Zibaldone

by Leopardi, Giacomo

  Divenire–diventare [to become] (from ventum supine of venio). Cupio cupitum–cupitare [to desire], covidare, convitare [to invite to a dinner, to entertain] (Crusca), convoiter [to covet], etc., see the Spanish. Pervertire–perversare. [to pervert], See Crusca on perversare and perversato.

  FaVola–faOla–fola [fable].

  Invaghire–invaghicchiare [to charm, to make fall in love].

  Note that the ancient Greeks often gave the name πόλις [city] to regions and countries.*“‘Πάρος, νῆσος, ἣν καὶ πόλιν ᾿Αρχίλοχος αὐτὴν καλεῖ ἐν ἐπῳδοῖς’ [‘Paros, an island which Archilochus also calls city in the Epodes’], Stephanus Byzantinus, entry Πάρος. Islands and regions are often called πόλεις πόλεις [cities], as Strabo observes, bk. 8, p. 546: ‘Στησίχορος δὲ καλεῖ πόλιν τὴν χώραν Πίσαν λεγομένην, ὡς ὁ ποιητὴς τὴν Λέσβον Μάκαρος πόλιν. Εὐριπίδης ἐν ῎Ιωνι· Εὔβοι' ᾿Αθήναις ἐστὶ τις γείτων πόλις’ [‘Stesichorus calls city the land named Pisa, just as the poet calls city Makaros’s Lesbos. Euripides in Ion says that Euboea is one of the cities near Athens, etc.’], etc. See ibid. Casaubon, note 2. The islands of Kos in the Iliad, bk. 2, 676, and Lemnos in the Odyssey, bk. 8, [4159] 284, are called the same by Homer. Archilochus again, fragment 92 (‘Θάσον δὲ τὴν τρισοϊζυρὴν πόλιν’ [‘Thasos the most fortunate city’] in Eustathius, Odyssey, 5, tome 3, p. 1542, Roman ed.) calls the island of Thasos πόλιν [city]. Lysias, Contra Andocidem: ‘ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ διώχληκε πόλεις πολλὰς ἐν τῇ ἀποδημίᾳ, Σικελίαν, ᾿Ιταλίαν, Πελοπόννησον’ [‘then he troubled many cities in the course of his journey, Sicily, Italy, Pelopponese’], etc. Aristides, De Neptuno, tome 1, p. 20, ed. Jebb, Oxon, 1722. ‘καὶ πόλεις δὲ ἐπολίσατο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἃς καὶ νήσους νυνὶ καλοῦμεν’ [‘and he founded cities for men, which we now also call islands’]. Aeschylus, Eumenides 75, calls islands ‘περιῥῤύτους πόλεις’ [‘cities surrounded by water’]. So too Propertius, bk. 3, elegy 9, 16, as is noted by Huschke, in Miscellanea philologica, part 1, p. 24. ‘Praxitelem Paria vindicat urbe lapis’ [‘the marble from Paros, the city, vindicates Praxiteles’].”* —Liebel, loc. cit. above, fragment 76, pp. 179–80.1 Similar causes, similar effects: similar times, similar customs, and language and words corresponding to customs. This calling countries cities, probably derived from the way in which men lived before there were cities, in an already fairly civilized condition, fairly united, but not sufficiently so to constitute a city, rather in a great number of hamlets and small villages occupying a vast area of the countryside. The whole area must have been called πόλις from the start, hence the meaning was then transferred to the city (when that is there were cities), and not vice versa. This was the time when Athens was no more than four (Plutarch in Theseus; Euripides, Heraclidae 81), or 11 (Stephanus of Byzantium, ᾿Αθῆναι [“Athens”]) or 12 (Theophrastus, Charactères, ch. 26, end, in the addenda from the Vatican ms.)2 villages spread throughout Attica, which were then united by Theseus (see Meurs on Theseus) and given the single name Athens; and the same with Mantinea in Arcadia, etc. Now we know from history that the same way of living in villages occurred in later times; and that in the same way as new civilizations grew, cities formed (see Robertson, introduction to the [4160] History of Charles V),1 and in exactly the same way, we find that up to the 16th century, etc., the ancients generally called cities terre [lands], a word literally meaning paesi [countries], which we still use today in elegant writing, even for large cities, and in everyday and spoken language for castles, and for the so-called paesi. Likewise in French even today pays for town, although properly speaking the name of a region. (See moreover the French, Spanish, and English Dictionaries, etc., under Terra, etc., and under the names of cities, and likewise Forcellini, Glossary, etc. From terra in the sense of city, terrazzano for city dweller, etc.) Which also confirms my opinion on the true original meaning of πόλις. (Bologna, 1825, 9 Dec., Vigil of the Translation of the Holy House.)

