
colossal - colossale
mortuary - obitorio, camera mortuaria
socially - socialmente
drowned - affogare, annegare, sommergere, coprire
He was no good in discussion, not because any amount of argument could shake his faith, but because the mere fact of hearing another voice disconcerted him painfully, confusing his thoughts at once-these thoughts that for so many years, in a mental solitude more barren than a waterless desert, no living voice had ever combatted, commented, or approved.
discussion - discussione
argument - argomento
shake - scuotere, agitare, scuotere la testa, scioccare, atterrire
confusing - confondere
barren - sterile, infertile, infruttifero, desolato
waterless - senza acqua
desert - abbandonare
combatted - battaglia, combattere
commented - commento
approved - approvare
No one interrupted him now, and he made again the confession of his faith, mastering him irresistible and complete like an act of grace: the secret of fate discovered in the material side of life; the economic condition of the world responsible for the past and shaping the future; the source of all history, of all ideas, guiding the mental development of mankind and the very impulses of their passion-
mastering - masterizzazione
irresistible - irresistibile
grace - benedicite, ringraziamento, grazia, eleganza, garbo
fate - fato, sorte, destino
shaping - modellando, (shape), condizione, stato, forma, sagoma
guiding - guida
impulses - impulso, aire, slancio, abbrivo
A harsh laugh from Comrade Ossipon cut the tirade dead short in a sudden faltering of the tongue and a bewildered unsteadiness of the apostle's mildly exalted eyes. He closed them slowly for a moment, as if to collect his routed thoughts. A silence fell; but what with the two gas-jets over the table and the glowing grate the little parlour behind Mr Verloc's shop had become frightfully hot.
harsh - grossolano, ruvido, rude, aspro (taste), accidentato
tirade - invettiva
dead - morto
sudden - improvviso, improvvisa
faltering - vacillare, (falter), inciampare
bewildered - confondere, disorientare, sconcertare
unsteadiness - instabilita
mildly - in modo lieve
exalted - esaltare
collect - riunirsi
routed - percorso, itinerario
glowing - brillare, alone, luminescenza, luccichio, calore
frightfully - spaventosamente
Mr Verloc, getting off the sofa with ponderous reluctance, opened the door leading into the kitchen to get more air, and thus disclosed the innocent Stevie, seated very good and quiet at a deal table, drawing circles, circles, circles; innumerable circles, concentric, eccentric; a coruscating whirl of circles that by their tangled multitude of repeated curves, uniformity of form, and confusion of intersecting lines suggested a rendering of cosmic chaos, the symbolism of a mad art attempting the inconceivable. The artist never turned his head; and in all his soul's application to the task his back quivered, his thin neck, sunk into a deep hollow at the base of the skull, seemed ready to snap.
getting off - scendere
ponderous - ponderoso
innocent - innocente
innumerable - innumerevole
concentric - concentrico
eccentric - eccentrico
coruscating - coruscare
whirl - turbinare, piroettare, roteare
tangled - groviglio arruffato
multitude - moltitudine, folla
curves - curva, curvare
uniformity - uniformita
confusion - confusione, disordine, disorientamento, sbandamento
intersecting - intersecare, intersecarsi, tagliare
rendering - present participle of render
cosmic - cosmico
chaos - caos
symbolism - simbolismo
attempting - tentare, cercare, provare, attentare, tentativo
inconceivable - inconcepibile
soul - anima, spirito
application - applicazione, impiego, applicativo, programma, candidatura
task - compito
sunk - affondato, (sink), affondare
hollow - vuoto, cavo
skull - cranio
snap - schiocco, scatto, rubamazzetto, sbottare
Mr Verloc, after a grunt of disapproving surprise, returned to the sofa. Alexander Ossipon got up, tall in his threadbare blue serge suit under the low ceiling, shook off the stiffness of long immobility, and strolled away into the kitchen (down two steps) to look over Stevie's shoulder. He came back, pronouncing oracularly: "Very good. Very characteristic, perfectly typical."
grunt - grugnito, grugnire
disapproving - disapprovare
Alexander - Alessandro
threadbare - filiforme
suit - vestito, abito, seme, colore, soddisfare, adattarsi
shook off - scrollarsi di dosso, dimenticare, calmarsi
stiffness - rigidezza, rigidita, inflessibilita
strolled - passeggiata, camminata, passeggiare, andare a spasso, girovagare
look over - inspezionare qualcosa, guardare attraverso qualcosa
pronouncing - dichiarare, emettere, pronunziare, pronunciare
oracularly - oracolarmente
typical - tipico
"What's very good?" grunted inquiringly Mr Verloc, settled again in the corner of the sofa. The other explained his meaning negligently, with a shade of condescension and a toss of his head towards the kitchen:
grunted - grugnito, grugnire
inquiringly - con curiosita
negligently - negligentemente
shade - ombra, persiana, tonalita, gradazione, nuance, varieta
"Typical of this form of degeneracy-these drawings, I mean."
degeneracy - degenerazione
drawings - disegno
"You would call that lad a degenerate, would you?" mumbled Mr Verloc.
lad - ragazzo, ragazzino
degenerate - snaturato, scellerato, degenerato, degenerare
Comrade Alexander Ossipon-nicknamed the Doctor, ex-medical student without a degree; afterwards wandering lecturer to working-men's associations upon the socialistic aspects of hygiene; author of a popular quasi-medical study (in the form of a cheap pamphlet seized promptly by the police) entitled "The Corroding Vices of the Middle Classes"; special delegate of the more or less mysterious Red Committee, together with Karl Yundt and Michaelis for the work of literary propaganda-turned upon the obscure familiar of at least two Embassies that glance of insufferable, hopelessly dense sufficiency which nothing but the frequentation of science can give to the dulness of common mortals.
nicknamed - soprannome, soprannominare
wandering - vagabondaggio, (wander), errare, vagare, girovagare, passeggiare
Lecturer - conferenziere
associations - associazione
Aspects - aspetto
Hygiene - igiene, salubrita
author - autore, autrice, creare
pamphlet - opuscolo
seized - prendere, afferrare, approfittare, sfruttare
promptly - prontamente
entitled - intitolare
corroding - corrodere
delegate - delegato, delegata, delegare
committee - comitato, commissione
literary - letterario
propaganda - propaganda
familiar - familiare, spirito famigliare, famiglio
insufferable - insoffribile, insopportabile, intollerabile
dense - denso, pastoso, checkdenso
sufficiency - sufficienza
frequentation - frequentazione
dulness - ottusita
mortals - mortale
"That's what he may be called scientifically. Very good type too, altogether, of that sort of degenerate. It's enough to glance at the lobes of his ears. If you read Lombroso-"
scientifically - scientificamente
lobes - lobo
Mr Verloc, moody and spread largely on the sofa, continued to look down the row of his waistcoat buttons; but his cheeks became tinged by a faint blush.
moody - umorale
look down - guardare in basso
buttons - bottoni
tinged - sfumatura
blush - rossore
Of late even the merest derivative of the word science (a term in itself inoffensive and of indefinite meaning) had the curious power of evoking a definitely offensive mental vision of Mr Vladimir, in his body as he lived, with an almost supernatural clearness.
merest - semplice, solo
derivative - derivato, derivata
term - periodo, durata, mandato
inoffensive - inoffensivo
indefinite - indefinito
Curious - curioso
evoking - evocare, rammemorare, checkrammentare
definitely - indubbiamente, non ci piove
vision - vista, acutezza visiva, visione, allucinazione, miraggio
supernatural - soprannaturale, sovrannaturale, ultraterreno
clearness - chiarezza
And this phenomenon, deserving justly to be classed amongst the marvels of science, induced in Mr Verloc an emotional state of dread and exasperation tending to express itself in violent swearing. But he said nothing. It was Karl Yundt who was heard, implacable to his last breath.
phenomenon - fenomeno
deserving - meritevole, (deserve), meritare, meritarsi
justly - giustamente
marvels - stupirsi, meravigliarsi
tending - badare a, custodire
express - esprimere
violent - violento
swearing - giuramento
implacable - implacabile
"Lombroso is an ass."
ass - asino
Comrade Ossipon met the shock of this blasphemy by an awful, vacant stare. And the other, his extinguished eyes without gleams blackening the deep shadows under the great, bony forehead, mumbled, catching the tip of his tongue between his lips at every second word as though he were chewing it angrily:
shock - shock, choc
blackening - annerimento, (blacken), annerire, sporcare
bony - ossuto, stecchino
catching - catturare, (catch), presa, conquista, fermaglio
chewing - masticare
angrily - irosamente, rabbiosamente, con rabbia
"Did you ever see such an idiot? For him the criminal is the prisoner. Simple, is it not? What about those who shut him up there-forced him in there? Exactly. Forced him in there. And what is crime? Does he know that, this imbecile who has made his way in this world of gorged fools by looking at the ears and teeth of a lot of poor, luckless devils? Teeth and ears mark the criminal?
criminal - criminale, delittuoso
prisoner - prigioniero, prigioniera
gorged - gola
devils - diavolo
mark - Marco
Do they? And what about the law that marks him still better-the pretty branding instrument invented by the overfed to protect themselves against the hungry? Red-hot applications on their vile skins-hey? Can't you smell and hear from here the thick hide of the people burn and sizzle? That's how criminals are made for your Lombrosos to write their silly stuff about."
marks - Marco
branding - tizzone, marchio a fuoco, marca
invented - inventare, creare, ideare
overfed - sovralimentare
protect - proteggere
applications - applicazione, impiego, applicativo, programma, candidatura
vile - abietto, basso, ignobile
skins - pelle, interfaccia, scuoiare
smell - odore, olfatto, odorato, sentire l'odore, fiutare, odorare
hide - nascondere, nascondersi
burn - bruciare
sizzle - sfrigolare, gorgogliare
criminals - criminale, delittuoso
silly - sciocco
stuff - cose, roba, tessuto, stoffa, roba (1), checkcose (2), farcire
The knob of his stick and his legs shook together with passion, whilst the trunk, draped in the wings of the havelock, preserved his historic attitude of defiance. He seemed to sniff the tainted air of social cruelty, to strain his ear for its atrocious sounds. There was an extraordinary force of suggestion in this posturing.
knob - maniglia, manopola, pomello, protuberanza
shook - scossa, (shake), scuotere, agitare, scuotere la testa
whilst - mentre
trunk - tronco, baule, cofano, proboscide, bagagliaio
draped - drappeggio
historic - storico, storica
defiance - sfida
sniff - annusare, fiutare, odorare, snasare, sniffare, tirare
tainted - guastare, contaminare
cruelty - crudelta
atrocious - atroce
posturing - postura, (posture), atteggiamento, atteggiarsi
The all but moribund veteran of dynamite wars had been a great actor in his time-actor on platforms, in secret assemblies, in private interviews. The famous terrorist had never in his life raised personally as much as his little finger against the social edifice.
veteran - veterano, reduce
wars - guerra, fare la guerra
platforms - piattaforma, binario
in secret - in segreto
personally - personalmente, come persona
finger - dito
edifice - edificio
He was no man of action; he was not even an orator of torrential eloquence, sweeping the masses along in the rushing noise and foam of a great enthusiasm.
torrential - torrenziale
eloquence - eloquenza
masses - massa
rushing - correre
foam - schiuma, gomma piuma
enthusiasm - entusiasmo, foga
With a more subtle intention, he took the part of an insolent and venomous evoker of sinister impulses which lurk in the blind envy and exasperated vanity of ignorance, in the suffering and misery of poverty, in all the hopeful and noble illusions of righteous anger, pity, and revolt.
insolent - insolente
venomous - velenoso
evoker - evocatore
lurk - appostarsi, acquattarsi, celarsi
envy - invidia, invidiare
exasperated - esasperare
suffering - sofferenza, (suffer), soffrire, penare, patire, aggravarsi
misery - miseria, accidente
poverty - poverta
hopeful - speranzoso
illusions - illusione
righteous - immacolato, intemerato, virtuoso, giustificato, legittimo
revolt - rivolta
The shadow of his evil gift clung to him yet like the smell of a deadly drug in an old vial of poison, emptied now, useless, ready to be thrown away upon the rubbish-heap of things that had served their time.
shadow - ombra, pedinare
gift - regalo, dono, presente, talento, regalare
clung to - attaccarsi
deadly - mortale
drug - medicinale
vial - fiala
poison - veleno, avvelenare, intossicare
emptied - vuoto, vuotare, svuotare
thrown away - buttato via
rubbish-heap - (rubbish-heap) cumulo di rifiuti
Michaelis, the ticket-of-leave apostle, smiled vaguely with his glued lips; his pasty moon face drooped under the weight of melancholy assent. He had been a prisoner himself. His own skin had sizzled under the red-hot brand, he murmured softly. But Comrade Ossipon, nicknamed the Doctor, had got over the shock by that time.
glued - colla, incollare
moon - Luna
drooped - pendere
sizzled - sfrigolare, gorgogliare
brand - tizzone, marchio a fuoco, marca
got over - passare, riprendersi, superare, risolvere
"You don't understand," he began disdainfully, but stopped short, intimidated by the dead blackness of the cavernous eyes in the face turned slowly towards him with a blind stare, as if guided only by the sound. He gave the discussion up, with a slight shrug of the shoulders.
intimidated - intimidire
blackness - nerezza
cavernous - cavernoso
guided - guida
Stevie, accustomed to move about disregarded, had got up from the kitchen table, carrying off his drawing to bed with him. He had reached the parlour door in time to receive in full the shock of Karl Yundt's eloquent imagery.
accustomed - assuefarsi, abituarsi, adattarsi, familiarizzare
disregarded - ignorare, non considerare
carrying off - sopportare, rimuovere
receive - ricevere
eloquent - eloquente, loquace, articolato, verboso, pedissequo
imagery - immagini
The sheet of paper covered with circles dropped out of his fingers, and he remained staring at the old terrorist, as if rooted suddenly to the spot by his morbid horror and dread of physical pain. Stevie knew very well that hot iron applied to one's skin hurt very much. His scared eyes blazed with indignation: it would hurt terribly. His mouth dropped open.
dropped out - ritirarsi, lasciare
fingers - dito
rooted - radice
spot - macchia, brufolo, foruncolo, zona, area, pubblicita, individuare
morbid - morboso, raccapricciante
horror - orrore
pain - dolore
iron - ferreo, ferroso, ferrico, inflessibile, stirare
scared - spaventato, terrorizzato, impaurito
blazed - incendio
Terribly - terribilmente, estremamente
Michaelis by staring unwinkingly at the fire had regained that sentiment of isolation necessary for the continuity of his thought. His optimism had begun to flow from his lips. He saw Capitalism doomed in its cradle, born with the poison of the principle of competition in its system.
unwinkingly - in modo ammiccante
regained - riprendere, riappropriarsi, recuperare, riguadagnare
sentiment - sentimento
isolation - isolamento
necessary - necessario
continuity - continuita
cradle - culla, cullare
principle - principio, regola, valore
competition - competizione, concorrenza, concorso, gara
The great capitalists devouring the little capitalists, concentrating the power and the tools of production in great masses, perfecting industrial processes, and in the madness of self-aggrandisement only preparing, organising, enriching, making ready the lawful inheritance of the suffering proletariat.
capitalists - capitalista
devouring - divorare, trangugiare, ingurgitare, ingozzarsi
concentrating - concentrare, concentrarsi, incentrare, focalizzare, puntare
tools - arnese, strumento, utensile, mezzo, attrezzo
masses - people, especially a large number
industrial - industriale
processes - processo, metodo
aggrandisement - accrescimento
organising - organizzare
enriching - arricchire
lawful - lecito
inheritance - eredita, ereditarieta
Michaelis pronounced the great word "Patience"-and his clear blue glance, raised to the low ceiling of Mr Verloc's parlour, had a character of seraphic trustfulness. In the doorway Stevie, calmed, seemed sunk in hebetude.
seraphic - serafico
trustfulness - fiducia
doorway - uscio, via di accesso
calmed - calmo
hebetude - ebetudine, abbrutimento
Comrade Ossipon's face twitched with exasperation.
twitched - (torcersi spasmodicamente)
"Then It's no use doing anything-no use whatever."
It's no use - Non serve a nulla
"I don't say that," protested Michaelis gently. His vision of truth had grown so intense that the sound of a strange voice failed to rout it this time. He continued to look down at the red coals. Preparation for the future was necessary, and he was willing to admit that the great change would perhaps come in the upheaval of a revolution.
protested - protestare, protesta
gently - soavemente, dolcemente, blandamente, delicatamente
truth - verita, veritate
intense - intenso
strange - strano, anormale
rout - sbaragliare
coals - carbone, tizzone, checkcarbonella
preparation - preparazione
admit - far entrare, ammettere, riconoscere, ricoverare
But he argued that revolutionary propaganda was a delicate work of high conscience. It was the education of the masters of the world. It should be as careful as the education given to kings.
argued - discutere, dibattere, contestare, litigare, argomentare
education - istruzione, educazione, formazione
masters - padrone
careful - prudente, cauto, to be careful
Kings - re
He would have it advance its tenets cautiously, even timidly, in our ignorance of the effect that may be produced by any given economic change upon the happiness, the morals, the intellect, the history of mankind. For history is made with tools, not with ideas; and everything is changed by economic conditions-art, philosophy, love, virtue-truth itself!
advance - avanzare, progredire, anticipare, migliorare, avvicinarsi
tenets - principio, fondamento, cardine
cautiously - cautamente, prudentemente
timidly - timidamente
Happiness - felicita, gioia, allegria
morals - morale
intellect - intelletto
virtue - virtu, merito
The coals in the grate settled down with a slight crash; and Michaelis, the hermit of visions in the desert of a penitentiary, got up impetuously. Round like a distended balloon, he opened his short, thick arms, as if in a pathetically hopeless attempt to embrace and hug to his breast a self-regenerated universe. He gasped with ardour.
crash - frastuono
Hermit - eremita, anacoreta
penitentiary - penitenziario
impetuously - impetuosamente
balloon - palloncino
hopeless - disperato
Embrace - abbracciare, aderire, inglobare, abbraccio
hug - abbraccio, abbracciare, tenersi vicino
regenerated - rigenerare
universe - universo
gasped - restare senza fiato, restare a bocca aperta
ardour - ardore, fervore
"The future is as certain as the past-slavery, feudalism, individualism, collectivism. This is the statement of a law, not an empty prophecy."
slavery - schiavitu
feudalism - feudalesimo
individualism - individualismo
collectivism - collettivismo
empty - vuoto, vuotare, svuotare
prophecy - profezia
The disdainful pout of Comrade Ossipon's thick lips accentuated the negro type of his face.
disdainful - sprezzante, disdegnoso
pout - (fare il broncio)
accentuated - accentuare, accentare
"Nonsense," he said calmly enough. "There is no law and no certainty. The teaching propaganda be hanged. What the people knows does not matter, were its knowledge ever so accurate. The only thing that matters to us is the emotional state of the masses. Without emotion there is no action."
certainty - certezza
hanged - impiccato
knowledge - conoscenza, sapere
accurate - accurato, preciso, esatto, giusto
matters - materia, problema, argomento, questione, faccenda, causa
masses - massa
He paused, then added with modest firmness:
firmness - fermezza
"I am speaking now to you scientifically-scientifically-Eh? What did you say, Verloc?"
"Nothing," growled from the sofa Mr Verloc, who, provoked by the abhorrent sound, had merely muttered a "damn."
abhorrent - contrario, incompatibile, contro, ripugnante, disgustoso
damn - Dannazione
The venomous spluttering of the old terrorist without teeth was heard.
spluttering - strombazzare
"Do you know how I would call the nature of the present economic conditions? I would call it cannibalistic. That's what it is! They are nourishing their greed on the quivering flesh and the warm blood of the people-nothing else."
cannibalistic - cannibalesco, cannibalistico
nourishing - nutrire, mantenere, accrescere, incoraggiare, confortare
greed - avidita, ingordigia
quivering - tremare, tremolare
flesh - carne
Stevie swallowed the terrifying statement with an audible gulp, and at once, as though it had been swift poison, sank limply in a sitting posture on the steps of the kitchen door.
audible - udibile
gulp - inghiottire
sank - affondare
posture - postura, atteggiamento, atteggiarsi
Michaelis gave no sign of having heard anything. His lips seemed glued together for good; not a quiver passed over his heavy cheeks. With troubled eyes he looked for his round, hard hat, and put it on his round head. His round and obese body seemed to float low between the chairs under the sharp elbow of Karl Yundt.
passed over - passare davanti, lasciare qualcosa, ignorare
troubled - guaio, problema, impiccio, tumulto
looked for - cercato
obese - obeso
float - galleggiare, appianatoia, frattazzo, pialletto, carro allegorico
The old terrorist, raising an uncertain and clawlike hand, gave a swaggering tilt to a black felt sombrero shading the hollows and ridges of his wasted face. He got in motion slowly, striking the floor with his stick at every step.
uncertain - incerto
clawlike - simile ad un artiglio
swaggering - spavaldo
sombrero -
shading - ombreggiatura, (shad), agone, alosa
hollows - vuoto, cavo
ridges - cresta, crinale, costone, colmo, catena, dorsale
wasted - sprecare
motion - movimento, mozione, mozioni
striking - impressionante, sconcertante
It was rather an affair to get him out of the house because, now and then, he would stop, as if to think, and did not offer to move again till impelled forward by Michaelis. The gentle apostle grasped his arm with brotherly care; and behind them, his hands in his pockets, the robust Ossipon yawned vaguely.
impelled - spingere, costringere
grasped - afferrare, avvinghiare, avvinghiarsi, agguantare
brotherly - fraterno
pockets - tasca, buca, sacca, intascare, imbucare, tascabile
yawned - sbadigliare, sbadiglio
A blue cap with a patent leather peak set well at the back of his yellow bush of hair gave him the aspect of a Norwegian sailor bored with the world after a thundering spree. Mr Verloc saw his guests off the premises, attending them bareheaded, his heavy overcoat hanging open, his eyes on the ground.
patent leather - vernice
Peak - picco
Norwegian - norvegese
sailor - marinaio, marinaia, marittimo, marittima
bored with - annoiato con
thundering - tuonare, (thunder), tuono, rombo, schianto, boato, fragore
spree - orgia, frenesia, follia, baldoria, bisboccia
guests - ospite, invitato, convitato, cliente
premises - premessa, locale, posto
attending - partecipare
bareheaded - a capo scoperto
He closed the door behind their backs with restrained violence, turned the key, shot the bolt. He was not satisfied with his friends. In the light of Mr Vladimir's philosophy of bomb throwing they appeared hopelessly futile.
restrained - contenere, frenare
shot - colpo
bolt - catenaccio
futile - futile
The part of Mr Verloc in revolutionary politics having been to observe, he could not all at once, either in his own home or in larger assemblies, take the initiative of action. He had to be cautious.
politics - politica
initiative - iniziale, preliminare, iniziativa, proposta, intraprendenza
cautious - cauto, ritenuto, oculato
Moved by the just indignation of a man well over forty, menaced in what is dearest to him-his repose and his security-he asked himself scornfully what else could have been expected from such a lot, this Karl Yundt, this Michaelis-this Ossipon.
repose - riposo
Security - sicurezza, cartevalori
scornfully - in modo sprezzante
Pausing in his intention to turn off the gas burning in the middle of the shop, Mr Verloc descended into the abyss of moral reflections. With the insight of a kindred temperament he pronounced his verdict. A lazy lot-this Karl Yundt, nursed by a blear-eyed old woman, a woman he had years ago enticed away from a friend, and afterwards had tried more than once to shake off into the gutter.
pausing - pausa, (pause), mettere in pausa
burning - bruciare
descended - scendere
abyss - abisso
reflections - riflessione, riflesso, riverbero
insight - introspezione, approfondimento, acume, intuito
kindred - affine
temperament - temperamento, carattere
verdict - verdetto
blear - sbiancare
enticed - attrarre, tentare, allettare, adescare
shake off - scrollarsi di dosso
Jolly lucky for Yundt that she had persisted in coming up time after time, or else there would have been no one now to help him out of the 'bus by the Green Park railings, where that spectre took its constitutional crawl every fine morning. When that indomitable snarling old witch died the swaggering spectre would have to vanish too-there would be an end to fiery Karl Yundt.
lucky - fortunato
persisted - persistere
up time - tempo/durata di azione
spectre - spettro
constitutional - costituzionale
crawl - strisciare, trascinarsi
snarling - ringhiando
old witch - vecchia strega
vanish - sparire, svanire
fiery - ardente, incandescente, bruciante, infiammabile, infocato
And Mr Verloc's morality was offended also by the optimism of Michaelis, annexed by his wealthy old lady, who had taken lately to sending him to a cottage she had in the country. The ex-prisoner could moon about the shady lanes for days together in a delicious and humanitarian idleness.
morality - moralita
offended - offendere
annexed - allegato
lately - Ultimamente
cottage - casolare, rustico
lanes - passaggio, corsia
humanitarian - umanitario
As to Ossipon, that beggar was sure to want for nothing as long as there were silly girls with savings-bank books in the world. And Mr Verloc, temperamentally identical with his associates, drew fine distinctions in his mind on the strength of insignificant differences.
beggar - mendicante
savings-bank - (savings-bank) cassa di risparmio
temperamentally - temperamentalmente
identical - identico, monovulari
associates - associare
distinctions - distinzione
He drew them with a certain complacency, because the instinct of conventional respectability was strong within him, being only overcome by his dislike of all kinds of recognised labour-a temperamental defect which he shared with a large proportion of revolutionary reformers of a given social state.
complacency - autocompiacimento, autostima
respectability - rispettabilita, perbenismo
temperamental - temperamento
defect - difetto, defezionare, disertare
proportion - proporzione
reformers - Riformatore
social state - stato sociale
For obviously one does not revolt against the advantages and opportunities of that state, but against the price which must be paid for the same in the coin of accepted morality, self-restraint, and toil. The majority of revolutionists are the enemies of discipline and fatigue mostly.
coin - moneta, gettone, coniare, monetare, battere moneta
accepted - accettare, ammettere
restraint - limitazione, ritegno, contegno, remora
majority - maggioranza, maggiore eta
revolutionists - rivoluzionaria
enemies - nemico, nemica
discipline - disciplina
There are natures too, to whose sense of justice the price exacted looms up monstrously enormous, odious, oppressive, worrying, humiliating, extortionate, intolerable. Those are the fanatics. The remaining portion of social rebels is accounted for by vanity, the mother of all noble and vile illusions, the companion of poets, reformers, charlatans, prophets, and incendiaries.
natures - natura
justice - giustizia
exacted - esatto, giusto, preciso, attento
looms - telaio
monstrously - mostruosamente
odious - odioso
oppressive - oppressivo
worrying - preoccupante, (worry), preoccuparsi, disturbare, preoccupare
humiliating - umiliare, avvilire
extortionate - estorsivo
fanatics - fanatico, maniaco, patito, seguace
portion - porzione
rebels - ribelle
accounted - conto
companion - amico, compagno
poets - poeta, poetessa
charlatans - ciarlatano
prophets - profeta, vate, divinatore, aedo
incendiaries - incendiario
Lost for a whole minute in the abyss of meditation, Mr Verloc did not reach the depth of these abstract considerations. Perhaps he was not able. In any case he had not the time. He was pulled up painfully by the sudden recollection of Mr Vladimir, another of his associates, whom in virtue of subtle moral affinities he was capable of judging correctly. He considered him as dangerous.
depth - profondita
abstract - estratto, sunto, compendio, riassunto, astrazione, astratto
considerations - considerazione
recollection - ricordo
in virtue of - in virtu di
affinities - affinita
judging - giudicare
correctly - correttamente
A shade of envy crept into his thoughts. Loafing was all very well for these fellows, who knew not Mr Vladimir, and had women to fall back upon; whereas he had a woman to provide for-
crept - abbarbicarsi, insinuarsi, strisciare, scorrimento, spostamento
loafing - oziare
fall back - ripiegare
provide - soddisfare, prevedere, supporre, provvedere, fornire, erogare
At this point, by a simple association of ideas, Mr Verloc was brought face to face with the necessity of going to bed some time or other that evening. Then why not go now-at once? He sighed. The necessity was not so normally pleasurable as it ought to have been for a man of his age and temperament. He dreaded the demon of sleeplessness, which he felt had marked him for its own.
sighed - sospirare
normally - normalmente
pleasurable - piacevole
dreaded - temere, timore
demon - demone, demonio, talian: Il Demonio g
sleeplessness - insonnia
He raised his arm, and turned off the flaring gas-jet above his head.
flaring - bagliore, sfolgorare, brillare, scintillare
A bright band of light fell through the parlour door into the part of the shop behind the counter. It enabled Mr Verloc to ascertain at a glance the number of silver coins in the till. These were but few; and for the first time since he opened his shop he took a commercial survey of its value. This survey was unfavourable. He had gone into trade for no commercial reasons.
bright - luminoso, brillante
enabled - permettere, attivare, abilitare
ascertain - accertare, appurare, stabilire, constatare
silver coins - monete d'argento
survey - sondaggio, inchiesta, indagine, ricognizione
gone into - occuparsi di qualcosa
trade - commercio
He had been guided in the selection of this peculiar line of business by an instinctive leaning towards shady transactions, where money is picked up easily. Moreover, it did not take him out of his own sphere-the sphere which is watched by the police.
guided - guidare
selection - selezione
instinctive - istintivo
leaning - appoggiarsi
transactions - transazione
picked - piccone, stuzzicadenti, scelta, barriera, prendere, raccogliere, scegliere
sphere - sfera
On the contrary, it gave him a publicly confessed standing in that sphere, and as Mr Verloc had unconfessed relations which made him familiar with yet careless of the police, there was a distinct advantage in such a situation. But as a means of livelihood it was by itself insufficient.
publicly - pubblicamente
unconfessed - non confessato
relations - relazione, parente
careless - inaccurato, negligente, negletto, superficiale
livelihood - mezzo di sussistenza
insufficient - insufficiente
He took the cash-box out of the drawer, and turning to leave the shop, became aware that Stevie was still downstairs.
cash-box - (cash-box) cassa
drawer - cassetto
What on earth is he doing there? Mr Verloc asked himself. What's the meaning of these antics? He looked dubiously at his brother-in-law, but he did not ask him for information. Mr Verloc's intercourse with Stevie was limited to the casual mutter of a morning, after breakfast, "My boots," and even that was more a communication at large of a need than a direct order or request.
antics - anticonformista
dubiously - dubbiosamente
intercourse - rapporto sessuale
limited - limitato
casual - noncurante
mutter - mormorare
communication - comunicazione, avviso, trasmissione, collegamento, comunione
Direct - diretto
Mr Verloc perceived with some surprise that he did not know really what to say to Stevie. He stood still in the middle of the parlour, and looked into the kitchen in silence. Nor yet did he know what would happen if he did say anything. And this appeared very queer to Mr Verloc in view of the fact, borne upon him suddenly, that he had to provide for this fellow too.
perceived - percepire
He had never given a moment's thought till then to that aspect of Stevie's existence.
till then - fino ad allora
Positively he did not know how to speak to the lad. He watched him gesticulating and murmuring in the kitchen. Stevie prowled round the table like an excited animal in a cage. A tentative "Hadn't you better go to bed now?" produced no effect whatever; and Mr Verloc, abandoning the stony contemplation of his brother-in-law's behaviour, crossed the parlour wearily, cash-box in hand.
positively - positivamente
gesticulating - gesticolare, segnare
murmuring - brontolamento, lamentela
prowled - aggirarsi
cage - gabbia, cabina
tentative - provvisorio
Abandoning - abbandonare
stony - sassoso
contemplation - contemplazione
behaviour - comportamento
wearily - stancamente
cash - contante
The cause of the general lassitude he felt while climbing the stairs being purely mental, he became alarmed by its inexplicable character. He hoped he was not sickening for anything. He stopped on the dark landing to examine his sensations. But a slight and continuous sound of snoring pervading the obscurity interfered with their clearness. The sound came from his mother-in-law's room.
cause - causa, provocare, causare, produrre, ottenere
lassitude - spossatezza
sickening - nauseante
examine - esaminare
sensations - sensazione, senso, impressione
continuous - continuo
snoring - russare, (snore), ronfare
pervading - pervadere
obscurity - oscurita
interfered - impicciarsi, impedire
Another one to provide for, he thought-and on this thought walked into the bedroom.
Mrs Verloc had fallen asleep with the lamp (no gas was laid upstairs) turned up full on the table by the side of the bed. The light thrown down by the shade fell dazzlingly on the white pillow sunk by the weight of her head reposing with closed eyes and dark hair done up in several plaits for the night. She woke up with the sound of her name in her ears, and saw her husband standing over her.
fallen asleep - addormentarsi
thrown down - gettato giu
dazzlingly - in modo abbagliante
pillow - guanciale, cuscino, testiera
done up - fatto
plaits - piega, pieghettatura, plissettatura
"Winnie! Winnie!"
At first she did not stir, lying very quiet and looking at the cash-box in Mr Verloc's hand. But when she understood that her brother was "capering all over the place downstairs" she swung out in one sudden movement on to the edge of the bed.
stir - rimescolare
capering - saltellare, fare capriole
swung - oscillare, ondeggiare, altalenare, dondolare, altalena
Her bare feet, as if poked through the bottom of an unadorned, sleeved calico sack buttoned tightly at neck and wrists, felt over the rug for the slippers while she looked upward into her husband's face.
bare - nudo
unadorned - disadorno
sleeved - manica, manicotto, contenitore, fodera
calico - calico
sack - sacco
tightly - strettamente
wrists - polso
rug - tappeto, tappetino, scendiletto
slippers - ciabatta, pantofola, babbuccia
upward - verso l'alto
"I don't know how to manage him," Mr Verloc explained peevishly. "Won't do to leave him downstairs alone with the lights."
manage - dirigere, managgiare, riuscire, arrangiarsi, maneggiare
peevishly - con stizza
She said nothing, glided across the room swiftly, and the door closed upon her white form.
glided - scivolare, slittare, scorrere, muoversi con fluidita, planare
Mr Verloc deposited the cash-box on the night table, and began the operation of undressing by flinging his overcoat on to a distant chair. His coat and waistcoat followed. He walked about the room in his stockinged feet, and his burly figure, with the hands worrying nervously at his throat, passed and repassed across the long strip of looking-glass in the door of his wife's wardrobe.
deposited - deposito, caparra, acconto, sedimento
operation - operazione, esercizio, gestione
undressing - spogliarsi, (undress), svestirsi
flinging - lanciare
stockinged - calze
nervously - nervosamente
repassed - ripassare
strip - togliere
wardrobe - armadio, guardaroba
Then after slipping his braces off his shoulders he pulled up violently the venetian blind, and leaned his forehead against the cold window-pane-a fragile film of glass stretched between him and the enormity of cold, black, wet, muddy, inhospitable accumulation of bricks, slates, and stones, things in themselves unlovely and unfriendly to man.
braces - braccia, abbraccio, aggancio, grappa, uncino, bretella
venetian - veneziano, veneziana, veneto
fragile - fragile
enormity - enormita
wet - bagnato, impregnato, piovoso, uggioso, bagnare
Muddy - Fangoso
inhospitable - inospitale
accumulation - accumulazione, accumulo
slates - ardesia, di ardesia
unlovely - poco amorevole
unfriendly - scortese, poco amichevole
Mr Verloc felt the latent unfriendliness of all out of doors with a force approaching to positive bodily anguish. There is no occupation that fails a man more completely than that of a secret agent of police. It's like your horse suddenly falling dead under you in the midst of an uninhabited and thirsty plain.
latent - latente
unfriendliness - scortesia
out of doors - spazio aperto
bodily - corporale, corporeo, corporalmente
anguish - angoscia
fails - fallire, non riuscire
midst - in mezzo a*
uninhabited - disabitata
The comparison occurred to Mr Verloc because he had sat astride various army horses in his time, and had now the sensation of an incipient fall. The prospect was as black as the window-pane against which he was leaning his forehead.
comparison - paragone, confronto, comparazione
occurred - verificarsi, sovvenire, venire in mente
astride - a cavalcioni
incipient - incipiente
prospect - prospettiva, lungimiranza, possibilita, eventualita
And suddenly the face of Mr Vladimir, clean-shaved and witty, appeared enhaloed in the glow of its rosy complexion like a sort of pink seal, impressed on the fatal darkness.
witty - arguto, faceto, ingegnoso, fine, convincente
seal - sigillo
darkness - buio, oscurita, tenebre, scuro
This luminous and mutilated vision was so ghastly physically that Mr Verloc started away from the window, letting down the venetian blind with a great rattle. Discomposed and speechless with the apprehension of more such visions, he beheld his wife re-enter the room and get into bed in a calm business-like manner which made him feel hopelessly lonely in the world.
luminous - luminoso
mutilated - mutilare
ghastly - terrificante, spaventoso, agghiacciante, terribile, pessimo
physically - fisicamente
letting down - sgonfiare
rattle - far tintinnare/sbatacchiare
discomposed - scomporsi
speechless - senza parola, ammutolito
apprehension - apprensione
Mrs Verloc expressed her surprise at seeing him up yet.
"I don't feel very well," he muttered, passing his hands over his moist brow.
hands over - consegnare
moist - umido
brow - ciglio, orlo, cima, passerella da sbarco
"Giddiness?"
giddiness - vertigini
"Yes. Not at all well."
Mrs Verloc, with all the placidity of an experienced wife, expressed a confident opinion as to the cause, and suggested the usual remedies; but her husband, rooted in the middle of the room, shook his lowered head sadly.
usual - solito, usuale, consueto, abituale
remedies - rimedio, azione giudiziaria, medicamento, rimediare
"You'll catch cold standing there," she observed.
Mr Verloc made an effort, finished undressing, and got into bed. Down below in the quiet, narrow street measured footsteps approached the house, then died away unhurried and firm, as if the passer-by had started to pace out all eternity, from gas-lamp to gas-lamp in a night without end; and the drowsy ticking of the old clock on the landing became distinctly audible in the bedroom.
measured - misurazione, misura, righello, regolo, funzione di misura
Footsteps - impronta, pedata, orma, passo, gradino
unhurried - senza fretta
passer - passante
eternity - eternita
drowsy - insonnolito, assonnato, soporifero
ticking - ticchettio
distinctly - distintamente
Mrs Verloc, on her back, and staring at the ceiling, made a remark.
"Takings very small to-day."
takings - prendere
Mr Verloc, in the same position, cleared his throat as if for an important statement, but merely inquired:
inquired - domandare, chiedere
"Did you turn off the gas downstairs?"
"Yes; I did," answered Mrs Verloc conscientiously. "That poor boy is in a very excited state to-night," she murmured, after a pause which lasted for three ticks of the clock.
conscientiously - coscienziosamente
lasted - ultimo
ticks - tic, tic-tac
Mr Verloc cared nothing for Stevie's excitement, but he felt horribly wakeful, and dreaded facing the darkness and silence that would follow the extinguishing of the lamp. This dread led him to make the remark that Stevie had disregarded his suggestion to go to bed.
wakeful - irrequieto, smanioso, vigile, attento
extinguishing - estinguere
Mrs Verloc, falling into the trap, started to demonstrate at length to her husband that this was not "impudence" of any sort, but simply "excitement." There was no young man of his age in London more willing and docile than Stephen, she affirmed; none more affectionate and ready to please, and even useful, as long as people did not upset his poor head.
trap - trappola
demonstrate - dimostrare, manifestare
at length - a lungo
more willing - piu dispsto
docile - docile, mansueto, obbediente
affirmed - affermare
affectionate - affettuoso
upset - sconvolto, turbamento, sorpresa, innervosire, sconvolgere
Mrs Verloc, turning towards her recumbent husband, raised herself on her elbow, and hung over him in her anxiety that he should believe Stevie to be a useful member of the family. That ardour of protecting compassion exalted morbidly in her childhood by the misery of another child tinged her sallow cheeks with a faint dusky blush, made her big eyes gleam under the dark lids.
recumbent - disteso, sdraiato, supino, bicicletta reclinata
hung over - sbornia
morbidly - morbosamente
tinged - ing
sallow - giallastro
dusky - crepuscolare
gleam - brillare
lids - coperchio, tappo
Mrs Verloc then looked younger; she looked as young as Winnie used to look, and much more animated than the Winnie of the Belgravian mansion days had ever allowed herself to appear to gentlemen lodgers. Mr Verloc's anxieties had prevented him from attaching any sense to what his wife was saying. It was as if her voice were talking on the other side of a very thick wall.
animated - animare, ravvivare
allowed - lasciare, permettere, concedere, consentire
anxieties - ansia, ansieta, bramosia
attaching - legare
A very thick - molto spesso
It was her aspect that recalled him to himself.
recalled - ritirare, revocare, richiamare, rammentare, ricordare
He appreciated this woman, and the sentiment of this appreciation, stirred by a display of something resembling emotion, only added another pang to his mental anguish. When her voice ceased he moved uneasily, and said:
appreciated - apprezzare, essere riconoscente, capire, rendersi conto
appreciation - apprezzamento, gratitudine, stima
pang - dolore, fitta, pena morso
uneasily - con disagio
"I haven't been feeling well for the last few days."
He might have meant this as an opening to a complete confidence; but Mrs Verloc laid her head on the pillow again, and staring upward, went on:
"That boy hears too much of what is talked about here. If I had known they were coming to-night I would have seen to it that he went to bed at the same time I did. He was out of his mind with something he overheard about eating people's flesh and drinking blood. What's the good of talking like that?"
overheard - origliare
There was a note of indignant scorn in her voice. Mr Verloc was fully responsive now.
indignant - indignato
responsive - sensibile
"Ask Karl Yundt," he growled savagely.
savagely - selvaggiamente
Mrs Verloc, with great decision, pronounced Karl Yundt "a disgusting old man." She declared openly her affection for Michaelis. Of the robust Ossipon, in whose presence she always felt uneasy behind an attitude of stony reserve, she said nothing whatever. And continuing to talk of that brother, who had been for so many years an object of care and fears:
decision - decisione
disgusting - disgustare, ripugnare, nauseare, stomacare
continuing - continuare
"He isn't fit to hear what's said here. He believes it's all true. He knows no better. He gets into his passions over it."
Mr Verloc made no comment.
"He glared at me, as if he didn't know who I was, when I went downstairs. His heart was going like a hammer. He can't help being excitable. I woke mother up, and asked her to sit with him till he went to sleep. It isn't his fault. He's no trouble when he's left alone."
glared - bagliore, lampo, frecciata
went downstairs - scendere
excitable - eccitabile
fault - colpa, imperfezione, sbaglio, biasimo, fessura, crepa
Mr Verloc made no comment.