  Tiglio–tilleul [lime tree].

  Selva for albero that is for lauro [laurel tree]. Petrarch, Sestina 1, stanza 6.2 And for legno [wood], ibid., conclusion.

  Sentido for que siente [who is sensitive], (likewise risentito, etc.), and then nominalized for sentimento, senso [feeling]. Esclarecido [illustrious]. See the Spanish Dictionaries.

  Spanish pausar [to pause].

  Sentimenta [feelings].

  Aerugo or rubigo or robigo–rouille [rust].

  “῾Ηττημένη τοῖς πρώην ἡ τύχη καθ' ἕνα τῶν ἀγώνων προσφέρουσα, νῦν τι καινὸν ἐτεχνάσατο καθ' ἡμῶν” [“Since fortune has been overcome in each of the preceding contests which she hurled at me, now she is devising something new against us”]. Severus Sophista Alexandrinus in his Ethopoeiae edited by Gale in the book whose title is Rhetores selecti, with Demetrius’s περὶ ἑρμηνείας [On Interpretation], etc., Oxford, 1676, Ethopoiia 3, page 221.3 The genitive for the accusative. (Bologna, 16 Dec. 1825.)

  Summittere for mandare in alto [to send upward]; or else submittere. See Forcellini.

  Marceo or marcesco, marcitum; marcire, marcito—Spanish marchitar [to rot, wither].

  Since to be a true and great philosopher the natural gifts [4161] of a great imagination and great sensitivity are needed, it follows that great philosophers have the most antiphilosophical nature there is as far as practicing and using philosophy in their lives is concerned, and that conversely the most boorish or the hardest heads, the coldest and most antiphilosophical, are naturally more disposed to the practical exercise of philosophy. Tasso was the greatest philosopher in his day in terms of contemplation. But who could be less naturally disposed than he was to the practice of philosophy? Who more disposed than he to the practice of the most fanciful doctrines, enthusiasms, etc.? And who less of a philosopher than he was in practice, and in the effect which life’s events produced in his mind? Conversely who is less of a philosopher in theory than certain carefree and imperturbable men who are always happy and calm, who yet in practice are the very model and type of the philosophical character and life. In truth, since nature always triumphs, it generally happens that those who are most philosophical in theory, are in practice the least philosophical, and that those least disposed to philosophy in theory, are the most philosophical in fact. And you might then say that the aim, the intention, and the whole of philosophy in theory along with all its precepts, etc., has no other target actually than to make the life and the character of those who possess it like that of those who are not naturally capable of it. An effect which it achieves with difficulty.1 (Bologna, 20 Dec. 1825.)

  Bebido for que ha bebido [drunk]. Estar reñidos [to be incompatible]. Lucido for luciente [bright, shining], in Spanish.

  ProVidens–prUdens [provident–prudent].

  “Νικίας δ’ ὁ ζωγράφος καὶ τοῦτο εὐθὺς ἔλεγεν εἶναι τῆς γραφικῆς [4162] τέχνης οὐ μικρὸν μέρος, τὸ λαβόντα ὕλην εὐμεγέθη γράφειν” [“The painter Nikias used to say that first of all choosing and painting the right scale of subject played no small part in this art”]. Demetrius, De elocutione, § 76, ed. Gale, Oxford, p. 53. (Bologna, 22 Dec. 1825.) “Εὐθὺς οὖν πρώτη ἐστὶ χάρις ἡ ἐκ συντομίας” [“Gracefulness of style comes first of all from concision”]. Ibid., § 137, p. 85.1 (24 Dec. 1825.)

  Gradito, aggradito, etc., for gradevole, grato [pleasant, agreeable]. (25 Dec., Christmas Day, 1825.)