"I wish he had never been to school," Mrs Verloc began again brusquely. "He's always taking away those newspapers from the window to read. He gets a red face poring over them. We don't get rid of a dozen numbers in a month. They only take up room in the front window. And Mr Ossipon brings every week a pile of these F. P. tracts to sell at a halfpenny each.
brusquely - bruscamente
taking away - portare via
poring - poro
rid - sbarazzare
dozen - dozzina, centinaio
tracts - tratto, estensione
halfpenny - mezzo penny
I wouldn't give a halfpenny for the whole lot. It's silly reading-that's what it is. There's no sale for it. The other day Stevie got hold of one, and there was a story in it of a German soldier officer tearing half-off the ear of a recruit, and nothing was done to him for it. The brute! I couldn't do anything with Stevie that afternoon. The story was enough, too, to make one's blood boil.
sale - vendita
German - tedesco, tedesca, germano, germana
soldier - soldato
officer - funzionario, ufficiale, agente, checkufficiale
tearing - lacrima
recruit - reintegro, rimpiazzo, recluta, arruolato, arruolare, reclutare
brute - bestia, bruto
boil - bollire
But what's the use of printing things like that? We aren't German slaves here, thank God. It's not our business-is it?"
slaves - schiavo, schiava, sgobbare
God - Dio
Mr Verloc made no reply.
reply - rispondere, replicare, ripetere, risposta, replica
"I had to take the carving knife from the boy," Mrs Verloc continued, a little sleepily now. "He was shouting and stamping and sobbing. He can't stand the notion of any cruelty. He would have stuck that officer like a pig if he had seen him then. It's true, too! Some people don't deserve much mercy.
carving knife - coltello da intaglio
sleepily - sonnolenza
shouting - gridare
stamping - timbratura, (stamp), conio, bollo, battere i piedi, pestare i piedi, stampare, timbrare, affrancare
sobbing - singhiozzare
stuck - mettere, infilare
deserve - meritare, meritarsi
mercy - misericordia, pieta, compassione, benevolenza
" Mrs Verloc's voice ceased, and the expression of her motionless eyes became more and more contemplative and veiled during the long pause. "Comfortable, dear?" she asked in a faint, far-away voice. "Shall I put out the light now?"
more contemplative - piu contemplativo
comfortable - comodo, confortevole
The dreary conviction that there was no sleep for him held Mr Verloc mute and hopelessly inert in his fear of darkness. He made a great effort.
dreary - melanconico, malinconico
conviction - convinzione, condanna, colpevolezza
mute - muto
inert - inerte
"Yes. Put it out," he said at last in a hollow tone.
Most of the thirty or so little tables covered by red cloths with a white design stood ranged at right angles to the deep brown wainscoting of the underground hall.
cloths - stoffa, tessuto, tela, panno, straccio
ranged - catena, fornello, stufa a legna, piano cottura, varieta, gamma
angles - Anglo
deep brown - marrone intenso
wainscoting - zoccolatura
underground - sotterraneo, clandestino, sottoterra, resistenza
Bronze chandeliers with many globes depended from the low, slightly vaulted ceiling, and the fresco paintings ran flat and dull all round the walls without windows, representing scenes of the chase and of outdoor revelry in medićval costumes. Varlets in green jerkins brandished hunting knives and raised on high tankards of foaming beer.
bronze - bronzo, bronzeo, abbronzato
chandeliers - candelabro, lampadario
globes - globo
depended - dipendere, fare affidamento
vaulted - volta
fresco - affresco, affrescare
paintings - dipinto, pittura, quadro, verniciatura
representing - rappresentare
scenes - scena
chase - dare la caccia a
outdoor - all'aperto
revelry - baldoria, gozzoviglia
medićval - medievale
costumes - costume
varlets - varotto
jerkins - una pelle
brandished - brandire
hunting knives - coltelli da caccia
tankards - boccale
foaming - schiumare, (foam), schiuma, gomma piuma
"Unless I am very much mistaken, you are the man who would know the inside of this confounded affair," said the robust Ossipon, leaning over, his elbows far out on the table and his feet tucked back completely under his chair. His eyes stared with wild eagerness.
Unless - a meno che, se non
far out - lontano
tucked - piega
eagerness - desiderio
An upright semi-grand piano near the door, flanked by two palms in pots, executed suddenly all by itself a valse tune with aggressive virtuosity. The din it raised was deafening. When it ceased, as abruptly as it had started, the be-spectacled, dingy little man who faced Ossipon behind a heavy glass mug full of beer emitted calmly what had the sound of a general proposition.
upright - eretto, in verticale, dritto, in piedi, integro
flanked - aggirare il fianco, proteggere il fianco, fiancheggiare, affiancare, soccoscio
palms - palma, palmo
pots - pentola, vaso
tune - melodia, composizione, regolazione, messa a punto, accordare
aggressive - aggressivo
virtuosity - virtuosita
din - chiasso, frastuono
deafening - assordante
spectacled - con gli occhiali
little man - piccolo uomo
mug - tazza
proposition - proposta, proposizione, proposizione logica
"In principle what one of us may or may not know as to any given fact can't be a matter for inquiry to the others."
"Certainly not," Comrade Ossipon agreed in a quiet undertone. "In principle."
undertone - sottotono
With his big florid face held between his hands he continued to stare hard, while the dingy little man in spectacles coolly took a drink of beer and stood the glass mug back on the table.
florid - florida
spectacles - spettacolo
coolly - freddamente
His flat, large ears departed widely from the sides of his skull, which looked frail enough for Ossipon to crush between thumb and forefinger; the dome of the forehead seemed to rest on the rim of the spectacles; the flat cheeks, of a greasy, unhealthy complexion, were merely smudged by the miserable poverty of a thin dark whisker.
departed - partire, andar via, allontanarsi, dipartire, deviare
sides - lato
crush - ressa, calca, cotta, schiacciare, pigiare, frantumare
dome - cupola, echnical
rest - riposo
rim - cerchione, bordo
greasy - viscido
unhealthy - malsano, insalubre
smudged - macchia
miserable - infelice
The lamentable inferiority of the whole physique was made ludicrous by the supremely self-confident bearing of the individual. His speech was curt, and he had a particularly impressive manner of keeping silent.
lamentable - lamentabile
inferiority - inferiorita
ludicrous - ridicolo
self-confident - (self-confident) sicuro di sé
bearing - cuscinetto
Speech - parola, discorso
impressive - impressionante, spettacolare, notevole, eccitante
keeping silent - tacere
Ossipon spoke again from between his hands in a mutter.
"Have you been out much to-day?"
"No. I stayed in bed all the morning," answered the other. "Why?"
stayed in bed - rimanere a letto
"Oh! Nothing," said Ossipon, gazing earnestly and quivering inwardly with the desire to find out something, but obviously intimidated by the little man's overwhelming air of unconcern. When talking with this comrade-which happened but rarely-the big Ossipon suffered from a sense of moral and even physical insignificance. However, he ventured another question. "Did you walk down here?"
gazing - fissare, guardare, puntare gli occhi, volgere lo sguardo
earnestly - seriamente
desire - desiderare, volere, desiderio, voglia
overwhelming - sommergere, schiacciare, dominare, travolgere, sopraffare
unconcern - indifferenza
rarely - raramente
suffered - soffrire, penare, patire, aggravarsi, subire, lasciare
insignificance - insignificanza
ventured - avventura, azzardo, impresa, avventurarsi, azzardare, osare
walk down - scendere
"No; omnibus," the little man answered readily enough. He lived far away in Islington, in a small house down a shabby street, littered with straw and dirty paper, where out of school hours a troop of assorted children ran and squabbled with a shrill, joyless, rowdy clamour.
omnibus - autobus
readily - prontamente
small house - casa piccola
shabby - logoro, meschino
littered - lettiga, portantina, palanchino, cucciolata, lettiera, rifiuti
straw - festuca, pagliuzza, paglia
troop - truppe, truppa
assorted - assortimento
squabbled - scaramuccia, litigio, battibecco, diatriba, litigare
shrill - stridulo, stridore, stridio, stridente
joyless - triste, mesto
rowdy - chiassoso
clamour - clamore
His single back room, remarkable for having an extremely large cupboard, he rented furnished from two elderly spinsters, dressmakers in a humble way with a clientele of servant girls mostly. He had a heavy padlock put on the cupboard, but otherwise he was a model lodger, giving no trouble, and requiring practically no attendance.
remarkable - notevole, degno di nota, rimarchevole, ragguardevole
cupboard - armadio, credenza, madia, dispensa
rented - affitto
spinsters - zitella
dressmakers - sarta
humble - umile
clientele - clientela
padlock - lucchetto
lodger - inquilino
requiring - che richiede, (require), esigere, prevedere, richiedere
attendance - presenza, partecipazione
His oddities were that he insisted on being present when his room was being swept, and that when he went out he locked his door, and took the key away with him.
oddities - stranezza
insisted - insistere
swept - spazzare, scopare, ramazzare, setacciare, spazzata
locked - serratura
Ossipon had a vision of these round black-rimmed spectacles progressing along the streets on the top of an omnibus, their self-confident glitter falling here and there on the walls of houses or lowered upon the heads of the unconscious stream of people on the pavements.
black-rimmed spectacles - occhiali con montatura nera
progressing - progresso
unconscious - svenuto, subconscio
stream - corrente, ruscello, rivo, flusso, semestre
pavements - pavimentazione stradale, pavimentazione, manto, manto stradale
The ghost of a sickly smile altered the set of Ossipon's thick lips at the thought of the walls nodding, of people running for life at the sight of those spectacles. If they had only known! What a panic! He murmured interrogatively: "Been sitting long here?"
ghost - fantasma, spettro, spirito, larva
sickly - malaticcio
altered - modificare, cambiare
nodding - annuire, (nod), accennare, scuotere, addormentarsi
interrogatively - interrogativamente
"An hour or more," answered the other negligently, and took a pull at the dark beer. All his movements-the way he grasped the mug, the act of drinking, the way he set the heavy glass down and folded his arms-had a firmness, an assured precision which made the big and muscular Ossipon, leaning forward with staring eyes and protruding lips, look the picture of eager indecision.
pull - tirare
movements - movimento
precision - precisione
muscular - muscolare, muscoloso
eager - desideroso
indecision - indecisione, tiremmolla, inconcludenza
"An hour," he said. "Then it may be you haven't heard yet the news I've heard just now-in the street. Have you?"
The little man shook his head negatively the least bit. But as he gave no indication of curiosity Ossipon ventured to add that he had heard it just outside the place. A newspaper boy had yelled the thing under his very nose, and not being prepared for anything of that sort, he was very much startled and upset. He had to come in there with a dry mouth.
negatively - negativamente
indication - indicazione
yelled - grido
"I never thought of finding you here," he added, murmuring steadily, with his elbows planted on the table.
"I come here sometimes," said the other, preserving his provoking coolness of demeanour.
preserving - riserva, preservare, proteggere, salvaguardare, conservare
provoking - provocare, generare
coolness - freddezza
demeanour - comportamento
"It's wonderful that you of all people should have heard nothing of it," the big Ossipon continued. His eyelids snapped nervously upon the shining eyes. "You of all people," he repeated tentatively.
eyelids - palpebra
shining - brillare, far luce con
tentatively - tentativamente
This obvious restraint argued an incredible and inexplicable timidity of the big fellow before the calm little man, who again lifted the glass mug, drank, and put it down with brusque and assured movements. And that was all.
timidity - timidezza
Ossipon after waiting for something, word or sign, that did not come, made an effort to assume a sort of indifference.
assume - presupporre, ritenere, assumere
"Do you," he said, deadening his voice still more, "give your stuff to anybody who's up to asking you for it?"
deadening - di morte, (deaden), intontire, smorzare, attenuare, sminuire
"My absolute rule is never to refuse anybody-as long as I have a pinch by me," answered the little man with decision.
pinch - pizzicare, acciuffare, pizzico
"That's a principle?" commented Ossipon.
"It's a principle."
"And you think it's sound?"
The large round spectacles, which gave a look of staring self-confidence to the sallow face, confronted Ossipon like sleepless, unwinking orbs flashing a cold fire.
confronted - affrontare, confrontarsi, sfidare, confrontare
sleepless - insonnia
unwinking - non guardare
orbs - orbita
flashing - lampeggiante
"Perfectly. Always. Under every circumstance. What could stop me? Why should I not? Why should I think twice about it?"
Ossipon gasped, as it were, discreetly.
"Do you mean to say you would hand it over to a 'teck'if one came to ask you for your wares?"
teck - ordine del giorno
The other smiled faintly.
"Let them come and try it on, and you will see," he said. "They know me, but I know also every one of them. They won't come near me-not they."
come near - avvicinarsi
His thin livid lips snapped together firmly. Ossipon began to argue.
livid - furibondo, furibonda
firmly - fermamente, decisamente, sicuramente, saldamente
argue - discutere, dibattere, contestare, litigare, argomentare
"But they could send someone-rig a plant on you. Don't you see? Get the stuff from you in that way, and then arrest you with the proof in their hands."
Rig - equipaggiare
arrest - arresto, arrestare
Proof - prova
"Proof of what? Dealing in explosives without a licence perhaps." This was meant for a contemptuous jeer, though the expression of the thin, sickly face remained unchanged, and the utterance was negligent. "I don't think there's one of them anxious to make that arrest. I don't think they could get one of them to apply for a warrant. I mean one of the best. Not one."
dealing - spacciare
explosives - esplosivo, irascibile, collerico, iracondo
licence - licenza, permesso
jeer - deridere
unchanged - immutato
negligent - negligente
anxious - ansioso, preoccupante, bramoso, impaziente
apply - applicare
warrant - giustificare
"Why?" Ossipon asked.
"Because they know very well I take care never to part with the last handful of my wares. I've it always by me." He touched the breast of his coat lightly. "In a thick glass flask," he added.
handful - manciata, pugno, manipolo, gruppetto
lightly - alla leggera, superficialmente, in maniera superficiale
flask - fiaschetta, boccetta
"So I have been told," said Ossipon, with a shade of wonder in his voice. "But I didn't know if-"
wonder - meraviglia, domandarsi, chiedersi
"They know," interrupted the little man crisply, leaning against the straight chair back, which rose higher than his fragile head. "I shall never be arrested. The game isn't good enough for any policeman of them all. To deal with a man like me you require sheer, naked, inglorious heroism." Again his lips closed with a self-confident snap. Ossipon repressed a movement of impatience.
crisply - in modo nitido
require - esigere, prevedere, richiedere, necessitare, domandare
sheer - (puro e semplice)
naked - nudo
inglorious - inglorioso
heroism - eroismo
repressed - reprimere
"Or recklessness-or simply ignorance," he retorted. "They've only to get somebody for the job who does not know you carry enough stuff in your pocket to blow yourself and everything within sixty yards of you to pieces."
Pocket - tasca, buca, sacca, intascare, imbucare, tascabile
blow - colpo
"I never affirmed I could not be eliminated," rejoined the other. "But that wouldn't be an arrest. Moreover, it's not so easy as it looks."
be eliminated - essere eliminato
rejoined - ricongiungersi
"Bah!" Ossipon contradicted. "Don't be too sure of that. What's to prevent half-a-dozen of them jumping upon you from behind in the street? With your arms pinned to your sides you could do nothing-could you?"
contradicted - contraddire, contestare, contrariare
jumping - saltare, far saltare
pinned - spillo, spilla, molletta
"Yes; I could. I am seldom out in the streets after dark," said the little man impassively, "and never very late. I walk always with my right hand closed round the india-rubber ball which I have in my trouser pocket. The pressing of this ball actuates a detonator inside the flask I carry in my pocket. It's the principle of the pneumatic instantaneous shutter for a camera lens.
impassively - impassibile
India - Imola, India
trouser - pantaloni
actuates - attuare
detonator - detonatore
pneumatic - pneumatico
instantaneous - istantaneo
shutter - anta, battente, persiana, scuro, otturatore
camera lens - obiettivo della fotocamera
The tube leads up-"
leads - condurre, portare
With a swift disclosing gesture he gave Ossipon a glimpse of an india-rubber tube, resembling a slender brown worm, issuing from the armhole of his waistcoat and plunging into the inner breast pocket of his jacket. His clothes, of a nondescript brown mixture, were threadbare and marked with stains, dusty in the folds, with ragged button-holes.
disclosing - scoprire, divulgare, rivelare, svelare, scoperchiare, far noto
Glimpse - occhiata, scorcio, intravedere
slender - snello
worm - verme, miserabile, drago
armhole - giromanica
plunging - immergersi
mixture - mistura, amalgama, combinazione, lega
stains - macchia, chiazza, patacca, macchiare, intaccare, mordenzare
folds - piegare
ragged - stracciato
button - bottone
holes - buco
"The detonator is partly mechanical, partly chemical," he explained, with casual condescension.
mechanical - meccanico
chemical - composto chimico
"It is instantaneous, of course?" murmured Ossipon, with a slight shudder.
shudder - brivido, sussulto, tremolio, tremare
"Far from it," confessed the other, with a reluctance which seemed to twist his mouth dolorously. "A full twenty seconds must elapse from the moment I press the ball till the explosion takes place."
twist - torsione, contorsione, distorsione, filamento, filo, scorza
dolorously - dolorosamente
elapse - trascorrere
explosion - esplosione, scoppio
"Phew!" whistled Ossipon, completely appalled. "Twenty seconds! Horrors! You mean to say that you could face that? I should go crazy-"
Phew - uff, uffa (heat, tiredness), uh
whistled - fischietto, fischio, checkfischio, fischiare
appalled - impallidire
horrors - orrore
"Wouldn't matter if you did. Of course, it's the weak point of this special system, which is only for my own use. The worst is that the manner of exploding is always the weak point with us. I am trying to invent a detonator that would adjust itself to all conditions of action, and even to unexpected changes of conditions. A variable and yet perfectly precise mechanism.
invent - inventare, creare, ideare
adjust - adattare, adeguare, regolare
unexpected - inaspettato, insperato, inatteso, improvviso
variable - variabile, regolabile, flessiblie, modificabile
precise - preciso, esatto, accurato
A really intelligent detonator."
"Twenty seconds," muttered Ossipon again. "Ough! And then-"
With a slight turn of the head the glitter of the spectacles seemed to gauge the size of the beer saloon in the basement of the renowned Silenus Restaurant.
gauge - calibro, unita di misura, strumento di misura, seminorma
renowned - rinomanza, celebrita, fama
"Nobody in this room could hope to escape," was the verdict of that survey. "Nor yet this couple going up the stairs now."
The piano at the foot of the staircase clanged through a mazurka with brazen impetuosity, as though a vulgar and impudent ghost were showing off. The keys sank and rose mysteriously. Then all became still. For a moment Ossipon imagined the overlighted place changed into a dreadful black hole belching horrible fumes choked with ghastly rubbish of smashed brickwork and mutilated corpses.
clanged - risuonare con fragore
mazurka - mazurca
brazen - ottone, ottonato, squillante, faccia di bronzo, sfacciato
impetuosity - impetuosita
showing off - mettersi in mostra
mysteriously - misteriosamente
overlighted - sovrailluminazione
dreadful - terribile
hole - buco
belching - ruttare, rutto
fumes - fumo, rodersi il fegato, mangiarsi il fegato
choked - soffocare
smashed - smash, frantumare, frantumarsi, polverizzare
brickwork - in mattoni
corpses - cadavere, corpo
He had such a distinct perception of ruin and death that he shuddered again. The other observed, with an air of calm sufficiency:
perception - percezione, sentore
shuddered - brivido, sussulto, tremolio, tremare
"In the last instance it is character alone that makes for one's safety. There are very few people in the world whose character is as well established as mine."
mine - mio, mia, mie, miei
"I wonder how you managed it," growled Ossipon.
"Force of personality," said the other, without raising his voice; and coming from the mouth of that obviously miserable organism the assertion caused the robust Ossipon to bite his lower lip. "Force of personality," he repeated, with ostentatious calm. "I have the means to make myself deadly, but that by itself, you understand, is absolutely nothing in the way of protection.
personality - personalita
assertion - asserzione, affermazione, asserimento, dichiarazione
bite - mordere, morsicare, abboccare, pungere, morso, puntura
lower - oscurarsi
lip - labbro, beccuccio
ostentatious - ostentato, provocante, provocatore
myself - mi
What is effective is the belief those people have in my will to use the means. That's their impression. It is absolute. Therefore I am deadly."
impression - depressione, impronta, impressione, opinione, imitazione
"There are individuals of character amongst that lot too," muttered Ossipon ominously.
individuals - individuo, soggetto, singolo, specifico, individuale, personale
ominously - minacciosamente
"Possibly. But it is a matter of degree obviously, since, for instance, I am not impressed by them. Therefore they are inferior. They cannot be otherwise. Their character is built upon conventional morality. It leans on the social order. Mine stands free from everything artificial. They are bound in all sorts of conventions.
Possibly - possibilmente
inferior - inferiore, di basso rango
leans - pendere
artificial - artificiale, artificioso, artefatto, falso
sorts - sorta, tipo
conventions - convenzione
They depend on life, which, in this connection, is a historical fact surrounded by all sorts of restraints and considerations, a complex organised fact open to attack at every point; whereas I depend on death, which knows no restraint and cannot be attacked. My superiority is evident."
historical - storico
restraints - limitazione, ritegno, contegno, remora
complex - complesso, complicato, complessare
organised - organizzare
attacked - attacco, assalire, attaccare
superiority - superiorita
"This is a transcendental way of putting it," said Ossipon, watching the cold glitter of the round spectacles. "I've heard Karl Yundt say much the same thing not very long ago."
transcendental - trascendentale
"Karl Yundt," mumbled the other contemptuously, "the delegate of the International Red Committee, has been a posturing shadow all his life. There are three of you delegates, aren't there? I won't define the other two, as you are one of them. But what you say means nothing.
delegates - delegato, delegata, delegare
define - definire, determinare, descrivere
You are the worthy delegates for revolutionary propaganda, but the trouble is not only that you are as unable to think independently as any respectable grocer or journalist of them all, but that you have no character whatever."
unable - incapace
respectable - rispettabile
grocer - droghiere, droghiera
journalist - giornalista, reporter
Ossipon could not restrain a start of indignation.
restrain - contenere, frenare
"But what do you want from us?" he exclaimed in a deadened voice. "What is it you are after yourself?"
"A perfect detonator," was the peremptory answer. "What are you making that face for? You see, you can't even bear the mention of something conclusive."
conclusive - conclusivo, decisivo
"I am not making a face," growled the annoyed Ossipon bearishly.
annoyed - infastidirsi, infastidire, importunare, disturbare
bearishly - ribassista
"You revolutionists," the other continued, with leisurely self-confidence, "are the slaves of the social convention, which is afraid of you; slaves of it as much as the very police that stands up in the defence of that convention. Clearly you are, since you want to revolutionise it.
leisurely - con calma
convention - convenzione
revolutionise - rivoluzionare
It governs your thought, of course, and your action too, and thus neither your thought nor your action can ever be conclusive." He paused, tranquil, with that air of close, endless silence, then almost immediately went on. "You are not a bit better than the forces arrayed against you-than the police, for instance.
governs - governare
tranquil - tranquillo, sereno, calmo, pacifico
endless - interminabile, senza fine, infinito
immediately - immediatamente, subito, su due piedi
forces - forza
arrayed - abbigliamento, agghindamento, schieramento, combinato, gamma
The other day I came suddenly upon Chief Inspector Heat at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. He looked at me very steadily. But I did not look at him. Why should I give him more than a glance? He was thinking of many things-of his superiors, of his reputation, of the law courts, of his salary, of newspapers-of a hundred things. But I was thinking of my perfect detonator only.
inspector - ispettore, controllore, ispettore di polizia
heat - calore
superiors - superiore, sovraordinato
law courts - tribunali
salary - stipendio, salario
He meant nothing to me. He was as insignificant as-I can't call to mind anything insignificant enough to compare him with-except Karl Yundt perhaps. Like to like. The terrorist and the policeman both come from the same basket. Revolution, legality-counter moves in the same game; forms of idleness at bottom identical. He plays his little game-so do you propagandists.
legality - legalita
moves in - si trasferisce
But I don't play; I work fourteen hours a day, and go hungry sometimes. My experiments cost money now and again, and then I must do without food for a day or two. You're looking at my beer. Yes. I have had two glasses already, and shall have another presently. This is a little holiday, and I celebrate it alone. Why not? I've the grit to work alone, quite alone, absolutely alone.
go hungry - soffrire la fame
experiments - esperimento
do without - fare a meno
celebrate - celebrare, festeggiare
Grit - polvere
I've worked alone for years."
Ossipon's face had turned dusky red.
"At the perfect detonator-eh?" he sneered, very low.
sneered - ghignare, sogghignare, ghigno, sogghigno
"Yes," retorted the other. "It is a good definition. You couldn't find anything half so precise to define the nature of your activity with all your committees and delegations. It is I who am the true propagandist."
definition - definizione, il definire, livello di definizione, definitezza
committees - comitato, commissione
delegations - delegazione
propagandist - propagandista
"We won't discuss that point," said Ossipon, with an air of rising above personal considerations. "I am afraid I'll have to spoil your holiday for you, though. There's a man blown up in Greenwich Park this morning."
spoil - rovinare, viziare, andare a male, bottino
blown up - saltare in aria
"How do you know?"
"They have been yelling the news in the streets since two o'clock. I bought the paper, and just ran in here. Then I saw you sitting at this table. I've got it in my pocket now."
yelling - urlare
I've got it - ce l'ho, ho capito, ho un'idea
He pulled the newspaper out. It was a good-sized rosy sheet, as if flushed by the warmth of its own convictions, which were optimistic. He scanned the pages rapidly.
sized - dimensioni
flushed - rossore
warmth - calore
convictions - convinzione, condanna, colpevolezza
optimistic - ottimista
scanned - scrutare, scannerizzare, scandire, scansione
rapidly - rapidamente
"Ah! Here it is. Bomb in Greenwich Park. There isn't much so far. Half-past eleven. Foggy morning. Effects of explosion felt as far as Romney Road and Park Place. Enormous hole in the ground under a tree filled with smashed roots and broken branches. All round fragments of a man's body blown to pieces. That's all. The rest's mere newspaper gup.
roots - radice
branches - ramo, filiale, succursale, branca, settore
fragments - frammento, frammentare
blown - colpo
No doubt a wicked attempt to blow up the Observatory, they say. H'm. That's hardly credible."
wicked - cattivo
blow up - esplodere
Observatory - osservatorio
credible - credibile
He looked at the paper for a while longer in silence, then passed it to the other, who after gazing abstractedly at the print laid it down without comment.
abstractedly - astrattamente
print - stampare, scrivere in stampatello, impronta, stampa
It was Ossipon who spoke first-still resentful.
resentful - rancoroso
"The fragments of only one man, you note. Ergo: blew himself up. That spoils your day off for you-don't it? Were you expecting that sort of move? I hadn't the slightest idea-not the ghost of a notion of anything of the sort being planned to come off here-in this country. Under the present circumstances it's nothing short of criminal."
spoils - rovinare, viziare, andare a male, bottino
day off - giorno libero
expecting - in attesa, (expect), aspettarsi, pensare
come off - lavare via, staccare
circumstances - circostanza, dettaglio, caso, circonlocuzione, situazione
The little man lifted his thin black eyebrows with dispassionate scorn.
"Criminal! What is that? What is crime? What can be the meaning of such an assertion?"
"How am I to express myself? One must use the current words," said Ossipon impatiently. "The meaning of this assertion is that this business may affect our position very adversely in this country. Isn't that crime enough for you? I am convinced you have been giving away some of your stuff lately."
current - corrente, attuale, odierno
impatiently - con impazienza
giving away - regalare
Ossipon stared hard. The other, without flinching, lowered and raised his head slowly.
flinching - ritirarsi, sottrarsi
"You have!" burst out the editor of the F. P. leaflets in an intense whisper. "No! And are you really handing it over at large like this, for the asking, to the first fool that comes along?"
editor - redattore, curatore, curatrice, redattrice
whisper - sussurro, sussurrare
fool - stolto, buffone, giullare, pagliaccio, buffone di corte, matto
"Just so! The condemned social order has not been built up on paper and ink, and I don't fancy that a combination of paper and ink will ever put an end to it, whatever you may think. Yes, I would give the stuff with both hands to every man, woman, or fool that likes to come along. I know what you are thinking about. But I am not taking my cue from the Red Committee.
condemned - condannare
built up - costruito
combination - combinazione
cue - attacco, battuta d'entrata
I would see you all hounded out of here, or arrested-or beheaded for that matter-without turning a hair. What happens to us as individuals is not of the least consequence."
hounded - cane (da caccia)
beheaded - decapitare
consequence - conseguenza
He spoke carelessly, without heat, almost without feeling, and Ossipon, secretly much affected, tried to copy this detachment.
secretly - di nascosto
copy - copia, replica, copiare, imitare, ricevere
"If the police here knew their business they would shoot you full of holes with revolvers, or else try to sand-bag you from behind in broad daylight."
shoot - sparare, scoccare
revolvers - rivoltella, revolver
sand - sabbia
daylight - luce del giorno
The little man seemed already to have considered that point of view in his dispassionate self-confident manner.
"Yes," he assented with the utmost readiness. "But for that they would have to face their own institutions. Do you see? That requires uncommon grit. Grit of a special kind."
assented - assentire, assenso
utmost - estremo, massimo
readiness - prontezza
uncommon - raro
Ossipon blinked.
"I fancy that's exactly what would happen to you if you were to set up your laboratory in the States. They don't stand on ceremony with their institutions there."
laboratory - laboratorio
States - stato, dichiarare, statuire, esporre, indicare
ceremony - cerimonia
"I am not likely to go and see. Otherwise your remark is just," admitted the other. "They have more character over there, and their character is essentially anarchistic. Fertile ground for us, the States-very good ground. The great Republic has the root of the destructive matter in her. The collective temperament is lawless. Excellent. They may shoot us down, but-"
anarchistic - anarchico
fertile - fertile
republic - repubblica
root - radice
collective - collettivo, comune
lawless - senza legge
"You are too transcendental for me," growled Ossipon, with moody concern.
"Logical," protested the other. "There are several kinds of logic. This is the enlightened kind. America is all right. It is this country that is dangerous, with her idealistic conception of legality. The social spirit of this people is wrapped up in scrupulous prejudices, and that is fatal to our work. You talk of England being our only refuge! So much the worse. Capua!
logical - logico
enlightened - illuminare
idealistic - idealistico
spirit - spirito
wrapped up - avvolto
scrupulous - acribia, coscienzioso, accurato, meticoloso
prejudices - pregiudizio
refuge - rifugio, riparo
What do we want with refuges? Here you talk, print, plot, and do nothing. I daresay it's very convenient for such Karl Yundts."
refuges - rifugio, riparo
plot - trama, ordito, schema, canovaccio
He shrugged his shoulders slightly, then added with the same leisurely assurance: "To break up the superstition and worship of legality should be our aim. Nothing would please me more than to see Inspector Heat and his likes take to shooting us down in broad daylight with the approval of the public.
superstition - superstizione
worship - adorazione, venerazione, culto
shooting - sparatoria
Half our battle would be won then; the disintegration of the old morality would have set in in its very temple. That is what you ought to aim at. But you revolutionists will never understand that. You plan the future, you lose yourselves in reveries of economical systems derived from what is; whereas what's wanted is a clean sweep and a clear start for a new conception of life.
battle - battaglia
disintegration - disintegrazione
Temple - tempio
aim at - mirare a
reveries - rilassamento
economical - economico, (che fa risparmiare)
systems - sistema
derived - derivare
start for - inizio per
That sort of future will take care of itself if you will only make room for it. Therefore I would shovel my stuff in heaps at the corners of the streets if I had enough for that; and as I haven't, I do my best by perfecting a really dependable detonator."
shovel - pala, badile, paletta, spalare
in heaps - in mucchi
dependable - affidabile
Ossipon, who had been mentally swimming in deep waters, seized upon the last word as if it were a saving plank.
saving - salvare, (save), soccorrere, redimere, immagazzinare
plank - tavola, asse
"Yes. Your detonators. I shouldn't wonder if it weren't one of your detonators that made a clean sweep of the man in the park."
detonators - detonatore
weren - erano
A shade of vexation darkened the determined sallow face confronting Ossipon.
vexation - vessazione
darkened - imbrunire
confronting - affrontare, confrontarsi, sfidare, confrontare
"My difficulty consists precisely in experimenting practically with the various kinds. They must be tried after all. Besides-"
consists - consistere di
precisely - precisamente, esattamente
experimenting - esperimento
besides - accanto, vicino
Ossipon interrupted.
"Who could that fellow be? I assure you that we in London had no knowledge-Couldn't you describe the person you gave the stuff to?"
assure - assicurare, garantire
The other turned his spectacles upon Ossipon like a pair of searchlights.
searchlights - faro di ricerca
"Describe him," he repeated slowly. "I don't think there can be the slightest objection now. I will describe him to you in one word-Verloc."
objection - obiezione
Ossipon, whom curiosity had lifted a few inches off his seat, dropped back, as if hit in the face.
inches - pollice
dropped - goccia
hit - colpire, battere
"Verloc! Impossible."
The self-possessed little man nodded slightly once.
possessed - possiede
"Yes. He's the person. You can't say that in this case I was giving my stuff to the first fool that came along. He was a prominent member of the group as far as I understand."
"Yes," said Ossipon. "Prominent. No, not exactly. He was the centre for general intelligence, and usually received comrades coming over here. More useful than important. Man of no ideas. Years ago he used to speak at meetings-in France, I believe. Not very well, though. He was trusted by such men as Latorre, Moser and all that old lot.
received - ricevere
comrades - compagno, compagna, checkcamerata
coming over - passare, venire da, fare finta
The only talent he showed really was his ability to elude the attentions of the police somehow. Here, for instance, he did not seem to be looked after very closely. He was regularly married, you know. I suppose it's with her money that he started that shop. Seemed to make it pay, too."
talent - talento, talenti
ability - abilita, capacita
elude - eludere
looked after - in custodia
closely - strettamente, da vicino, a stretto contatto
regularly - regolarmente
Ossipon paused abruptly, muttered to himself "I wonder what that woman will do now?" and fell into thought.
The other waited with ostentatious indifference. His parentage was obscure, and he was generally known only by his nickname of Professor. His title to that designation consisted in his having been once assistant demonstrator in chemistry at some technical institute. He quarrelled with the authorities upon a question of unfair treatment.
parentage - parentela
nickname - soprannome, soprannominare
professor - professore
designation - indicazione, designazione, appellativo, utilizzo
assistant - assistente
demonstrator - dimostratore
chemistry - chimica
technical - tecnico, tecnica
Institute - istituto
quarrelled - lite, litigio
authorities - autorita
unfair - scorretto, sleale, ingiusto
Afterwards he obtained a post in the laboratory of a manufactory of dyes. There too he had been treated with revolting injustice.
manufactory - fabbrica
dyes - tingere, colorare
treated - trattare, trattenimento, festeggiamento, sorpresa
revolting - rivolta
His struggles, his privations, his hard work to raise himself in the social scale, had filled him with such an exalted conviction of his merits that it was extremely difficult for the world to treat him with justice-the standard of that notion depending so much upon the patience of the individual. The Professor had genius, but lacked the great social virtue of resignation.
struggles - lotta, lottare
privations - privazione
scale - scala, gradazione
merits - merito, merto, meritare
treat - trattare, trattenimento, festeggiamento, sorpresa
Standard - standard, regolare, livello, tenore
depending - dipendere, fare affidamento
genius - genio
lacked - mancare di
resignation - dimissioni, uscita, fuoriuscita, rassegnazione
"Intellectually a nonentity," Ossipon pronounced aloud, abandoning suddenly the inward contemplation of Mrs Verloc's bereaved person and business. "Quite an ordinary personality. You are wrong in not keeping more in touch with the comrades, Professor," he added in a reproving tone. "Did he say anything to you-give you some idea of his intentions? I hadn't seen him for a month.
intellectually - intellettualmente
nonentity - uomo da niente, zero assoluto, nullita, estraneo
bereaved - privare
reproving - rimproverare
intentions - intenzione, intento
It seems impossible that he should be gone."
"He told me it was going to be a demonstration against a building," said the Professor. "I had to know that much to prepare the missile. I pointed out to him that I had hardly a sufficient quantity for a completely destructive result, but he pressed me very earnestly to do my best.
missile - missile
sufficient - appropriato, sufficiente, idoneo, adeguato, congruo
quantity - grandezza, quantita, numero
pressed - premere, pigiare
As he wanted something that could be carried openly in the hand, I proposed to make use of an old one-gallon copal varnish can I happened to have by me. He was pleased at the idea. It gave me some trouble, because I had to cut out the bottom first and solder it on again afterwards.
proposed - proporre, proporre il matrimonio
gallon - gallone
copal - copale
varnish - copale, vernice, verniciatura, lacca
solder - (lega per saldature)
When prepared for use, the can enclosed a wide-mouthed, well-corked jar of thick glass packed around with some wet clay and containing sixteen ounces of X2 green powder. The detonator was connected with the screw top of the can. It was ingenious-a combination of time and shock. I explained the system to him. It was a thin tube of tin enclosing a-"
enclosed - cintare
wide - largo, ampio, vasto, laterale
corked - sughero, di sughero
jar - giara, vaso
packed - fagotto, sacca
clay - argilla, creta
containing - contenere
ounces - oncia
powder - polvere
connected - connettere, connettersi, cablare, collegare
ingenious - ingegnoso
tin - stagno, lattina, barattolo, gamella
enclosing - cintare
Ossipon's attention had wandered.
wandered - errare, vagare, girovagare, passeggiare
"What do you think has happened?" he interrupted.
"Can't tell. Screwed the top on tight, which would make the connection, and then forgot the time. It was set for twenty minutes. On the other hand, the time contact being made, a sharp shock would bring about the explosion at once. He either ran the time too close, or simply let the thing fall. The contact was made all right-that's clear to me at any rate. The system's worked perfectly.
screwed - vite, elica, scopata, chiavare, fottere, scopare, trombare
contact - contatto, aggancio, contattare
bring about - causare
rate - tasso, percentuale
And yet you would think that a common fool in a hurry would be much more likely to forget to make the contact altogether. I was worrying myself about that sort of failure mostly. But there are more kinds of fools than one can guard against. You can't expect a detonator to be absolutely fool-proof."
hurry - fretta, premura, furia, affrettarsi, precipitarsi
failure - fallimento, insuccesso, avaria, fiasco, disfunzione
guard - guardia, piantone, custode, elsa
He beckoned to a waiter. Ossipon sat rigid, with the abstracted gaze of mental travail. After the man had gone away with the money he roused himself, with an air of profound dissatisfaction.
beckoned - accennare
rigid - rigido
abstracted - estratto, sunto, compendio, riassunto, astrazione, astratto
gaze - fissare, guardare, puntare gli occhi, volgere lo sguardo
travail - lavoro
gone away - andare via, lasciare
roused - svegliare
dissatisfaction - insoddisfazione, scontentezza
"It's extremely unpleasant for me," he mused. "Karl has been in bed with bronchitis for a week. There's an even chance that he will never get up again. Michaelis's luxuriating in the country somewhere. A fashionable publisher has offered him five hundred pounds for a book. It will be a ghastly failure. He has lost the habit of consecutive thinking in prison, you know."
unpleasant - spiacevole, sgradevole, scostante, sgradito
mused - Musa
bronchitis - bronchite
luxuriating - lussureggiare
publisher - editore
five hundred - cinquecento
consecutive - consecutivo
The Professor on his feet, now buttoning his coat, looked about him with perfect indifference.
buttoning - bottone
"What are you going to do?" asked Ossipon wearily. He dreaded the blame of the Central Red Committee, a body which had no permanent place of abode, and of whose membership he was not exactly informed. If this affair eventuated in the stoppage of the modest subsidy allotted to the publication of the F. P. pamphlets, then indeed he would have to regret Verloc's inexplicable folly.
blame - incolpare
permanent - permanente, fisso, messa in piega
abode - residenza, (abide), sopportare, tollerare, dimorare, risiedere
membership - iscrizione, appartenenza
informed - informare
eventuated - si realizzano
stoppage - arresto
subsidy - sovvenzione, sussidio
allotted - assegnare, concedere
publication - pubblicazione, periodico, rivista
pamphlets - opuscolo
regret - rimpiangere, rammaricarsi, pentirsi, rammarico, rimpianto
folly - follia, stravaganza, unicum, eccentricita
"Solidarity with the extremest form of action is one thing, and silly recklessness is another," he said, with a sort of moody brutality. "I don't know what came to Verloc. There's some mystery there. However, he's gone. You may take it as you like, but under the circumstances the only policy for the militant revolutionary group is to disclaim all connection with this damned freak of yours.
solidarity - solidarieta
extremest - estremo, profondo
mystery - mistero, arcano, enigma
policy - politica
militant - militante
disclaim - rinnegare, disconoscere
freak - fenomeno, capriccio
How to make the disclaimer convincing enough is what bothers me."
disclaimer - talian: t-needed
convincing - convincere
bothers - disturbare, infastidire, disturbarsi, prendersi la briga
The little man on his feet, buttoned up and ready to go, was no taller than the seated Ossipon. He levelled his spectacles at the latter's face point-blank.
buttoned up - abbottonato
levelled - piano, orizzontale, livellato, costante, uniforme, a posto
blank - intonso, in bianco, vuoto, intatto, vergine, cartuccia a salve
"You might ask the police for a testimonial of good conduct. They know where every one of you slept last night. Perhaps if you asked them they would consent to publish some sort of official statement."
testimonial - written recommendation, tribute of someone's service
consent - consentire, consenso
publish - pubblicare, rendere noto, divulgare
"No doubt they are aware well enough that we had nothing to do with this," mumbled Ossipon bitterly. "What they will say is another thing." He remained thoughtful, disregarding the short, owlish, shabby figure standing by his side. "I must lay hands on Michaelis at once, and get him to speak from his heart at one of our gatherings. The public has a sort of sentimental regard for that fellow.
bitterly - amaramente
disregarding - ignorare, non considerare
standing by - in attesa
lay - posare
gatherings - raccolta
His name is known. And I am in touch with a few reporters on the big dailies. What he would say would be utter bosh, but he has a turn of talk that makes it go down all the same."
reporters - giornalista, inviato, corrispondente
dailies - quotidiano, giornaliero
"Like treacle," interjected the Professor, rather low, keeping an impassive expression.
treacle - melassa
interjected - interloquire
impassive - impassibile
The perplexed Ossipon went on communing with himself half audibly, after the manner of a man reflecting in perfect solitude.
perplexed - confondere, rendere perplesso
communing - in comunione
audibly - in modo udibile
reflecting - riflettere, essere riflesso, seguire, evidenziare, riportare
"Confounded ass! To leave such an imbecile business on my hands. And I don't even know if-"
He sat with compressed lips. The idea of going for news straight to the shop lacked charm. His notion was that Verloc's shop might have been turned already into a police trap. They will be bound to make some arrests, he thought, with something resembling virtuous indignation, for the even tenor of his revolutionary life was menaced by no fault of his.
compressed - comprimere
arrests - arresto, arrestare
tenor - tenore
And yet unless he went there he ran the risk of remaining in ignorance of what perhaps it would be very material for him to know. Then he reflected that, if the man in the park had been so very much blown to pieces as the evening papers said, he could not have been identified.
Risk - rischio, rischiare
reflected - riflettere, essere riflesso, seguire, evidenziare, riportare
identified - identificare, individuare
And if so, the police could have no special reason for watching Verloc's shop more closely than any other place known to be frequented by marked anarchists-no more reason, in fact, than for watching the doors of the Silenus. There would be a lot of watching all round, no matter where he went. Still-
frequented - frequente
"I wonder what I had better do now?" he muttered, taking counsel with himself.
counsel - consiglio, avvocato
A rasping voice at his elbow said, with sedate scorn:
rasping - stridulo
sedate - sedare
"Fasten yourself upon the woman for all she's worth."
fasten - chiudere, fissare, attaccare
After uttering these words the Professor walked away from the table. Ossipon, whom that piece of insight had taken unawares, gave one ineffectual start, and remained still, with a helpless gaze, as though nailed fast to the seat of his chair.
unawares - ignaro, inconsapevole
ineffectual - inutile
helpless - indifeso
nailed - unghia
The lonely piano, without as much as a music stool to help it, struck a few chords courageously, and beginning a selection of national airs, played him out at last to the tune of "Blue Bells of Scotland." The painfully detached notes grew faint behind his back while he went slowly upstairs, across the hall, and into the street.
chords - accordo, corda
courageously - coraggiosamente
bells - campana
Scotland - Scozia
In front of the great doorway a dismal row of newspaper sellers standing clear of the pavement dealt out their wares from the gutter. It was a raw, gloomy day of the early spring; and the grimy sky, the mud of the streets, the rags of the dirty men, harmonised excellently with the eruption of the damp, rubbishy sheets of paper soiled with printers'ink.
dismal - lugubre, triste
dealt - accordo
raw - crudo, grezzo, non raffinatato, naturale, aperta, vergine
gloomy - tetro, uggioso, cupo, lugubre
sky - cielo
rags - straccio
harmonised - armonizzare
excellently - educatamente
eruption - eruzione
rubbishy - strofinare
sheets - foglio, talian: teglia da forno g, talian: foglio g, ('of metal also') lamiera g, ('of ice, stone, marble') lastra g, scotta
printers - stampante
The posters, maculated with filth, garnished like tapestry the sweep of the curbstone. The trade in afternoon papers was brisk, yet, in comparison with the swift, constant march of foot traffic, the effect was of indifference, of a disregarded distribution. Ossipon looked hurriedly both ways before stepping out into the cross-currents, but the Professor was already out of sight.
posters - poster, cartellone, manifesto
maculated - maculare
filth - sporcizia, sporco
garnished - guarnire, decorare, adornare, abbellire, fornire, guarnizione
tapestry - arazzo, tappezzeria
trade - commercio, mestiere, commerciare, trafficare, scambiare
brisk - vivace
constant - costante, continuo
distribution - distribuzione, diffusione
stepping out - uscire di scena
currents - corrente, attuale, odierno
The Professor had turned into a street to the left, and walked along, with his head carried rigidly erect, in a crowd whose every individual almost overtopped his stunted stature. It was vain to pretend to himself that he was not disappointed. But that was mere feeling; the stoicism of his thought could not be disturbed by this or any other failure.
rigidly - rigidamente
erect - eretto
overtopped - sopra
stunted - (arrestare lo sviluppo)
stature - statura
vain - vanitoso, vanesio, vano
disappointed - deludere, dispiacere, contrariare
stoicism - stoicismo
Next time, or the time after next, a telling stroke would be delivered-something really startling-a blow fit to open the first crack in the imposing front of the great edifice of legal conceptions sheltering the atrocious injustice of society.
delivered - consegnare
crack - rompersi, incrinarsi
legal - giuridico, legale
conceptions - concezione, concepimento, concetto
sheltering - riparo, (shelter), rifugio, dare rifugio, rifugiarsi
Of humble origin, and with an appearance really so mean as to stand in the way of his considerable natural abilities, his imagination had been fired early by the tales of men rising from the depths of poverty to positions of authority and affluence.
origin - origine, origini
abilities - abilita, capacita
positions - posizione, posto, lavoro, piazzare, posizionare
affluence - ricchezza, opulenza, abbondanza
The extreme, almost ascetic purity of his thought, combined with an astounding ignorance of worldly conditions, had set before him a goal of power and prestige to be attained without the medium of arts, graces, tact, wealth-by sheer weight of merit alone. On that view he considered himself entitled to undisputed success.
extreme - estremo, profondo
ascetic - ascetico, asceta
purity - purezza
combined - combinare, mischiare, abbinare, unire, kombinat, combinat
astounding - riempire di stupore, sbalordire
worldly - mondano
goal - obiettivo, scopo, risultato, fine
prestige - prestigio
medium - veicolo, mezzo, strumento, tramite
graces - grazie, (grace), benedicite, ringraziamento, grazia, eleganza
tact - tatto
merit - merito, merto, meritare
undisputed - indiscusso, incontrastato, accettato
His father, a delicate dark enthusiast with a sloping forehead, had been an itinerant and rousing preacher of some obscure but rigid Christian sect-a man supremely confident in the privileges of his righteousness.
enthusiast - entusiasta, appassionato, zelota
sloping - pendio, pendenza, inclinazione, muso giallo, digradare, loor
itinerant - itinerante
preacher - predicatore
Christian - cristiano, cristiana
sect - setta
privileges - privilegio, prerogativa
righteousness - rettitudine
In the son, individualist by temperament, once the science of colleges had replaced thoroughly the faith of conventicles, this moral attitude translated itself into a frenzied puritanism of ambition. He nursed it as something secularly holy. To see it thwarted opened his eyes to the true nature of the world, whose morality was artificial, corrupt, and blasphemous.
individualist - individualista
replaced - sostituire, rimpiazzare, riporre
conventicles - conventicola
translated - tradurre, trasferire, riversare
frenzied - frenesia
puritanism - puritanesimo
Ambition - ambizione, ambizione (1-4)
secularly - in modo laico
holy - sacro, santo, immacolato
thwarted - sventare, bloccare, arcaccia
corrupt - corrotto, corrompere
blasphemous - blasfemo
The way of even the most justifiable revolutions is prepared by personal impulses disguised into creeds. The Professor's indignation found in itself a final cause that absolved him from the sin of turning to destruction as the agent of his ambition.
justifiable - giustificabile
revolutions - rivoluzione
disguised - camuffamento, travestimento, mascheramento, camuffarsi
creeds - credo
absolved - assolvere
sin - peccato
destruction - distruzione
To destroy public faith in legality was the imperfect formula of his pedantic fanaticism; but the subconscious conviction that the framework of an established social order cannot be effectually shattered except by some form of collective or individual violence was precise and correct. He was a moral agent-that was settled in his mind.
imperfect - imperfetto, imperfetta
formula - formula, latte artificiale, formula per lattanti
pedantic - pedante
the subconscious - il subconscio
framework - struttura portante, struttura, impalcatura, intelaiatura
effectually - efficacemente
shattered - fracassare, spaccare, sconquassare, frantumare
By exercising his agency with ruthless defiance he procured for himself the appearances of power and personal prestige. That was undeniable to his vengeful bitterness.
agency - agenzia
ruthless - spietato, crudele
procured - procurare, approvvigionare, acquistare, ottenere
appearances - apparizione, comparsa, visione, apparenza, aspetto
undeniable - innegabile
vengeful - vendicativo
bitterness - amarezza
It pacified its unrest; and in their own way the most ardent of revolutionaries are perhaps doing no more but seeking for peace in common with the rest of mankind-the peace of soothed vanity, of satisfied appetites, or perhaps of appeased conscience.
pacified - pacificare
ardent - fervente
revolutionaries - rivoluzionario, rivoluzionaria
seeking - cercare, ricercare
soothed - calmare, placare, lenire, alleviare, mitigare
appetites - appetito
appeased - placare, pacificare, calmare
Lost in the crowd, miserable and undersized, he meditated confidently on his power, keeping his hand in the left pocket of his trousers, grasping lightly the india-rubber ball, the supreme guarantee of his sinister freedom; but after a while he became disagreeably affected by the sight of the roadway thronged with vehicles and of the pavement crowded with men and women.
undersized - sottodimensionato
meditated - meditare, filosofare, riflettere
confidently - familiarmente
grasping - afferrare, avvinghiare, avvinghiarsi, agguantare
guarantee - garanzia, garante, garantire, assicurare
freedom - liberta
disagreeably - in modo sgradevole
roadway - carreggiata
thronged - calca, ressa, folla, turba
vehicles - veicolo, mezzo
crowded - folla
He was in a long, straight street, peopled by a mere fraction of an immense multitude; but all round him, on and on, even to the limits of the horizon hidden by the enormous piles of bricks, he felt the mass of mankind mighty in its numbers.
fraction - frazione
immense - immenso
limits - limite
piles - pila, mucchio
mass - massa
mighty - potente, possente
They swarmed numerous like locusts, industrious like ants, thoughtless like a natural force, pushing on blind and orderly and absorbed, impervious to sentiment, to logic, to terror too perhaps.
swarmed - sciame, nugolo, pullulare, sciamare
numerous - numeroso
locusts - locusta
Ants - formica
thoughtless - sconsiderato
pushing - spingere
orderly - ordinato, metodico, sistematico, attendente
absorbed - assorbire, incorporare, includere, assorbere, assorto
impervious - impermeabile
logic - logica
terror - terrore
That was the form of doubt he feared most. Impervious to fear! Often while walking abroad, when he happened also to come out of himself, he had such moments of dreadful and sane mistrust of mankind. What if nothing could move them? Such moments come to all men whose ambition aims at a direct grasp upon humanity-to artists, politicians, thinkers, reformers, or saints.
feared - temere
sane - sano (di mente), ragionevole
mistrust - diffidare di, non avere fiducia di
aims at - mira a
grasp - afferrare, avvinghiare, avvinghiarsi, agguantare
politicians - politico, politica
thinkers - pensatore, pensatrice, intellettuale
Saints - San, Santo, Santa
A despicable emotional state this, against which solitude fortifies a superior character; and with severe exultation the Professor thought of the refuge of his room, with its padlocked cupboard, lost in a wilderness of poor houses, the hermitage of the perfect anarchist.
despicable - spregevole, abietto, disprezzabile
fortifies - talian: t-needed
superior - superiore, sovraordinato
exultation - esultanza
padlocked - lucchetto
wilderness - natura
hermitage - eremo, eremitaggio, isolamento
In order to reach sooner the point where he could take his omnibus, he turned brusquely out of the populous street into a narrow and dusky alley paved with flagstones. On one side the low brick houses had in their dusty windows the sightless, moribund look of incurable decay-empty shells awaiting demolition. From the other side life had not departed wholly as yet.
populous - popoloso, popolosa
alley - vicolo
paved - lastricare, pavimentare
flagstones - lastra, tegola
sightless - senza vista
incurable - incurabile
decay - imputridire
shells - conchiglia, guscio, carapace, esoscheletro, mallo, baccello
awaiting - aspettare, attendere, servire
demolition - demolizione
wholly - del tutto
Facing the only gas-lamp yawned the cavern of a second-hand furniture dealer, where, deep in the gloom of a sort of narrow avenue winding through a bizarre forest of wardrobes, with an undergrowth tangle of table legs, a tall pier-glass glimmered like a pool of water in a wood. An unhappy, homeless couch, accompanied by two unrelated chairs, stood in the open.
cavern - caverna
second-hand - (second-hand) di seconda mano
furniture dealer - rivenditore di mobili
gloom - oscurita, tenebre, buio
avenue - viale, corso
winding - avvolgimento
bizarre - bizzarro
forest - bosco, selva, foresta
wardrobes - armadio, guardaroba
undergrowth - sottobosco
tangle - groviglio arruffato
pier-glass - (pier-glass) tremo (un grande specchio incastonato nel muro tra le finestre)
glimmered - barlume, filo
homeless - senzatetto
couch - divano
accompanied - accompagnare
unrelated - non correlato
The only human being making use of the alley besides the Professor, coming stalwart and erect from the opposite direction, checked his swinging pace suddenly.
stalwart - robusto, convinto, fedele, fedelissimo, sostenitore fedele
opposite direction - direzione opposta
swinging - oscillare, (swing), ondeggiare, altalenare
"Hallo!" he said, and stood a little on one side watchfully.
Hallo - ciao, salve
The Professor had already stopped, with a ready half turn which brought his shoulders very near the other wall. His right hand fell lightly on the back of the outcast couch, the left remained purposefully plunged deep in the trousers pocket, and the roundness of the heavy rimmed spectacles imparted an owlish character to his moody, unperturbed face.
outcast - reietto
purposefully - di proposito
trousers pocket - tasca dei pantaloni
roundness - rotondita
rimmed - cerchione, bordo
imparted - impartire
unperturbed - imperturbabile
It was like a meeting in a side corridor of a mansion full of life. The stalwart man was buttoned up in a dark overcoat, and carried an umbrella. His hat, tilted back, uncovered a good deal of forehead, which appeared very white in the dusk. In the dark patches of the orbits the eyeballs glimmered piercingly.
dusk - crepuscolo, tramonto, tramontare, crepuscolare
patches - toppa
orbits - orbita
eyeballs - bulbo oculare
piercingly - in modo penetrante
Long, drooping moustaches, the colour of ripe corn, framed with their points the square block of his shaved chin.
ripe - maturo
corn - grano
"I am not looking for you," he said curtly.
curtly - in modo brusco
The Professor did not stir an inch. The blended noises of the enormous town sank down to an inarticulate low murmur. Chief Inspector Heat of the Special Crimes Department changed his tone.
blended - misto, ibrido
noises - rumore, strepito
inarticulate - inarticolato
crimes - crimine, delitto, reato, criminalita
department - dipartimento, q
"Not in a hurry to get home?" he asked, with mocking simplicity.
simplicity - semplicita
The unwholesome-looking little moral agent of destruction exulted silently in the possession of personal prestige, keeping in check this man armed with the defensive mandate of a menaced society.
unwholesome - malsano, insalubre, sfavorevole, corrotto
exulted - esultare
possession - possesso
defensive - talian: t-needed
mandate - mandato
More fortunate than Caligula, who wished that the Roman Senate had only one head for the better satisfaction of his cruel lust, he beheld in that one man all the forces he had set at defiance: the force of law, property, oppression, and injustice. He beheld all his enemies, and fearlessly confronted them all in a supreme satisfaction of his vanity.
fortunate - fortunato
Roman - romano, romana
Senate - senato
head for - dirigersi a
cruel - crudele
lust - libido, libidine, lussuria
fearlessly - senza paura
They stood perplexed before him as if before a dreadful portent. He gloated inwardly over the chance of this meeting affirming his superiority over all the multitude of mankind.
portent - presagio
gloated - gongolare
affirming - affermare
It was in reality a chance meeting. Chief Inspector Heat had had a disagreeably busy day since his department received the first telegram from Greenwich a little before eleven in the morning. First of all, the fact of the outrage being attempted less than a week after he had assured a high official that no outbreak of anarchist activity was to be apprehended was sufficiently annoying.
reality - realta
telegram - telegramma
attempted - tentare, cercare, provare, attentare, tentativo
high official - alto funzionario
outbreak - scoppio, insorgenza, diffusione, esplosione, eruzione
apprehended - arrestare, catturare
annoying - infastidirsi, infastidire, importunare, disturbare
If he ever thought himself safe in making a statement, it was then. He had made that statement with infinite satisfaction to himself, because it was clear that the high official desired greatly to hear that very thing.
infinite - infinito
greatly - molto, grandemente, assai, oltremodo
He had affirmed that nothing of the sort could even be thought of without the department being aware of it within twenty-four hours; and he had spoken thus in his consciousness of being the great expert of his department. He had gone even so far as to utter words which true wisdom would have kept back. But Chief Inspector Heat was not very wise-at least not truly so.
expert - esperto, abile, provato, specialistico
wisdom - saggezza, senno, discernimento, criterio
kept back - nascosto, trattenuto
True wisdom, which is not certain of anything in this world of contradictions, would have prevented him from attaining his present position. It would have alarmed his superiors, and done away with his chances of promotion. His promotion had been very rapid.
contradictions - contraddizione
attaining - raggiungere, ottenere, attenere
chances - caso
promotion - promozione, miglioramento, progresso, propaganda, pubblicita
"There isn't one of them, sir, that we couldn't lay our hands on at any time of night and day. We know what each of them is doing hour by hour," he had declared. And the high official had deigned to smile. This was so obviously the right thing to say for an officer of Chief Inspector Heat's reputation that it was perfectly delightful.
delightful - delizioso
The high official believed the declaration, which chimed in with his idea of the fitness of things. His wisdom was of an official kind, or else he might have reflected upon a matter not of theory but of experience that in the close-woven stuff of relations between conspirator and police there occur unexpected solutions of continuity, sudden holes in space and time.
declaration - dichiarazione, asserzione, voto, conferma
chimed - carillon
fitness - forma
woven - tessuto, intessuto
conspirator - congiurato, congiurata, cospiratore, cospiratrice
occur - verificarsi, sovvenire, venire in mente
solutions - soluzione, risoluzione, pagamento
A given anarchist may be watched inch by inch and minute by minute, but a moment always comes when somehow all sight and touch of him are lost for a few hours, during which something (generally an explosion) more or less deplorable does happen.
deplorable - deplorabile, deplorevole, deprecabile
But the high official, carried away by his sense of the fitness of things, had smiled, and now the recollection of that smile was very annoying to Chief Inspector Heat, principal expert in anarchist procedure.
carried away - rapire
This was not the only circumstance whose recollection depressed the usual serenity of the eminent specialist. There was another dating back only to that very morning. The thought that when called urgently to his Assistant Commissioner's private room he had been unable to conceal his astonishment was distinctly vexing.
depressed - deprimere
dating back - risalire
urgently - urgentemente
commissioner - commissario
vexing - fastidioso, (vex), vessare, innervosire, tormentare, infastidire
His instinct of a successful man had taught him long ago that, as a general rule, a reputation is built on manner as much as on achievement. And he felt that his manner when confronted with the telegram had not been impressive. He had opened his eyes widely, and had exclaimed "Impossible!
successful - di successo, coronato dal successo, riuscito
achievement - realizzazione, prestazione, conseguimento, rendimento
confronted with - confrontare con
" exposing himself thereby to the unanswerable retort of a finger-tip laid forcibly on the telegram which the Assistant Commissioner, after reading it aloud, had flung on the desk. To be crushed, as it were, under the tip of a forefinger was an unpleasant experience. Very damaging, too!
exposing - esposizioni
thereby - in tal modo, percio, pertanto
unanswerable - senza risposta
retort - replicare, ribattere
finger-tip - (finger-tip) punta delle dita
forcibly - con la forza
flung - lanciare
crushed - ressa, calca, cotta, schiacciare, pigiare, frantumare
damaging - danno, danneggiare, rovinare, macchiare
Furthermore, Chief Inspector Heat was conscious of not having mended matters by allowing himself to express a conviction.
mended - riparare, rammendare
allowing - lasciare, permettere, concedere, consentire
"One thing I can tell you at once: none of our lot had anything to do with this."
He was strong in his integrity of a good detective, but he saw now that an impenetrably attentive reserve towards this incident would have served his reputation better. On the other hand, he admitted to himself that it was difficult to preserve one's reputation if rank outsiders were going to take a hand in the business. Outsiders are the bane of the police as of other professions.
integrity - integrita
Detective - investigatore
impenetrably - impenetrabilmente
attentive - attento
incident - imprevisto, inconveniente, incidente
preserve - riserva, preservare, proteggere, salvaguardare, conservare
rank - grado, rango
outsiders - estraneo
bane - rovina
professions - professione
The tone of the Assistant Commissioner's remarks had been sour enough to set one's teeth on edge.
sour - agro, inasprire, deteriorarsi, degenerare
And since breakfast Chief Inspector Heat had not managed to get anything to eat.
Starting immediately to begin his investigation on the spot, he had swallowed a good deal of raw, unwholesome fog in the park. Then he had walked over to the hospital; and when the investigation in Greenwich was concluded at last he had lost his inclination for food.
investigation - investigazione
Fog - nebbia
Not accustomed, as the doctors are, to examine closely the mangled remains of human beings, he had been shocked by the sight disclosed to his view when a waterproof sheet had been lifted off a table in a certain apartment of the hospital.
mangled - fracassare
remains - stare, restare, rimanere
beings - essere, creatura, esistenza
waterproof - impermeabile, a tenuta stagna, impermeabilizzato
Another waterproof sheet was spread over that table in the manner of a table-cloth, with the corners turned up over a sort of mound-a heap of rags, scorched and bloodstained, half concealing what might have been an accumulation of raw material for a cannibal feast. It required considerable firmness of mind not to recoil before that sight.
table-cloth - (table-cloth) tovaglia
mound - terrapieno, tumulo, cumulo, monticello
scorched - bruciacchiatura, strinatura, bruciatura, scottatura
bloodstained - macchiato di sangue
concealing - nascondere, celare
raw material - materia prima
cannibal - cannibale, antropofago
feast - banchetto
recoil - rinculo, ritrarsi, rinculare
Chief Inspector Heat, an efficient officer of his department, stood his ground, but for a whole minute he did not advance. A local constable in uniform cast a sidelong glance, and said, with stolid simplicity:
uniform - Udine
sidelong - obliquo
stolid - stolido
"He's all there. Every bit of him. It was a job."
He had been the first man on the spot after the explosion. He mentioned the fact again. He had seen something like a heavy flash of lightning in the fog. At that time he was standing at the door of the King William Street Lodge talking to the keeper. The concussion made him tingle all over. He ran between the trees towards the Observatory.
mentioned - cenno, accenno, menzione, menzionare
flash - lampo
lightning - fulmine, folgore, saetta, lampo
king - re
William - Guglielmo
keeper - portiere
concussion - commozione cerebrale
tingle - formicolare, solletico
"As fast as my legs would carry me," he repeated twice.
Chief Inspector Heat, bending forward over the table in a gingerly and horrified manner, let him run on. The hospital porter and another man turned down the corners of the cloth, and stepped aside. The Chief Inspector's eyes searched the gruesome detail of that heap of mixed things, which seemed to have been collected in shambles and rag shops.
gingerly - cautamente
horrified - inorridire
turned down - rifiutato
searched - ricerca, cercare, buscare
gruesome - orribile, raccapricciante
mixed - mescolare, mischiare
collected - riunirsi
shambles - (camminatre strascicando i piedi)
rag - straccio
"You used a shovel," he remarked, observing a sprinkling of small gravel, tiny brown bits of bark, and particles of splintered wood as fine as needles.
observing - osservare
sprinkling - spruzzare, (sprinkle), spargere, aspergere, guarnire
gravel - ghiaia, calcolo, agghiaiare
bits - morso, boccone
bark - abbaio, latrato
particles - granello, pezzetto, particella
splintered - scheggia
needles - ago, lancetta, puntina, punzonare, punzecchiare
"Had to in one place," said the stolid constable. "I sent a keeper to fetch a spade. When he heard me scraping the ground with it he leaned his forehead against a tree, and was as sick as a dog."
fetch - andare a prendere, portare
spade - vanga
scraping - raschiare
The Chief Inspector, stooping guardedly over the table, fought down the unpleasant sensation in his throat. The shattering violence of destruction which had made of that body a heap of nameless fragments affected his feelings with a sense of ruthless cruelty, though his reason told him the effect must have been as swift as a flash of lightning.
stooping - chinarsi, abbassarsi
guardedly - con cautela
fought - lottare, battersi
shattering - fracassare, spaccare, sconquassare, frantumare
nameless - innominato
The man, whoever he was, had died instantaneously; and yet it seemed impossible to believe that a human body could have reached that state of disintegration without passing through the pangs of inconceivable agony. No physiologist, and still less of a metaphysician, Chief Inspector Heat rose by the force of sympathy, which is a form of fear, above the vulgar conception of time. Instantaneous!
Whoever - chiunque
instantaneously - istantaneamente
passing through - passare
pangs - dolore, fitta, pena morso
agony - dolore, agonia, parossismo
physiologist - fisiologo, fisiologa
metaphysician - metafisico, metafisica
He remembered all he had ever read in popular publications of long and terrifying dreams dreamed in the instant of waking; of the whole past life lived with frightful intensity by a drowning man as his doomed head bobs up, streaming, for the last time.
dreams - sogno, sognare
instant - immediato
past life - vita passata
frightful - spaventoso
intensity - intensita
drowning - annegamento, (drown), affogare, annegare, sommergere, coprire
bobs - ballonzolare
streaming - treaming, (stream), corrente, ruscello, rivo, flusso
The inexplicable mysteries of conscious existence beset Chief Inspector Heat till he evolved a horrible notion that ages of atrocious pain and mental torture could be contained between two successive winks of an eye.
beset - circondare, assediare, assaltare, incastonare, incagliare
evolved - evolvere, evolversi
torture - torturare
successive - consecutivo
winks - (strizzare l'occhio)
And meantime the Chief Inspector went on, peering at the table with a calm face and the slightly anxious attention of an indigent customer bending over what may be called the by-products of a butcher's shop with a view to an inexpensive Sunday dinner.
meantime - frattempo, attesa
indigent - indigente
inexpensive - economico
All the time his trained faculties of an excellent investigator, who scorns No chance of information, followed the self-satisfied, disjointed loquacity of the constable.
faculties - facolta
investigator - investigatore
scorns - disprezzare, disdegnare, disprezzo
No chance - Nessuna possibilita
disjointed - disgiunto
"A fair-haired fellow," the last observed in a placid tone, and paused. "The old woman who spoke to the sergeant noticed a fair-haired fellow coming out of Maze Hill Station." He paused. "And he was a fair-haired fellow. She noticed two men coming out of the station after the uptrain had gone on," he continued slowly. "She couldn't tell if they were together.
fair - biondo, chiaro
haired - capelli
placid - placido
sergeant - sergente
noticed - percezione, notifica, avviso, comunicazione, preavviso, notare
maze - labirinto, meandro
Hill - collina, colle
uptrain - Entrenar
She took no particular notice of the big one, but the other was a fair, slight chap, carrying a tin varnish can in one hand." The constable ceased.
chap - tipo
"Know the woman?" muttered the Chief Inspector, with his eyes fixed on the table, and a vague notion in his mind of an inquest to be held presently upon a person likely to remain for ever unknown.
fixed - aggiustare, riparare, mettere una pezza, sistemare, preparare
vague - vago
inquest - inchiesta
remain - stare, restare, rimanere
for ever - per sempre
unknown - ignoto, sconosciuto, carneade
"Yes. She's housekeeper to a retired publican, and attends the chapel in Park Place sometimes," the constable uttered weightily, and paused, with another oblique glance at the table.
housekeeper - governante, casalinga
retired - (andare in pensione)
publican - gestore di bar
attends - assistere a, seguire
chapel - cappella, chiesetta
uttered - completo, totale
weightily - di peso
oblique - obliquo
Then suddenly: "Well, here he is-all of him I could see. Fair. Slight-slight enough. Look at that foot there. I picked up the legs first, one after another. He was that scattered you didn't know where to begin."
picked - foto
scattered - disperdere, disperdersi, sparpagliare, cospargere, deflettere
The constable paused; the least flicker of an innocent self-laudatory smile invested his round face with an infantile expression.
flicker - tremolare
laudatory - elogiativo
invested - investire
infantile - infantile, puerile
"Stumbled," he announced positively. "I stumbled once myself, and pitched on my head too, while running up. Them roots do stick out all about the place. Stumbled against the root of a tree and fell, and that thing he was carrying must have gone off right under his chest, I expect."
stumbled - scivolone, scivolare, inciampare, imbattersi, incontrare
pitched - piantare, fissare
running up - correre, aumentare un debito
stick out - sporgere
gone off - esplodere
The echo of the words "Person unknown" repeating itself in his inner consciousness bothered the Chief Inspector considerably. He would have liked to trace this affair back to its mysterious origin for his own information. He was professionally curious. Before the public he would have liked to vindicate the efficiency of his department by establishing the identity of that man.
Echo - eco
bothered - disturbare, infastidire, disturbarsi, prendersi la briga
Considerably - considerevolmente, notevolmente
professionally - professionalmente
vindicate - rivendicare
efficiency - efficienza, rendimento
establishing - stabilire, confermare, instaurare, fondare, istituire
identity - identita
He was a loyal servant. That, however, appeared impossible. The first term of the problem was unreadable-lacked all suggestion but that of atrocious cruelty.
loyal - leale, ligio, fedele
unreadable - illeggibile
Overcoming his physical repugnance, Chief Inspector Heat stretched out his hand without conviction for the salving of his conscience, and took up the least soiled of the rags. It was a narrow strip of velvet with a larger triangular piece of dark blue cloth hanging from it. He held it up to his eyes; and the police constable spoke.
Overcoming - superare, sconfiggere
repugnance - ripugnanza
salving - salatura
triangular - triangolare
"Velvet collar. Funny the old woman should have noticed the velvet collar. Dark blue overcoat with a velvet collar, she has told us. He was the chap she saw, and no mistake. And here he is all complete, velvet collar and all. I don't think I missed a single piece as big as a postage stamp."
postage - affrancatura
Stamp - conio, bollo, battere i piedi, pestare i piedi, stampare, timbrare, affrancare
At this point the trained faculties of the Chief Inspector ceased to hear the voice of the constable. He moved to one of the windows for better light. His face, averted from the room, expressed a startled intense interest while he examined closely the triangular piece of broad-cloth.
averted - distogliere, evitare
examined - esaminare
By a sudden jerk he detached it, and only after stuffing it into his pocket turned round to the room, and flung the velvet collar back on the table-
jerk - scossa, sobbalzo
"cover up," he directed the attendants curtly, without another look, and, saluted by the constable, carried off his spoil hastily.
cover up - coprire
attendants - assistente
saluted - salutare
carried off - sopportare, rimuovere
A convenient train whirled him up to town, alone and pondering deeply, in a third-class compartment. That singed piece of cloth was incredibly valuable, and he could not defend himself from astonishment at the casual manner it had come into his possession. It was as if Fate had thrust that clue into his hands.
whirled - turbinare, piroettare, roteare
pondering - ponderare
deeply - in profondita, estremamente, profondamente, intensamente
third - terzo, terza, atterzare
compartment - terrazza, zoccolo
singed - bruciare, bruciacchiare
incredibly - incredibilmente, estremamente
defend - difendere, proteggere
thrust - stoccata, spinta
clue - indizio, pista, prova
And after the manner of the average man, whose ambition is to command events, he began to mistrust such a gratuitous and accidental success-just because it seemed forced upon him. The practical value of success depends not a little on the way you look at it. But Fate looks at nothing. It has no discretion.
average - media
Command - comando, ordine, padronanza, maestria, perizia, ordinare
accidental - accidentale
practical value - valore pratico
He no longer considered it eminently desirable all round to establish publicly the identity of the man who had blown himself up that morning with such horrible completeness. But he was not certain of the view his department would take. A department is to those it employs a complex personality with ideas and even fads of its own.
eminently - eminentemente
desirable - desiderabile
establish - stabilire, confermare, instaurare, fondare, istituire
completeness - completezza
employs - impiegare, ingaggiare
fads - moda, andazzo, tendenza
It depends on the loyal devotion of its servants, and the devoted loyalty of trusted servants is associated with a certain amount of affectionate contempt, which keeps it sweet, as it were. By a benevolent provision of Nature no man is a hero to his valet, or else the heroes would have to brush their own clothes. Likewise no department appears perfectly wise to the intimacy of its workers.
devoted - dedicare, consacrare
loyalty - lealta
associated - associare
contempt - disprezzo
sweet - dolcemente, dolcetto, caramella
provision - fornitura, disposizione, clausola, norma
valet - parcheggiatore
heroes - eroe, eroina, protagonista
brush - spazzola, pennello, incontro, scontro, spazzolare, spazzolarsi
likewise - ugualmente, similarmente, altrettanto, idem
Appears - apparire
intimacy - intimita
Workers - lavoratore, operaio, lavorante
A department does not know so much as some of its servants. Being a dispassionate organism, it can never be perfectly informed. It would not be good for its efficiency to know too much.
Chief Inspector Heat got out of the train in a state of thoughtfulness entirely untainted with disloyalty, but not quite free of that jealous mistrust which so often springs on the ground of perfect devotion, whether to women or to institutions.
thoughtfulness - premurosita
entirely - completamente
untainted - incontaminato
disloyalty - slealta
jealous - geloso, gelosa, invidioso
whether - se, indipendentemente, sia che, che, no, checkse
It was in this mental disposition, physically very empty, but still nauseated by what he had seen, that he had come upon the Professor. Under these conditions which make for irascibility in a sound, normal man, this meeting was specially unwelcome to Chief Inspector Heat. He had not been thinking of the Professor; he had not been thinking of any individual anarchist at all.
nauseated - nauseare
irascibility - irascibilita
normal - normale
specially - specialmente
unwelcome - importuno
The complexion of that case had somehow forced upon him the general idea of the absurdity of things human, which in the abstract is sufficiently annoying to an unphilosophical temperament, and in concrete instances becomes exasperating beyond endurance. At the beginning of his career Chief Inspector Heat had been concerned with the more energetic forms of thieving.
absurdity - assurdita
unphilosophical - non filosofico
concrete - concreto, reale, (in/di) calcestruzzo, (in/di) cemento
instances - volta
exasperating - esasperare
endurance - resistenza, sopportazione, durata, autonomia
concerned - interesse, preoccupazione, impresa, interessare
more energetic - piu energico
thieving - ladresco, (thieve), rubare
He had gained his spurs in that sphere, and naturally enough had kept for it, after his promotion to another department, a feeling not very far removed from affection. Thieving was not a sheer absurdity.
Gained - acquistare, conseguire
spurs - sperone, sprone
removed - rimuovere, asportare, levare, togliere
It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world; it was work undertaken for the same reason as the work in potteries, in coal mines, in fields, in tool-grinding shops.
perverse - ostinato, irragionevole
Potteries - terraglia, ceramica, vasellame, stoviglia
coal - carbone, tizzone, checkcarbonella
mines - mio, mia, mie, miei
fields - campo, ambito
grinding - macinare
It was labour, whose practical difference from the other forms of labour consisted in the nature of its risk, which did not lie in ankylosis, or lead poisoning, or fire-damp, or gritty dust, but in what may be briefly defined in its own special phraseology as "Seven years hard." Chief Inspector Heat was, of course, not insensible to the gravity of moral differences.
practical - pratico, concreto, reale, funzionale
lie - bugia
ankylosis - anchilosi
lead - condurre, portare
poisoning - avvelenamento, (poison), veleno, avvelenare, intossicare
fire-damp - (fire-damp) metano, gas da estrazione
gritty - coraggioso, spiritoso
dust - polvere, spolverare
briefly - concisamente, brevemente
defined - definire, determinare, descrivere
phraseology - fraseologia
insensible - privo di sensi
But neither were the thieves he had been looking after. They submitted to the severe sanctions of a morality familiar to Chief Inspector Heat with a certain resignation.
thieves - rubare
looking after - prendersi cura di
submitted - sottomettersi, sottomettere, sottoporre, presentare, inviare
sanctions - approvazione, convalida, ratifica, sanzione, approvare, sancire
They were his fellow-citizens gone wrong because of imperfect education, Chief Inspector Heat believed; but allowing for that difference, he could understand the mind of a burglar, because, as a matter of fact, the mind and the instincts of a burglar are of the same kind as the mind and the instincts of a police officer.
citizens - cittadino, cittadina, residente, civile
gone wrong - andare male, sbagliare
burglar - scassinatore, scassinatrice
instincts - istinto
Both recognise the same conventions, and have a working knowledge of each other's methods and of the routine of their respective trades. They understand each other, which is advantageous to both, and establishes a sort of amenity in their relations.
respective - rispettivo
trades - commercio, mestiere, commerciare, trafficare, scambiare
advantageous - vantaggioso
establishes - stabilire, confermare, instaurare, fondare, istituire
amenity - amenita, talian: t-needed
Products of the same machine, one classed as useful and the other as noxious, they take the machine for granted in different ways, but with a seriousness essentially the same. The mind of Chief Inspector Heat was inaccessible to ideas of revolt. But his thieves were not rebels.
noxious - insalubre, nocivo, malsano
granted - permettere, concedere, conferire, ammettere, garantire
seriousness - serieta, gravita
inaccessible - inaccessibile
thieves - ladro, ladra, ladruncolo, borsaiolo
His bodily vigour, his cool inflexible manner, his courage and his fairness, had secured for him much respect and some adulation in the sphere of his early successes. He had felt himself revered and admired.
vigour - vigore
inflexible - inflessibile
courage - coraggio
fairness - equita, imparzialita, giustizia, correttezza
secured - sicuro, protetto, segreto, stabile, affidabile, garantire
respect - rispetto, riguardo, materia, rispettare
adulation - adulazione
revered - riverire, venerare
admired - ammirare
And Chief Inspector Heat, arrested within six paces of the anarchist nick-named the Professor, gave a thought of regret to the world of thieves-sane, without morbid ideals, working by routine, respectful of constituted authorities, free from all taint of hate and despair.
paces - passo
nick - tacca, intaccatura
ideals - ideale
constituted - costituire, creare, formare
despair - disperazione
After paying this tribute to what is normal in the constitution of society (for the idea of thieving appeared to his instinct as normal as the idea of property), Chief Inspector Heat felt very angry with himself for having stopped, for having spoken, for having taken that way at all on the ground of it being a short cut from the station to the headquarters.
tribute - omaggio, tributo
constitution - costituzione
headquarters - sede centrale
And he spoke again in his big authoritative voice, which, being moderated, had a threatening character.
authoritative - autorevole, autoritario
moderated - moderato, modesto, moderare
threatening - minaccioso, (threaten), minacciare, impaurire, intimidire
"You are not wanted, I tell you," he repeated.
The anarchist did not stir. An inward laugh of derision uncovered not only his teeth but his gums as well, shook him all over, without the slightest sound. Chief Inspector Heat was led to add, against his better judgment:
Derision - derisione
judgment - giudizio, sentenza, verdetto, pronuncia
"Not yet. When I want you I will know where to find you."
Those were perfectly proper words, within the tradition and suitable to his character of a police officer addressing one of his special flock. But the reception they got departed from tradition and propriety. It was outrageous. The stunted, weakly figure before him spoke at last.
tradition - tradizione
suitable - adatto, idoneo, rispondente, confacente
flock - gregge, stormo
reception - ricevimento, ricezione, accoglienza, reception
weakly - debolmente
"I've no doubt the papers would give you an obituary notice then. You know best what that would be worth to you. I should think you can imagine easily the sort of stuff that would be printed. But you may be exposed to the unpleasantness of being buried together with me, though I suppose your friends would make an effort to sort us out as much as possible."
obituary notice - avviso di necrologio
exposed - esposizioni
unpleasantness - spiacevolezza, disaccordo
buried - seppellire
With all his healthy contempt for the spirit dictating such speeches, the atrocious allusiveness of the words had its effect on Chief Inspector Heat. He had too much insight, and too much exact information as well, to dismiss them as rot. The dusk of this narrow lane took on a sinister tint from the dark, frail little figure, its back to the wall, and speaking with a weak, self-confident voice.
dictating - dettame, imporre, comandare, dettare
speeches - parola, discorso
allusiveness - allusivita
exact - esatto, giusto, preciso, attento
dismiss - licenziare
rot - marcire, putrefarsi
lane - passaggio, corsia
tint - tinta, sfumatura
To the vigorous, tenacious vitality of the Chief Inspector, the physical wretchedness of that being, so obviously not fit to live, was ominous; for it seemed to him that if he had the misfortune to be such a miserable object he would not have cared how soon he died. Life had such a strong hold upon him that a fresh wave of nausea broke out in slight perspiration upon his brow.
vigorous - vigoroso
tenacious - tenace
vitality - vitalita
wretchedness - miseria
ominous - predittivo, malaugurante, infausto, nefasto
misfortune - malasorte, disgrazia
fresh - fresco
wave - onda
nausea - nausea
The murmur of town life, the subdued rumble of wheels in the two invisible streets to the right and left, came through the curve of the sordid lane to his ears with a precious familiarity and an appealing sweetness. He was human. But Chief Inspector Heat was also a man, and he could not let such words pass.
rumble - sferragliamento, rombo, rimbombo, rissa, caciara
invisible - invisibile, dietro le quinte
curve - curva, curvare
precious - prezioso, adorato, unico
appealing - fare appello, ricorrere
sweetness - dolcezza
pass - passare
"All this is good to frighten children with," he said. "I'll have you yet."
frighten - spaurire, spaventare
It was very well said, without scorn, with an almost austere quietness.
austere - austero
quietness - tranquillita
"Doubtless," was the answer; "but there's no time like the present, believe me. For a man of real convictions this is a fine opportunity of self-sacrifice. You may not find another so favourable, so humane. There isn't even a cat near us, and these condemned old houses would make a good heap of bricks where you stand.
doubtless - senza dubbio
opportunity - occasione, opportunita, possibilita, chance
sacrifice - sacrificare, sacrificio
humane - umano
You'll never get me at so little cost to life and property, which you are paid to protect."
"You don't know who you're speaking to," said Chief Inspector Heat firmly. "If I were to lay my hands on you now I would be no better than yourself."
"Ah! The game!'
"You may be sure our side will win in the end. It may yet be necessary to make people believe that some of you ought to be shot at sight like mad dogs. Then that will be the game. But I'll be damned if I know what yours is. I don't believe you know yourselves. You'll never get anything by it."
at sight - a vista
"Meantime it's you who get something from it-so far. And you get it easily, too. I won't speak of your salary, but haven't you made your name simply by not understanding what we are after?"
"What are you after, then?" asked Chief Inspector Heat, with scornful haste, like a man in a hurry who perceives he is wasting his time.
scornful - disprezzante, sdegnoso
haste - fretta
perceives - percepire
wasting - spreco
The perfect anarchist answered by a smile which did not part his thin colourless lips; and the celebrated Chief Inspector felt a sense of superiority which induced him to raise a warning finger.
colourless - incolore
"Give it up-whatever it is," he said in an admonishing tone, but not so kindly as if he were condescending to give good advice to a cracksman of repute. "Give it up. You'll find we are too many for you."
admonishing - ammonire
kindly - gentilmente
condescending to - trattare con condiscendenza
repute - rinomanza
The fixed smile on the Professor's lips wavered, as if the mocking spirit within had lost its assurance. Chief Inspector Heat went on:
wavered - esitare
"Don't you believe me eh? Well, you've only got to look about you. We are. And anyway, you're not doing it well. You're always making a mess of it. Why, if the thieves didn't know their work better they would starve."
anyway - senza riguardo, comunque, in ogni caso, ad ogni modo
mess - confusione, disordine
The hint of an invincible multitude behind that man's back roused a sombre indignation in the breast of the Professor. He smiled no longer his enigmatic and mocking smile. The resisting power of numbers, the unattackable stolidity of a great multitude, was the haunting fear of his sinister loneliness. His lips trembled for some time before he managed to say in a strangled voice:
invincible - invincibile, imbattibile
enigmatic - enigmatico
resisting power - resistenza all'autorita, forza di resistenza
unattackable - inattaccabile
stolidity - solidita
haunting - infestazione, (haunt), infestare, tormentare, ritrovo
loneliness - solitudine
strangled - strangolare
"I am doing my work better than you're doing yours."