  Favorito for favorevole [favorable]. See the Veronese Addenda to the Crusca on Favoritissimo, and the Crusca on Favorato for prospero [propitious]. Scaltrito from scaltrire for scaltro [shrewd, sharp]
. Scalterito; scalteritamente or scaltritamente for scaltramente [shrewdly], etc.

  “Degnò mostrar del suo lavoro in terra” [“Deigned to show his work on earth”]. Petrarch, Canzone “Gentil mia donna, i’ veggio,” stanza 2, l. 3.2 (27 Dec., Feast of St. John the Evangelist, 1825, Bologna.) Comparatus for par, comparabilis [comparable]. See Forcellini, Crusca, etc. etc.

  Demetrius περὶ ἑρμηνείας [On Interpretation], § 240, ed. Gale, Oxford 1676, p. 134. “φιλοφρόνησις γάρ τις βούλεται εἶναι” (wants to, that is should) “ἡ ἐπιστολὴ, σύντομος…” [“the epistle should have a sort of amiability, should be concise…”]. Id., § 2, p. 2: “βούλεται” (they want to, that is they must) “μέντοι διάνοιαν ἀπαρτίζειν τὰ κῶλα ταῦτα” [“the parts of the discourse must be adapted to the thought”]. (Bologna, 28 Dec. 1825.) See the following page, paragraph 8, and here below, p. 4224.

  To what I have said [→Z 2919–22] about θέλειν or ἐθέλειν for to be able our malvolentieri for difficilmente [with difficulty] is relevant (Crusca) and volentieri for facilmente [easily] (Veronese Addenda).3

  “῾Απλοῦν γὰρ εἶναι βούλεται” (wants that is must) “καὶ ἀποίητον τὸ πάθος” [“Emotion must have simplicity and naturalness”]. Demetrius, De elocutione, § 28, p. 22.4 (Bologna, 31 Dec. 1825.)

  Onde for dove, quo [where]. Petrarch, Sonnet “Occhi piangete,” l. 6.5 (Bologna, first day of 1826.)

  Crates, grata, grada [grill]–graticcio [lattice], graticcia, gradella, graticola, ingraticolato, craticcio (Veronese Crusca), etc. See Forcellini under craticula, the French, Spanish, etc.

  Éploré for qui plorat [tearful] from s’épleurer. Zélé for qui zèle, zelante [zealous]. Homme réfléchi or irréfléchi [thoughtful or thoughtless man].

  “Così avestu riposti / De’ bei vestigi sparsi” [“would you had hidden away some lovely trace of her”]. Petrarch, Canzone “Se ’l pensier che mi strugge,” stanza 5, ll. 7, 8.6

  Smoccare (Veronese Crusca)—Smoccolare [to trim the wick, to snuff], with its derivatives.

  BoVes, boVi–buoi [oxen].

  What is life? The journey of a crippled and sick man walking with a heavy load on his back up steep mountains and through wild, rugged, arduous places, in snow, ice, rain, wind, burning sun, for many days without ever resting night and day [4163] to end at a precipice or ditch, in which inevitably he falls.1 (Bologna, 17 Jan. 1826.)

  Homme réservé. Riservato [reserved]. See the Spanish. Enjoué [cheerful]. Cabalgado for que cabalga or que està a caballo [who rides or is on horseback].

  Torso–torsolo [trunk, torso–core]. Bitorzo–bitorzolo [wart, bump], bitorzolato, bitorzoluto [warty, lumpy].

  Incrociare–incrocicchiare [to cross], etc.

  Segnalato, señalado, signalé for da segnalarsi [to be signaled out] or che si segnala [who distinguishes himself] or si è segnalato [has distinguished himself], etc., with their derivatives. Valido for que vale [what is strong, effective] in someone, etc. See the Dictionaries. Desvalido [helpless, defenseless].

  “Παραφυλακτέον δὲ” (cavendum) “καὶ τὸ παραλλήλους τιθέναι τὰς πτώσεις” (pares casus) “ἐπὶ διαφόρων προσώπων· ἀμφίβολον” (anceps, dubium) “γὰρ γίνεται τὸ ἐπὶ τίνα φέρεσθαι” [“One must beware of applying similar cases to different people; one can never be sure to whom these cases refer”], Theon the sophist, “Progymnasmata” 2, that is “De narratione,” Basel 1541, p. 36.2 The infinitive used in a way which is quite Italian. (Bologna, 24 Jan. 1826.) See the following page, paragraph 3.