"That'll do now," interrupted Chief Inspector Heat hurriedly; and the Professor laughed right out this time. While still laughing he moved on; but he did not laugh long. It was a sad-faced, miserable little man who emerged from the narrow passage into the bustle of the broad thoroughfare.
emerged - emergere, venire fuori, venire alla luce
bustle - viavai, andirivieni, sottana, affaccendarsi, pullulare
He walked with the nerveless gait of a tramp going on, still going on, indifferent to rain or sun in a sinister detachment from the aspects of sky and earth.
nerveless - senza nerbo
gait - andatura, passo
tramp - vagabondo, barbone, puttana, sgualdrina
Chief Inspector Heat, on the other hand, after watching him for a while, stepped out with the purposeful briskness of a man disregarding indeed the inclemencies of the weather, but conscious of having an authorised mission on this earth and the moral support of his kind.
stepped out - e uscito
purposeful - deciso, risoluto
briskness - briscola
inclemencies - inclemenza
authorised - autorizzare
support - sostenere
All the inhabitants of the immense town, the population of the whole country, and even the teeming millions struggling upon the planet, were with him-down to the very thieves and mendicants. Yes, the thieves themselves were sure to be with him in his present work. The consciousness of universal support in his general activity heartened him to grapple with the particular problem.
inhabitants - abitante
population - popolazione
teeming - pullulare, brulicare
planet - pianeta
mendicants - mendicante
heartened - rincuorare, incoraggiare
grapple with - lottare
The problem immediately before the Chief Inspector was that of managing the Assistant Commissioner of his department, his immediate superior. This is the perennial problem of trusty and loyal servants; anarchism gave it its particular complexion, but nothing more. Truth to say, Chief Inspector Heat thought but little of anarchism.
managing - dirigere, managgiare, riuscire, arrangiarsi, maneggiare
immediate - immediato, prossimo, stretto, diretto
perennial - perenne, eterno, perpetuo, ricorrente
He did not attach undue importance to it, and could never bring himself to consider it seriously. It had more the character of disorderly conduct; disorderly without the human excuse of drunkenness, which at any rate implies good feeling and an amiable leaning towards festivity. As criminals, anarchists were distinctly no class-no class at all.
attach - legare
undue - eccessivo
importance - importanza
Consider - considerare, pensare, osservare, prendere, prestare attenzione
seriously - seriamente, gravemente
Excuse - scusare, perdonare, scusarsi, giustificarsi, scusa, pretesto
drunkenness - ubriachezza, sbornia, ciucca, ubriacatura
festivity - talian: t-needed
And recalling the Professor, Chief Inspector Heat, without checking his swinging pace, muttered through his teeth:
recalling - ritirare, revocare, richiamare, rammentare, ricordare
"Lunatic."
lunatic - demente
Catching thieves was another matter altogether. It had that quality of seriousness belonging to every form of open sport where the best man wins under perfectly comprehensible rules. There were no rules for dealing with anarchists. And that was distasteful to the Chief Inspector.
belonging - appartenenza
comprehensible - comprensibile
distasteful - sgradevole
It was all foolishness, but that foolishness excited the public mind, affected persons in high places, and touched upon international relations. A hard, merciless contempt settled rigidly on the Chief Inspector's face as he walked on. His mind ran over all the anarchists of his flock. Not one of them had half the spunk of this or that burglar he had known. Not half-not one-tenth.
foolishness - sciocchezza, stupidita, pazzia
merciless - spietato, crudele
ran over - traboccare, versare, ripetere
spunk - sborra
tenth - decimo ('before the noun'), ('in names of monarchs and popes') decimo
At headquarters the Chief Inspector was admitted at once to the Assistant Commissioner's private room. He found him, pen in hand, bent over a great table bestrewn with papers, as if worshipping an enormous double inkstand of bronze and crystal.
bent - piegato, (bend), curvare, piegare, piegarsi, curvarsi
worshipping - adorazione, venerazione, culto
double - doppio, doppia, sosia, doppione, doppiare
inkstand - calamaio
crystal - cristallo
Speaking tubes resembling snakes were tied by the heads to the back of the Assistant Commissioner's wooden arm-chair, and their gaping mouths seemed ready to bite his elbows. And in this attitude he raised only his eyes, whose lids were darker than his face and very much creased. The reports had come in: every anarchist had been exactly accounted for.
tubes - tubo, tubetto, lattina
tied - legare, attaccare
gaping - vuoto
creased - piega, sgualcitura
After saying this he lowered his eyes, signed rapidly two single sheets of paper, and only then laid down his pen, and sat well back, directing an inquiring gaze at his renowned subordinate. The Chief Inspector stood it well, deferential but inscrutable.
signed - segno
laid down - sdraiarsi
inquiring - domandare, chiedere
subordinate - subordinato
"I daresay you were right," said the Assistant Commissioner, "in telling me at first that the London anarchists had nothing to do with this. I quite appreciate the excellent watch kept on them by your men. On the other hand, this, for the public, does not amount to more than a confession of ignorance."
appreciate - apprezzare, essere riconoscente, capire, rendersi conto
The Assistant Commissioner's delivery was leisurely, as it were cautious. His thought seemed to rest poised on a word before passing to another, as though words had been the stepping-stones for his intellect picking its way across the waters of error. "Unless you have brought something useful from Greenwich," he added.
poised - composto, pronto
stepping - passo
picking - scegliere
error - errore, sbaglio, vizio, mostrare un errore, mostrare errori
The Chief Inspector began at once the account of his investigation in a clear matter-of-fact manner. His superior turning his chair a little, and crossing his thin legs, leaned sideways on his elbow, with one hand shading his eyes. His listening attitude had a sort of angular and sorrowful grace.
Crossing - incrocio, traversata, (cross), croce, segno della croce, cross, diagonale, irritato
angular - angolare
sorrowful - dolorosa
Gleams as of highly burnished silver played on the sides of his ebony black head when he inclined it slowly at the end.
burnished - lucidare
silver - argento
ebony - ebano
inclined - inclinare
Chief Inspector Heat waited with the appearance of turning over in his mind all he had just said, but, as a matter of fact, considering the advisability of saying something more. The Assistant Commissioner cut his hesitation short.
considering - considerando
advisability - consigliabile
"You believe there were two men?" he asked, without uncovering his eyes.
uncovering - scoprire, scoperchiare, rivelare, svelare
The Chief Inspector thought it more than probable. In his opinion, the two men had parted from each other within a hundred yards from the Observatory walls. He explained also how the other man could have got out of the park speedily without being observed. The fog, though not very dense, was in his favour.
probable - probabile
speedily - rapidamente
He seemed to have escorted the other to the spot, and then to have left him there to do the job single-handed.
escorted - scorta, scortare
Taking the time those two were seen coming out of Maze Hill Station by the old woman, and the time when the explosion was heard, the Chief Inspector thought that the other man might have been actually at the Greenwich Park Station, ready to catch the next train up, at the moment his comrade was destroying himself so thoroughly.
actually - realmente, davvero, in verita
destroying - distruggere, annichilare, checkabbattere (4)
"Very thoroughly-eh?" murmured the Assistant Commissioner from under the shadow of his hand.
The Chief Inspector in a few vigorous words described the aspect of the remains. "The coroner's jury will have a treat," he added grimly.
coroner - coroner
jury - giuria
The Assistant Commissioner uncovered his eyes.
"We shall have nothing to tell them," he remarked languidly.
He looked up, and for a time watched the markedly non-committal attitude of his Chief Inspector. His nature was one that is not easily accessible to illusions. He knew that a department is at the mercy of its subordinate officers, who have their own conceptions of loyalty. His career had begun in a tropical colony. He had liked his work there. It was police work.
markedly - marcatamente
committal - committenza
accessible - accessibile
officers - funzionario, ufficiale, agente, checkufficiale
tropical - tropicale
colony - colonia
He had been very successful in tracking and breaking up certain nefarious secret societies amongst the natives. Then he took his long leave, and got married rather impulsively. It was a good match from a worldly point of view, but his wife formed an unfavourable opinion of the colonial climate on hearsay evidence. On the other hand, she had influential connections. It was an excellent match.
tracking - monitoraggio, (track), traccia, scia, tracciamento, sentiero
breaking up - rompere
nefarious - nefasto, scellerato, diabolico, infernale
secret societies - societa segrete
natives - nativo, natio, indigeno, autoctono
impulsively - impulsivamente
match - fiammifero
Colonial - coloniale
climate - clima
hearsay - sentito dire, diceria, pettegolezzo, sentita persona
evidence - prova, evidenza
influential - autorevole
But he did not like the work he had to do now. He felt himself dependent on too many subordinates and too many masters. The near presence of that strange emotional phenomenon called public opinion weighed upon his spirits, and alarmed him by its irrational nature.
subordinates - subordinato
weighed - pesare
spirits - spirito
irrational - irrazionale
No doubt that from ignorance he exaggerated to himself its power for good and evil-especially for evil; and the rough east winds of the English spring (which agreed with his wife) augmented his general mistrust of men's motives and of the efficiency of their organisation. The futility of office work especially appalled him on those days so trying to his sensitive liver.
exaggerated - esagerare
winds - vento
augmented - aumentare, crescere, accrescere, potenziare, aumentarsi
futility - futilita
office work - lavoro d'ufficio
He got up, unfolding himself to his full height, and with a heaviness of step remarkable in so slender a man, moved across the room to the window. The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a great flood. It was a very trying day, choked in raw fog to begin with, and now drowned in cold rain.
unfolding - che si sta svolgendo
height - altezza, apice, culmine, vetta, cima
heaviness - pesantezza
streamed - corrente, ruscello, rivo, flusso, semestre
flood - inondazione, alluvione
The flickering, blurred flames of gas-lamps seemed to be dissolving in a watery atmosphere. And the lofty pretensions of a mankind oppressed by the miserable indignities of the weather appeared as a colossal and hopeless vanity deserving of scorn, wonder, and compassion.
flickering - tremolare
blurred - sbavare, offuscare
flames - fiamma, flame, fiammeggiare, infiammare
dissolving - dissolversi
watery - acquoso, acqueo, bagnato, inzuppato
lofty - maestoso, alto, nobile
pretensions - pretesa
indignities - indegnita
"Horrible, horrible!" thought the Assistant Commissioner to himself, with his face near the window-pane. "We have been having this sort of thing now for ten days; no, a fortnight-a fortnight." He ceased to think completely for a time. That utter stillness of his brain lasted about three seconds.
fortnight - (periodo di) due settimana
Then he said perfunctorily: "You have set inquiries on foot for tracing that other man up and down the line?"
perfunctorily - in modo perfetto
inquiries - inchiesta, indagine
tracing - tracciare
He had no doubt that everything needful had been done. Chief Inspector Heat knew, of course, thoroughly the business of man-hunting. And these were the routine steps, too, that would be taken as a matter of course by the merest beginner.
needful - necessario
hunting - caccia, (hunt), cacciare, essere a caccia, essere alla ricerca
beginner - principiante, debuttante, novizio, esordiente
A few inquiries amongst the ticket collectors and the porters of the two small railway stations would give additional details as to the appearance of the two men; the inspection of the collected tickets would show at once where they came from that morning. It was elementary, and could not have been neglected.
collectors - collezionista, esattore, esattrice, collettore
porters - facchino
Railway - binario, rotaia, strada ferrata, ferrovia
additional - addizionale
elementary - elementare
neglected - mancare, negligere, omettere, ignorare, tralasciare, negligenza
Accordingly the Chief Inspector answered that all this had been done directly the old woman had come forward with her deposition. And he mentioned the name of a station. "That's where they came from, sir," he went on. "The porter who took the tickets at Maze Hill remembers two chaps answering to the description passing the barrier.
accordingly - conseguentemente, di conseguenza, in conformita a
directly - direttamente
come forward - offrire aiuto, offrirsi volontario
deposition - brinamento, deposizione
chaps - tipo
barrier - barriera, limite
They seemed to him two respectable working men of a superior sort-sign painters or house decorators. The big man got out of a third-class compartment backward, with a bright tin can in his hand. On the platform he gave it to carry to the fair young fellow who followed him. All this agrees exactly with what the old woman told the police sergeant in Greenwich."
painters - pittore
decorators - decoratore, decoratrice, paratore, paratrice
platform - piattaforma, binario
The Assistant Commissioner, still with his face turned to the window, expressed his doubt as to these two men having had anything to do with the outrage. All this theory rested upon the utterances of an old charwoman who had been nearly knocked down by a man in a hurry. Not a very substantial authority indeed, unless on the ground of sudden inspiration, which was hardly tenable.
rested - riposo
utterances - pronunciamento
charwoman - donna di charme
knocked down - abbattuto
substantial - sostanziale, consistente, sostanzioso, forte, considerevole
sudden inspiration - Un'ispirazione improvvisa
tenable - sostenibile
"Frankly now, could she have been really inspired?" he queried, with grave irony, keeping his back to the room, as if entranced by the contemplation of the town's colossal forms half lost in the night.
queried - interrogativo, domanda, quesito, richiesta, query, chiedere
irony - ironia
entranced - entrata
He did not even look round when he heard the mutter of the word "Providential" from the principal subordinate of his department, whose name, printed sometimes in the papers, was familiar to the great public as that of one of its zealous and hard-working protectors. Chief Inspector Heat raised his voice a little.
look round - guardarsi intorno
providential - provvidenziale
zealous - zelante
protectors - protettore, protettrice
"Strips and bits of bright tin were quite visible to me," he said. "That's a pretty good corroboration."
strips - togliere
corroboration - corroborazione
"And these men came from that little country station," the Assistant Commissioner mused aloud, wondering. He was told that such was the name on two tickets out of three given up out of that train at Maze Hill. The third person who got out was a hawker from Gravesend well known to the porters.
hawker - ambulante
The Chief Inspector imparted that information in a tone of finality with some ill humour, as loyal servants will do in the consciousness of their fidelity and with the sense of the value of their loyal exertions. And still the Assistant Commissioner did not turn away from the darkness outside, as vast as a sea.
ill - malato
fidelity - fedelta
exertions - sforzo, fatica
turn away - allontanarsi
"Two foreign anarchists coming from that place," he said, apparently to the window-pane. "It's rather unaccountable."'
unaccountable - inspiegabile
"Yes, sir. But it would be still more unaccountable if that Michaelis weren't staying in a cottage in the neighbourhood."
neighbourhood - quartiere
At the sound of that name, falling unexpectedly into this annoying affair, the Assistant Commissioner dismissed brusquely the vague remembrance of his daily whist party at his club. It was the most comforting habit of his life, in a mainly successful display of his skill without the assistance of any subordinate.
remembrance - ricordo
daily - quotidiano, giornaliero
most comforting - il piu confortante
mainly - principalmente, sostanzialmente
assistance - assistenza
He entered his club to play from five to seven, before going home to dinner, forgetting for those two hours whatever was distasteful in his life, as though the game were a beneficent drug for allaying the pangs of moral discontent.
beneficent - benefico
allaying - di attenuazione
discontent - malcontento, scontentezza
His partners were the gloomily humorous editor of a celebrated magazine; a silent, elderly barrister with malicious little eyes; and a highly martial, simple-minded old Colonel with nervous brown hands. They were his club acquaintances merely. He never met them elsewhere except at the card-table.
gloomily - cupamente
barrister - avvocato
malicious - doloso, cattivo, malizioso, malevole
martial - marziale
minded - mente
Colonel - colonnello
nervous - nervoso
acquaintances - conoscenza
elsewhere - altrove
card-table - (card-table) tavolo da gioco
But they all seemed to approach the game in the spirit of co-sufferers, as if it were indeed a drug against the secret ills of existence; and every day as the sun declined over the countless roofs of the town, a mellow, pleasurable impatience, resembling the impulse of a sure and profound friendship, lightened his professional labours.
sufferers - sofferente
ills - malato
declined - declino, declinare, rifiutare
countless - innumerevole, incalcolabile, innumerabile
mellow - posato, giudizioso
friendship - amicizia
lightened - schiarire
professional - professionista, professionale, specializzato, qualificato
And now this pleasurable sensation went out of him with something resembling a physical shock, and was replaced by a special kind of interest in his work of social protection-an improper sort of interest, which may be defined best as a sudden and alert mistrust of the weapon in his hand.
improper - improprio, inadatto
alert - sveglio, pronto
weapon - arma
The lady patroness of Michaelis, the ticket-of-leave apostle of humanitarian hopes, was one of the most influential and distinguished connections of the Assistant Commissioner's wife, whom she called Annie, and treated still rather as a not very wise and utterly inexperienced young girl.
patroness - patronessa
most influential - piu influente
distinguished - distinguere, discernere, distinguersi
inexperienced - imperito, inesperto, sprovveduto, incompetente
But she had consented to accept him on a friendly footing, which was by no means the case with all of his wife's influential connections. Married young and splendidly at some remote epoch of the past, she had had for a time a close view of great affairs and even of some great men. She herself was a great lady.
consented - consentire, consenso
Accept - accettare, ammettere
splendidly - splendidamente
remote - remoto
epoch - epoca, avvenimento, singolarita, orario epocale
Old now in the number of her years, she had that sort of exceptional temperament which defies time with scornful disregard, as if it were a rather vulgar convention submitted to by the mass of inferior mankind. Many other conventions easier to set aside, alas!
exceptional - eccezionale
defies - sfidare, abiurare
disregard - ignorare, non considerare
Alas - ahime!, ohime!
failed to obtain her recognition, also on temperamental grounds-either because they bored her, or else because they stood in the way of her scorns and sympathies. Admiration was a sentiment unknown to her (it was one of the secret griefs of her most noble husband against her)-first, as always more or less tainted with mediocrity, and next as being in a way an admission of inferiority.
obtain - ottenere, riuscire, avere, stabilirsi
grounds - terra
sympathies - compassione, empatia
admiration - ammirazione
griefs - dolore, pena, sofferenza
mediocrity - mediocrita
admission - ammissione
And both were frankly inconceivable to her nature. To be fearlessly outspoken in her opinions came easily to her, since she judged solely from the standpoint of her social position.
outspoken - parlare
solely - unicamente, solamente, esclusivamente
standpoint - punto di vista
She was equally untrammelled in her actions; and as her tactfulness proceeded from genuine humanity, her bodily vigour remained remarkable and her superiority was serene and cordial, three generations had admired her infinitely, and the last she was likely to see had pronounced her a wonderful woman.
equally - altrettanto, parimenti
untrammelled - senza ostacoli
tactfulness - tatto
serene - sereno
cordial - cordiale
generations - generazione
Meantime intelligent, with a sort of lofty simplicity, and curious at heart, but not like many women merely of social gossip, she amused her age by attracting within her ken through the power of her great, almost historical, social prestige everything that rose above the dead level of mankind, lawfully or unlawfully, by position, wit, audacity, fortune or misfortune.
gossip - pettegolo, pettegola, chiacchierone, chiacchierona
amused - svagare
attracting - attirare, attrarre, sedurre, affascinare
level - piano, orizzontale, livellato, costante, uniforme, a posto
unlawfully - illegalmente
audacity - audacia
Royal Highnesses, artists, men of science, young statesmen, and charlatans of all ages and conditions, who, unsubstantial and light, bobbing up like corks, show best the direction of the surface currents, had been welcomed in that house, listened to, penetrated, understood, appraised, for her own edification. In her own words, she liked to watch what the world was coming to.
Highnesses - altezza
statesmen - statista, uomo di stato
unsubstantial - inconsistenti
bobbing - ballonzolare
corks - sughero, di sughero
penetrated - penetrare
appraised - valutare
edification - edificazione
And as she had a practical mind her judgment of men and things, though based on special prejudices, was seldom totally wrong, and almost never wrong-headed. Her drawing-room was probably the only place in the wide world where an Assistant Commissioner of Police could meet a convict liberated on a ticket-of-leave on other than professional and official ground.
based - base
convict - condannare, condannato, carcerato, deportato
liberated - liberare
Who had brought Michaelis there one afternoon the Assistant Commissioner did not remember very well. He had a notion it must have been a certain Member of Parliament of illustrious parentage and unconventional sympathies, which were the standing joke of the comic papers.
illustrious - famoso
unconventional - non convenzionale, insolito
comic papers - giornali a fumetti
The notabilities and even the simple notorieties of the day brought each other freely to that temple of an old woman's not ignoble curiosity.
notabilities - notabilita
notorieties - cattiva fama
freely - liberamente
ignoble - ignobile
You never could guess whom you were likely to come upon being received in semi-privacy within the faded blue silk and gilt frame screen, making a cosy nook for a couch and a few arm-chairs in the great drawing-room, with its hum of voices and the groups of people seated or standing in the light of six tall windows.
privacy - privatezza, intimita, privacy, riservatezza
gilt - doratura, dorato
frame - incorniciare, incastrare, impalcatura, incastellatura, armatura
screen - paravento, schermo, cernere, censurare, schermare
cosy - accogliente
nook - angolo, nicchia, recesso
Hum - ronzio, canticchiare, canterellare, mormorare, brontolare
voices - voce
Michaelis had been the object of a revulsion of popular sentiment, the same sentiment which years ago had applauded the ferocity of the life sentence passed upon him for complicity in a rather mad attempt to rescue some prisoners from a police van. The plan of the conspirators had been to shoot down the horses and overpower the escort. Unfortunately, one of the police constables got shot too.
revulsion - ripulsione, revulsione
applauded - applaudire, congratularsi, lodare, approvare
complicity - complicita
rescue - salvare, salvataggio
prisoners - prigioniero, prigioniera
police van - furgone della polizia
conspirators - congiurato, congiurata, cospiratore, cospiratrice
shoot down - abbattere
overpower - sopraffare, soverchiare
escort - scorta, scortare
unfortunately - sfortunatamente, purtroppo, malauguratamente
constables - appuntato (carabinieri), agente (polizia), conestabile
He left a wife and three small children, and the death of that man aroused through the length and breadth of a realm for whose defence, welfare, and glory men die every day as matter of duty, an outburst of furious indignation, of a raging implacable pity for the victim. Three ring-leaders got hanged.
aroused - eccitare, provocare, stimolare, suscitare
Length - lunghezza
realm - reame, regno, dominio, sfera
welfare - benessere, bene
glory - gloria
outburst - esplosione, scoppio, scroscio
furious - furioso, checkarrabbiato
raging - rabbia, furia, furore, infuriare, imperversare
ring - anello
Michaelis, young and slim, locksmith by trade, and great frequenter of evening schools, did not even know that anybody had been killed, his part with a few others being to force open the door at the back of the special conveyance. When arrested he had a bunch of skeleton keys in one pocket, a heavy chisel in another, and a short crowbar in his hand: neither more nor less than a burglar.
slim - snello, magro, affusolato, dimagrire
locksmith - serraturiere
by trade - per mestiere
frequenter - frequentatore
killed - uccidere
force open - forzare l'apertura
Conveyance - Trasporto
bunch - ciuffo, graspo, mucchio, grappolo, comitiva, ammucchiare
skeleton keys - chiave universale
chisel - cesello
crowbar - piede di porco, palanchino, levachiodi, cavachiodi
But no burglar would have received such a heavy sentence. The death of the constable had made him miserable at heart, but the failure of the plot also. He did not conceal either of these sentiments from his empanelled countrymen, and that sort of compunction appeared shockingly imperfect to the crammed court.
sentiments - sentimento
countrymen - connazionale
compunction - compunzione
shockingly - scioccante
crammed - stivare
Court - cortile, corte, tribunale, assemblea, giuria
The judge on passing sentence commented feelingly upon the depravity and callousness of the young prisoner.
feelingly - con sentimento
depravity - depravazione
callousness - insensibilita
That made the groundless fame of his condemnation; the fame of his release was made for him on no better grounds by people who wished to exploit the sentimental aspect of his imprisonment either for purposes of their own or for no intelligible purpose. He let them do so in the innocence of his heart and the simplicity of his mind. Nothing that happened to him individually had any importance.
groundless - infondato
condemnation - condanna
release - liberare, rilasciare
imprisonment - detenzione, incarcerazione
purposes - scopo
intelligible - intelligibile
innocence - innocenza
individually - individualmente
He was like those saintly men whose personality is lost in the contemplation of their faith. His ideas were not in the nature of convictions. They were inaccessible to reasoning.
saintly - santo
They formed in all their contradictions and obscurities an invincible and humanitarian creed, which he confessed rather than preached, with an obstinate gentleness, a smile of pacific assurance on his lips, and his candid blue eyes cast down because the sight of faces troubled his inspiration developed in solitude.
obscurities - oscurita
creed - credo
preached - predicare
obstinate - ostinato, pertinace
gentleness - delicatezza, mansuetudine, dolcezza, garbo
Pacific - pacifico
candid - candido
inspiration - inspirazione, inalazione, respiro, ispirazione, illuminazione
developed - svilupparsi
In that characteristic attitude, pathetic in his grotesque and incurable obesity which he had to drag like a galley slave's bullet to the end of his days, the Assistant Commissioner of Police beheld the ticket-of-leave apostle filling a privileged arm-chair within the screen.
pathetic - patetico, meschino, penoso
grotesque - grottesco
obesity - obesita
drag - trascinare, tirare
galley - galera, galea, cambusa
slave - schiavo, schiava, sgobbare
bullet - pallottola, proiettile
He sat there by the head of the old lady's couch, mild-voiced and quiet, with no more self-consciousness than a very small child, and with something of a child's charm-the appealing charm of trustfulness. Confident of the future, whose secret ways had been revealed to him within the four walls of a well-known penitentiary, he had no reason to look with suspicion upon anybody.
mild - delicato, delicata, mite, lene, lieve
voiced - voce
If he could not give the great and curious lady a very definite idea as to what the world was coming to, he had managed without effort to impress her by his unembittered faith, by the sterling quality of his optimism.
impress - impressionare, imprimere, confiscare, requisire
unembittered - senza incertezze
sterling quality - qualita eccellente
A certain simplicity of thought is common to serene souls at both ends of the social scale. The great lady was simple in her own way. His views and beliefs had nothing in them to shock or startle her, since she judged them from the standpoint of her lofty position. Indeed, her sympathies were easily accessible to a man of that sort.
souls - anima, spirito
views - vista, veduta, visualizzazione, visione, opinione
beliefs - credito, credenza, convinzione, opinione, fede
startle - scattare, sobbalzare, spaventare, sorprendere, schivare, evitare
She was not an exploiting capitalist herself; she was, as it were, above the play of economic conditions. And she had a great capacity of pity for the more obvious forms of common human miseries, precisely because she was such a complete stranger to them that she had to translate her conception into terms of mental suffering before she could grasp the notion of their cruelty.
exploiting - gesto eroico, gesta eroiche, gesta, prodezza, impresa
Capitalist - Capitalista
capacity - tenuta, resistenza, capacita, capienza
more obvious - piu evidente
miseries - miseria, accidente
translate - tradurre, trasferire, riversare
terms - periodo, durata, mandato
mental suffering - sofferenza mentale
The Assistant Commissioner remembered very well the conversation between these two. He had listened in silence. It was something as exciting in a way, and even touching in its foredoomed futility, as the efforts at moral intercourse between the inhabitants of remote planets. But this grotesque incarnation of humanitarian passion appealed somehow, to one's imagination.
touching - toccare, (touch), commuovere, tocco, tatto
foredoomed - preveggenza
efforts - sforzo
planets - pianeta
incarnation - incarnazione
appealed - fare appello, ricorrere
At last Michaelis rose, and taking the great lady's extended hand, shook it, retained it for a moment in his great cushioned palm with unembarrassed friendliness, and turned upon the semi-private nook of the drawing-room his back, vast and square, and as if distended under the short tweed jacket.
cushioned - cuscino, sponda, ammortizzare, attutire
palm - palma, palmo
unembarrassed - senza imbarazzo
friendliness - cordialita
tweed - tweed
Glancing about in serene benevolence, he waddled along to the distant door between the knots of other visitors. The murmur of conversations paused on his passage. He smiled innocently at a tall, brilliant girl, whose eyes met his accidentally, and went out unconscious of the glances following him across the room.
glancing - radente, (glance), dare un'occhiata, sbirciare, occhieggiare
benevolence - benevolenza
waddled - camminare (dondolandosi)
knots - nodo
innocently - innocentemente
brilliant - brillante, splendente, luccicante, sgargiante
accidentally - casualmente, accidentalmente
Michaelis'first appearance in the world was a success-a success of esteem unmarred by a single murmur of derision. The interrupted conversations were resumed in their proper tone, grave or light.
esteem - stima
unmarred - senza macchia
resumed - riprendere
Only a well-set-up, long-limbed, active-looking man of forty talking with two ladies near a window remarked aloud, with an unexpected depth of feeling: "Eighteen stone, I should say, and not five foot six. Poor fellow! It's terrible-terrible."
limbed - membro, arto
ladies - signora, dama, lady
stone - pietra, roccia, sasso, tsassolino, gemma
The lady of the house, gazing absently at the Assistant Commissioner, left alone with her on the private side of the screen, seemed to be rearranging her mental impressions behind her thoughtful immobility of a handsome old face.
absently - distrattamente
rearranging - ricombinare, riarrangiare
impressions - depressione, impronta, impressione, opinione, imitazione
handsome - bello
Men with grey moustaches and full, healthy, vaguely smiling countenances approached, circling round the screen; two mature women with a matronly air of gracious resolution; a clean-shaved individual with sunken cheeks, and dangling a gold-mounted eyeglass on a broad black ribbon with an old-world, dandified effect.
countenances - sembianza, apparenza, espressione
circling - circolare, (circle), cerchio, disco, sfera, curva, circolo
mature - maturo
matronly - matronale
gracious - grazioso
resolution - determinazione, risolutezza, promessa, definizione, risoluzione
sunken - affondato, (sink), affondare
dangling - penzolare, (dangle), far penzolare
mounted - montare, salire
eyeglass - occhiali
dandified - dandificare
A silence deferential, but full of reserves, reigned for a moment, and then the great lady exclaimed, not with resentment, but with a sort of protesting indignation:
reserves - riserva, riservare
protesting - protestare, protesta
"And that officially is supposed to be a revolutionist! What nonsense." She looked hard at the Assistant Commissioner, who murmured apologetically:
officially - in via ufficiale
revolutionist - rivoluzionaria
What nonsense - Che assurdita
apologetically - apologeticamente
"Not a dangerous one perhaps."
"Not dangerous-I should think not indeed. He is a mere believer. It's the temperament of a saint," declared the great lady in a firm tone. "And they kept him shut up for twenty years. One shudders at the stupidity of it. And now they have let him out everybody belonging to him is gone away somewhere or dead.
believer - credente
saint - santo
shudders - brivido, sussulto, tremolio, tremare
stupidity - asinata, stupidaggine, fesseria
His parents are dead; the girl he was to marry has died while he was in prison; he has lost the skill necessary for his manual occupation. He told me all this himself with the sweetest patience; but then, he said, he had had plenty of time to think out things for himself. A pretty compensation!
manual - manuale
sweetest - dolcemente, dolcetto, caramella
think out - pensare fuori
compensation - compensazione, remunerazione, paga, retribuzione, compenso
If that's the stuff revolutionists are made of some of us may well go on their knees to them," she continued in a slightly bantering voice, while the banal society smiles hardened on the worldly faces turned towards her with conventional deference. "The poor creature is obviously no longer in a position to take care of himself. Somebody will have to look after him a little."
bantering - scherzare, (banter), chiacchierata, stuzzicare
banal - banale
smiles - sorriso, sorridere
hardened - indurire
creature - creatura
"He should be recommended to follow a treatment of some sort," the soldierly voice of the active-looking man was heard advising earnestly from a distance. He was in the pink of condition for his age, and even the texture of his long frock coat had a character of elastic soundness, as if it were a living tissue. "The man is virtually a cripple," he added with unmistakable feeling.
recommended - raccomandare, consigliare
soldierly - soldato
advising - consigliare, raccomandare, consultarsi, avvisare, informare
distance - distanza
texture - texture
frock coat - redingotte
elastic - elastico, elastica
soundness - solidita
tissue - tessuto
virtually - praticamente
cripple - storpio, storpia
unmistakable - inconfondibile
Other voices, as if glad of the opening, murmured hasty compassion. "Quite startling," "Monstrous," "most painful to see." The lank man, with the eyeglass on a broad ribbon, pronounced mincingly the word "Grotesque," whose justness was appreciated by those standing near him. They smiled at each other.
Glad - contento, felice
hasty - affrettato, frettoloso, precipitoso
monstrous - mostruoso, enorme, gigantesco
most painful - il piu doloroso
lank - (liscio e floscio)
mincingly - con la forza
justness - giustizia
The Assistant Commissioner had expressed no opinion either then or later, his position making it impossible for him to ventilate any independent view of a ticket-of-leave convict. But, in truth, he shared the view of his wife's friend and patron that Michaelis was a humanitarian sentimentalist, a little mad, but upon the whole incapable of hurting a fly intentionally.
ventilate - ventilare
independent - indipendente
sentimentalist - sentimentale
incapable - incapace di
hurting - dolere, fare male, ferire, ferito
intentionally - intenzionalmente
So when that name cropped up suddenly in this vexing bomb affair he realised all the danger of it for the ticket-of-leave apostle, and his mind reverted at once to the old lady's well-established infatuation. Her arbitrary kindness would not brook patiently any interference with Michaelis'freedom. It was a deep, calm, convinced infatuation.
cropped - raccolto, pianta coltivata
realised - rendersi conto
danger - pericolo
reverted - convertito, ritornare, retrocedere, ribaltare, invertire
arbitrary - arbitrario, arbitraria, a caso
kindness - bonta, gentilezza, cortesia, garbo
brook - ruscello
patiently - pazientemente
interference - intromissione
She had not only felt him to be inoffensive, but she had said so, which last by a confusion of her absolutist mind became a sort of incontrovertible demonstration. It was as if the monstrosity of the man, with his candid infant's eyes and a fat angelic smile, had fascinated her. She had come to believe almost his theory of the future, since it was not repugnant to her prejudices.
absolutist - assolutista
incontrovertible - incontrovertibile
monstrosity - mostruosita
infant - bambino, bambina, infante, minorenne, minore
fascinated - affascinare
repugnant - aborrevole, ripugnante
She disliked the new element of plutocracy in the social compound, and industrialism as a method of human development appeared to her singularly repulsive in its mechanical and unfeeling character. The humanitarian hopes of the mild Michaelis tended not towards utter destruction, but merely towards the complete economic ruin of the system.
element - elemento, elementi, ambiente
plutocracy - plutocrazia
compound - composto
industrialism - industriale
method - metodo
singularly - singolarmente
repulsive - ripugnante
unfeeling - insensibile
tended - badare a, custodire
And she did not really see where was the moral harm of it. It would do away with all the multitude of the "parvenus," whom she disliked and mistrusted, not because they had arrived anywhere (she denied that), but because of their profound unintelligence of the world, which was the primary cause of the crudity of their perceptions and the aridity of their hearts.
harm - danno, male, ferita, svantaggio, danneggiare
parvenus - parvenu
mistrusted - diffidare di, non avere fiducia di
denied - negare
unintelligence - incomprensione
primary - primario
crudity - crudita
perceptions - percezione, sentore
aridity - aridita
With the annihilation of all capital they would vanish too; but universal ruin (providing it was universal, as it was revealed to Michaelis) would leave the social values untouched. The disappearance of the last piece of money could not affect people of position. She could not conceive how it could affect her position, for instance.
annihilation - annientamento, annichilazione, annichilimento
providing - soddisfare, prevedere, supporre, provvedere, fornire, erogare
values - valore, valutare, stimare, apprezzare, valorizzare
untouched - intatto
disappearance - sparizione, scomparsa
people of position - persone di posizione
conceive - concepire, sviluppare, ideare
She had developed these discoveries to the Assistant Commissioner with all the serene fearlessness of an old woman who had escaped the blight of indifference. He had made for himself the rule to receive everything of that sort in a silence which he took care from policy and inclination not to make offensive.
discoveries - scoperta
fearlessness - talian: t-needed
blight - rovina, rovinare
took care - prendersi cura
offensive - offensivo, offensiva
He had an affection for the aged disciple of Michaelis, a complex sentiment depending a little on her prestige, on her personality, but most of all on the instinct of flattered gratitude. He felt himself really liked in her house. She was kindness personified. And she was practically wise too, after the manner of experienced women.
disciple - discepolo
flattered - adulare, lusingare
personified - personificare
She made his married life much easier than it would have been without her generously full recognition of his rights as Annie's husband. Her influence upon his wife, a woman devoured by all sorts of small selfishnesses, small envies, small jealousies, was excellent. Unfortunately, both her kindness and her wisdom were of unreasonable complexion, distinctly feminine, and difficult to deal with.
generously - generosamente
devoured - divorare, trangugiare, ingurgitare, ingozzarsi
selfishnesses - egoismo
envies - invidia, invidiare
jealousies - gelosia
unreasonable - irragionevole
She remained a perfect woman all along her full tale of years, and not as some of them do become-a sort of slippery, pestilential old man in petticoats.
slippery - scivoloso, sdrucciolevole
pestilential - pestilenziale
petticoats - sottogonna, sottoveste
And it was as of a woman that he thought of her-the specially choice incarnation of the feminine, wherein is recruited the tender, ingenuous, and fierce bodyguard for all sorts of men who talk under the influence of an emotion, true or fraudulent; for preachers, seers, prophets, or reformers.
wherein - dove
recruited - reintegro, rimpiazzo, recluta, arruolato, arruolare, reclutare
ingenuous - ingenuo
bodyguard - guardia del corpo
preachers - predicatore
seers - veggente, profeta
Appreciating the distinguished and good friend of his wife, and himself, in that way, the Assistant Commissioner became alarmed at the convict Michaelis'possible fate. Once arrested on suspicion of being in some way, however remote, a party to this outrage, the man could hardly escape being sent back to finish his sentence at least. And that would kill him; he would never come out alive.
appreciating - apprezzare, essere riconoscente, capire, rendersi conto
sent back - rimandato indietro
kill - uccidere
The Assistant Commissioner made a reflection extremely unbecoming his official position without being really creditable to his humanity.
reflection - riflessione, riflesso, riverbero
unbecoming - disdicevole
creditable - accreditabile
"If the fellow is laid hold of again," he thought, "she will never forgive me."
forgive - perdonare
The frankness of such a secretly outspoken thought could not go without some derisive self-criticism. No man engaged in a work he does not like can preserve many saving illusions about himself. The distaste, the absence of glamour, extend from the occupation to the personality.
frankness - franchezza
engaged - attirare, convergere, ingaggiare, intavolare, irretire
distaste - antipatia, avversione, disgusto
glamour - fascino
extend - ampliare
It is only when our appointed activities seem by a lucky accident to obey the particular earnestness of our temperament that we can taste the comfort of complete self-deception. The Assistant Commissioner did not like his work at home.
appointed - fissare, costituire, nominare, designare, assegnare
accident - incidente, accidente
obey - obbedire, ubbidire, assolvere, conformarsi
earnestness - serieta
taste - gusto, sapore, inclinazione, gustare, assaggiare
comfort - agio, comodita, benessere
deception - mistificazione, inganno, sotterfugio, raggiro
The police work he had been engaged on in a distant part of the globe had the saving character of an irregular sort of warfare or at least the risk and excitement of open-air sport. His real abilities, which were mainly of an administrative order, were combined with an adventurous disposition.
globe - globo
irregular - irregolare
administrative - amministrativo
adventurous - avventuroso
Chained to a desk in the thick of four millions of men, he considered himself the victim of an ironic fate-the same, no doubt, which had brought about his marriage with a woman exceptionally sensitive in the matter of colonial climate, besides other limitations testifying to the delicacy of her nature-and her tastes.
chained - bound with chains, computing: linked in a chain
ironic - ironico, sarcastico
exceptionally - in via eccezionale, eccezionalmente
limitations - limitazione
testifying - deporre, testimoniare
delicacy - delicatezza, prelibatezza, leccornia, squisitezza
tastes - gusto, sapore, inclinazione, gustare, assaggiare
Though he judged his alarm sardonically he did not dismiss the improper thought from his mind. The instinct of self-preservation was strong within him. On the contrary, he repeated it mentally with profane emphasis and a fuller precision: "Damn it! If that infernal Heat has his way the fellow'll die in prison smothered in his fat, and she'll never forgive me."
sardonically - sardonicamente
dismiss - licenziare, congedare, mandare via, dimettere, rompere le righe
profane - sconsacrato, profano, secolare, blasfemo, sacrilego
infernal - infernale
smothered - soffocare, asfissiare
His black, narrow figure, with the white band of the collar under the silvery gleams on the close-cropped hair at the back of the head, remained motionless. The silence had lasted such a long time that Chief Inspector Heat ventured to clear his throat. This noise produced its effect. The zealous and intelligent officer was asked by his superior, whose back remained turned to him immovably:
silvery - argenteo, argentato, argentino
immovably - inamovibilmente
"You connect Michaelis with this affair?"
connect - connettere, connettersi, cablare, collegare
Chief Inspector Heat was very positive, but cautious.
"Well, sir," he said, "we have enough to go upon. A man like that has no business to be at large, anyhow."
"You will want some conclusive evidence," came the observation in a murmur.
Chief Inspector Heat raised his eyebrows at the black, narrow back, which remained obstinately presented to his intelligence and his zeal.
obstinately - ostinatamente
zeal - zelo
"There will be no difficulty in getting up sufficient evidence against him," he said, with virtuous complacency. "You may trust me for that, sir," he added, quite unnecessarily, out of the fulness of his heart; for it seemed to him an excellent thing to have that man in hand to be thrown down to the public should it think fit to roar with any special indignation in this case.
getting up - alzarsi
trust - fiducia, confidenza, speranza, credito, affidabilita, trust
unnecessarily - inutilmente
fulness - pienezza
thrown - gettare, lanciare
It was impossible to say yet whether it would roar or not. That in the last instance depended, of course, on the newspaper press. But in any case, Chief Inspector Heat, purveyor of prisons by trade, and a man of legal instincts, did logically believe that incarceration was the proper fate for every declared enemy of the law. In the strength of that conviction he committed a fault of tact.
purveyor - fornitore
prisons - prigione, carcere, fresco
incarceration - incarcerazione
enemy - nemico, nemica
committed - affidare, impegnarsi, arrestare, imprigionare, ricoverare
He allowed himself a little conceited laugh, and repeated:
conceited - presunzione, gloss
"Trust me for that, sir."
This was too much for the forced calmness under which the Assistant Commissioner had for upwards of eighteen months concealed his irritation with the system and the subordinates of his office.
calmness - calma
upwards - verso l'alto
concealed - nascondere, celare
irritation - irritazione
A square peg forced into a round hole, he had felt like a daily outrage that long established smooth roundness into which a man of less sharply angular shape would have fitted himself, with voluptuous acquiescence, after a shrug or two. What he resented most was just the necessity of taking so much on trust.
peg - tassello, piolo, attaccapanni
shape - condizione, stato, forma, sagoma
fitted - adatto
voluptuous - formoso, voluttuoso
acquiescence - acquiescenza, perenzione
resented - risentirsi di
At the little laugh of Chief Inspector Heat's he spun swiftly on his heels, as if whirled away from the window-pane by an electric shock.
spun - girarsi, far girare
heels - calcagno, tallone
electric shock - scossa elettrica
He caught on the latter's face not only the complacency proper to the occasion lurking under the moustache, but the vestiges of experimental watchfulness in the round eyes, which had been, no doubt, fastened on his back, and now met his glance for a second before the intent character of their stare had the time to change to a merely startled appearance.
lurking - in agguato, (lurk), appostarsi, acquattarsi, celarsi
vestiges - traccia, segno, strascico, impronta
experimental - sperimentale
fastened - chiudere, fissare, attaccare
change to - cambiare per/in
The Assistant Commissioner of Police had really some qualifications for his post. Suddenly his suspicion was awakened. It is but fair to say that his suspicions of the police methods (unless the police happened to be a semi-military body organised by himself) was not difficult to arouse.
qualifications - certificazione, qualificazione, certificato, diploma, idoneita
suspicions - sospetto
military - militare, esercito
arouse - eccitare, provocare, stimolare, suscitare
If it ever slumbered from sheer weariness, it was but lightly; and his appreciation of Chief Inspector Heat's zeal and ability, moderate in itself, excluded all notion of moral confidence. "He's up to something," he exclaimed mentally, and at once became angry. Crossing over to his desk with headlong strides, he sat down violently.
slumbered - sonnolenza, dormiveglia, appisolarsi, assopirsi, appalugarsi
weariness - stanchezza
excluded - escludere
became angry - arrabbiarsi
headlong - a capofitto
strides - eente
"Here I am stuck in a litter of paper," he reflected, with unreasonable resentment, "supposed to hold all the threads in my hands, and yet I can but hold what is put in my hand, and nothing else. And they can fasten the other ends of the threads where they please."
litter - lettiga, portantina, palanchino, cucciolata, lettiera, rifiuti
threads - filo, refe, filo conduttore, forum
He raised his head, and turned towards his subordinate a long, meagre face with the accentuated features of an energetic Don Quixote.
meagre - misero
Quixote - Chisciotte
"Now what is it you've got up your sleeve?"
The other stared. He stared without winking in a perfect immobility of his round eyes, as he was used to stare at the various members of the criminal class when, after being duly cautioned, they made their statements in the tones of injured innocence, or false simplicity, or sullen resignation.
duly - debitamente
cautioned - cautela, prudenza
injured - ferire
sullen - afflitto, astioso, tetro, cupo, disarmante, lento
But behind that professional and stony fixity there was some surprise too, for in such a tone, combining nicely the note of contempt and impatience, Chief Inspector Heat, the right-hand man of the department, was not used to be addressed. He began in a procrastinating manner, like a man taken unawares by a new and unexpected experience.
combining - combinare, mischiare, abbinare, unire, kombinat, combinat
nicely - piacevolmente
procrastinating - procrastinare, ritardare, posticipare, differire, rimandare
"What I've got against that man Michaelis you mean, sir?"
The Assistant Commissioner watched the bullet head; the points of that Norse rover's moustache, falling below the line of the heavy jaw; the whole full and pale physiognomy, whose determined character was marred by too much flesh; at the cunning wrinkles radiating from the outer corners of the eyes-and in that purposeful contemplation of the valuable and trusted officer he drew a conviction so sudden that it moved him like an inspiration.
Norse - norreno, talian: i norreni g
jaw - mascella, mandibola
marred - rovinare, deturpare
cunning - furbo
wrinkles - ruga
radiating - irradiare
"I have reason to think that when you came into this room," he said in measured tones, "it was not Michaelis who was in your mind; not principally-perhaps not at all."
principally - principalmente
"You have reason to think, sir?" muttered Chief Inspector Heat, with every appearance of astonishment, which up to a certain point was genuine enough.
He had discovered in this affair a delicate and perplexing side, forcing upon the discoverer a certain amount of insincerity-that sort of insincerity which, under the names of skill, prudence, discretion, turns up at one point or another in most human affairs.
forcing - forza
Discoverer - scopritore, scopritrice
insincerity - insincerita
prudence - prudenza
turns up - si presenta
most human - il piu umano
He felt at the moment like a tight-rope artist might feel if suddenly, in the middle of the performance, the manager of the Music Hall were to rush out of the proper managerial seclusion and begin to shake the rope.
rope - corda
performance - esecuzione, prestazione, rendimento, esibizione
managerial - manageriale
seclusion - isolamento
Indignation, the sense of moral insecurity engendered by such a treacherous proceeding joined to the immediate apprehension of a broken neck, would, in the colloquial phrase, put him in a state.
insecurity - insicurezza
engendered - generare
treacherous - traditore, sleale, infido
proceeding - procedimento, (proceed), procedere
broken neck - collo rotto
colloquial - colloquiale
And there would be also some scandalised concern for his art too, since a man must identify himself with something more tangible than his own personality, and establish his pride somewhere, either in his social position, or in the quality of the work he is obliged to do, or simply in the superiority of the idleness he may be fortunate enough to enjoy.
scandalised - scandalizzare
identify - identificare, individuare
tangible - tangibile, palpabile
pride - superbia, orgoglio, essere orgoglioso
obliged - obbligare, forzare, costringere, fare un favore, indebitarsi
be fortunate - essere fortunato
"Yes," said the Assistant Commissioner; "I have. I do not mean to say that you have not thought of Michaelis at all. But you are giving the fact you've mentioned a prominence which strikes me as not quite candid, Inspector Heat. If that is really the track of discovery, why haven't you followed it up at once, either personally or by sending one of your men to that village?"
prominence - prominenza, sporgenza, protuberanza
strikes - cancellare, colpire, coniare, scioperare, sembrare, arrendersi, sciopero
discovery - scoperta
"Do you think, sir, I have failed in my duty there?" the Chief Inspector asked, in a tone which he sought to make simply reflective. Forced unexpectedly to concentrate his faculties upon the task of preserving his balance, he had seized upon that point, and exposed himself to a rebuke; for, the Assistant Commissioner frowning slightly, observed that this was a very improper remark to make.
sought - cercare, ricercare
reflective - riflessivo
concentrate - concentrare, concentrarsi, incentrare, focalizzare, puntare
balance - equilibrio, punto di equilibrio, contrappeso, bilanciamento
rebuke - rimbrotto, reprimenda, rimprovero, richiamo
"But since you've made it," he continued coldly, "I'll tell you that this is not my meaning."
coldly - freddamente
He paused, with a straight glance of his sunken eyes which was a full equivalent of the unspoken termination "and you know it.
equivalent - equivalente
unspoken - non parlare
termination - terminazione
" The head of the so-called Special Crimes Department debarred by his position from going out of doors personally in quest of secrets locked up in guilty breasts, had a propensity to exercise his considerable gifts for the detection of incriminating truth upon his own subordinates. That peculiar instinct could hardly be called a weakness. It was natural. He was a born detective.
so-called - (so-called) cosi chiamato
debarred - esonerare
quest - ricerca
secrets - segreto
breasts - mammella, poppa, petto, seno
gifts - regalo, dono, presente, talento, regalare
detection - identificazione, investigazione, rilevazione, rilevamento
incriminating - incriminare
weakness - debolezza, cagionevolezza, fievolezza, punto debole
It had unconsciously governed his choice of a career, and if it ever failed him in life it was perhaps in the one exceptional circumstance of his marriage-which was also natural. It fed, since it could not roam abroad, upon the human material which was brought to it in its official seclusion. We can never cease to be ourselves.
unconsciously - inconsciamente
governed - governare
fed - alimentato
roam - vagare, girovagare
ourselves - noi stessi
His elbow on the desk, his thin legs crossed, and nursing his cheek in the palm of his meagre hand, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Special Crimes branch was getting hold of the case with growing interest. His Chief Inspector, if not an absolutely worthy foeman of his penetration, was at any rate the most worthy of all within his reach.
branch - ramo, filiale, succursale, branca, settore
getting hold of - afferrare
foeman - uomo
penetration - penetrazione
A mistrust of established reputations was strictly in character with the Assistant Commissioner's ability as detector.
reputations - reputazione, rumore, caratura
strictly - strettamente, severamente, rigidamente, prettamente
detector - rilevatore
His memory evoked a certain old fat and wealthy native chief in the distant colony whom it was a tradition for the successive Colonial Governors to trust and make much of as a firm friend and supporter of the order and legality established by white men; whereas, when examined sceptically, he was found out to be principally his own good friend, and nobody else's.
evoked - evocare, rammemorare, checkrammentare
native - nativo, natio, indigeno, autoctono
governors - governatore, governatrice
supporter - promotore, promotrice, fautore, fautrice
Not precisely a traitor, but still a man of many dangerous reservations in his fidelity, caused by a due regard for his own advantage, comfort, and safety. A fellow of some innocence in his naive duplicity, but none the less dangerous. He took some finding out.
traitor - traditore, traditrice, voltagabbana, banderuola
reservations - prenotazione
due - dovuto
duplicity - doppiezza
finding out - scoprire
He was physically a big man, too, and (allowing for the difference of colour, of course) Chief Inspector Heat's appearance recalled him to the memory of his superior. It was not the eyes nor yet the lips exactly. It was bizarre.
But does not Alfred Wallace relate in his famous book on the Malay Archipelago how, amongst the Aru Islanders, he discovered in an old and naked savage with a sooty skin a peculiar resemblance to a dear friend at home?
relate - riferire
Malay - malese
Archipelago - arcipelago
islanders - isolano, isolana
savage - selvaggio, primitivo, brutale, crudele, feroce, impietoso
sooty - fuligginoso, caliginoso
resemblance - rassomiglianza
For the first time since he took up his appointment the Assistant Commissioner felt as if he were going to do some real work for his salary. And that was a pleasurable sensation. "I'll turn him inside out like an old glove," thought the Assistant Commissioner, with his eyes resting pensively upon Chief Inspector Heat.
appointment - appuntamento
glove - guanto
pensively - pensieroso
"No, that was not my thought," he began again. "There is no doubt about you knowing your business-no doubt at all; and that's precisely why I-" He stopped short, and changing his tone: "What could you bring up against Michaelis of a definite nature?
I mean apart from the fact that the two men under suspicion-you're certain there were two of them-came last from a railway station within three miles of the village where Michaelis is living now."
railway station - stazione ferroviaria
"This by itself is enough for us to go upon, sir, with that sort of man," said the Chief Inspector, with returning composure. The slight approving movement of the Assistant Commissioner's head went far to pacify the resentful astonishment of the renowned officer.
composure - contegno, compostezza, ritegno, autocontrollo
pacify - pacificare
For Chief Inspector Heat was a kind man, an excellent husband, a devoted father; and the public and departmental confidence he enjoyed acting favourably upon an amiable nature, disposed him to feel friendly towards the successive Assistant Commissioners he had seen pass through that very room. There had been three in his time.
departmental - ministeriale, dipartimentale, ripartimentale
acting - recitare, (act), atto, legge, numero, scena, messinscena, agire
favourably - favorevolmente
Commissioners - commissario
pass through - passare attraverso
The first one, a soldierly, abrupt, red-faced person, with white eyebrows and an explosive temper, could be managed with a silken thread. He left on reaching the age limit. The second, a perfect gentleman, knowing his own and everybody else's place to a nicety, on resigning to take up a higher appointment out of England got decorated for (really) Inspector Heat's services.
explosive - esplosivo, irascibile, collerico, iracondo
temper - carattere, temperamento
silken - serico, setoso
thread - filo, refe, filo conduttore, forum
limit - limite
nicety - accuratezza, precisione
resigning - dimettersi
decorated - decorare
services - servizio, di servizio
To work with him had been a pride and a pleasure. The third, a bit of a dark horse from the first, was at the end of eighteen months something of a dark horse still to the department. Upon the whole Chief Inspector Heat believed him to be in the main harmless-odd-looking, but harmless.
pleasure - piacere, piacimento, goduria, volutta, preferenza, scelta
A dark horse - un cavallo scuro, un outsider
harmless - innocuo
odd - spaiato, strano, strambo, dispari, caffo, occasionale
He was speaking now, and the Chief Inspector listened with outward deference (which means nothing, being a matter of duty) and inwardly with benevolent toleration.
outward - verso l'esterno
toleration - tolleranza
"Michaelis reported himself before leaving London for the country?"
"Yes, sir. He did."
"And what may he be doing there?" continued the Assistant Commissioner, who was perfectly informed on that point.
Fitted with painful tightness into an old wooden arm-chair, before a worm-eaten oak table in an upstairs room of a four-roomed cottage with a roof of moss-grown tiles, Michaelis was writing night and day in a shaky, slanting hand that "Autobiography of a Prisoner" which was to be like a book of Revelation in the history of mankind.
fitted - in forma*
painful - doloroso
tightness - strettezza
oak - quercia
moss - muschio
tiles - tegola
shaky - malfermo
slanting - pendenza, inclinazione, pendio, tendenza, angolatura
autobiography - autobiografia
revelation - rivelazione
The conditions of confined space, seclusion, and solitude in a small four-roomed cottage were favourable to his inspiration. It was like being in prison, except that one was never disturbed for the odious purpose of taking exercise according to the tyrannical regulations of his old home in the penitentiary. He could not tell whether the sun still shone on the earth or not.
purpose - scopo
according - accordo
tyrannical - tirannico
regulations - regola, regolamento, regolazione
The perspiration of the literary labour dropped from his brow. A delightful enthusiasm urged him on. It was the liberation of his inner life, the letting out of his soul into the wide world. And the zeal of his guileless vanity (first awakened by the offer of five hundred pounds from a publisher) seemed something predestined and holy.
urged - pulsione, incoraggiare, fare pressione, invitare, esortare
liberation - liberazione, emancipazione
letting out - far uscire, lasciar andare
guileless - senza scrupoli
predestined - predestinare, predeterminare, preordinare
"It would be, of course, most desirable to be informed exactly," insisted the Assistant Commissioner uncandidly.
most desirable - piu desiderabile
uncandidly - in modo incandidabile
Chief Inspector Heat, conscious of renewed irritation at this display of scrupulousness, said that the county police had been notified from the first of Michaelis'arrival, and that a full report could be obtained in a few hours. A wire to the superintendent-
renewed - rinnovare
scrupulousness - scrupolosita
county - contea, contado
notified - notificare
arrival - arrivo
wire - filo, filo metallico, filo elettrico, cavo, cavo elettrico
Superintendent - soprintendente, sovrintendente
Thus he spoke, rather slowly, while his mind seemed already to be weighing the consequences. A slight knitting of the brow was the outward sign of this. But he was interrupted by a question.
weighing - pesatura, (weigh), pesare
consequences - conseguenza
knitting - lavoro a maglia, lavorazione a maglia
"You've sent that wire already?"
"No, sir," he answered, as if surprised.
The Assistant Commissioner uncrossed his legs suddenly. The briskness of that movement contrasted with the casual way in which he threw out a suggestion.
contrasted with - in contrasto con
threw out - buttare via
"Would you think that Michaelis had anything to do with the preparation of that bomb, for instance?"
The Chief Inspector assumed a reflective manner.
"I wouldn't say so. There's no necessity to say anything at present. He associates with men who are classed as dangerous. He was made a delegate of the Red Committee less than a year after his release on licence. A sort of compliment, I suppose."
associates with - associarsi
compliment - complimento, complimentarsi
And the Chief Inspector laughed a little angrily, a little scornfully. With a man of that sort scrupulousness was a misplaced and even an illegal sentiment. The celebrity bestowed upon Michaelis on his release two years ago by some emotional journalists in want of special copy had rankled ever since in his breast. It was perfectly legal to arrest that man on the barest suspicion.
misplaced - perdere
illegal - illegale, immigrato illegale, clandestino
celebrity - celebrita
bestowed - depositare, immagazzinare, collocare, alloggiare, donare, gloss
rankled - rango
barest - barra, tavoletta, sbarra
It was legal and expedient on the face of it. His two former chiefs would have seen the point at once; whereas this one, without saying either yes or no, sat there, as if lost in a dream. Moreover, besides being legal and expedient, the arrest of Michaelis solved a little personal difficulty which worried Chief Inspector Heat somewhat.
expedient - conveniente, opportuno, espediente, escamotage, ripiego
former - precedente, passato
point at - puntare
solved - risolvere
worried - preoccuparsi, disturbare, preoccupare, preoccupazione
somewhat - in qualche modo
This difficulty had its bearing upon his reputation, upon his comfort, and even upon the efficient performance of his duties. For, if Michaelis no doubt knew something about this outrage, the Chief Inspector was fairly certain that he did not know too much. This was just as well.
fairly - in modo equo
He knew much less-the Chief Inspector was positive-than certain other individuals he had in his mind, but whose arrest seemed to him inexpedient, besides being a more complicated matter, on account of the rules of the game. The rules of the game did not protect so much Michaelis, who was an ex-convict.
inexpedient - infruttuoso, inefficiente
on account - in conto
It would be stupid not to take advantage of legal facilities, and the journalists who had written him up with emotional gush would be ready to write him down with emotional indignation.
facilities - facilita, talian:
gush - sgorgare, zampillare
This prospect, viewed with confidence, had the attraction of a personal triumph for Chief Inspector Heat. And deep down in his blameless bosom of an average married citizen, almost unconscious but potent nevertheless, the dislike of being compelled by events to meddle with the desperate ferocity of the Professor had its say. This dislike had been strengthened by the chance meeting in the lane.
viewed - vista, veduta, visualizzazione, visione, opinione
Attraction - attrazione, attrattiva
triumph - trionfo
blameless - senza colpe
bosom - seno, intimita, intimo
citizen - cittadino, cittadina, residente, civile
potent - potente
nevertheless - nondimeno, tuttavia, eppure, nonostante
compelled - forzare, costringere, obbligare
meddle - immischiarsi
strengthened - rinforzare, rafforzare, corroborare, animare, intensificare
The encounter did not leave behind with Chief Inspector Heat that satisfactory sense of superiority the members of the police force get from the unofficial but intimate side of their intercourse with the criminal classes, by which the vanity of power is soothed, and the vulgar love of domination over our fellow-creatures is flattered as worthily as it deserves.
encounter - incontro
leave behind - lasciarsi alle spalle
satisfactory - soddisfacente
unofficial - ufficioso
intimate - stretto, intimo, privato, proprio, personale
soothed - calmante
domination - dominazione
creatures - creatura
worthily - degnamente
deserves - meritare, meritarsi
The perfect anarchist was not recognised as a fellow-creature by Chief Inspector Heat. He was impossible-a mad dog to be left alone. Not that the Chief Inspector was afraid of him; on the contrary, he meant to have him some day. But not yet; he meant to get hold of him in his own time, properly and effectively according to the rules of the game.
some day - un giorno
properly - propriamente, in maniera appropriata, correttamente
effectively - efficacemente
The present was not the right time for attempting that feat, not the right time for many reasons, personal and of public service. This being the strong feeling of Inspector Heat, it appeared to him just and proper that this affair should be shunted off its obscure and inconvenient track, leading goodness knows where, into a quiet (and lawful) siding called Michaelis.
feat - impresa
shunted - shuntare, smistare, derivatore, derivazione, cortocircuito
inconvenient - sconveniente
goodness - bonta
siding - di rivestimento
And he repeated, as if reconsidering the suggestion conscientiously:
reconsidering - riconsiderare
"The bomb. No, I would not say that exactly. We may never find that out. But it's clear that he is connected with this in some way, which we can find out without much trouble."
His countenance had that look of grave, overbearing indifference once well known and much dreaded by the better sort of thieves. Chief Inspector Heat, though what is called a man, was not a smiling animal. But his inward state was that of satisfaction at the passively receptive attitude of the Assistant Commissioner, who murmured gently:
overbearing - Sovrapporsi
passively - passivamente
receptive - recettibile, ricettivo
"And you really think that the investigation should be made in that direction?"
"I do, sir."
"Quite convinced?
"I am, sir. That's the true line for us to take."
The Assistant Commissioner withdrew the support of his hand from his reclining head with a suddenness that, considering his languid attitude, seemed to menace his whole person with collapse. But, on the contrary, he sat up, extremely alert, behind the great writing-table on which his hand had fallen with the sound of a sharp blow.
withdrew - ritirare, ritirarsi
reclining - giacere, appoggiarsi
suddenness - improvviso
languid - languido
collapse - collassare, crollare, accasciarsi, bloccarsi
"What I want to know is what put it out of your head till now."
till now - fino ad ora
"Put it out of my head," repeated the Chief Inspector very slowly.
"Yes. Till you were called into this room-you know."
The Chief Inspector felt as if the air between his clothing and his skin had become unpleasantly hot. It was the sensation of an unprecedented and incredible experience.
clothing - abbigliamento, vestiti, (cloth), stoffa, tessuto, tela, panno
unprecedented - senza precedenti
"Of course," he said, exaggerating the deliberation of his utterance to the utmost limits of possibility, "if there is a reason, of which I know nothing, for not interfering with the convict Michaelis, perhaps it's just as well I didn't start the county police after him."
exaggerating - esagerare
deliberation - deliberazione
possibility - possibilita, opportunita
interfering - impicciarsi, impedire
This took such a long time to say that the unflagging attention of the Assistant Commissioner seemed a wonderful feat of endurance. His retort came without delay.
unflagging - infaticabile
delay - ritardare
"No reason whatever that I know of. Come, Chief Inspector, this finessing with me is highly improper on your part-highly improper. And it's also unfair, you know. You shouldn't leave me to puzzle things out for myself like this. Really, I am surprised."
finessing - rifinitura
puzzle - mistero, rompicapo, indovinello, rendere perplesso
He paused, then added smoothly: "I need scarcely tell you that this conversation is altogether unofficial."
smoothly - facilmente, agevolmente, fluidamente, tranquillamente
scarcely - a malapena
These words were far from pacifying the Chief Inspector. The indignation of a betrayed tight-rope performer was strong within him. In his pride of a trusted servant he was affected by the assurance that the rope was not shaken for the purpose of breaking his neck, as by an exhibition of impudence. As if anybody were afraid!
pacifying - pacificare
betrayed - consegnare, tradire, rivelare
performer - esecutore, esecutrice, interprete
shaken - scuotere, agitare, scuotere la testa, scioccare, atterrire
exhibition - mostra, esposizione
Assistant Commissioners come and go, but a valuable Chief Inspector is not an ephemeral office phenomenon. He was not afraid of getting a broken neck. To have his performance spoiled was more than enough to account for the glow of honest indignation. And as thought is no respecter of persons, the thought of Chief Inspector Heat took a threatening and prophetic shape.
ephemeral - effimero, passeggero, fuggevole, transitorio
spoiled - rovinare, viziare, andare a male, bottino
honest - onesto
respecter - rispettabile
"You, my boy," he said to himself, keeping his round and habitually roving eyes fastened upon the Assistant Commissioner's face-"you, my boy, you don't know your place, and your place won't know you very long either, I bet."
roving - wandering
bet - scommettere su
As if in provoking answer to that thought, something like the ghost of an amiable smile passed on the lips of the Assistant Commissioner. His manner was easy and business-like while he persisted in administering another shake to the tight rope.
administering - amministrare
"Let us Come now to what you have discovered on the spot, Chief Inspector," he said.
Come now - Vieni ora/subito!
"A fool and his job are soon parted," went on the train of prophetic thought in Chief Inspector Heat's head. But it was immediately followed by the reflection that a higher official, even when "fired out" (this was the precise image), has still the time as he flies through the door to launch a nasty kick at the shin-bones of a subordinate.
image - immagine
launch - lanciare, mettere in acqua*
nasty - sporco, sozzo, zozzo, lurido
kick - calciare, prendere a calci
shin - stinco
Without softening very much the basilisk nature of his stare, he said impassively:
softening - ammorbidimento, (soften), ammorbidire, addolcire
basilisk - basilisco
"We are coming to that part of my investigation, sir."
"that's right. Well, what have you brought away from it?"
that's right - giusto
The Chief Inspector, who had made up his mind to jump off the rope, came to the ground with gloomy frankness.
jump off - saltare giu
"I've brought away an address," he said, pulling out of his pocket without haste a singed rag of dark blue cloth. "This belongs to the overcoat the fellow who got himself blown to pieces was wearing. Of course, the overcoat may not have been his, and may even have been stolen. But that's not at all probable if you look at this."
pulling out - uscire (da un luogo di sosta), entrare in una strada, unirsi al traffico, andarsene
belongs - appartenere a
stolen - rubare, derubare, fregare, accattivarsi, appropriarsi
The Chief Inspector, stepping up to the table, smoothed out carefully the rag of blue cloth. He had picked it up from the repulsive heap in the mortuary, because a tailor's name is found sometimes under the collar.
stepping - steppa
smoothed - lisciare
tailor - sarto, sarta, calibrare
It is not often of much use, but still-He only half expected to find anything useful, but certainly he did not expect to find-not under the collar at all, but stitched carefully on the under side of the lapel-a square piece of calico with an address written on it in marking ink.
stitched - punto, maglia
lapel - risvolto
The Chief Inspector removed his smoothing hand.
smoothing - lisciatura, (smooth), liscio, mellifluo, facile, dolce, soffice
"I carried it off with me without anybody taking notice," he said. "I thought it best. It can always be produced if required."
The Assistant Commissioner, rising a little in his chair, pulled the cloth over to his side of the table. He sat looking at it in silence. Only the number 32 and the name of Brett Street were written in marking ink on a piece of calico slightly larger than an ordinary cigarette paper. He was genuinely surprised.
genuinely - veramente, genuinamente, autenticamente
"Can't understand why he should have gone about labelled like this," he said, looking up at Chief Inspector Heat. "It's a most extraordinary thing."
labelled - etichetta, etichettare, classificare, bollare, definire
"I met once in the smoking-room of a hotel an old gentleman who went about with his name and address sewn on in all his coats in case of an accident or sudden illness," said the Chief Inspector. "He professed to be eighty-four years old, but he didn't look his age. He told me he was also afraid of losing his memory suddenly, like those people he has been reading of in the papers."
smoking - fumare
sewn - cucire
illness - malattia
A question from the Assistant Commissioner, who wanted to know what was No. 32 Brett Street, interrupted that reminiscence abruptly. The Chief Inspector, driven down to the ground by unfair artifices, had elected to walk the path of unreserved openness.
reminiscence - reminiscenza
artifices - artificio
elected - eleggere
unreserved - non riservato/prenotato
openness - apertura, trasparenza
If he believed firmly that to know too much was not good for the department, the judicious holding back of knowledge was as far as his loyalty dared to go for the good of the service. If the Assistant Commissioner wanted to mismanage this affair nothing, of course, could prevent him. But, on his own part, he now saw no reason for a display of alacrity. So he answered concisely:
judicious - giudizioso
holding back - trattenere, tenere segreto
dared - osare
mismanage - gestire male
alacrity - alacrita, solerzia
concisely - concisamente, brevemente, succintamente, chiaramente
"It's a shop, sir."
The Assistant Commissioner, with his eyes lowered on the rag of blue cloth, waited for more information. As that did not come he proceeded to obtain it by a series of questions propounded with gentle patience. Thus he acquired an idea of the nature of Mr Verloc's commerce, of his personal appearance, and heard at last his name.
propounded - proporre
commerce - commercio
In a pause the Assistant Commissioner raised his eyes, and discovered some animation on the Chief Inspector's face. They looked at each other in silence.
"Of course," said the latter, "the department has no record of that man."
"Did any of my predecessors have any knowledge of what you have told me now?" asked the Assistant Commissioner, putting his elbows on the table and raising his joined hands before his face, as if about to offer prayer, only that his eyes had not a pious expression.
predecessors - predecessore, antecessore, precedente
prayer - preghiera
pious - pio
"No, sir; certainly not. What would have been the object? That sort of man could never be produced publicly to any good purpose. It was sufficient for me to know who he was, and to make use of him in a way that could be used publicly."
"And do you think that sort of private knowledge consistent with the official position you occupy?"
consistent - costante, continuo, coerente, conforme, compatibile
"Perfectly, sir. I think it's quite proper. I will take the liberty to tell you, sir, that it makes me what I am-and I am looked upon as a man who knows his work. It's a private affair of my own. A personal friend of mine in the French police gave me the hint that the fellow was an Embassy spy. Private friendship, private information, private use of it-that's how I look upon it."
spy - spia, spiare
private use - uso privato
The Assistant Commissioner after remarking to himself that the mental state of the renowned Chief Inspector seemed to affect the outline of his lower jaw, as if the lively sense of his high professional distinction had been located in that part of his anatomy, dismissed the point for the moment with a calm "I see." Then leaning his cheek on his joined hands:
remarking - osservazione, commento
mental state - stato mentale
outline - contorno, sagoma, descrizione, sunto, bozza, contornare
lively - vivace
distinction - distinzione
located - localizzare
anatomy - anatomia
"Well then-speaking privately if you like-how long have you been in private touch with this Embassy spy?"
privately - privatamente, in privato, in confidenza, fra noi
To this inquiry the private answer of the Chief Inspector, so private that it was never shaped into audible words, was:
shaped - condizione, stato, forma, sagoma
"Long before you were even thought of for your place here."
The so-to-speak public utterance was much more precise.
more precise - piu preciso
"I saw him for the first time in my life a little more than seven years ago, when two Imperial Highnesses and the Imperial Chancellor were on a visit here. I was put in charge of all the arrangements for looking after them. Baron Stott-Wartenheim was Ambassador then. He was a very nervous old gentleman.
Chancellor - cancelliere
arrangements - arrangiamento, sistemazione, incontro, composizione
One evening, three days before the Guildhall Banquet, he sent word that he wanted to see me for a moment. I was downstairs, and the carriages were at the door to take the Imperial Highnesses and the Chancellor to the opera. I went up at once. I found the Baron walking up and down his bedroom in a pitiable state of distress, squeezing his hands together.
banquet - pranzo festivo, banchetto
pitiable - pietoso
squeezing - spremere, (squeeze), stringere, serrare, strizzare
He assured me he had the fullest confidence in our police and in my abilities, but he had there a man just come over from Paris whose information could be trusted implicity. He wanted me to hear what that man had to say. He took me at once into a dressing-room next door, where I saw a big fellow in a heavy overcoat sitting all alone on a chair, and holding his hat and stick in one hand.
implicity - implicazione
dressing-room - (dressing-room) spogliatoio
all alone - tutto solo
The Baron said to him in French 'Speak, my friend.' The light in that room was not very good. I talked with him for some five minutes perhaps. He certainly gave me a piece of very startling news. Then the Baron took me aside nervously to praise him up to me, and when I turned round again I discovered that the fellow had vanished like a ghost.
Praise - elogio, lode, complimento, adorazione, gloria
vanished - sparire, svanire
Got up and sneaked out down some back stairs, I suppose. There was no time to run after him, as I had to hurry off after the Ambassador down the great staircase, and see the party started safe for the opera. However, I acted upon the information that very night. Whether it was perfectly correct or not, it did look serious enough.
sneaked - imbroglione, lestofante, furfante, intrufolarsi, sgusciare
run after - inseguire
acted - atto, legge, numero, scena, messinscena, agire, recitare, fare
Very likely it saved us from an ugly trouble on the day of the Imperial visit to the City.
saved - salvare, soccorrere, redimere, immagazzinare, risparmiare
"Some time later, a month or so after my promotion to Chief Inspector, my attention was attracted to a big burly man, I thought I had seen somewhere before, coming out in a hurry from a jeweller's shop in the Strand.
attracted - attirare, attrarre, sedurre, affascinare
jeweller's shop - gioielleria
Strand - arenato
I went after him, as it was on my way towards Charing Cross, and there seeing one of our detectives across the road, I beckoned him over, and pointed out the fellow to him, with instructions to watch his movements for a couple of days, and then report to me.
No later than next afternoon my man turned up to tell me that the fellow had married his landlady's daughter at a registrar's office that very day at 11.30 a.m., and had gone off with her to Margate for a week. Our man had seen the luggage being put on the cab. There were some old Paris labels on one of the bags.
landlady - padrona di casa
registrar - registratore
luggage - bagagli
cab - taxi
labels - etichetta, etichettare, classificare, bollare, definire
Somehow I couldn't get the fellow out of my head, and the very next time I had to go to Paris on service I spoke about him to that friend of mine in the Paris police. My friend said: 'From what you tell me I think you must mean a rather well-known hanger-on and emissary of the Revolutionary Red Committee. He says he is an Englishman by birth.
hanger - appendere
emissary - emissario
Englishman - inglese
by birth - per nascita
We have an idea that he has been for a good few years now a secret agent of one of the foreign Embassies in London.' This woke up my memory completely. He was the vanishing fellow I saw sitting on a chair in Baron Stott-Wartenheim's bathroom. I told my friend that he was quite right. The fellow was a secret agent to my certain knowledge.
vanishing - svanire, (vanish), sparire
Afterwards my friend took the trouble to ferret out the complete record of that man for me. I thought I had better know all there was to know; but I don't suppose you want to hear his history now, sir?"
ferret - furetto
The Assistant Commissioner shook his supported head. "The history of your relations with that useful personage is the only thing that matters just now," he said, closing slowly his weary, deep-set eyes, and then opening them swiftly with a greatly refreshed glance.
supported - sostenere
personage - personaggio
"There's nothing official about them," said the Chief Inspector bitterly. "I went into his shop one evening, told him who I was, and reminded him of our first meeting. He didn't as much as twitch an eyebrow. He said that he was married and settled now, and that all he wanted was not to be interfered in his little business.
reminded - ricordare
twitch - (torcersi spasmodicamente)
eyebrow - sopracciglio
I took it upon myself to promise him that, as long as he didn't go in for anything obviously outrageous, he would be left alone by the police.
promise - promessa, giuramento, voto, promettere, giurare
That was worth something to him, because a word from us to the Custom-House people would have been enough to get some of these packages he gets from Paris and Brussels opened in Dover, with confiscation to follow for certain, and perhaps a prosecution as well at the end of it."
custom-house - (custom-house) ufficio delle dogane
Brussels - Bruxelles
Dover - port in Kent, England, capital of Delaware
confiscation - confisca
prosecution - azione penale
"That's a very precarious trade," murmured the Assistant Commissioner. "Why did he go in for that?"
precarious - precario
The Chief Inspector raised scornful eyebrows dispassionately.
dispassionately - spassionatamente
"Most likely got a connection-friends on the Continent-amongst people who deal in such wares. They would be just the sort he would consort with. He's a lazy dog, too-like the rest of them."
Consort - consorte
"What do you get from him in exchange for your protection?"
Exchange - cambiare
The Chief Inspector was not inclined to enlarge on the value of Mr Verloc's services.
enlarge - allargare
"He would not be much good to anybody but myself. One has got to know a good deal beforehand to make use of a man like that. I can understand the sort of hint he can give. And when I want a hint he can generally furnish it to me."
beforehand - anticipatamente, precedentemente
The Chief Inspector lost himself suddenly in a discreet reflective mood; and the Assistant Commissioner repressed a smile at the fleeting thought that the reputation of Chief Inspector Heat might possibly have been made in a great part by the Secret Agent Verloc.
discreet - discreto
mood - umore
smile at - sorridere a qualcuno
fleeting - flotta
"In a more general way of being of use, all our men of the Special Crimes section on duty at Charing Cross and Victoria have orders to take careful notice of anybody they may see with him. He meets the new arrivals frequently, and afterwards keeps track of them. He seems to have been told off for that sort of duty. When I want an address in a hurry, I can always get it from him.
more general - piu generale
on duty - in servizio
arrivals - arrivo
frequently - frequentemente, spesso, continuamente
told off - rimproverare
Of course, I know how to manage our relations. I haven't seen him to speak to three times in the last two years. I drop him a line, unsigned, and he answers me in the same way at my private address."
unsigned - senza segno
From time to time the Assistant Commissioner gave an almost imperceptible nod. The Chief Inspector added that he did not suppose Mr Verloc to be deep in the confidence of the prominent members of the Revolutionary International Council, but that he was generally trusted of that there could be no doubt.
imperceptible - impercettibile
nod - annuire, accennare, scuotere, addormentarsi, appisolarsi
Council - consiglio
"Whenever I've had reason to think there was something in the wind," he concluded, "I've always found he could tell me something worth knowing."
whenever - ogni volta che
The Assistant Commissioner made a significant remark.
"He failed you this time."
"Neither had I wind of anything in any other way," retorted Chief Inspector Heat. "I asked him nothing, so he could tell me nothing. He isn't one of our men. It isn't as if he were in our pay."
"No," muttered the Assistant Commissioner. "He's a spy in the pay of a foreign government. We could never confess to him."
Government - governo, reggenza, controllo
confess - confessare
"I must do my work in my own way," declared the Chief Inspector. "When it comes to that I would deal with the devil himself, and take the consequences. There are things not fit for everybody to know."
fit for - adatto
"Your idea of secrecy seems to consist in keeping the chief of your department in the dark. That's stretching it perhaps a little too far, isn't it? He lives over his shop?"
secrecy - segretezza, riserbo
consist - consistere di
stretching - tendere
isn't it? - Non e vero?
"Who-Verloc? Oh yes. He lives over his shop. The wife's mother, I fancy, lives with them."
"Is the house watched?"
"Oh dear, no. It wouldn't do. Certain people who come there are watched. My opinion is that he knows nothing of this affair."
"How do you account for this?" The Assistant Commissioner nodded at the cloth rag lying before him on the table.
"I don't account for it at all, sir. It's simply unaccountable. It can't be explained by what I know." The Chief Inspector made those admissions with the frankness of a man whose reputation is established as if on a rock. "At any rate not at this present moment. I think that the man who had most to do with it will turn out to be Michaelis."
admissions - ammissione
"You do?"
"Yes, sir; because I can answer for all the others."
answer for - rispondere per
"What about that other man supposed to have escaped from the park?"
"I should think he's far away by this time," opined the Chief Inspector.
opined - esprimere un parere
The Assistant Commissioner looked hard at him, and rose suddenly, as though having made up his mind to some course of action. As a matter of fact, he had that very moment succumbed to a fascinating temptation. The Chief Inspector heard himself dismissed with instructions to meet his superior early next morning for further consultation upon the case.
succumbed to - cedere, morire
fascinating - affascinare
temptation - tentazione
consultation - consultazione
He listened with an impenetrable face, and walked out of the room with measured steps.
impenetrable - impenetrabile
Whatever might have been the plans of the Assistant Commissioner they had nothing to do with that desk work, which was the bane of his existence because of its confined nature and apparent lack of reality. It could not have had, or else the general air of alacrity that came upon the Assistant Commissioner would have been inexplicable.
desk work - lavoro da scrivania, lavoro d'ufficio
lack - mancare di
As soon as he was left alone he looked for his hat impulsively, and put it on his head. Having done that, he sat down again to reconsider the whole matter. But as his mind was already made up, this did not take long. And before Chief Inspector Heat had gone very far on the way home, he also left the building.
reconsider - riconsiderare
The Assistant Commissioner walked along a short and narrow street like a wet, muddy trench, then crossing a very broad thoroughfare entered a public edifice, and sought speech with a young private secretary (unpaid) of a great personage.
trench - fosso, trincea, fossato
private secretary - segretario privato
unpaid - non pagare
This fair, smooth-faced young man, whose symmetrically arranged hair gave him the air of a large and neat schoolboy, met the Assistant Commissioner's request with a doubtful look, and spoke with bated breath.
symmetrically - simmetricamente
arranged - disporre, ordinare, preparare, arrangiare
schoolboy - alunno, scolaro
doubtful - dubbio, discutibile, incerto, improbabile, sospetto
bated - bastone, mazza, racchetta
"Would he see you? I don't know about that. He has walked over from the House an hour ago to talk with the permanent Under-Secretary, and now he's ready to walk back again. He might have sent for him; but he does it for the sake of a little exercise, I suppose. It's all the exercise he can find time for while this session lasts. I don't complain; I rather enjoy these little strolls.
Session - sessione, tornata, seduta
lasts - ultimo
complain - lamentarsi, lagnarsi, reclamare, checklamentarsi, checklagnarsi
strolls - passeggiata, camminata, passeggiare, andare a spasso, girovagare
He leans on my arm, and doesn't open his lips. But, I say, he's very tired, and-well-not in the sweetest of tempers just now."
tempers - carattere, temperamento
"It's in connection with that Greenwich affair."
"Oh! I say! He's very bitter against you people. But I will go and see, if you insist."
Bitter - amaro, aspro
insist - insistere
"Do. That's a good fellow," said the Assistant Commissioner.
The unpaid secretary admired this pluck. Composing for himself an innocent face, he opened a door, and went in with the assurance of a nice and privileged child. And presently he reappeared, with a nod to the Assistant Commissioner, who passing through the same door left open for him, found himself with the great personage in a large room.
pluck - pizzicare, spennare, spennacchiare, spiumare, corata, coratella
composing - comporre
reappeared - riapparire
nod to - annuire
left open - lasciare aperto
Vast in bulk and stature, with a long white face, which, broadened at the base by a big double chin, appeared egg-shaped in the fringe of thin greyish whisker, the great personage seemed an expanding man. Unfortunate from a tailoring point of view, the cross-folds in the middle of a buttoned black coat added to the impression, as if the fastenings of the garment were tried to the utmost.
in bulk - all'ingrosso
broadened - ampliare, allargare, estendere, allargarsi, ampliarsi
double chin - doppio mento
fringe - frangia, periferia, radicale, teatro, marginale
greyish - grigiastro
expanding - estendere, espandere, dettagliare, dilungare, sviluppare
unfortunate - sfortunato, iellato, sfigato, scalognato
tailoring - sartoriale, (tailor), sarto, sarta, calibrare
fastenings - fissaggio
garment - vestito, indumento, capo, abito
From the head, set upward on a thick neck, the eyes, with puffy lower lids, stared with a haughty droop on each side of a hooked aggressive nose, nobly salient in the vast pale circumference of the face. A shiny silk hat and a pair of worn gloves lying ready on the end of a long table looked expanded too, enormous.
puffy - gonfio
haughty - superbo, orgoglioso, altero, altezzoso
hooked - gancio, gancetto, uncino, ritornello, parte orecchiabile
nobly - nobilmente
salient - saliente, rilevante, degno di nota, pertinente
circumference - circonferenza
gloves - guanto
expanded - estendere, espandere, dettagliare, dilungare, sviluppare
He stood on the hearthrug in big, roomy boots, and uttered no word of greeting.
"I would like to know if this is the beginning of another dynamite campaign," he asked at once in a deep, very smooth voice. "Don't go into details. I have no time for that."
campaign - campagna
go into details - entrare nei dettagli
The Assistant Commissioner's figure before this big and rustic Presence had the frail slenderness of a reed addressing an oak. And indeed the unbroken record of that man's descent surpassed in the number of centuries the age of the oldest oak in the country.
rustic - rustico, agreste, villico, campagnolo
slenderness - snellezza
reed - canna, cannuccia
unbroken - ininterrotto
surpassed - sorpassare
"No. As far as one can be positive about anything I can assure you that it is not."
"Yes. But your idea of assurances over there," said the great man, with a contemptuous wave of his hand towards a window giving on the broad thoroughfare, "seems to consist mainly in making the Secretary of State look a fool. I have been told positively in this very room less than a month ago that nothing of the sort was even possible."
assurances - garanzia
The Assistant Commissioner glanced in the direction of the window calmly.
"You will allow me to remark, Sir Ethelred, that so far I have had no opportunity to give you assurances of any kind."
The haughty droop of the eyes was focussed now upon the Assistant Commissioner.
focussed - fuoco, focalizzare, mettere a fuoco, concentrarsi (on/upon: su), concentrare
"True," confessed the deep, smooth voice. "I sent for Heat. You are still rather a novice in your new berth. And how are you getting on over there?"
novice - principiante
berth - cuccetta, attracco, attraccare
getting on - andare avanti
"I believe I am learning something every day."
"Of course, of course. I hope you will get on."
"Thank you, Sir Ethelred. I've learned something to-day, and even within the last hour or so. There is much in this affair of a kind that does not meet the eye in a usual anarchist outrage, even if one looked into it as deep as can be. that's why I am here."
that's why - ecco perché
The great man put his arms akimbo, the backs of his big hands resting on his hips.
akimbo - ordine del giorno
"Very well. Go on. Only no details, pray. Spare me the details."
Pray - pregare
Spare me - risparmiarmi
"You shall not be troubled with them, Sir Ethelred," the Assistant Commissioner began, with a calm and untroubled assurance. While he was speaking the hands on the face of the clock behind the great man's back-a heavy, glistening affair of massive scrolls in the same dark marble as the mantelpiece, and with a ghostly, evanescent tick-had moved through the space of seven minutes.
untroubled - senza problemi
glistening - luccicante
massive - massiccio, imponente, enorme, massivo, voluminoso
scrolls - rotolo
marble - marmo, biglia, pallina
ghostly - spettrale, fantasmatico, spiritico
evanescent - evanescente, indistinto
tick - tic, tic-tac
He spoke with a studious fidelity to a parenthetical manner, into which every little fact-that is, every detail-fitted with delightful ease. Not a murmur nor even a movement hinted at interruption. The great Personage might have been the statue of one of his own princely ancestors stripped of a crusader's war harness, and put into an ill-fitting frock coat.
studious - studioso
parenthetical - parentetica
hinted at - accennato
interruption - interruzione
statue - statua
princely - principesco
ancestors - antenato, ascendente, avo, abiatico
stripped - togliere
crusader - crociato
war - guerra, fare la guerra
harness - braca, imbragatura, imbrago, imbracatura, imbracare
frock - abito, vestito
The Assistant Commissioner felt as though he were at liberty to talk for an hour. But he kept his head, and at the end of the time mentioned above he broke off with a sudden conclusion, which, reproducing the opening statement, pleasantly surprised Sir Ethelred by its apparent swiftness and force.
conclusion - conclusione
reproducing - riprodurre, riprodursi, ricreare, richiamare
pleasantly - dilettosamente
swiftness - rapidita
"The kind of thing which meets us under the surface of this affair, otherwise without gravity, is unusual-in this precise form at least-and requires special treatment."
The tone of Sir Ethelred was deepened, full of conviction.
deepened - approfondire, intensificare
"I should think so-involving the Ambassador of a foreign power!"
involving - elevare, avvolgere, coinvolgere
"Oh! The Ambassador!" protested the other, erect and slender, allowing himself a mere half smile. "It would be stupid of me to advance anything of the kind. And it is absolutely unnecessary, because if I am right in my surmises, whether ambassador or hall porter it's a mere detail."
unnecessary - superfluo, eccessivo, inutile
surmises - supporre
Sir Ethelred opened a wide mouth, like a cavern, into which the hooked nose seemed anxious to peer; there came from it a subdued rolling sound, as from a distant organ with the scornful indignation stop.
peer - Pari
as from - come da
organ - organo
"No! These people are too impossible. What do they mean by importing their methods of Crim-Tartary here? A Turk would have more decency."
importing - importare
Turk - turco, turca
decency - decenza
"You forget, Sir Ethelred, that strictly speaking we know nothing positively-as yet."
strictly speaking - in senso stretto
"No! But how would you define it? Shortly?"
shortly - subito, tra poco, in breve
"Barefaced audacity amounting to childishness of a peculiar sort."
barefaced - a viso scoperto
amounting to - ammontare a
childishness - infantilismo
"We can't put up with the innocence of nasty little children," said the great and expanded personage, expanding a little more, as it were. The haughty drooping glance struck crushingly the carpet at the Assistant Commissioner's feet. "They'll have to get a hard rap on the knuckles over this affair. We must be in a position to-What is your general idea, stated shortly?
crushingly - in modo schiacciante
rap - colpo, colpetto
knuckles - nocca, giuntura
No need to go into details."
"No, Sir Ethelred. In principle, I should lay it down that the existence of secret agents should not be tolerated, as tending to augment the positive dangers of the evil against which they are used. That the spy will fabricate his information is a mere commonplace.
tolerated - tollerare, sopportare, accettare
augment - aumentare, crescere, accrescere, potenziare, aumentarsi
dangers - pericolo
fabricate - fabbricare, produrre, costruire, confezionare
commonplace - ordinario, banale, luogo comune, fatto normale
But in the sphere of political and revolutionary action, relying partly on violence, the professional spy has every facility to fabricate the very facts themselves, and will spread the double evil of emulation in one direction, and of panic, hasty legislation, unreflecting hate, on the other. However, this is an imperfect world-"
relying - fare affidamento, basarsi
facility - facilita, talian:
emulation - emulazione
unreflecting - senza riflettere
The deep-voiced Presence on the hearthrug, motionless, with big elbows stuck out, said hastily:
stuck out - sporgere, mettere in evidenza
"Be lucid, please."
lucid - lucido
"Yes, Sir Ethelred-An imperfect world. Therefore directly the character of this affair suggested itself to me, I thought it should be dealt with with special secrecy, and ventured to come over here."
"That's right," approved the great Personage, glancing down complacently over his double chin. "I am glad there's somebody over at your shop who thinks that the Secretary of State may be trusted now and then."
complacently - con compiacimento
The Assistant Commissioner had an amused smile.
"I was really thinking that it might be better at this stage for Heat to be replaced by-"
stage - fase, stadio, tappa, scena, palco
"What! Heat? An ass-eh?" exclaimed the great man, with distinct animosity.
animosity - picca, ripicca, acrimonia
"Not at all. Pray, Sir Ethelred, don't put that unjust interpretation on my remarks."
unjust - ingiusto
interpretation - interpretazione
"Then what? Too clever by half?"
"Neither-at least not as a rule. All the grounds of my surmises I have from him. The only thing I've discovered by myself is that he has been making use of that man privately. Who could blame him? He's an old police hand. He told me virtually that he must have tools to work with.
It occurred to me that this tool should be surrendered to the Special Crimes division as a whole, instead of remaining the private property of Chief Inspector Heat. I extend my conception of our departmental duties to the suppression of the secret agent. But Chief Inspector Heat is an old departmental hand. He would accuse me of perverting its morality and attacking its efficiency.
surrendered - arrendersi, capitolare
Division - divisione, parte, filo, divario, frattura, differenziazione
accuse - accusare
perverting - pervertito, pervertita
He would define it bitterly as protection extended to the criminal class of revolutionists. It would mean just that to him."
"Yes. But what do you mean?"
"I mean to say, first, that there's but poor comfort in being able to declare that any given act of violence-damaging property or destroying life-is not the work of anarchism at all, but of something else altogether-some species of authorised scoundrelism. This, I fancy, is much more frequent than we suppose.
declare - dichiarare
species - specie
scoundrelism - gaglioffaggine
more frequent - piu frequente/ spesse
Next, it's obvious that the existence of these people in the pay of foreign governments destroys in a measure the efficiency of our supervision. A spy of that sort can afford to be more reckless than the most reckless of conspirators. His occupation is free from all restraint.
governments - governo, reggenza, controllo
destroys - distruggere, annichilare, checkabbattere (4)
measure - misurazione, misura, righello, regolo, funzione di misura
supervision - supervisione
afford - permettersi
more reckless - piu imprudente
most reckless - il piu spericolato
He's without as much faith as is necessary for complete negation, and without that much law as is implied in lawlessness. Thirdly, the existence of these spies amongst the revolutionary groups, which we are reproached for harbouring here, does away with all certitude. You have received a reassuring statement from Chief Inspector Heat some time ago.
negation - negazione
implied - implicare
lawlessness - illegalita, Far West
thirdly - terziamente
spies - spia, spiare
reproached - rimbrotto, rimprovero, appunto, richiamo
harbouring - porto
certitude - certezza
reassuring - rassicurare, tranquillizzare
It was by no means groundless-and yet this episode happens. I call it an episode, because this affair, I make bold to say, is episodic; it is no part of any general scheme, however wild. The very peculiarities which surprise and perplex Chief Inspector Heat establish its character in my eyes. I am keeping clear of details, Sir Ethelred."
episode - episodio
bold - ardito, coraggioso
episodic - episodico
scheme - schema, piano, progetto, programma, macchinazione
peculiarities - peculiarita
perplex - confondere, rendere perplesso
The Personage on the hearthrug had been listening with profound attention.
"Just so. Be as concise as you can."
concise - conciso
The Assistant Commissioner intimated by an earnest deferential gesture that he was anxious to be concise.
earnest - serio
"There is a peculiar stupidity and feebleness in the conduct of this affair which gives me excellent hopes of getting behind it and finding there something else than an individual freak of fanaticism. For it is a planned thing, undoubtedly. The actual perpetrator seems to have been led by the hand to the spot, and then abandoned hurriedly to his own devices.
feebleness - debolezza
actual - reale, effettivo, concreto, esistente, attuale, corrente
perpetrator - colpevole
abandoned - abbandonare
devices - apparecchio, congegno, dispositivo, periferica, stratagemma
The inference is that he was imported from abroad for the purpose of committing this outrage. At the same time one is forced to the conclusion that he did not know enough English to ask his way, unless one were to accept the fantastic theory that he was a deaf mute. I wonder now-But this is idle. He has destroyed himself by an accident, obviously. Not an extraordinary accident.
inference - inferenza
imported - importare
from abroad - dall'estero
committing - affidare, impegnarsi, arrestare, imprigionare, ricoverare
deaf - sordo, i sordo
idle - inattivo
destroyed - distruggere, annichilare, checkabbattere (4)
But an extraordinary little fact remains: the address on his clothing discovered by the merest accident, too. It is an incredible little fact, so incredible that the explanation which will account for it is bound to touch the bottom of this affair.
explanation - spiegazione, esplicazione, chiarificazione, esegesi
Instead of instructing Heat to go on with this case, my intention is to seek this explanation personally-by myself, I mean-where it may be picked up. That is in a certain shop in Brett Street, and on the lips of a certain secret agent once upon a time the confidential and trusted spy of the late Baron Stott-Wartenheim, Ambassador of a great power to the Court of St James."
instructing - istruire
seek - cercare, ricercare
great power - grande potenza
James - Giacomo
The Assistant Commissioner paused, then added: "Those fellows are a perfect pest." In order to raise his drooping glance to the speaker's face, the Personage on the hearthrug had gradually tilted his head farther back, which gave him an aspect of extraordinary haughtiness.
pest - parassita
speaker - parlante, altoparlante, presidente, presidentessa, relatore
gradually - gradualmente
haughtiness - superbia, fierezza, sufficienza, sicumera
"Why not leave it to Heat?"
"Because he is an old departmental hand. They have their own morality. My line of inquiry would appear to him an awful perversion of duty. For him the plain duty is to fasten the guilt upon as many prominent anarchists as he can on some slight indications he had picked up in the course of his investigation on the spot; whereas I, he would say, am bent upon vindicating their innocence.
perversion - perversione
guilt - colpa, colpevolezza
indications - indicazione
vindicating - rivendicare
I am trying to be as lucid as I can in presenting this obscure matter to you without details."
"He would, would he?" muttered the proud head of Sir Ethelred from its lofty elevation.
"I am afraid so-with an indignation and disgust of which you or I can have no idea. He's an excellent servant. We must not put an undue strain on his loyalty. That's always a mistake. Besides, I want a free hand-a freer hand than it would be perhaps advisable to give Chief Inspector Heat. I haven't the slightest wish to spare this man Verloc.
disgust - disgustare, ripugnare, nauseare, stomacare
advisable - consigliabile
spare - (fare a meno di)
He will, I imagine, be extremely startled to find his connection with this affair, whatever it may be, brought home to him so quickly. Frightening him will not be very difficult. But our true objective lies behind him somewhere. I want your authority to give him such assurances of personal safety as I may think proper."
frightening - spaurire, spaventare
lies - bugia
"Certainly," said the Personage on the hearthrug. "Find out as much as you can; find it out in your own way."
"I must set about it without loss of time, this very evening," said the Assistant Commissioner.
set about - iniziare
loss of time - perdita di tempo
Sir Ethelred shifted one hand under his coat tails, and tilting back his head, looked at him steadily.
shifted - cambio, turno, mutamento, spostamento, scambiare, permutare
tails - coda
tilting - inclinazione
"We'll have a late sitting to-night," he said. "Come to the House with your discoveries if we are not gone home. I'll warn Toodles to look out for you. He'll take you into my room."
warn - avvertire, avvisare
The numerous family and the wide connections of the youthful-looking Private Secretary cherished for him the hope of an austere and exalted destiny. Meantime the social sphere he adorned in his hours of idleness chose to pet him under the above nickname.
youthful - giovanile
cherished - custodire, curare, apprezzare
destiny - destino
adorned - adornare, fregiare, abbellire
pet - animale domestico
And Sir Ethelred, hearing it on the lips of his wife and girls every day (mostly at breakfast-time), had conferred upon it the dignity of unsmiling adoption.
conferred - conferire
dignity - dignita
unsmiling - non sorridente
adoption - adozione, conversione, migrazione
The Assistant Commissioner was surprised and gratified extremely.
gratified - gratificare
"I shall certainly bring my discoveries to the House on the chance of you having the time to-"
"I won't have the time," interrupted the great Personage. "But I will see you. I haven't the time now-And you are going yourself?"
"Yes, Sir Ethelred. I think it the best way."
The Personage had tilted his head so far back that, in order to keep the Assistant Commissioner under his observation, he had to nearly close his eyes.
"H'm. Ha! And how do you propose-Will you assume a disguise?"
ha - Ja
propose - proporre, proporre il matrimonio
disguise - camuffamento, travestimento, mascheramento, camuffarsi
"Hardly a disguise! I'll change my clothes, of course."
"Of course," repeated the great man, with a sort of absent-minded loftiness. He turned his big head slowly, and over his shoulder gave a haughty oblique stare to the ponderous marble timepiece with the sly, feeble tick. The gilt hands had taken the opportunity to steal through no less than five and twenty minutes behind his back.
absent - assente
loftiness - altezzosita
timepiece - orologio
sly - furbo, sornione, subdolo, furtivo
feeble - debole, fiacco, flebile, fievole
steal - rubare, derubare, fregare, accattivarsi, appropriarsi
The Assistant Commissioner, who could not see them, grew a little nervous in the interval. But the great man presented to him a calm and undismayed face.
interval - intervallo
undismayed - non e mai stato scoraggiato
"Very well," he said, and paused, as if in deliberate contempt of the official clock. "But what first put you in motion in this direction?"
deliberate - premeditato, intenzionale, voluto
"I have been always of opinion," began the Assistant Commissioner.
"Ah. Yes! Opinion. That's of course. But the immediate motive?"
motive - motivo
"What shall I say, Sir Ethelred? A new man's antagonism to old methods. A desire to know something at first hand. Some impatience. It's my old work, but the harness is different. It has been chafing me a little in one or two tender places."
antagonism - antagonismo
at first hand - di prima mano
chafing - surriscaldamento, abrasione, escoriazione, irritazione, collera
"I hope you'll get on over there," said the great man kindly, extending his hand, soft to the touch, but broad and powerful like the hand of a glorified farmer. The Assistant Commissioner shook it, and withdrew.
extending - ampliare
powerful - potente, efficace
In the outer room Toodles, who had been waiting perched on the edge of a table, advanced to meet him, subduing his natural buoyancy.
perched - trespolo
subduing - sottomettere, soggiogare
buoyancy - spinta, spinta statica, forza ascensionale, spinta idrostatica
"Well? Satisfactory?" he asked, with airy importance.
airy - arioso
"Perfectly. You've earned my undying gratitude," answered the Assistant Commissioner, whose long face looked wooden in contrast with the peculiar character of the other's gravity, which seemed perpetually ready to break into ripples and chuckles.
earned - guadagnare
undying - non morire
long face - faccia lunga
contrast with - in contrasto con
perpetually - perennemente
ripples - ondulazione
chuckles - ridacchiare
"That's all right. But seriously, you can't imagine how irritated he is by the attacks on his Bill for the Nationalisation of Fisheries. They call it the beginning of social revolution. Of course, it is a revolutionary measure. But these fellows have no decency. The personal attacks-"
irritated - irritare
Nationalisation - nazionalizzazione
fisheries - pesca
"I read the papers," remarked the Assistant Commissioner.
"Odious? Eh? And you have no notion what a mass of work he has got to get through every day. He does it all himself. Seems unable to trust anyone with these Fisheries."
"And yet he's given a whole half hour to the consideration of my very small sprat," interjected the Assistant Commissioner.
consideration - considerazione
sprat - spratto, papalina
"Small! Is it? I'm glad to hear that. But it's a pity you didn't keep away, then. This fight takes it out of him frightfully. The man's getting exhausted. I feel it by the way he leans on my arm as we walk over. And, I say, is he safe in the streets? Mullins has been marching his men up here this afternoon.
keep away - tenere lontano
There's a constable stuck by every lamp-post, and every second person we meet between this and Palace Yard is an obvious 'tec.' It will get on his nerves presently. I say, these foreign scoundrels aren't likely to throw something at him-are they? It would be a national calamity. The country can't spare him."
Yard - iarda
nerves - nervo, nervatura, coraggio, faccia tosta, sfacciataggine
scoundrels - canaglia, farabutto, furfante, mascalzone
calamity - calamita
"Not to mention yourself. He leans on your arm," suggested the Assistant Commissioner soberly. "You would both go."
soberly - sobriamente
"It would be an easy way for a young man to go down into history? Not so many British Ministers have been assassinated as to make it a minor incident. But seriously now-"
minor - minore
"I am afraid that if you want to go down into history you'll have to do something for it. Seriously, there's no danger whatever for both of you but from overwork."
overwork - eccesso di lavoro
The sympathetic Toodles welcomed this opening for a chuckle.
sympathetic - sensibile
chuckle - ridacchiare
"The Fisheries won't kill me. I am used to late hours," he declared, with ingenuous levity. But, feeling an instant compunction, he began to assume an air of statesman-like moodiness, as one draws on a glove. "His massive intellect will stand any amount of work. It's his nerves that I am afraid of. The reactionary gang, with that abusive brute Cheeseman at their head, insult him every night.
statesman - statista, uomo di stato
moodiness - umore
reactionary - codino, codina, reazionario
abusive - abusivo
insult - offendere, insultare, insulto, offesa, oltraggio
"
"If he will insist on beginning a revolution!" murmured the Assistant Commissioner.
"The time has come, and he is the only man great enough for the work," protested the revolutionary Toodles, flaring up under the calm, speculative gaze of the Assistant Commissioner. Somewhere in a corridor a distant bell tinkled urgently, and with devoted vigilance the young man pricked up his ears at the sound.
flaring up - infiammarsi, esplodere, irradiarsi, accendersi
speculative - speculativo
tinkled - tintinnare, scampanellare
pricked - pungere, forare
"He's ready to go now," he exclaimed in a whisper, snatched up his hat, and vanished from the room.
snatched up - strappato, afferrato
The Assistant Commissioner went out by another door in a less elastic manner. Again he crossed the wide thoroughfare, walked along a narrow street, and re-entered hastily his own departmental buildings. He kept up this accelerated pace to the door of his private room. Before he had closed it fairly his eyes sought his desk.
kept up - mantenuto
accelerated - accelerare, affrettare
He stood still for a moment, then walked up, looked all round on the floor, sat down in his chair, rang a bell, and waited.
rang - ordine del giorno
"Chief Inspector Heat gone yet?"
"Yes, sir. went away half-an-hour ago."
went away - andare via
He nodded. "That will do." And sitting still, with his hat pushed off his forehead, he thought that it was just like Heat's confounded cheek to carry off quietly the only piece of material evidence. But he thought this without animosity. Old and valued servants will take liberties. The piece of overcoat with the address sewn on was certainly not a thing to leave about.
pushed off - spinto via
carry off - portare via
valued - valore, valutare, stimare, apprezzare, valorizzare
liberties - liberta
Dismissing from his mind this manifestation of Chief Inspector Heat's mistrust, he wrote and despatched a note to his wife, charging her to make his apologies to Michaelis'great lady, with whom they were engaged to dine that evening.
dismissing - licenziare, congedare, mandare via, dimettere, rompere le righe
despatched - spedizione
charging - costo, prezzo, carico, accusa, imputazione, carica, incarico
apologies - apologia, scuse
dine - cenare
The short jacket and the low, round hat he assumed in a sort of curtained alcove containing a washstand, a row of wooden pegs and a shelf, brought out wonderfully the length of his grave, brown face. He stepped back into the full light of the room, looking like the vision of a cool, reflective Don Quixote, with the sunken eyes of a dark enthusiast and a very deliberate manner.
curtained - tenda, tappezzeria, drappo, drappeggio
alcove - alcova, talamo, camera da letto
washstand - porta catino, porta bacinella
pegs - tassello, piolo, attaccapanni
shelf - scaffale, mensola, ripiano, palchetto, asse
wonderfully - meravigliosamente
He left the scene of his daily labours quickly like an unobtrusive shadow. His descent into the street was like the descent into a slimy aquarium from which the water had been run off. A murky, gloomy dampness enveloped him.
scene - scena
slimy - viscido
aquarium - acquario
murky - torbido
dampness - umidita
enveloped - circondare, avviluppare
The walls of the houses were wet, the mud of the roadway glistened with an effect of phosphorescence, and when he emerged into the Strand out of a narrow street by the side of Charing Cross Station the genius of the locality assimilated him. He might have been but one more of the queer foreign fish that can be seen of an evening about there flitting round the dark corners.
glistened - luccicante
phosphorescence - fosforescenza
locality - localita
assimilated - assimilare
flitting - fluttuare, (flit), svolazzare
He came to a stand on the very edge of the pavement, and waited. His exercised eyes had made out in the confused movements of lights and shadows thronging the roadway the crawling approach of a hansom.
thronging - calca, ressa, folla, turba
crawling - gattonare
He gave no sign; but when the low step gliding along the curbstone came to his feet he dodged in skilfully in front of the big turning wheel, and spoke up through the little trap door almost before the man gazing supinely ahead from his perch was aware of having been boarded by a fare.
gliding - planare, (glide), scivolare, slittare, scorrere
skilfully - abilmente
wheel - ruota, timone, ruota del timone, pezzo grosso, cerchio
trap door - botola
supinely - supinamente
ahead - avanti, anticipatamente, al futuro, anzitempo, antecedentemente
perch - trespolo
boarded - asse
fare - biglietto
It was not a long drive. It ended by signal abruptly, nowhere in particular, between two lamp-posts before a large drapery establishment-a long range of shops already lapped up in sheets of corrugated iron for the night. Tendering a coin through the trap door the fare slipped out and away, leaving an effect of uncanny, eccentric ghastliness upon the driver's mind.
nowhere - da nessuna parte, in nessun posto
drapery - tenda
establishment - istituzione, fondazione, creazione, insediamento, instaurazione
range - catena, fornello, stufa a legna, piano cottura, varieta, gamma
lapped - leccare
corrugated - ondulato
Tendering - Gara d'appalto
slipped - scivolare
uncanny - bizzarro, strano, sconcertante, curioso
ghastliness - hastliness
But the size of the coin was satisfactory to his touch, and his education not being literary, he remained untroubled by the fear of finding it presently turned to a dead leaf in his pocket. Raised above the world of fares by the nature of his calling, he contemplated their actions with a limited interest. The sharp pulling of his horse right round expressed his philosophy.
satisfactory to - soddisfacente
leaf - foglia, foglio, prolunga
pulling - tirare, (pull)
Meantime the Assistant Commissioner was already giving his order to a waiter in a little Italian restaurant round the corner-one of those traps for the hungry, long and narrow, baited with a perspective of mirrors and white napery; without air, but with an atmosphere of their own-an atmosphere of fraudulent cookery mocking an abject mankind in the most pressing of its miserable necessities.
Italian - italiano, italiana
traps - trappola
baited - esca
mirrors - specchio, copia speculare
napery - tovaglioli
cookery - cucina
abject - abietto, miserabile
necessities - necessita, bisogno
In this immoral atmosphere the Assistant Commissioner, reflecting upon his enterprise, seemed to lose some more of his identity. He had a sense of loneliness, of evil freedom. It was rather pleasant. When, after paying for his short meal, he stood up and waited for his change, he saw himself in the sheet of glass, and was struck by his foreign appearance.
immoral - immorale, scorretto
enterprise - impresa, iniziativa
He contemplated his own image with a melancholy and inquisitive gaze, then by sudden inspiration raised the collar of his jacket. This arrangement appeared to him commendable, and he completed it by giving an upward twist to the ends of his black moustache. He was satisfied by the subtle modification of his personal aspect caused by these small changes. "That'll do very well," he thought.
inquisitive - curioso, indiscreto
commendable - lodevole
modification - modificazione
"I'll get a little wet, a little splashed-"
splashed - schizzo, tonfo, sciacquio
He became aware of the waiter at his elbow and of a small pile of silver coins on the edge of the table before him. The waiter kept one eye on it, while his other eye followed the long back of a tall, not very young girl, who passed up to a distant table looking perfectly sightless and altogether unapproachable. She seemed to be a habitual customer.
coins - moneta, gettone, coniare, monetare, battere moneta
unapproachable - irraggiungibile
habitual - ricorrente, ripetitivo, solito, persistente, usuale, abituale
On going out the Assistant Commissioner made to himself the observation that the patrons of the place had lost in the frequentation of fraudulent cookery all their national and private characteristics. And this was strange, since the Italian restaurant is such a peculiarly British institution.
characteristics - caratteristico, caratteristica
But these people were as denationalised as the dishes set before them with every circumstance of unstamped respectability. Neither was their personality stamped in any way, professionally, socially or racially. They seemed created for the Italian restaurant, unless the Italian restaurant had been perchance created for them.
denationalised - denazionalizzare
unstamped - non timbrata
stamped in - timbrato
racially - razzialmente
perchance - per caso
But that last hypothesis was unthinkable, since one could not place them anywhere outside those special establishments. One never met these enigmatical persons elsewhere. It was impossible to form a precise idea what occupations they followed by day and where they went to bed at night. And he himself had become unplaced. It would have been impossible for anybody to guess his occupation.
hypothesis - ipotesi
establishments - istituzione, fondazione, creazione, insediamento, instaurazione
enigmatical - enigmatico
occupations - occupazione
unplaced - non posto
As to going to bed, there was a doubt even in his own mind. Not indeed in regard to his domicile itself, but very much so in respect of the time when he would be able to return there. A pleasurable feeling of independence possessed him when he heard the glass doors swing to behind his back with a sort of imperfect baffled thud.
domicile - domicilio
Independence - indipendenza
possessed - possedere, avere
swing - oscillare, ondeggiare, altalenare, dondolare, altalena
baffled - sconcertare
thud - tonfo
He advanced at once into an immensity of greasy slime and damp plaster interspersed with lamps, and enveloped, oppressed, penetrated, choked, and suffocated by the blackness of a wet London night, which is composed of soot and drops of water.
immensity - immensita, oceano, immanita
slime - melma, fanghiglia, poltiglia
plaster - gesso, unguento, intonaco, calco
interspersed - intercalare
enveloped - busta
suffocated - soffocare
composed - showing composure
Soot - fuliggine, caligine
drops - goccia
Brett Street was not very far away. It branched off, narrow, from the side of an open triangular space surrounded by dark and mysterious houses, temples of petty commerce emptied of traders for the night. Only a fruiterer's stall at the corner made a violent blaze of light and colour.
branched off - ramificati
temples - tempio
petty - meschino, piccolo
traders - commerciante
fruiterer - fruttivendolo, fruttivendola, verduriere
stall - stalla, scuderia
blaze - incendio
Beyond all was black, and the few people passing in that direction vanished at one stride beyond the glowing heaps of oranges and lemons. No footsteps echoed. They would never be heard of again. The adventurous head of the Special Crimes Department watched these disappearances from a distance with an interested eye.
stride - (camminare a grandi passi)
heaps - folla, massa, moltitudine, pila, cumulo
lemons - limone, talian: t-needed
echoed - eco
disappearances - sparizione, scomparsa
He felt light-hearted, as though he had been ambushed all alone in a jungle many thousands of miles away from departmental desks and official inkstands. This joyousness and dispersion of thought before a task of some importance seems to prove that this world of ours is not such a very serious affair after all. For the Assistant Commissioner was not constitutionally inclined to levity.
light-hearted - (light-hearted) spensierato
ambushed - imboscata
jungle - giungla
inkstands - calamaio
joyousness - gioia
dispersion - dispersione
Prove - provare, dimostrare
The policeman on the beat projected his sombre and moving form against the luminous glory of oranges and lemons, and entered Brett Street without haste. The Assistant Commissioner, as though he were a member of the criminal classes, lingered out of sight, awaiting his return. But this constable seemed to be lost for ever to the force.
beat - battere
lingered - indugiare, sostare, trattenersi, attardarsi
be lost - perdersi
He never returned: must have gone out at the other end of Brett Street.
gone out - uscire
The Assistant Commissioner, reaching this conclusion, entered the street in his turn, and came upon a large van arrested in front of the dimly lit window-panes of a carter's eating-house. The man was refreshing himself inside, and the horses, their big heads lowered to the ground, fed out of nose-bags steadily.
van - furgone
dimly - in modo debole
Carter - person who transports a load on an animal-drawn cart
eating-house - (eating-house) tavola calda, locale gastronomico
refreshing - rinfrescare
Farther on, on the opposite side of the street, another suspect patch of dim light issued from Mr Verloc's shop front, hung with papers, heaving with vague piles of cardboard boxes and the shapes of books. The Assistant Commissioner stood observing it across the roadway. There could be no mistake.
opposite side - lato opposto
suspect - sospettare
patch - toppa
heaving - ansimare, (heave), sollevamento
cardboard - cartone
shapes - condizione, stato, forma, sagoma
By the side of the front window, encumbered by the shadows of nondescript things, the door, standing ajar, let escape on the pavement a narrow, clear streak of gas-light within.
encumbered - caricare, incombere, intralciare, ingombrare, ostacolare
streak - striatura, striscia
gas-light - (gas-light) luce a gas
Behind the Assistant Commissioner the van and horses, merged into one mass, seemed something alive-a square-backed black monster blocking half the street, with sudden iron-shod stampings, fierce jingles, and heavy, blowing sighs. The harshly festive, ill-omened glare of a large and prosperous public-house faced the other end of Brett Street across a wide road.
merged - fondersi, unirsi, mergere
monster - mostro
blocking - bloccare
stampings - timbratura
jingles - tintinnio, sonaglio, motivetto
blowing - colpo
sighs - sospirare
harshly - aspramente, severamente, duramente
festive - festivo, festiva
omened - presagio, segno, auspicio, augurio
glare - bagliore, lampo, frecciata
prosperous - prospera
public-house - (public-house) bar
This barrier of blazing lights, opposing the shadows gathered about the humble abode of Mr Verloc's domestic happiness, seemed to drive the obscurity of the street back upon itself, make it more sullen, brooding, and sinister.
opposing - opporre, obiettare, essere contrari, esibire
domestic happiness - felicita domestica
brooding - malinconico, meditabondo, cupo, (brood), nidiata, prole
Having infused by persistent importunities some sort of heat into the chilly interest of several licensed victuallers (the acquaintances once upon a time of her late unlucky husband), Mrs Verloc's mother had at last secured her admission to certain almshouses founded by a wealthy innkeeper for the destitute widows of the trade.
infused - infondere
persistent - tenace, insistente, durevole, incessante, continuo, persistente
importunities - importunita
chilly - freddo
victuallers - vettovagliamento
almshouses - ospizio
founded - trovato
innkeeper - locandiere, locandiera, oste, ostessa
destitute - bisognoso, indigente
widows - vedova, vedovare
This end, conceived in the astuteness of her uneasy heart, the old woman had pursued with secrecy and determination. That was the time when her daughter Winnie could not help passing a remark to Mr Verloc that "mother has been spending half-crowns and five shillings almost every day this last week in cab fares." But the remark was not made grudgingly. Winnie respected her mother's infirmities.
conceived - concepire, sviluppare, ideare
astuteness - astuzia, scaltrezza
crowns - corona
shillings - scellino
grudgingly - svogliatamente, malvolentieri, di malavoglia
respected - rispetto, riguardo, materia, rispettare
infirmities - infermita
She was only a little surprised at this sudden mania for locomotion. Mr Verloc, who was sufficiently magnificent in his way, had grunted the remark impatiently aside as interfering with his meditations. These were frequent, deep, and prolonged; they bore upon a matter more important than five shillings.
mania - mania
locomotion - locomozione
magnificent - magnifico
meditations - meditazione
frequent - frequente
prolonged - prologo
Distinctly more important, and beyond all comparison more difficult to consider in all its aspects with philosophical serenity.
Her object attained in astute secrecy, the heroic old woman had made a clean breast of it to Mrs Verloc. Her soul was triumphant and her heart tremulous. Inwardly she quaked, because she dreaded and admired the calm, self-contained character of her daughter Winnie, whose displeasure was made redoubtable by a diversity of dreadful silences.
astute - avveduto
heroic - eroico
triumphant - trionfante
tremulous - tremolante
quaked - tremare
displeasure - scontentezza
redoubtable - temibile
diversity - diversita
silences - silenzio, silenziare, azzittire, mettere a tacere
But she did not allow her inward apprehensions to rob her of the advantage of venerable placidity conferred upon her outward person by her triple chin, the floating ampleness of her ancient form, and the impotent condition of her legs.
apprehensions - apprensione
rob - derubare, svaligiare
venerable - venerabile, venerando, onorevole, rispettabile, sacro
triple - triplo, triplicare
floating - fluttuante, (float), galleggiare, appianatoia, frattazzo
ampleness - ampiezza
The shock of the information was so unexpected that Mrs Verloc, against her usual practice when addressed, interrupted the domestic occupation she was engaged upon. It was the dusting of the furniture in the parlour behind the shop. She turned her head towards her mother.
"Whatever did you want to do that for?" she exclaimed, in scandalised astonishment.
The shock must have been severe to make her depart from that distant and uninquiring acceptance of facts which was her force and her safeguard in life.
depart - partire, andar via, allontanarsi, dipartire, deviare
uninquiring - non indagare
acceptance - accettazione
safeguard - salvaguardia, tutela, difesa, salvaguardare
"Weren't you made comfortable enough here?"
She had lapsed into these inquiries, but next moment she saved the consistency of her conduct by resuming her dusting, while the old woman sat scared and dumb under her dingy white cap and lustreless dark wig.
lapsed - giri
consistency - coerenza, costanza, consistenza
resuming - riprendere
dumb - muto
lustreless - senza lucentezza
Winnie finished the chair, and ran the duster along the mahogany at the back of the horse-hair sofa on which Mr Verloc loved to take his ease in hat and overcoat. She was intent on her work, but presently she permitted herself another question.
duster - spolverino
intent on - essere motivato a fare qualcosa
permitted - permettere
"How in the world did you manage it, mother?"
manage it - trattare con esso
As not affecting the inwardness of things, which it was Mrs Verloc's principle to ignore, this curiosity was excusable. It bore merely on the methods. The old woman welcomed it eagerly as bringing forward something that could be talked about with much sincerity.
affecting - avere effetto su
inwardness - interiorita
ignore - ignorare
eagerly - impazientemente
sincerity - sincerita
She favoured her daughter by an exhaustive answer, full of names and enriched by side comments upon the ravages of time as observed in the alteration of human countenances. The names were principally the names of licensed victuallers-"poor daddy's friends, my dear." She enlarged with special appreciation on the kindness and condescension of a large brewer, a Baronet and an M. P.
favoured - favore
exhaustive - esaustivo, esauriente
enriched - arricchire
comments - commento
ravages - devastare, distruggere, devastazione
alteration - alterazione
daddy - papa, babbo
enlarged - allargare
brewer - birraio
baronet - baronetto
, the Chairman of the Governors of the Charity. She expressed herself thus warmly because she had been allowed to interview by appointment his Private Secretary-"a very polite gentleman, all in black, with a gentle, sad voice, but so very, very thin and quiet. He was like a shadow, my dear."
chairman - presidente
charity - carita, amore, altruismo, ente di beneficenza
warmly - con calore
by appointment - su appuntamento
polite - cortese, educato
Winnie, prolonging her dusting operations till the tale was told to the end, walked out of the parlour into the kitchen (down two steps) in her usual manner, without the slightest comment.
prolonging - prolungare
operations - operazione, esercizio, gestione
Shedding a few tears in sign of rejoicing at her daughter's mansuetude in this terrible affair, Mrs Verloc's mother gave play to her astuteness in the direction of her furniture, because it was her own; and sometimes she wished it hadn't been.
shedding - spargimento
Tears - lacrima
rejoicing - gioire
mansuetude - mansuetudine
Heroism is all very well, but there are circumstances when the disposal of a few tables and chairs, brass bedsteads, and so on, may be big with remote and disastrous consequences. She required a few pieces herself, the Foundation which, after many importunities, had gathered her to its charitable breast, giving nothing but bare planks and cheaply papered bricks to the objects of its solicitude.
disposal - disposizione
brass - ottone, di ottone
bedsteads - sponda, telaio
disastrous - disastroso
foundation - fondazione, fondamenta
charitable - caritatevole, solidale, generoso, benefico
planks - tavola, asse
cheaply - a basso costo
solicitude - sollecitudine
The delicacy guiding her choice to the least valuable and most dilapidated articles passed unacknowledged, because Winnie's philosophy consisted in not taking notice of the inside of facts; she assumed that mother took what suited her best.
dilapidated - dilapidare, sperperare, buttare via, gettare alle ortiche
unacknowledged - non riconosciuto
suited - vestito, abito, seme, colore, soddisfare, adattarsi
As to Mr Verloc, his intense meditation, like a sort of Chinese wall, isolated him completely from the phenomena of this world of vain effort and illusory appearances.
isolated - isolare
phenomena - fenomeni
illusory - illusorio
Her selection made, the disposal of the rest became a perplexing question in a particular way. She was leaving it in Brett Street, of course. But she had two children. Winnie was provided for by her sensible union with that excellent husband, Mr Verloc. Stevie was destitute-and a little peculiar.
Union - unione, talian: t-needed
His position had to be considered before the claims of legal justice and even the promptings of partiality. The possession of the furniture would not be in any sense a provision. He ought to have it-the poor boy. But to give it to him would be like tampering with his position of complete dependence. It was a sort of claim which she feared to weaken.
claims - reclamo, rivendicazione, diritto, dichiarazione, affermazione
promptings - sollecitazione
partiality - predilezione
tampering - manomissione
dependence - dipendenza
feared - paura
weaken - indebolire, spossare, indebolirsi
Moreover, the susceptibilities of Mr Verloc would perhaps not brook being beholden to his brother-in-law for the chairs he sat on. In a long experience of gentlemen lodgers, Mrs Verloc's mother had acquired a dismal but resigned notion of the fantastic side of human nature. What if Mr Verloc suddenly took it into his head to tell Stevie to take his blessed sticks somewhere out of that?
susceptibilities - suscettivita, suscettibilita
beholden - obbligato
blessed - beato, benedetto, checkbenedetto
sticks - mettere, infilare
A division, on the other hand, however carefully made, might give some cause of offence to Winnie. No, Stevie must remain destitute and dependent. And at the moment of leaving Brett Street she had said to her daughter: "No use waiting till I am dead, is there? Everything I leave here is altogether your own now, my dear."
offence - offesa
Winnie, with her hat on, silent behind her mother's back, went on arranging the collar of the old woman's cloak. She got her hand-bag, an umbrella, with an impassive face. The time had come for the expenditure of the sum of three-and-sixpence on what might well be supposed the last cab drive of Mrs Verloc's mother's life. They went out at the shop door.
cloak - tabarro, ammantare
expenditure - spesa, costo, dispendio, esborso
sum - somma
The conveyance awaiting them would have illustrated the proverb that "truth can be more cruel than caricature," if such a proverb existed. Crawling behind an infirm horse, a metropolitan hackney carriage drew up on wobbly wheels and with a maimed driver on the box. This last peculiarity caused some embarrassment.
Illustrated - Illustrato, (illustrate), illustrare, mostrare, descrivere
caricature - caricaturizzare
infirm - debole
metropolitan - metropolita, metropolitano
hackney - carrozza da nolo, taxi
wobbly - traballante
maimed - menomare, mutilare
peculiarity - peculiarita
embarrassment - imbarazzo
Catching sight of a hooked iron contrivance protruding from the left sleeve of the man's coat, Mrs Verloc's mother lost suddenly the heroic courage of these days. She really couldn't trust herself. "What do you think, Winnie?" She hung back. The passionate expostulations of the big-faced cabman seemed to be squeezed out of a blocked throat.
contrivance - aggeggio, marchingegno, stratagemma, artefizio, espediente
expostulations - espediente
cabman - tassista
squeezed out - spremuto
blocked - blocco
Leaning over from his box, he whispered with mysterious indignation. What was the matter now? Was it possible to treat a man so? His enormous and unwashed countenance flamed red in the muddy stretch of the street. Was it likely they would have given him a licence, he inquired desperately, if-
whispered - sussurro, sussurrare
unwashed - non lavato
flamed - fiamma, flame, fiammeggiare, infiammare
stretch - tendere
desperately - disperatamente
The police constable of the locality quieted him by a friendly glance; then addressing himself to the two women without marked consideration, said:
"He's been driving a cab for twenty years. I never knew him to have an accident."
"Accident!" shouted the driver in a scornful whisper.
shouted - grido
The policeman's testimony settled it. The modest assemblage of seven people, mostly under age, dispersed. Winnie followed her mother into the cab. Stevie climbed on the box. His vacant mouth and distressed eyes depicted the state of his mind in regard to the transactions which were taking place.
testimony - testimonianza
assemblage - assemblaggio
under age - essere minorenne
dispersed - disperdere, disseminarere, rifrangere, distribuire
distressed - angoscia, pena, miseria, sconforto, pericolo
depicted - rappresentare, raffigurare
In the narrow streets the progress of the journey was made sensible to those within by the near fronts of the houses gliding past slowly and shakily, with a great rattle and jingling of glass, as if about to collapse behind the cab; and the infirm horse, with the harness hung over his sharp backbone flapping very loose about his thighs, appeared to be dancing mincingly on his toes with infinite patience. Later on, in the wider space of Whitehall, all visual evidences of motion became imperceptible. The rattle and jingle of glass went on indefinitely in front of the long Treasury building-and time itself seemed to stand still.
progress - progresso
shakily - traballante
jingling - tintinnio, sonaglio, motivetto
backbone - spina dorsale, colonna vertebrale, rachide, base
flapping - lembo
toes - dito del piede, dito, dito della zampa, punta
wider - largo, ampio, vasto, laterale
visual - visuale
jingle - tintinnio, sonaglio, motivetto
indefinitely - all'infinito
treasury - tesoreria, tesoro
stand still - rimanere fermo
At last Winnie observed: "This isn't a very good horse."
Her eyes gleamed in the shadow of the cab straight ahead, immovable. On the box, Stevie shut his vacant mouth first, in order to ejaculate earnestly: "Don't."
straight ahead - dritto, avanti
immovable - fisso
ejaculate - eiaculare
The driver, holding high the reins twisted around the hook, took no notice. Perhaps he had not heard. Stevie's breast heaved.
reins - redine, briglia
twisted - torsione, contorsione, distorsione, filamento, filo, scorza
Hook - gancio, gancetto, uncino, ritornello, parte orecchiabile
heaved - sollevamento
"Don't whip."
whip - frusta, nerbo, sferza, sferzare, flagellare
The man turned slowly his bloated and sodden face of many colours bristling with white hairs. His little red eyes glistened with moisture. His big lips had a violet tint. They remained closed. With the dirty back of his whip-hand he rubbed the stubble sprouting on his enormous chin.
bloated - gonfiare, gonfiarsi
sodden - fradicio, (seethe), bollire, ribollire, schiumare, fervere
moisture - umidita
Violet - viola
stubble - barba di due giorni, barba incolta, stoppia
sprouting - germogliare
"You mustn't," stammered out Stevie violently. "It hurts."
mustn - non deve
stammered - balbettare, tartagliare, balbettio
hurts - dolere, fare male, ferire, ferito
"Mustn't whip," queried the other in a thoughtful whisper, and immediately whipped. He did this, not because his soul was cruel and his heart evil, but because he had to earn his fare. And for a time the walls of St Stephen's, with its towers and pinnacles, contemplated in immobility and silence a cab that jingled. It rolled too, however. But on the bridge there was a commotion.
whipped - frusta, nerbo, sferza, sferzare, flagellare
towers - torre
pinnacles - pinnacolo, cima, picco, somma
jingled - tintinnio, sonaglio, motivetto
commotion - agitazione, checkscandalo
Stevie suddenly proceeded to get down from the box. There were shouts on the pavement, people ran forward, the driver pulled up, whispering curses of indignation and astonishment. Winnie lowered the window, and put her head out, white as a ghost. In the depths of the cab, her mother was exclaiming, in tones of anguish: "Is that boy hurt? Is that boy hurt?"
shouts - grido
curses - maledire
exclaiming - esclamare
Stevie was not hurt, he had not even fallen, but excitement as usual had robbed him of the power of connected speech. He could do no more than stammer at the window. "Too heavy. Too heavy." Winnie put out her hand on to his shoulder.
robbed - derubare, svaligiare
stammer - balbettare, tartagliare, balbettio
"Stevie! Get up on the box directly, and don't try to get down again."
"No. No. Walk. Must walk."
In trying to state the nature of that necessity he stammered himself into utter incoherence. No physical impossibility stood in the way of his whim. Stevie could have managed easily to keep pace with the infirm, dancing horse without getting out of breath. But his sister withheld her consent decisively. "The idea! Whoever heard of such a thing! Run after a cab!
incoherence - incoerenza
impossibility - impossibilita
whim - capriccio
withheld - trattenere
decisively - decisivamente, decisamente
" Her mother, frightened and helpless in the depths of the conveyance, entreated: "Oh, don't let him, Winnie. He'll Get lost. Don't let him."
frightened - spaurire, spaventare
entreated - supplicare
Get lost - perdersi
"Certainly not. What next! Mr Verloc will be sorry to hear of this nonsense, Stevie,-I can tell you. He won't be happy at all."
be sorry - essere dispiaciuto
The idea of Mr Verloc's grief and unhappiness acting as usual powerfully upon Stevie's fundamentally docile disposition, he abandoned all resistance, and climbed up again on the box, with a face of despair.
grief - dolore, pena, sofferenza
unhappiness - infelicita
acting as - agire come
powerfully - poderosamente, potentemente
fundamentally - fondamentalmente, essenzialmente
resistance - resistenza
climbed up - salire
The cabby turned at him his enormous and inflamed countenance truculently. "Don't you go for trying this silly game again, young fellow."
cabby - taxi
inflamed - incendiare
truculently - ordine del giorno
After delivering himself thus in a stern whisper, strained almost to extinction, he drove on, ruminating solemnly. To his mind the incident remained somewhat obscure. But his intellect, though it had lost its pristine vivacity in the benumbing years of sedentary exposure to the weather, lacked not independence or sanity.
stern - severo
strained - sforzare, sforzarsi, tirare
extinction - estinzione
ruminating - ruminare
pristine - incontaminato
vivacity - vivacita, vivezza, brillantezza, briosita
benumbing - Imbécil
sedentary - sedentario
exposure - espozione, assideramento, posa, smascheramento
sanity - sanita
Gravely he dismissed the hypothesis of Stevie being a drunken young nipper.
gravely - gravemente
drunken - ubriaco
nipper - pinza
Inside the cab the spell of silence, in which the two women had endured shoulder to shoulder the jolting, rattling, and jingling of the journey, had been broken by Stevie's outbreak. Winnie raised her voice.
endured - durare, restare, resistere, perdurare, tollerare
jolting - sballottare, sbalzellare, sobbalzare, scuotere, squassare
rattling - sferragliare
"You've done what you wanted, mother. You'll have only yourself to thank for it if you aren't happy afterwards. And I don't think you'll be. That I don't. Weren't you comfortable enough in the house? Whatever people'll think of us-you throwing yourself like this on a Charity?"
"My dear," screamed the old woman earnestly above the noise, "you've been the best of daughters to me. As to Mr Verloc-there-"
Words failing her on the subject of Mr Verloc's excellence, she turned her old tearful eyes to the roof of the cab. Then she averted her head on the pretence of looking out of the window, as if to judge of their progress. It was insignificant, and went on close to the curbstone.
excellence - eccellenza
tearful - bagnato, lacrimoso, piangente, umido
pretence - finzione
Night, the early dirty night, the sinister, noisy, hopeless and rowdy night of South London, had overtaken her on her last cab drive. In the gas-light of the low-fronted shops her big cheeks glowed with an orange hue under a black and mauve bonnet.
noisy - rumoroso, chiassoso
overtaken - superare, sorpassare, raggiungere, soverchiare, sopraffare
glowed - brillare, alone, luminescenza, luccichio, calore
hue - colore, tonalita
mauve - malva
bonnet - cuffia, cofano
Mrs Verloc's mother's complexion had become yellow by the effect of age and from a natural predisposition to biliousness, favoured by the trials of a difficult and worried existence, first as wife, then as widow. It was a complexion, that under the influence of a blush would take on an orange tint.
predisposition - predisposizione, diatesi, tendenza
biliousness - biliosita
And this woman, modest indeed but hardened in the fires of adversity, of an age, moreover, when blushes are not expected, had positively blushed before her daughter.
adversity - avversita
blushes - rossore
blushed - rossore
In the privacy of a four-wheeler, on her way to a charity cottage (one of a row) which by the exiguity of its dimensions and the simplicity of its accommodation, might well have been devised in kindness as a place of training for the still more straitened circumstances of the grave, she was forced to hide from her own child a blush of remorse and shame.
wheeler - ruota
exiguity - esiguita, sparutezza
dimensions - aspetto, dimensione
accommodation - alloggio, sistemazione
devised - architettare, congegnare, escogitare, inventare, pianificare
straitened - traiten
remorse - rimorso
shame - vergogna
Whatever people will think? She knew very well what they did think, the people Winnie had in her mind-the old friends of her husband, and others too, whose interest she had solicited with such flattering success. She had not known before what a good beggar she could be. But she guessed very well what inference was drawn from her application.
solicited - chiedere
flattering - adulare, lusingare
On account of that shrinking delicacy, which exists side by side with aggressive brutality in masculine nature, the inquiries into her circumstances had not been pushed very far. She had checked them by a visible compression of the lips and some display of an emotion determined to be eloquently silent. And the men would become suddenly incurious, after the manner of their kind.
shrinking - restringersi, ritirarsi, strizzacervelli, psichiatra
side with - stare dalla parte di qualcuno
masculine - mascolino, maschile, masculino
pushed - spingere
compression - compressione
eloquently - eloquentemente
incurious - incuriosito
She congratulated herself more than once on having nothing to do with women, who being naturally more callous and avid of details, would have been anxious to be exactly informed by what sort of unkind conduct her daughter and son-in-law had driven her to that sad extremity. It was only before the Secretary of the great brewer M. P.
congratulated - congratularsi
callous - cinico, insensibile, calloso
avid - avido
unkind - crudele, scortese
extremity - estremita
and Chairman of the Charity, who, acting for his principal, felt bound to be conscientiously inquisitive as to the real circumstances of the applicant, that she had burst into tears outright and aloud, as a cornered woman will weep. The thin and polite gentleman, after contemplating her with an air of being "struck all of a heap," abandoned his position under the cover of soothing remarks.
applicant - candidato, richiedente
outright - completamente, apertamente, immediatamente, pubblica, pubblico
cornered - angolo, sporgenza, angolo sporgente, pietra d'angolo
weep - piangere
contemplating - considerare, contemplare
cover - copertura, copertina, copriletto
soothing - calmante
She must not distress herself. The deed of the Charity did not absolutely specify "childless widows." In fact, it did not by any means disqualify her. But the discretion of the Committee must be an informed discretion. One could understand very well her unwillingness to be a burden, etc. etc.
deed - fatto, gesto, gesta, prodezza, impresa
specify - specificare, venire ai fatti
childless - senza figli
disqualify - dequalificare
unwillingness - riluttanza
burden - fardello, carico
etc - ecc
Thereupon, to his profound disappointment, Mrs Verloc's mother wept some more with an augmented vehemence.
thereupon - in quel momento
disappointment - delusione, disappunto
wept - piangere
vehemence - veemenza
The tears of that large female in a dark, dusty wig, and ancient silk dress festooned with dingy white cotton lace, were the tears of genuine distress. She had wept because she was heroic and unscrupulous and full of love for both her children. Girls frequently get sacrificed to the welfare of the boys. In this case she was sacrificing Winnie.
female - femminile, femmina
festooned - ghirlanda, festone, inghirlandare
cotton - cotone
lace - laccio, stringa
unscrupulous - (privo di scrupoli)
sacrificed - sacrificare, sacrificio
sacrificing - sacrificare, sacrificio
By the suppression of truth she was slandering her. Of course, Winnie was independent, and need not care for the opinion of people that she would never see and who would never see her; whereas poor Stevie had nothing in the world he could call his own except his mother's heroism and unscrupulousness.
slandering - calunnia, diffamazione, maldicenza, chiacchiera
unscrupulousness - spregiudicatezza
The first sense of security following on Winnie's marriage wore off in time (for nothing lasts), and Mrs Verloc's mother, in the seclusion of the back bedroom, had recalled the teaching of that experience which the world impresses upon a widowed woman. But she had recalled it without vain bitterness; her store of resignation amounted almost to dignity.
wore off - si e esaurito
impresses - impressionare, imprimere, confiscare, requisire
widowed - vedova, vedovare
store - magazzino, deposito, scorta, immagazzinare, registrare
amounted - ammontare, quantita
She reflected stoically that everything decays, wears out, in this world; that the way of kindness should be made easy to the well disposed; that her daughter Winnie was a most devoted sister, and a very self-confident wife indeed. As regards Winnie's sisterly devotion, her stoicism flinched. She excepted that sentiment from the rule of decay affecting all things human and some things divine.
stoically - stoicamente
decays - imputridire
most devoted - il piu devoto
regards - considerare
sisterly - sorelle
flinched - ritirarsi, sottrarsi
excepted - salvo, tranne, eccetto, fatto salvo
divine - divino
She could not help it; not to do so would have frightened her too much. But in considering the conditions of her daughter's married state, she rejected firmly all flattering illusions. She took the cold and reasonable view that the less strain put on Mr Verloc's kindness the longer its effects were likely to last.
rejected - respingere, rifiutare
reasonable - ragionevole, moderato
That excellent man loved his wife, of course, but he would, no doubt, prefer to keep as few of her relations as was consistent with the proper display of that sentiment. It would be better if its whole effect were concentrated on poor Stevie. And the heroic old woman resolved on going away from her children as an act of devotion and as a move of deep policy.
concentrated - concentrare, concentrarsi, incentrare, focalizzare, puntare
resolved - decidere
going away - andare via
The "virtue" of this policy consisted in this (Mrs Verloc's mother was subtle in her way), that Stevie's moral claim would be strengthened. The poor boy-a good, useful boy, if a little peculiar-had not a sufficient standing.
claim - reclamo, rivendicazione, diritto, dichiarazione, affermazione
He had been taken over with his mother, somewhat in the same way as the furniture of the Belgravian mansion had been taken over, as if on the ground of belonging to her exclusively. What will happen, she asked herself (for Mrs Verloc's mother was in a measure imaginative), when I die? And when she asked herself that question it was with dread.
exclusively - esclusivamente, unicamente
imaginative - immaginoso
It was also terrible to think that she would not then have the means of knowing what happened to the poor boy. But by making him over to his sister, by going thus away, she gave him the advantage of a directly dependent position. This was the more subtle sanction of Mrs Verloc's mother's heroism and unscrupulousness.
Her act of abandonment was really an arrangement for settling her son permanently in life. Other people made material sacrifices for such an object, she in that way. It was the only way. Moreover, she would be able to see how it worked. Ill or well she would avoid the horrible incertitude on the death-bed. But it was hard, hard, cruelly hard.
abandonment - abbandono, rinuncia, abnegazione
settling - assestarsi
permanently - in modo permanente
sacrifices - sacrificare, sacrificio
avoid - schivare, evitare
incertitude - incertezza
cruelly - crudelmente
The cab rattled, jingled, jolted; in fact, the last was quite extraordinary. By its disproportionate violence and magnitude it obliterated every sensation of onward movement; and the effect was of being shaken in a stationary apparatus like a medićval device for the punishment of crime, or some very newfangled invention for the cure of a sluggish liver.
jolted - sballottare, sbalzellare, sobbalzare, scuotere, squassare
disproportionate - spropositato, esagerato, sproporzionato, smisurato
magnitude - vastita, magnitudine, module, magnitudo
obliterated - obliterare, annullare, spazzare
onward - in avanti, in poi
stationary - stazionario
apparatus - impianto, attrezzatura, apparecchio, sistema
device - apparecchio, congegno, dispositivo, periferica, stratagemma
punishment - punizione, pena, castigo
newfangled - nuovo
invention - invenzione, talian: t-needed
sluggish - lento
It was extremely distressing; and the raising of Mrs Verloc's mother's voice sounded like a wail of pain.
distressing - angoscia, pena, miseria, sconforto, pericolo
wail - lamentarsi
"I know, my dear, You'll come to see me as often as you can spare the time. Won't you?"
You'll come - Verrai
"Of course," answered Winnie shortly, staring straight before her.
And the cab jolted in front of a steamy, greasy shop in a blaze of gas and in the smell of fried fish.
steamy - fumante, umido, sensuale
fried - friggere
The old woman raised a wail again.
"And, my dear, I must see that poor boy every Sunday. He won't mind spending the day with his old mother-"
Winnie screamed out stolidly:
"Mind! I should think not. That poor boy will miss you something cruel. I wish you had thought a little of that, mother."
Not think of it! The heroic woman swallowed a playful and inconvenient object like a billiard ball, which had tried to jump out of her throat. Winnie sat mute for a while, pouting at the front of the cab, then snapped out, which was an unusual tone with her:
playful - giocherellone, giocondo, divertente, buffo, scherzoso
billiard ball - palla da biliardo
jump out - saltare fuori
pouting - Il broncio
"I expect I'll have a job with him at first, he'll be that restless-"
restless - instancabile, irrequieto
"Whatever you do, don't let him worry your husband, my dear."
worry - preoccuparsi, disturbare, preoccupare, preoccupazione
Thus they discussed on familiar lines the bearings of a new situation. And the cab jolted. Mrs Verloc's mother expressed some misgivings. Could Stevie be trusted to come all that way alone? Winnie maintained that he was much less "absent-minded" now. They agreed as to that. It could not be denied. Much less-hardly at all.
bearings - cuscinetto
misgivings - apprensione
maintained - mantenere
They shouted at each other in the jingle with comparative cheerfulness. But suddenly the maternal anxiety broke out afresh. There were two omnibuses to take, and a short walk between. It was too difficult! The old woman gave way to grief and consternation.
cheerfulness - allegria
afresh - di nuovo, daccapo
gave way - cedere
Winnie stared forward.
"Don't you upset yourself like this, mother. You must see him, of course."
"No, my dear. I'll try not to."
She mopped her streaming eyes.
mopped - lavapavimenti, spazzolone, scopino, zazzera, lavare, ripulire
"But you can't spare the time to come with him, and if he should forget himself and lose his way and somebody spoke to him sharply, his name and address may slip his memory, and he'll remain lost for days and days-"
slip - scivolare
The vision of a workhouse infirmary for poor Stevie-if only during inquiries-wrung her heart. For she was a proud woman. Winnie's stare had grown hard, intent, inventive.
wrung - strizzare
inventive - inventivo
"I can't bring him to you myself every week," she cried. "But don't you worry, mother. I'll see to it that he don't get lost for long."
see to - vedere, occuparsi
They felt a peculiar bump; a vision of brick pillars lingered before the rattling windows of the cab; a sudden cessation of atrocious jolting and uproarious jingling dazed the two women. What had happened? They sat motionless and scared in the profound stillness, till the door came open, and a rough, strained whispering was heard:
bump - colpetto, botta, bozzo, gnocco, protuberanza
pillars - pilastro
cessation - cessazione
dazed - trasognamento, stordire
"Here you are!"
A range of gabled little houses, each with one dim yellow window, on the ground floor, surrounded the dark open space of a grass plot planted with shrubs and railed off from the patchwork of lights and shadows in the wide road, resounding with the dull rumble of traffic.
gabled - timpano
grass - erba, tgraminacea, prato, spia, delatore, pentito
shrubs - arbusto
railed - sbarra, asta, staccionata, parapetto
patchwork - a work composed of many different colors and shapes
resounding - risuonare
Before the door of one of these tiny houses-one without a light in the little downstairs window-the cab had come to a standstill. Mrs Verloc's mother got out first, backwards, with a key in her hand. Winnie lingered on the flagstone path to pay the cabman. Stevie, after helping to carry inside a lot of small parcels, came out and stood under the light of a gas-lamp belonging to the Charity.
standstill - fermata, blocco, fermo, arresto
backwards - indietro, retromarcia, riluttante, antiquato, fuori moda
flagstone - lastra, tegola
parcels - pacchetto, plico, lotto, parcella, impacchettare
The cabman looked at the pieces of silver, which, appearing very minute in his big, grimy palm, symbolised the insignificant results which reward the ambitious courage and toil of a mankind whose day is short on this earth of evil.
symbolised - simboleggiare
Reward - ricompensa
ambitious - ambizioso
He had been paid decently-four one-shilling pieces-and he contemplated them in perfect stillness, as if they had been the surprising terms of a melancholy problem. The slow transfer of that treasure to an inner pocket demanded much laborious groping in the depths of decayed clothing. His form was squat and without flexibility.
decently - decentemente
surprising - sorprendente, (surprise), sorpresa, stupire, sorprendere
transfer - trasferire, decalcare, ricalcare, trasferirsi, passare
treasure - tesoro, apprezzare
demanded - domanda, richiesta, rivendicazione, bisogno, necessita
squat - accovacciarsi
flexibility - flessibilita
Stevie, slender, his shoulders a little up, and his hands thrust deep in the side pockets of his warm overcoat, stood at the edge of the path, pouting.
The cabman, pausing in his deliberate movements, seemed struck by some misty recollection.
"Oh! 'Ere you are, young fellow," he whispered. "You'll know him again-won't you?"
ere - qui
Stevie was staring at the horse, whose hind quarters appeared unduly elevated by the effect of emaciation. The little stiff tail seemed to have been fitted in for a heartless joke; and at the other end the thin, flat neck, like a plank covered with old horse-hide, drooped to the ground under the weight of an enormous bony head.
hind - cerva
elevated - elevato, (elevate), elevare, aumentare
emaciation - emaciazione
stiff - rigido, inflessibile, duro, severo
tail - coda
heartless - senza cuore
The ears hung at different angles, negligently; and the macabre figure of that mute dweller on the earth steamed straight up from ribs and backbone in the muggy stillness of the air.
macabre - macabro
dweller - abitante
steamed - vapore
ribs - costa, costola
muggy - afoso
The cabman struck lightly Stevie's breast with the iron hook protruding from a ragged, greasy sleeve.
"Look 'ere, young feller. 'Ow'd you like to sit behind this 'oss up to two o'clock in the morning p'raps?"
feller - amico
oss - ordine del giorno
raps - colpo, colpetto
Stevie looked vacantly into the fierce little eyes with red-edged lids.
"He ain't lame," pursued the other, whispering with energy. "He ain't got no sore places on 'im. 'Ere he is. 'Ow would you like-"
ain - E
lame - zoppo
energy - energia, forza
sore - dolente, doloroso
im - ordine del giorno
His strained, extinct voice invested his utterance with a character of vehement secrecy. Stevie's vacant gaze was changing slowly into dread.
extinct - estinto
vehement - ordine del giorno
"You may well look! Till three and four o'clock in the morning. Cold and 'ungry. Looking for fares. Drunks."
ungry - non grassa
Drunks - ubriaco, avvinazzato, ebbro, sborniato
His jovial purple cheeks bristled with white hairs; and like Virgil's Silenus, who, his face smeared with the juice of berries, discoursed of Olympian Gods to the innocent shepherds of Sicily, he talked to Stevie of domestic matters and the affairs of men whose sufferings are great and immortality by no means assured.
jovial - gioviale
bristled - pelo ispido, barba corta ispida, setola, setole
Virgil - Virgilio
smeared - ungere, spalmare, imbrattare, sbavare, ricoprire, macchiare
berries - bacca
discoursed - discorso, discussione
Olympian - Olimpico
gods - Dio
shepherds - pastore, pecoraio, pecoraro
Sicily - Sicilia
"I am a night cabby, I am," he whispered, with a sort of boastful exasperation. "I've got to take out what they will blooming well give me at the yard. I've got my missus and four kids at 'ome."
boastful - vanagloria
blooming - fiore
Missus - Signora
kids - bambino
ome - ordine del giorno
The monstrous nature of that declaration of paternity seemed to strike the world dumb. A silence reigned during which the flanks of the old horse, the steed of apocalyptic misery, smoked upwards in the light of the charitable gas-lamp.
paternity - paternita
strike - cancellare, colpire, coniare, scioperare, sembrare, arrendersi, sciopero
flanks - aggirare il fianco, proteggere il fianco, fiancheggiare, affiancare, soccoscio
steed - destriero
apocalyptic - apocalittico
smoked - fumo
The cabman grunted, then added in his mysterious whisper:
"This ain't an easy world." Stevie's face had been twitching for some time, and at last his feelings burst out in their usual concise form.
"Bad! Bad!"
His gaze remained fixed on the ribs of the horse, self-conscious and sombre, as though he were afraid to look about him at the badness of the world. And his slenderness, his rosy lips and pale, clear complexion, gave him the aspect of a delicate boy, notwithstanding the fluffy growth of golden hair on his cheeks. He pouted in a scared way like a child.
badness - cattiveria
pouted - (fare il broncio)
The cabman, short and broad, eyed him with his fierce little eyes that seemed to smart in a clear and corroding liquid.
liquid - liquido, liquida
"'Ard on 'osses, but dam'sight 'arder on poor chaps like me," he wheezed just audibly.
osses - ordine del giorno
dam - barriera, diga
arder - ordine del giorno
"Poor! Poor!" stammered out Stevie, pushing his hands deeper into his pockets with convulsive sympathy. He could say nothing; for the tenderness to all pain and all misery, the desire to make the horse happy and the cabman happy, had reached the point of a bizarre longing to take them to bed with him. And that, he knew, was impossible. For Stevie was not mad.
deeper - profondo, spesso, esteso, profondo (1, 2)
tenderness - tenerezza
It was, as it were, a symbolic longing; and at the same time it was very distinct, because springing from experience, the mother of wisdom. Thus when as a child he cowered in a dark corner scared, wretched, sore, and miserable with the black, black misery of the soul, his sister Winnie used to come along, and carry him off to bed with her, as into a heaven of consoling peace.
symbolic - simbolico
from experience - dall'esperienza
cowered - rannicchiarsi
wretched - misero
off to bed - a letto
Heaven - cielo, paradiso
consoling - consolare
Stevie, though apt to forget mere facts, such as his name and address for instance, had a faithful memory of sensations. To be taken into a bed of compassion was the supreme remedy, with the only one disadvantage of being difficult of application on a large scale. And looking at the cabman, Stevie perceived this clearly, because he was reasonable.
apt - soggetto a, capace
faithful - fedele, ligio, affidabile
remedy - rimedio, azione giudiziaria, medicamento, rimediare
being difficult - essere difficile
The cabman went on with his leisurely preparations as if Stevie had not existed. He made as if to hoist himself on the box, but at the last moment from some obscure motive, perhaps merely from disgust with carriage exercise, desisted.
preparations - preparazione
Hoist - elevare, alzare, issare, innalzare
desisted - desistere
He approached instead the motionless partner of his labours, and stooping to seize the bridle, lifted up the big, weary head to the height of his shoulder with one effort of his right arm, like a feat of strength.
seize - prendere, afferrare, approfittare, sfruttare
bridle - briglia, imbrigliare
"Come on," he whispered secretly.
Limping, he led the cab away. There was an air of austerity in this departure, the scrunched gravel of the drive crying out under the slowly turning wheels, the horse's lean thighs moving with ascetic deliberation away from the light into the obscurity of the open space bordered dimly by the pointed roofs and the feebly shining windows of the little alms-houses.
limping - zoppicare
austerity - austerita
departure - partenza, deviazione, punto di svolta, dipartenza, dipartita
scrunched - compattare, accartocciare
crying out - gridare
lean - pendere
bordered - confine, frontiera, orlo
feebly - debolmente
shining - stinco
alms - elemosina
The plaint of the gravel travelled slowly all round the drive. Between the lamps of the charitable gateway the slow cortege reappeared, lighted up for a moment, the short, thick man limping busily, with the horse's head held aloft in his fist, the lank animal walking in stiff and forlorn dignity, the dark, low box on wheels rolling behind comically with an air of waddling.
plaint - placca
gateway - entrance, point that represents the beginning of a transition
cortege - corteo
lighted up - illuminato
aloft - sopra, all`apice
fist - pugno
forlorn - abbandonato, negletto, derelitto, dimenticato, miserevole
comically - in modo comico
waddling - camminare (dondolandosi)
They turned to the left. There was a pub down the street, within fifty yards of the gate.
Stevie left alone beside the private lamp-post of the Charity, his hands thrust deep into his pockets, glared with vacant sulkiness. At the bottom of his pockets his incapable weak hands were clinched hard into a pair of angry fists. In the face of anything which affected directly or indirectly his morbid dread of pain, Stevie ended by turning vicious.
beside - accanto, vicino
sulkiness - imbronciarsi
clinched - talian: t-needed
fists - pugno
indirectly - indirettamente
vicious - violento, aggressivo
A magnanimous indignation swelled his frail chest to bursting, and caused his candid eyes to squint. Supremely wise in knowing his own powerlessness, Stevie was not wise enough to restrain his passions. The tenderness of his universal charity had two phases as indissolubly joined and connected as the reverse and obverse sides of a medal.
magnanimous - magnanimo
swelled - gonfiare, gonfiarsi, aumentare
bursting - scoppiare, esplodere, strappare, separare, scoppio, esplosione
powerlessness - impotenza
phases - fase
indissolubly - indissolubilmente
the reverse - inverso, opposto
obverse - dritto, opposto, testa, lato principale
medal - medaglia
The anguish of immoderate compassion was succeeded by the pain of an innocent but pitiless rage. Those two states expressing themselves outwardly by the same signs of futile bodily agitation, his sister Winnie soothed his excitement without ever fathoming its twofold character. Mrs Verloc wasted no portion of this transient life in seeking for fundamental information.
immoderate - smodato
succeeded - succedere, riuscire
expressing - esprimere
outwardly - esternamente
signs - segno
agitation - agitazione
fathoming - braccio
twofold - duplice, doppio, doppiamente, due punti di vista
wasted - spreco
transient - transitorio, transiente
fundamental - fondamento, fondamentale
This is a sort of economy having all the appearances and some of the advantages of prudence. Obviously it may be good for one not to know too much. And such a view accords very well with constitutional indolence.
accords - accordo
On that evening on which it may be said that Mrs Verloc's mother having parted for good from her children had also departed this life, Winnie Verloc did not investigate her brother's psychology. The poor boy was excited, of course.
investigate - investigare, indagare
psychology - psicologia
After once more assuring the old woman on the threshold that she would know how to guard against the risk of Stevie losing himself for very long on his pilgrimages of filial piety, she took her brother's arm to walk away. Stevie did not even mutter to himself, but with the special sense of sisterly devotion developed in her earliest infancy, she felt that the boy was very much excited indeed.
assuring - assicurare, garantire
threshold - soglia, soglia di casa, entrata, uscio
pilgrimages - pellegrinaggio, pellegrinare
filial - filiale
piety - pieta
infancy - prima infanzia
Holding tight to his arm, under the appearance of leaning on it, she thought of some words suitable to the occasion.
"Now, Stevie, you must look well after me at the crossings, and get first into the 'bus, like a good brother."
crossings - incrocio, traversata
This appeal to manly protection was received by Stevie with his usual docility. It flattered him. He raised his head and threw out his chest.
appeal - fare appello, ricorrere
manly - virile
"Don't be nervous, Winnie. Mustn't be nervous! 'Bus all right," he answered in a brusque, slurring stammer partaking of the timorousness of a child and the resolution of a man. He advanced fearlessly with the woman on his arm, but his lower lip dropped.
slurring - legatura di portamento, legatura di frase
partaking - partecipare, (partake)
timorousness - timorosita
Nevertheless, on the pavement of the squalid and wide thoroughfare, whose poverty in all the amenities of life stood foolishly exposed by a mad profusion of gas-lights, their resemblance to each other was so pronounced as to strike the casual passers-by.
squalid - squallido
amenities - amenita, talian: t-needed
foolishly - stupidamente
profusion - profusione
passers - passante
Before the doors of the public-house at the corner, where the profusion of gas-light reached the height of positive wickedness, a four-wheeled cab standing by the curbstone with no one on the box, seemed cast out into the gutter on account of irremediable decay. Mrs Verloc recognised the conveyance.
wickedness - cattiveria
irremediable - irrimediabile
Its aspect was so profoundly lamentable, with such a perfection of grotesque misery and weirdness of macabre detail, as if it were the Cab of Death itself, that Mrs Verloc, with that ready compassion of a woman for a horse (when she is not sitting behind him), exclaimed vaguely:
perfection - perfezione
weirdness - stranezza
"Poor brute!"
Hanging back suddenly, Stevie inflicted an arresting jerk upon his sister.
inflicted - infliggere, comminare
arresting - arresto, arrestare
"Poor! Poor!" he ejaculated appreciatively. "Cabman poor too. He told me himself."
ejaculated - eiaculare
appreciatively - con apprezzamento
The contemplation of the infirm and lonely steed overcame him. Jostled, but obstinate, he would remain there, trying to express the view newly opened to his sympathies of the human and equine misery in close association. But it was very difficult. "Poor brute, poor people!" was all he could repeat. It did not seem forcible enough, and he came to a stop with an angry splutter: "Shame!
overcame - superare, sconfiggere
jostled - spingere, farsi largo
equine - equino
forcible - forzato
splutter - strombazzare
" Stevie was no master of phrases, and perhaps for that very reason his thoughts lacked clearness and precision. But he felt with greater completeness and some profundity.
felt with - sentirsi con
That little word contained all his sense of indignation and horror at one sort of wretchedness having to feed upon the anguish of the other-at the poor cabman beating the poor horse in the name, as it were, of his poor kids at home. And Stevie knew what it was to be beaten. He knew it from experience. It was a bad world. Bad! Bad!
feed - dar da mangiare, nutrire, (fee), tassa, tariffa, quota, onorario
beating - bastonatura, bastonata, smacco, sconfitta, sonora sconfitta
beaten - colpire, percuotere
Mrs Verloc, his only sister, guardian, and protector, could not pretend to such depths of insight. Moreover, she had not experienced the magic of the cabman's eloquence. She was in the dark as to the inwardness of the word "Shame." And she said placidly:
guardian - guardiano, custode, tutore, tutrice
magic - magia, magico
placidly - placidamente
"Come along, Stevie. You can't help that."
The docile Stevie went along; but now he went along without pride, shamblingly, and muttering half words, and even words that would have been whole if they had not been made up of halves that did not belong to each other. It was as though he had been trying to fit all the words he could remember to his sentiments in order to get some sort of corresponding idea.
shamblingly - in modo sconsiderato
muttering - borbottare
corresponding - corrispondere
And, as a matter of fact, he got it at last. He hung back to utter it at once.
"Bad world for poor people."
Directly he had expressed that thought he became aware that it was familiar to him already in all its consequences. This circumstance strengthened his conviction immensely, but also augmented his indignation. Somebody, he felt, ought to be punished for it-punished with great severity. Being no sceptic, but a moral creature, he was in a manner at the mercy of his righteous passions.
immensely - immensamente
punished - punire, castigare
sceptic - scettico
"Beastly!" he added concisely.
beastly - bestiale
It was clear to Mrs Verloc that he was greatly excited.
"Nobody can help that," she said. "Do come along. Is that the way you're taking care of me?"
Do come - Vieni
Stevie mended his pace obediently. He prided himself on being a good brother. His morality, which was very complete, demanded that from him. Yet he was pained at the information imparted by his sister Winnie who was good. Nobody could help that! He came along gloomily, but presently he brightened up.
obediently - con obbedienza
prided - superbia, orgoglio, essere orgoglioso
Like the rest of mankind, perplexed by the mystery of the universe, he had his moments of consoling trust in the organised powers of the earth.
"Police," he suggested confidently.
"The police aren't for that," observed Mrs Verloc cursorily, hurrying on her way.
cursorily - in modo sommario
hurrying - affrettarsi, (hurry), fretta, premura, furia
Stevie's face lengthened considerably. He was thinking. The more intense his thinking, the slacker was the droop of his lower jaw.
lengthened - allungare
more intense - piu intenso
slacker - fannullone
And it was with an aspect of hopeless vacancy that he gave up his intellectual enterprise.
vacancy - posto vacante, posizione vacante
"Not for that?" he mumbled, resigned but surprised. "Not for that?" He had formed for himself an ideal conception of the metropolitan police as a sort of benevolent institution for the suppression of evil. The notion of benevolence especially was very closely associated with his sense of the power of the men in blue. He had liked all police constables tenderly, with a guileless trustfulness.
tenderly - teneramente
And he was pained. He was irritated, too, by a suspicion of duplicity in the members of the force. For Stevie was frank and as open as the day himself. What did they mean by pretending then? Unlike his sister, who put her trust in face values, he wished to go to the bottom of the matter. He carried on his inquiry by means of an angry challenge.
frank - franco
pretending - fingere, fare finta, far credere
unlike - diverso
challenge - sfida, impresa, ricusazione
"What for are they then, Winn? What are they for? Tell me."
Winnie disliked controversy. But fearing most a fit of black depression consequent on Stevie missing his mother very much at first, she did not altogether decline the discussion.
controversy - controversia
fearing - temere
depression - depressione
consequent - conseguente
decline - declino, declinare, rifiutare
Guiltless of all irony, she answered yet in a form which was not perhaps unnatural in the wife of Mr Verloc, Delegate of the Central Red Committee, personal friend of certain anarchists, and a votary of social revolution.
guiltless - senza colpa
unnatural - innaturale
votary - votante
"Don't you know what the police are for, Stevie? They are there so that them as have nothing shouldn't take anything away from them who have."
She avoided using the verb "to steal," because it always made her brother uncomfortable. For Stevie was delicately honest. Certain simple principles had been instilled into him so anxiously (on account of his "queerness") that the mere names of certain transgressions filled him with horror. He had been always easily impressed by speeches.
avoided - schivare, evitare
verb - verbo
uncomfortable - scomodo
instilled - instillare, istillare
queerness - checchessia
transgressions - trasgressione
He was impressed and startled now, and his intelligence was very alert.
"What?" he asked at once anxiously. "Not even if they were hungry? Mustn't they?"
The two had paused in their walk.
"Not if they were ever so," said Mrs Verloc, with the equanimity of a person untroubled by the problem of the distribution of wealth, and exploring the perspective of the roadway for an omnibus of the right colour. "Certainly not. But what's the use of talking about all that? You aren't ever hungry."
equanimity - equanimita
exploring - esplorare, investigare, indagare, analizzare
She cast a swift glance at the boy, like a young man, by her side. She saw him amiable, attractive, affectionate, and only a little, a very little, peculiar. And she could not see him otherwise, for he was connected with what there was of the salt of passion in her tasteless life-the passion of indignation, of courage, of pity, and even of self-sacrifice.
attractive - attrattivo, attraente, procace, stuzzicante, allettante
tasteless - insapore
She did not add: "And you aren't likely ever to be as long as I live." But she might very well have done so, since she had taken effectual steps to that end. Mr Verloc was a very good husband. It was her honest impression that nobody could help liking the boy. She cried out suddenly:
effectual - efficace
"Quick, Stevie. Stop that green 'bus."
And Stevie, tremulous and important with his sister Winnie on his arm, flung up the other high above his head at the approaching 'bus, with complete success.
An hour afterwards Mr Verloc raised his eyes from a newspaper he was reading, or at any rate looking at, behind the counter, and in the expiring clatter of the door-bell beheld Winnie, his wife, enter and cross the shop on her way upstairs, followed by Stevie, his brother-in-law. The sight of his wife was agreeable to Mr Verloc. It was his idiosyncrasy.
expiring - finire
idiosyncrasy - idiosincrasia, mania, fissazione, insofferenza
The figure of his brother-in-law remained imperceptible to him because of the morose thoughtfulness that lately had fallen like a veil between Mr Verloc and the appearances of the world of senses. He looked after his wife fixedly, without a word, as though she had been a phantom. His voice for home use was husky and placid, but now it was heard not at all.
morose - cupo, imbronciato
veil - velo
senses - senso, coscienza, sensazione, significato, tocco
phantom - fantasma, spettro, immaginario, immaginaria, irreale
It was not heard at supper, to which he was called by his wife in the usual brief manner: "Adolf." He sat down to consume it without conviction, wearing his hat pushed far back on his head.
supper - cena
brief - breve
consume - consumare, distruggere, assorbire
It was not devotion to an outdoor life, but the frequentation of foreign cafés which was responsible for that habit, investing with a character of unceremonious impermanency Mr Verloc's steady fidelity to his own fireside. Twice at the clatter of the cracked bell he arose without a word, disappeared into the shop, and came back silently.
cafés - ordine del giorno
investing - investire
unceremonious - senza cerimonie
impermanency - impermanenza
fireside - fuoco
arose - sorgere, apparire, nascere
During these absences Mrs Verloc, becoming acutely aware of the vacant place at her right hand, missed her mother very much, and stared stonily; while Stevie, from the same reason, kept on shuffling his feet, as though the floor under the table were uncomfortably hot.
absences - assenza, mancanza, difetto, invito aperto, ferro libero
acutely - profondamente, intensamente, acutamente, fortemente
stonily - di pietra
shuffling - rimescolando, (shuffle), mescolare, mischiare, strascicare
uncomfortably - a disagio
When Mr Verloc returned to sit in his place, like the very embodiment of silence, the character of Mrs Verloc's stare underwent a subtle change, and Stevie ceased to fidget with his feet, because of his great and awed regard for his sister's husband. He directed at him glances of respectful compassion. Mr Verloc was sorry.
underwent - soffrire, sottoporsi
fidget with - giocherellare con
awed - timore
His sister Winnie had impressed upon him (in the omnibus) that Mr Verloc would be found at home in a state of sorrow, and must not be worried. His father's anger, the irritability of gentlemen lodgers, and Mr Verloc's predisposition to immoderate grief, had been the main sanctions of Stevie's self-restraint.
be worried - essere preoccupato
irritability - irritabilita
Of these sentiments, all easily provoked, but not always easy to understand, the last had the greatest moral efficiency-because Mr Verloc was good. His mother and his sister had established that ethical fact on an unshakable foundation. They had established, erected, consecrated it behind Mr Verloc's back, for reasons that had nothing to do with abstract morality.
ethical - etico, morale, consentito
unshakable - incrollabile
erected - eretto
consecrated - consacrare
And Mr Verloc was not aware of it. It is but bare justice to him to say that he had no notion of appearing good to Stevie. Yet so it was.
He was even the only man so qualified in Stevie's knowledge, because the gentlemen lodgers had been too transient and too remote to have anything very distinct about them but perhaps their boots; and as regards the disciplinary measures of his father, the desolation of his mother and sister shrank from setting up a theory of goodness before the victim. It would have been too cruel.
qualified - qualificare, abilitare
disciplinary - disciplinare
desolation - desolazione
shrank - restringersi, ritirarsi, strizzacervelli, psichiatra
setting - contesto, circostanza, impostazioni, calante, (set), Seth
And it was even possible that Stevie would not have believed them. As far as Mr Verloc was concerned, nothing could stand in the way of Stevie's belief. Mr Verloc was obviously yet mysteriously good. And the grief of a good man is august.
Stevie gave glances of reverential compassion to his brother-in-law. Mr Verloc was sorry. The brother of Winnie had never before felt himself in such close communion with the mystery of that man's goodness. It was an understandable sorrow. And Stevie himself was sorry. He was very sorry. The same sort of sorrow.
communion - comunione
understandable - comprensibile, perdonabile
And his attention being drawn to this unpleasant state, Stevie shuffled his feet. His feelings were habitually manifested by the agitation of his limbs.
shuffled - mescolare, mischiare, strascicare, trascinarsi
limbs - membro, arto
"Keep your feet quiet, dear," said Mrs Verloc, with authority and tenderness; then turning towards her husband in an indifferent voice, the masterly achievement of instinctive tact: "Are you going out to-night?" she asked.
masterly - magistrale
The mere suggestion seemed repugnant to Mr Verloc. He shook his head moodily, and then sat still with downcast eyes, looking at the piece of cheese on his plate for a whole minute. At the end of that time he got up, and went out-went right out in the clatter of the shop-door bell.
moodily - di malumore
downcast - abbattuto
plate - piatto
He acted thus inconsistently, not from any desire to make himself unpleasant, but because of an unconquerable restlessness. It was no earthly good going out. He could not find anywhere in London what he wanted. But he went out.
inconsistently - in modo incoerente
unconquerable - inespugnabile
restlessness - irrequietudine, esagitazione, smania, irrequietezza
earthly - terrestre
He led a cortege of dismal thoughts along dark streets, through lighted streets, in and out of two flash bars, as if in a half-hearted attempt to make a night of it, and finally back again to his menaced home, where he sat down fatigued behind the counter, and they crowded urgently round him, like a pack of hungry black hounds.
hearted - cuore
finally - finalmente, alla fine, per concludere, infine, definitivamente
fatigued - stanchezza, affaticamento, corvé, usura
pack - fagotto, sacca
hounds - cane (da caccia)
After locking up the house and putting out the gas he took them upstairs with him-a dreadful escort for a man going to bed. His wife had preceded him some time before, and with her ample form defined vaguely under the counterpane, her head on the pillow, and a hand under the cheek offered to his distraction the view of early drowsiness arguing the possession of an equable soul.
locking up - chiudere
putting out - lasciare il porto, accettare di convivere/coesistere, spegnere qualcosa, mettere fuori
preceded - precedere
ample - ampio, abbondante
counterpane - copriletto
Distraction - distrazione
drowsiness - sonnolenza, sopore, letargia
arguing - discutere, dibattere, contestare, litigare, argomentare
Her big eyes stared wide open, inert and dark against the snowy whiteness of the linen. She did not move.
snowy - innevato
whiteness - bianchezza, biancore
linen - lino
She had an equable soul. She felt profoundly that things do not stand much looking into. She made her force and her wisdom of that instinct. But the taciturnity of Mr Verloc had been lying heavily upon her for a good many days. It was, as a matter of fact, affecting her nerves. Recumbent and motionless, she said placidly:
"You'll catch cold walking about in your socks like this."
socks - calza, calzino
This speech, becoming the solicitude of the wife and the prudence of the woman, took Mr Verloc unawares. He had left his boots downstairs, but he had forgotten to put on his slippers, and he had been turning about the bedroom on noiseless pads like a bear in a cage.
turning about - girare
noiseless - senza rumore
pads - cuscinetto
At the sound of his wife's voice he stopped and stared at her with a somnambulistic, expressionless gaze so long that Mrs Verloc moved her limbs slightly under the bed-clothes. But she did not move her black head sunk in the white pillow one hand under her cheek and the big, dark, unwinking eyes.
somnambulistic - sonnambulo
expressionless - inespressivo
Under her husband's expressionless stare, and remembering her mother's empty room across the landing, she felt an acute pang of loneliness. She had never been parted from her mother before. They had stood by each other. She felt that they had, and she said to herself that now mother was gone-gone for good. Mrs Verloc had no illusions. Stevie remained, however. And she said:
acute - acuto
stood by - stare all'erta, tenere alto il morale di qualcuno, sostenere qualcuno, stare al fianco di qualcosa
"Mother's done what she wanted to do. There's no sense in it that I can see. I'm sure she couldn't have thought you had enough of her. It's perfectly wicked, leaving us like that."
Mr Verloc was not a well-read person; his range of allusive phrases was limited, but there was a peculiar aptness in circumstances which made him think of rats leaving a doomed ship. He very nearly said so. He had grown suspicious and embittered. Could it be that the old woman had such an excellent nose? But the unreasonableness of such a suspicion was patent, and Mr Verloc held his tongue.
allusive - allusivo
aptness - giustezza
rats - ratto
ship - nave
suspicious - sospetto, ambiguo, losco, sospettoso, diffidente
embittered - amareggiare, inasprire
unreasonableness - irragionevolezza
Not altogether, however. He muttered heavily:
"Perhaps it's just as well."
He began to undress. Mrs Verloc kept very still, perfectly still, with her eyes fixed in a dreamy, quiet stare. And her heart for the fraction of a second seemed to stand still too. That night she was "not quite herself," as the saying is, and it was borne upon her with some force that a simple sentence may hold several diverse meanings-mostly disagreeable. How was it just as well? And why?
undress - svestirsi
dreamy - sognante
diverse - vario, diverso, svariato
meanings - significato
But she did not allow herself to fall into the idleness of barren speculation. She was rather confirmed in her belief that things did not stand being looked into. Practical and subtle in her way, she brought Stevie to the front without loss of time, because in her the singleness of purpose had the unerring nature and the force of an instinct.
speculation - speculazione
confirmed - cresimare, confermare, confermare (1), checkcresimare (2)
singleness - singletudine
unerring - infallibile
"What I am going to do to Cheer up that boy for the first few days I'm sure I don't know. He'll be worrying himself from morning till night before he gets used to mother being away. And he's such a good boy. I couldn't do without him."
Cheer up - Su con la vita!
I'm sure i don't know - Sono sicuro di non saperlo
gets used to - abituarsi a
Mr Verloc went on divesting himself of his clothing with the unnoticing inward concentration of a man undressing in the solitude of a vast and hopeless desert. For thus inhospitably did this fair earth, our common inheritance, present itself to the mental vision of Mr Verloc.
divesting - spogliare, disinvestire
unnoticing - senza accorgersene
concentration - concentrazione
inhospitably - in modo inospitale
All was so still without and within that the lonely ticking of the clock on the landing stole into the room as if for the sake of company.
Stole - Rubato, (steal), rubare, derubare, fregare, accattivarsi
Mr Verloc, getting into bed on his own side, remained prone and mute behind Mrs Verloc's back. His thick arms rested abandoned on the outside of the counterpane like dropped weapons, like discarded tools. At that moment he was within a hair's breadth of making a clean breast of it all to his wife. The moment seemed propitious.
prone - prono, prostrato, inchinato, reclino, pendente
weapons - arma
discarded - buttare
Propitious - propizio
Looking out of the corners of his eyes, he saw her ample shoulders draped in white, the back of her head, with the hair done for the night in three plaits tied up with black tapes at the ends. And he forbore. Mr Verloc loved his wife as a wife should be loved-that is, maritally, with the regard one has for one's chief possession.
draped - drappeggiare, tappezzare
tapes - nastro, audiocassetta, videocassetta
forbore - non sopportare
maritally - maritale
This head arranged for the night, those ample shoulders, had an aspect of familiar sacredness-the sacredness of domestic peace. She moved not, massive and shapeless like a recumbent statue in the rough; he remembered her wide-open eyes looking into the empty room. She was mysterious, with the mysteriousness of living beings.
sacredness - sacralita
mysteriousness - misteriosita
The far-famed secret agent [delta] of the late Baron Stott-Wartenheim's alarmist despatches was not the man to break into such mysteries. He was easily intimidated. And he was also indolent, with the indolence which is so often the secret of good nature. He forbore touching that mystery out of love, timidity, and indolence. There would be always time enough.
famed - fama
alarmist - allarmista
indolent - ordine del giorno
of good nature - di buona natura
For several minutes he bore his sufferings silently in the drowsy silence of the room. And then he disturbed it by a resolute declaration.
resolute - risoluto
"I am going on the Continent to-morrow."
morrow - domani
His wife might have fallen asleep already. He could not tell. As a matter of fact, Mrs Verloc had heard him. Her eyes remained very wide open, and she lay very still, confirmed in her instinctive conviction that things don't bear looking into very much. And yet it was nothing very unusual for Mr Verloc to take such a trip. He renewed his stock from Paris and Brussels.
asleep - addormentato
stock - stock, merce
Often he went over to make his purchases personally. A little select connection of amateurs was forming around the shop in Brett Street, a secret connection eminently proper for any business undertaken by Mr Verloc, who, by a mystic accord of temperament and necessity, had been set apart to be a secret agent all his life.
purchases - compra, acquisto, compravendita, acquisizione, comprare
select - scegliere, selezionare
amateurs - dilettante, appassionato, amateur, amatore
mystic - mistico, mistica
accord - accordo
He waited for a while, then added: "I'll be away a week or perhaps a fortnight. Get Mrs Neale to come for the day."
be away - essere via
Mrs Neale was the charwoman of Brett Street. Victim of her marriage with a debauched joiner, she was oppressed by the needs of many infant children. Red-armed, and aproned in coarse sacking up to the arm-pits, she exhaled the anguish of the poor in a breath of soap-suds and rum, in the uproar of scrubbing, in the clatter of tin pails.
debauched - dissolutezza
joiner - falegname
aproned - grembiule, piazzale
coarse - grossolano, grezzo, rude, rozzo
sacking - licenziamento
pits - buca, fossa
soap - sapone
suds - saponata, schiuma
scrubbing - lavare (fregando)
pails - secchio
Mrs Verloc, full of deep purpose, spoke in the tone of the shallowest indifference.
shallowest - superficiale, poco profondo, poco profondo (1, 2), checksuperficiale (3), secca
"There is no need to have the woman here all day. I shall do very well with Stevie."
She let the lonely clock on the landing count off fifteen ticks into the abyss of eternity, and asked:
"Shall I put the light out?"
Mr Verloc snapped at his wife huskily.
"Put it out."
Mr Verloc returning from the Continent at the end of ten days, brought back a mind evidently unrefreshed by the wonders of foreign travel and a countenance unlighted by the joys of home-coming. He entered in the clatter of the shop bell with an air of sombre and vexed exhaustion.
brought back - riportare
unrefreshed - non rinfrescato
wonders - meraviglia, domandarsi, chiedersi
unlighted - non illuminato
joys - Gioia
vexed - vessare, innervosire, tormentare, infastidire
exhaustion - esaurimento
His bag in hand, his head lowered, he strode straight behind the counter, and let himself fall into the chair, as though he had tramped all the way from Dover. It was early morning. Stevie, dusting various objects displayed in the front windows, turned to gape at him with reverence and awe.
strode - (camminare a grandi passi)
tramped - vagabondo, barbone, puttana, sgualdrina
displayed - rappresentazione, saggio, schermo, video, espositore, mostrare
gape at - fissare
reverence - riverenza, venerazione
awe - timore
"Here!" said Mr Verloc, giving a slight kick to the gladstone bag on the floor; and Stevie flung himself upon it, seized it, bore it off with triumphant devotion. He was so prompt that Mr Verloc was distinctly surprised.
prompt - pronto, disponibile, puntuale, promemoria, segnale, avvertimento
Already at the clatter of the shop bell Mrs Neale, blackleading the parlour grate, had looked through the door, and rising from her knees had gone, aproned, and grimy with everlasting toil, to tell Mrs Verloc in the kitchen that "there was the master come back."
blackleading - piombo nero
looked through - guardato attraverso
everlasting - eterno, imperituro, immortale
Winnie came no farther than the inner shop door.
"You'll want some breakfast," she said from a distance.
Mr Verloc moved his hands slightly, as if overcome by an impossible suggestion. But once enticed into the parlour he did not reject the food set before him. He ate as if in a public place, his hat pushed off his forehead, the skirts of his heavy overcoat hanging in a triangle on each side of the chair.
reject - respingere, rifiutare
triangle - triangolo
And across the length of the table covered with brown oil-cloth Winnie, his wife, talked evenly at him the wifely talk, as artfully adapted, no doubt, to the circumstances of this return as the talk of Penelope to the return of the wandering Odysseus. Mrs Verloc, however, had done no weaving during her husband's absence.
oil - olio
evenly - in modo uniforme
artfully - artisticamente
Penelope - Penelope
Odysseus - Odisseo
weaving - tessitura
But she had had all the upstairs room cleaned thoroughly, had sold some wares, had seen Mr Michaelis several times. He had told her the last time that he was going away to live in a cottage in the country, somewhere on the London, Chatham, and Dover line. Karl Yundt had come too, once, led under the arm by that "wicked old housekeeper of his." He was "a disgusting old man.
" Of Comrade Ossipon, whom she had received curtly, entrenched behind the counter with a stony face and a faraway gaze, she said nothing, her mental reference to the robust anarchist being marked by a short pause, with the faintest possible blush. And bringing in her brother Stevie as soon as she could into the current of domestic events, she mentioned that the boy had moped a good deal.
entrenched - scavare, sterrare, trincerare, fortificare, rafforzare
faraway - remoto, lontano, fuorimano
reference - riferimento
marked by - segnato da
moped - motorino, (mop), lavapavimenti, spazzolone, scopino, zazzera
"It's all along of mother leaving us like this."
Mr Verloc neither said, "Damn!" nor yet "Stevie be hanged!" And Mrs Verloc, not let into the secret of his thoughts, failed to appreciate the generosity of this restraint.
generosity - generosita, bonta, abnegazione, magnanimita, abbondanza
"It isn't that he doesn't work as well as ever," she continued. "He's been making himself very useful. You'd think he couldn't do enough for us."
Mr Verloc directed a casual and somnolent glance at Stevie, who sat on his right, delicate, pale-faced, his rosy mouth open vacantly. It was not a critical glance. It had no intention.
somnolent - sonnolento
And if Mr Verloc thought for a moment that his wife's brother looked uncommonly useless, it was only a dull and fleeting thought, devoid of that force and durability which enables sometimes a thought to move the world. Leaning back, Mr Verloc uncovered his head. Before his extended arm could put down the hat Stevie pounced upon it, and bore it off reverently into the kitchen.
durability - durabilita
enables - permettere, attivare, abilitare
pounced - balzare
reverently - con riverenza
And again Mr Verloc was surprised.
"You could do anything with that boy, Adolf," Mrs Verloc said, with her best air of inflexible calmness. "He would go through fire for you. He-"
She paused attentive, her ear turned towards the door of the kitchen.
There Mrs Neale was scrubbing the floor. At Stevie's appearance she groaned lamentably, having observed that he could be induced easily to bestow for the benefit of her infant children the shilling his sister Winnie presented him with from time to time.
groaned - gemito, gemere
lamentably - deplorevolmente
bestow - depositare, immagazzinare, collocare, alloggiare, donare, gloss
benefit - beneficio, aiuto, profitto, pagamento, sussidio, beneficiare
On all fours amongst the puddles, wet and begrimed, like a sort of amphibious and domestic animal living in ash-bins and dirty water, she uttered the usual exordium: "It's all very well for you, kept doing nothing like a gentleman." And she followed it with the everlasting plaint of the poor, pathetically mendacious, miserably authenticated by the horrible breath of cheap rum and soap-suds.
puddles - pozzanghera
begrimed - egrime
amphibious - anfibio
domestic animal - animale domestico
ash - cenere
bins - bidone
exordium - beginning, introduction to an essay or discourse
mendacious - mendace, menzognero, bugiardo
miserably - miserabilmente
authenticated - autenticare
She scrubbed hard, snuffling all the time, and talking volubly. And she was sincere. And on each side of her thin red nose her bleared, misty eyes swam in tears, because she felt really the want of some sort of stimulant in the morning.
scrubbed - lavare (fregando)
snuffling - sbuffare
volubly - loquacemente
bleared - sbiancare
stimulant - stimolante
In the parlour Mrs Verloc observed, with knowledge:
"There's Mrs Neale at it again with her harrowing tales about her little children. They can't be all so little as she makes them out. Some of them must be big enough by now to try to do something for themselves. It only makes Stevie angry."
harrowing - erpice
These words were confirmed by a thud as of a fist striking the kitchen table. In the normal evolution of his sympathy Stevie had become angry on discovering that he had no shilling in his pocket. In his inability to relieve at once Mrs Neale's "little 'uns'" privations, he felt that somebody should be made to suffer for it. Mrs Verloc rose, and went into the kitchen to "stop that nonsense.
evolution - evoluzione
become angry - arrabbiarsi
inability - incapacita, inabilita
relieve - risollevare, risollevarsi, lenire, alleviare, mitigare
" And she did it firmly but gently. She was well aware that directly Mrs Neale received her money she went round the corner to drink ardent spirits in a mean and musty public-house-the unavoidable station on the via dolorosa of her life. Mrs Verloc's comment upon this practice had an unexpected profundity, as coming from a person disinclined to look under the surface of things.
musty - ammuffito
unavoidable - inevitabile
dolorosa - ordine del giorno
disinclined - disincentivare
"Of course, what is she to do to keep up? If I were like Mrs Neale I expect I wouldn't act any different."
In the afternoon of the same day, as Mr Verloc, coming with a start out of the last of a long series of dozes before the parlour fire, declared his intention of going out for a walk, Winnie said from the shop:
dozes - sonnecchiare
"I wish you would take that boy out with you, Adolf."
For the third time that day Mr Verloc was surprised. He stared stupidly at his wife. She continued in her steady manner. The boy, whenever he was not doing anything, moped in the house. It made her uneasy; it made her nervous, she confessed. And that from the calm Winnie sounded like exaggeration. But, in truth, Stevie moped in the striking fashion of an unhappy domestic animal.
stupidly - stupidamente
exaggeration - esagerazione
fashion - moda, voga, stile, maniera, modo, tendenza, fabbricare
He would go up on the dark landing, to sit on the floor at the foot of the tall clock, with his knees drawn up and his head in his hands. To come upon his pallid face, with its big eyes gleaming in the dusk, was discomposing; to think of him up there was uncomfortable.
pallid - pallido
gleaming - scintillante
discomposing - scomporsi
Mr Verloc got used to the startling novelty of the idea. He was fond of his wife as a man should be-that is, generously. But a weighty objection presented itself to his mind, and he formulated it.
novelty - novita
weighty - importante
"He'll lose sight of me perhaps, and get lost in the street," he said.
Mrs Verloc shook her head competently.
competently - competentemente
"He won't. You don't know him. That boy just worships you. But if you should miss him-"
worships - adorazione, venerazione, culto
Mrs Verloc paused for a moment, but only for a moment.
"You just go on, and have your walk out. Don't worry. He'll be all right. He's sure to turn up safe here before very long."
Don't worry - non preoccuparti
turn up - aumentare, alzare, presentarsi
This optimism procured for Mr Verloc his fourth surprise of the day.
"Is he?" he grunted doubtfully. But perhaps his brother-in-law was not such an idiot as he looked. His wife would know best.
He turned away his heavy eyes, saying huskily: "Well, let him come along, then," and relapsed into the clutches of black care, that perhaps prefers to sit behind a horseman, but knows also how to tread close on the heels of people not sufficiently well off to keep horses-like Mr Verloc, for instance.
relapsed - ricadere, recidivare, ricaduta, recidiva
clutches - afferrare
horseman - cavaliere
tread - calpestare, pestare
Winnie, at the shop door, did not see this fatal attendant upon Mr Verloc's walks. She watched the two figures down the squalid street, one tall and burly, the other slight and short, with a thin neck, and the peaked shoulders raised slightly under the large semi-transparent ears. The material of their overcoats was the same, their hats were black and round in shape.
attendant - assistente
peaked - picco
Inspired by the similarity of wearing apparel, Mrs Verloc gave rein to her fancy.
similarity - similarita, somiglianza
apparel - abbigliamento
rein - redine, briglia
"Might be father and son," she said to herself. She thought also that Mr Verloc was as much of a father as poor Stevie ever had in his life. She was aware also that it was her work. And with peaceful pride she congratulated herself on a certain resolution she had taken a few years before. It had cost her some effort, and even a few tears.
She congratulated herself still more on observing in the course of days that Mr Verloc seemed to be taking kindly to Stevie's companionship. Now, when ready to go out for his walk, Mr Verloc called aloud to the boy, in the spirit, no doubt, in which a man invites the attendance of the household dog, though, of course, in a different manner.
companionship - compagnia
invites - invitare
In the house Mr Verloc could be detected staring curiously at Stevie a good deal. His own demeanour had changed. Taciturn still, he was not so listless. Mrs Verloc thought that he was rather jumpy at times. It might have been regarded as an improvement. As to Stevie, he moped no longer at the foot of the clock, but muttered to himself in corners instead in a threatening tone.
detected - scoprire
curiously - curiosamente
taciturn - taciturno
listless - apatico, spento
jumpy - nervoso
regarded - considerare
improvement - miglioramento, salto di qualita
When asked "What is it you're saying, Stevie?" he merely opened his mouth, and squinted at his sister. At odd times he clenched his fists without apparent cause, and when discovered in solitude would be scowling at the wall, with the sheet of paper and the pencil given him for drawing circles lying blank and idle on the kitchen table. This was a change, but it was no improvement.
squinted - socchiudere gli occhi, strabicare
clenched - stringere
scowling - accigliato
Mrs Verloc including all these vagaries under the general definition of excitement, began to fear that Stevie was hearing more than was good for him of her husband's conversations with his friends. During his "walks" Mr Verloc, of course, met and conversed with various persons. It could hardly be otherwise.
vagaries - vagabondaggio
conversed - conversare
His walks were an integral part of his outdoor activities, which his wife had never looked deeply into. Mrs Verloc felt that the position was delicate, but she faced it with the same impenetrable calmness which impressed and even astonished the customers of the shop and made the other visitors keep their distance a little wonderingly. No!
integral part - parte integrante
wonderingly - con meraviglia
She feared that there were things not good for Stevie to hear of, she told her husband. It only excited the poor boy, because he could not help them being so. Nobody could.
It was in the shop. Mr Verloc made no comment. He made no retort, and yet the retort was obvious. But he refrained from pointing out to his wife that the idea of making Stevie the companion of his walks was her own, and nobody else's. At that moment, to an impartial observer, Mr Verloc would have appeared more than human in his magnanimity.
refrained - refrain, ritornello
impartial - imparziale
observer - osservatore
magnanimity - magnanimita
He took down a small cardboard box from a shelf, peeped in to see that the contents were all right, and put it down gently on the counter. not till that was done did he break the silence, to the effect that most likely Stevie would profit greatly by being sent out of town for a while; only he supposed his wife could not get on without him.
peeped - sbirciatina
Contents - contento, soddisfatto
not till - non fino a quando
"Could not get on without him!" repeated Mrs Verloc slowly. "I couldn't get on without him if it were for his good! The idea! Of course, I can get on without him. But there's nowhere for him to go."
Mr Verloc got out some brown paper and a ball of string; and meanwhile he muttered that Michaelis was living in a little cottage in the country. Michaelis wouldn't mind giving Stevie a room to sleep in. There were no visitors and no talk there. Michaelis was writing a book.
Meanwhile - intanto, nel frattempo
Mrs Verloc declared her affection for Michaelis; mentioned her abhorrence of Karl Yundt, "nasty old man"; and of Ossipon she said nothing. As to Stevie, he could be no other than very pleased. Mr Michaelis was always so nice and kind to him. He seemed to like the boy. Well, the boy was a good boy.
abhorrence - avversione
"You too seem to have grown quite fond of him of late," she added, after a pause, with her inflexible assurance.
Mr Verloc tying up the cardboard box into a parcel for the post, broke the string by an injudicious jerk, and muttered several swear words confidentially to himself. Then raising his tone to the usual husky mutter, he announced his willingness to take Stevie into the country himself, and leave him all safe with Michaelis.
tying up - legare
parcel - pacchetto, plico, lotto, parcella, impacchettare
injudicious - ingiustificato
swear words - parolacce
confidentially - confidenzialmente
willingness - volonta, disponibilita
He carried out this scheme on the very next day. Stevie offered no objection. He seemed rather eager, in a bewildered sort of way. He turned his candid gaze inquisitively to Mr Verloc's heavy countenance at frequent intervals, especially when his sister was not looking at him.
inquisitively - in modo curioso
intervals - intervallo
His expression was proud, apprehensive, and concentrated, like that of a small child entrusted for the first time with a box of matches and the permission to strike a light. But Mrs Verloc, gratified by her brother's docility, recommended him not to dirty his clothes unduly in the country.
apprehensive - apprensivo
matches - fiammifero
permission - permesso
At this Stevie gave his sister, guardian and protector a look, which for the first time in his life seemed to lack the quality of perfect childlike trustfulness. It was haughtily gloomy. Mrs Verloc smiled.
childlike - infantile
haughtily - altezzosamente, sprezzantemente
"Goodness me! You needn't be offended. You know you do get yourself very untidy when you get a chance, Stevie."
needn - non e necessario
untidy - disordinato
Mr Verloc was already gone some way down the street.
Thus in consequence of her mother's heroic proceedings, and of her brother's absence on this villegiature, Mrs Verloc found herself oftener than usual all alone not only in the shop, but in the house. For Mr Verloc had to take his walks.
proceedings - procedimento
villegiature - ordine del giorno
She was alone longer than usual on the day of the attempted bomb outrage in Greenwich Park, because Mr Verloc went out very early that morning and did not come back till nearly dusk. She did not mind being alone. She had no desire to go out. The weather was too bad, and the shop was cosier than the streets.
cosier - accogliente
Sitting behind the counter with some sewing, she did not raise her eyes from her work when Mr Verloc entered in the aggressive clatter of the bell. She had recognised his step on the pavement outside.
sewing - cucire
She did not raise her eyes, but as Mr Verloc, silent, and with his hat rammed down upon his forehead, made straight for the parlour door, she said serenely:
serenely - serenamente
"What a wretched day. You've been perhaps to see Stevie?"
"No! I haven't," said Mr Verloc softly, and slammed the glazed parlour door behind him with unexpected energy.
slammed - sbattere
For some time Mrs Verloc remained quiescent, with her work dropped in her lap, before she put it away under the counter and got up to light the gas. This done, she went into the parlour on her way to the kitchen. Mr Verloc would want his tea presently.
quiescent - quiescente
dropped in - passare, fare un salto
lap - leccare
under the counter - sotto il bancone, sottobanco, illegalmente
Confident of the power of her charms, Winnie did not expect from her husband in the daily intercourse of their married life a ceremonious amenity of address and courtliness of manner; vain and antiquated forms at best, probably never very exactly observed, discarded nowadays even in the highest spheres, and always foreign to the standards of her class. She did not look for courtesies from him.
ceremonious - cerimonioso
courtliness - cortigianeria
antiquated - antiquato
nowadays - oggidi, oggigiorno
spheres - sfera
standards - standard, regolare, livello, tenore
courtesies - cortesia, talian: di cortesia g
But he was a good husband, and she had a loyal respect for his rights.
Mrs Verloc would have gone through the parlour and on to her domestic duties in the kitchen with the perfect serenity of a woman sure of the power of her charms. But a slight, very slight, and rapid rattling sound grew upon her hearing. Bizarre and incomprehensible, it arrested Mrs Verloc's attention. Then as its character became plain to the ear she stopped short, amazed and concerned.
Striking a match on the box she held in her hand, she turned on and lighted, above the parlour table, one of the two gas-burners, which, being defective, first whistled as if astonished, and then went on purring comfortably like a cat.
burners - fuoco, fornello, becco di Bunsen, bruciatore, inceneritore
defective - difettoso, difettivo
purring - fare le fusa
comfortably - comodamente
Mr Verloc, against his usual practice, had thrown off his overcoat. It was lying on the sofa. His hat, which he must also have thrown off, rested overturned under the edge of the sofa. He had dragged a chair in front of the fireplace, and his feet planted inside the fender, his head held between his hands, he was hanging low over the glowing grate.
overturned - ribaltare, capovolgere
Fender - parafango, parabordo
His teeth rattled with an ungovernable violence, causing his whole enormous back to tremble at the same rate. Mrs Verloc was startled.
ungovernable - ingovernabile
causing - causa, provocare, causare, produrre, ottenere
"You've been getting wet," she said.
"Not very," Mr Verloc managed to falter out, in a profound shudder. By a great effort he suppressed the rattling of his teeth.
falter - inciampare
suppressed - sopprimere
"I'll have you laid up on my hands," she said, with genuine uneasiness.
uneasiness - disagio
"I don't think so," remarked Mr Verloc, snuffling huskily.
I don't think so - Non credo
He had certainly contrived somehow to catch an abominable cold between seven in the morning and five in the afternoon. Mrs Verloc looked at his bowed back.
contrived - combinare, programmare, intrigare, complottare
"Where have you been to-day?" she asked.
"Nowhere," answered Mr Verloc in a low, choked nasal tone. His attitude suggested aggrieved sulks or a severe headache. The unsufficiency and uncandidness of his answer became painfully apparent in the dead silence of the room. He snuffled apologetically, and added: "I've been to the bank."
nasal - nasale
sulks - (tenere il broncio)
headache - mal di testa
unsufficiency - insufficienza
uncandidness - incandidabilita
snuffled - (tirare su col naso), (respirare rumorosamente)
Mrs Verloc became attentive.
"You have!" she said dispassionately. "What for?"
Mr Verloc mumbled, with his nose over the grate, and with marked unwillingness.
"Draw the money out!"
"What do you mean? All of it?"
"Yes. All of it."
Mrs Verloc spread out with care the scanty table-cloth, got two knives and two forks out of the table drawer, and suddenly stopped in her methodical proceedings.
scanty - scarso
knives - coltello, lama, accoltellare
forks - forchetta
methodical - metodico
"What did you do that for?"
"May want it soon," snuffled vaguely Mr Verloc, who was coming to the end of his calculated indiscretions.
calculated - calcolare
indiscretions - indiscrezione
"I don't know what you mean," remarked his wife in a tone perfectly casual, but standing stock still between the table and the cupboard.
stock still - immobile, fermo
"You know you can trust me," Mr Verloc remarked to the grate, with hoarse feeling.
Mrs Verloc turned slowly towards the cupboard, saying with deliberation:
"Oh yes. I can trust you."
And she went on with her methodical proceedings. She laid two plates, got the bread, the butter, going to and fro quietly between the table and the cupboard in the peace and silence of her home. On the point of taking out the jam, she reflected practically: "He will be feeling hungry, having been away all day," and she returned to the cupboard once more to get the cold beef.
plates - piatto
taking out - uscire con qualcuno, prendere, eliminare, fare fuori
jam - marmellata
beef - manzo, carne bovina
She set it under the purring gas-jet, and with a passing glance at her motionless husband hugging the fire, she went (down two steps) into the kitchen. It was only when coming back, carving knife and fork in hand, that she spoke again.
hugging - abbraccio, abbracciare, tenersi vicino
carving - intaglio, (carve), tagliare, trinciare, scalcare, intagliare
knife - coltello, lama, accoltellare
fork - forchetta
"If I hadn't trusted you I wouldn't have married you."
Bowed under the overmantel, Mr Verloc, holding his head in both hands, seemed to have gone to sleep. Winnie made the tea, and called out in an undertone:
"Adolf."
Mr Verloc got up at once, and staggered a little before he sat down at the table. His wife examining the sharp edge of the carving knife, placed it on the dish, and called his attention to the cold beef. He remained insensible to the suggestion, with his chin on his breast.
staggered - barcollare
examining - esaminare
"You should feed your cold," Mrs Verloc said dogmatically.
dogmatically - dogmaticamente
He looked up, and shook his head. His eyes were bloodshot and his face red. His fingers had ruffled his hair into a dissipated untidiness. Altogether he had a disreputable aspect, expressive of the discomfort, the irritation and the gloom following a heavy debauch. But Mr Verloc was not a debauched man. In his conduct he was respectable.
ruffled - falpala, frangia, gala, frappa
dissipated - dissipare
untidiness - disordine, sciatteria, sciattezza
expressive - espressivo
discomfort - disagio
debauch - dissolutezza
His appearance might have been the effect of a feverish cold. He drank three cups of tea, but abstained from food entirely. He recoiled from it with sombre aversion when urged by Mrs Verloc, who said at last:
feverish - febbricoso
abstained from - astenersi da
recoiled - rinculo, ritrarsi, rinculare
aversion - avversione
"Aren't your feet wet? You had better put on your slippers. You aren't going out any more this evening."
Mr Verloc intimated by morose grunts and signs that his feet were not wet, and that anyhow he did not care. The proposal as to slippers was disregarded as beneath his notice. But the question of going out in the evening received an unexpected development. It was not of going out in the evening that Mr Verloc was thinking. His thoughts embraced a vaster scheme.
proposal - proposta, accordo
beneath - sotto
vaster - ampio, vasto, esteso, grande
From moody and incomplete phrases it became apparent that Mr Verloc had been considering the expediency of emigrating. It was not very clear whether he had in his mind France or California.
incomplete - incompleto
expediency - convenienza
emigrating - emigrare
California - California
The utter unexpectedness, improbability, and inconceivableness of such an event robbed this vague declaration of all its effect. Mrs Verloc, as placidly as if her husband had been threatening her with the end of the world, said:
unexpectedness - inaspettato
improbability - improbabilita
inconceivableness - inconcepibilita
"The idea!"
Mr Verloc declared himself sick and tired of everything, and besides-She interrupted him.
"You've a bad cold."
It was indeed obvious that Mr Verloc was not in his usual state, physically and even mentally. A sombre irresolution held him silent for a while. Then he murmured a few ominous generalities on the theme of necessity.
irresolution - irresoluzione
generalities - generalita
theme - tema
"Will have to," repeated Winnie, sitting calmly back, with folded arms, opposite her husband. "I should like to know who's to make you. You ain't a slave. No one need be a slave in this country-and don't you make yourself one." She paused, and with invincible and steady candour. "The business isn't so bad," she went on. "You've a comfortable home."
candour - candore
She glanced all round the parlour, from the corner cupboard to the good fire in the grate. Ensconced cosily behind the shop of doubtful wares, with the mysteriously dim window, and its door suspiciously ajar in the obscure and narrow street, it was in all essentials of domestic propriety and domestic comfort a respectable home.
ensconced - accomodarsi
cosily - in modo accogliente
essentials - necessario, indispensabile, essenziale, fondamentale, sobrio
Her devoted affection missed out of it her brother Stevie, now enjoying a damp villegiature in the Kentish lanes under the care of Mr Michaelis. She missed him poignantly, with all the force of her protecting passion. This was the boy's home too-the roof, the cupboard, the stoked grate.
poignantly - in modo toccante
stoked - alimentare, attizzare
On this thought Mrs Verloc rose, and walking to the other end of the table, said in the fulness of her heart:
"And you are not tired of me."
Mr Verloc made no sound. Winnie leaned on his shoulder from behind, and pressed her lips to his forehead. Thus she lingered. Not a whisper reached them from the outside world.
The sound of footsteps on the pavement died out in the discreet dimness of the shop. Only the gas-jet above the table went on purring equably in the brooding silence of the parlour.
died out - si e estinto
dimness - oscurita
equably - equamente
During the contact of that unexpected and lingering kiss Mr Verloc, gripping with both hands the edges of his chair, preserved a hieratic immobility. When the pressure was removed he let go the chair, rose, and went to stand before the fireplace. He turned no longer his back to the room. With his features swollen and an air of being drugged, he followed his wife's movements with his eyes.
Lingering - Indugiare, (linger), sostare, trattenersi, attardarsi
kiss - baciare
gripping - impugnare, avvincere
edges - orlo, bordo, lato, vantaggio, lama, filo, arco
hieratic - sacrale, ieratico, sacerdotale, austero, solenne
pressure - pressione, spinta, impellenza, urgenza, tensione
drugged - medicinale
Mrs Verloc went about serenely, clearing up the table. Her tranquil voice commented the idea thrown out in a reasonable and domestic tone. It wouldn't stand examination. She condemned it from every point of view. But her only real concern was Stevie's welfare. He appeared to her thought in that connection as sufficiently "peculiar" not to be taken rashly abroad. And that was all.
clearing up - pulire, chiarire
examination - esame, visita
rashly - ardimentosamente, arrischiatamente, avventatamente
But talking round that vital point, she approached absolute vehemence in her delivery. Meanwhile, with brusque movements, she arrayed herself in an apron for the washing up of cups. And as if excited by the sound of her uncontradicted voice, she went so far as to say in a tone almost tart:
vital - vitale, fondamentale
washing up - lavare i piatti, lavarsi, gettare qualcosa a riva
uncontradicted - non contraddetto
tart - acerbo, agro
"If you go abroad you'll have to go without me."
go abroad - andare all'estero
"You know I wouldn't," said Mr Verloc huskily, and the unresonant voice of his private life trembled with an enigmatical emotion.
unresonant - ordine del giorno
private life - vita privata
Already Mrs Verloc was regretting her words. They had sounded more unkind than she meant them to be. They had also the unwisdom of unnecessary things. In fact, she had not meant them at all. It was a sort of phrase that is suggested by the demon of perverse inspiration. But she knew a way to make it as if it had not been.
regretting - rimpiangere, rammaricarsi, pentirsi, rammarico, rimpianto
more unkind - piu scortese
unwisdom - malaccortezza
She turned her head over her shoulder and gave that man planted heavily in front of the fireplace a glance, half arch, half cruel, out of her large eyes-a glance of which the Winnie of the Belgravian mansion days would have been incapable, because of her respectability and her ignorance. But the man was her husband now, and she was no longer ignorant.
arch - arco, arcata
ignorant - ignorante
She kept it on him for a whole second, with her grave face motionless like a mask, while she said playfully:
mask - maschera
playfully - giocosamente
"You couldn't. You would miss me too much."
Mr Verloc started forward.
"Exactly," he said in a louder tone, throwing his arms out and making a step towards her. Something wild and doubtful in his expression made it appear uncertain whether he meant to strangle or to embrace his wife. But Mrs Verloc's attention was called away from that manifestation by the clatter of the shop bell.
louder - forte, alto
strangle - strangolare
"Shop, Adolf. You go."
He stopped, his arms came down slowly.
"You go," repeated Mrs Verloc. "I've got my apron on."
Mr Verloc obeyed woodenly, stony-eyed, and like an automaton whose face had been painted red. And this resemblance to a mechanical figure went so far that he had an automaton's absurd air of being aware of the machinery inside of him.
obeyed - obbedire, ubbidire, assolvere, conformarsi
woodenly - in modo legnoso
automaton - automa
machinery - macchinario
He closed the parlour door, and Mrs Verloc moving briskly, carried the tray into the kitchen. She washed the cups and some other things before she stopped in her work to listen. No sound reached her. The customer was a long time in the shop. It was a customer, because if he had not been Mr Verloc would have taken him inside.
briskly - alacremente
Undoing the strings of her apron with a jerk, she threw it on a chair, and walked back to the parlour slowly.
undoing - disfatta
strings - spago, stringa, laccetto, legaccio, corda
At that precise moment Mr Verloc entered from the shop.
He had gone in red. He came out a strange papery white. His face, losing its drugged, feverish stupor, had in that short time acquired a bewildered and harassed expression. He walked straight to the sofa, and stood looking down at his overcoat lying there, as though he were afraid to touch it.
papery - cartaceo
stupor - stupore, stordimento
harassed - importunare, infastidire, molestare, tormentare
"What's the matter?" asked Mrs Verloc in a subdued voice. Through the door left ajar she could see that the customer was not gone yet.
What's the matter? - Qual e il problema?
"I find I'll have to go out this evening," said Mr Verloc. He did not attempt to pick up his outer garment.
Without a word Winnie made for the shop, and shutting the door after her, walked in behind the counter. She did not look overtly at the customer till she had established herself comfortably on the chair. But by that time she had noted that he was tall and thin, and wore his moustaches twisted up. In fact, he gave the sharp points a twist just then.
shutting - chiudere
overtly - apertamente
His long, bony face rose out of a turned-up collar. He was a little splashed, a little wet. A dark man, with the ridge of the cheek-bone well defined under the slightly hollow temple. A complete stranger. Not a customer either.
ridge - cresta, crinale, costone, colmo, catena, dorsale
bone - osso, lisca, spina
Mrs Verloc looked at him placidly.
"You came over from the Continent?" she said after a time.
The long, thin stranger, without exactly looking at Mrs Verloc, answered only by a faint and peculiar smile.
Mrs Verloc's steady, incurious gaze rested on him.
"You understand English, don't you?"
don't you? - Non e vero?
"Oh yes. I understand English."
There was nothing foreign in his accent, except that he seemed in his slow enunciation to be taking pains with it. And Mrs Verloc, in her varied experience, had come to the conclusion that some foreigners could speak better English than the natives. She said, looking at the door of the parlour fixedly:
pains - dolore
varied - variare
foreigners - straniero, straniera
"You don't think perhaps of staying in England for good?"
The stranger gave her again a silent smile. He had a kindly mouth and probing eyes. And he shook his head a little sadly, it seemed.
probing - sonda, specillo, inchiesta, investigazione, investigare
"My husband will see you through all right. Meantime for a few days you couldn't do better than take lodgings with Mr Giugliani. Continental Hotel it's called. Private. It's quiet. My husband will take you there."
lodgings - alloggio, allettamento
Continental - continentale
"A good idea," said the thin, dark man, whose glance had hardened suddenly.
"You knew Mr Verloc before-didn't you? Perhaps in France?"
"I have heard of him," admitted the visitor in his slow, painstaking tone, which yet had a certain curtness of intention.
painstaking - scrupoloso, minuzioso
curtness - curtitudine
There was a pause. Then he spoke again, in a far less elaborate manner.
"Your husband has not gone out to wait for me in the street by chance?"
by chance - per caso
"In the street!" repeated Mrs Verloc, surprised. "He couldn't. There's no other door to the house."
For a moment she sat impassive, then left her seat to go and peep through the glazed door. Suddenly she opened it, and disappeared into the parlour.
peep through - sbirciare
Mr Verloc had done no more than put on his overcoat. But why he should remain afterwards leaning over the table propped up on his two arms as though he were feeling giddy or sick, she could not understand. "Adolf," she called out half aloud; and when he had raised himself:
giddy - vertiginoso
"Do you know that man?" she asked rapidly.
"I've heard of him," whispered uneasily Mr Verloc, darting a wild glance at the door.
darting - dardo
Mrs Verloc's fine, incurious eyes lighted up with a flash of abhorrence.
"One of Karl Yundt's friends-beastly old man."
"No! No!" protested Mr Verloc, busy fishing for his hat. But when he got it from under the sofa he held it as if he did not know the use of a hat.
"Well-he's waiting for you," said Mrs Verloc at last. "I say, Adolf, he ain't one of them Embassy people you have been bothered with of late?"
"Bothered with Embassy people," repeated Mr Verloc, with a heavy start of surprise and fear. "Who's been talking to you of the Embassy people?"
"Yourself."
"I! I! Talked of the Embassy to you!"
Mr Verloc seemed scared and bewildered beyond measure. His wife explained:
"You've been talking a little in your sleep of late, Adolf."
"What-what did I say? What do you know?"
"Nothing much. It seemed mostly nonsense. Enough to let me guess that something worried you."