  Hombre or cosa arriesgada, arrischiato, arrisicato, etc., for rischioso or che si arrischia [daring, risky]. See the French dictionaries on hasardé, etc. Agiato for pigro [lazy], that is che opera ad agio, che si adagia [taking it easy], etc.

  Affettato, affecté, etc., for che affetta, or che ha affettazione [who affects].

  For p. 4162, paragraph 5. “᾿Εν μὲν τοῖς ἐγκωμίοις καὶ ψόγοις φροντιστέον καὶ προοιμίων, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ τόπου” (in loco communi) “ἐπίνοια τοιαύτη τὶς εἶναι βούλεται” (absolute) “ὥστε ἀποκοπὴν εἶναι δοκεῖν, καὶ μέρος λόγου ἑτέρου προειρημένου” [“In praising or reviling, the exordium must not be overlooked, but let there be a certain attention paid to this topic, i.e., that the discourse should appear to have already begun and to be part of another previous discourse”] “In laudando et vituperando, ne exordia quidem negligenda, loci vero huiusmodi quaedam est consideratio, ut amputatum quiddam videatur, atque pars orationis alterius iam habitae” (translation by Joachim Camerarius). Theon the sophist, “Progymnasmata” 5, “De loco communi,” Basel 1541, p. 71.3 (30 Jan. 1826, Bologna.) See p. 4212, end.

  The Spanish use mas redundantly or else for niuno like our altro. Sin mas oro ni mas seda, that is senza punto d’oro nè di seta [without any gold or silk]. Augustin de Rojas, Viage entretenido.4 (Bologna, 1 Feb. 1826.)

  The genitive for the accusative, Epictetus, ch. 70, “ἐπίσπασαι ψυχροῦ ὕδατος,”5 “take a mouthful of fresh water.”

  [4164] Avenido, estar avenidos, etc., for conveniente, concorde, avvenente [well-matched, harmonious, charming], etc. See the Dictionaries. Spanish visto per avveduto [shrewd, judicious], etc. “Terencio fuè mas visto en los preceptos” [“Terence was more judicious in his precepts”] (further on he says: “Porque en esto Terencio fuè mas cauto” [“Since on this point Terence was more cautious”]), Lope de Vega, Arte nuevo de hacer comedias.1 Négligé, Desabrido [negligent, tasteless]. Consigliato, sconsigliato, bene or mal consigliato [advised, ill-advised, well or badly advised].

  Very often, like a sick person, a convalescent taking care of himself, a poor man struggling to find food, using infinite patience just to survive, we suffer just in order to survive, so as not to lose our ability to suffer, and we are patient in order to preserve our ability to be so, and to continue to be so. (Bologna, 4 Feb. 1826.)

  For p. 4163, paragraph 5. This passage in Theon again is similar, 1st chreia of the “Progymnasmata” examples, p. 116.2 “ἐν ταῖς ἀποβολαῖς τῶν παίδων καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων, οὗ” (ubi) “πολλάκις τὸ πάθος μεῖζον ἢ φέρειν” [“in the loss of children and of what is most necessary, where often sorrow is greater than can be borne”]. See pp. 4190, 4299.

  Homme mésuré, misurato, smisurato, mesurado, desmedido [a measured, careful, excessive, immoderate man], etc. See the Dictionaries.

  Affidato, sfidato for che si affida or sconfida [trusting or without trust], etc. Confiado, desconfiado, etc. Desasosegado. Resentido [painful, resentful].

  Coyuntar, descoyuntar from coniunctus, like juntar [to join], etc. See the Dictionaries. Compulser, expulser [to consult, to expel].

  “Αὐτῶν δέ γε τῶν ὑποθήκων” (monitorum) “τὰς μὲν ἐν γράμμασι, τὰς δὲ ἀπὸ στόματος οὑτωσὶ” (così [thus] redundant, a phrase mentioned elsewhere [→Z 3170, 4121]) “πρὸς τοὺς συνόντας εἰπών, ἐν μνήμῃ κατέλιπε” (᾿Ισοκράτης) [“Some of his admonitions in writing, others by word of mouth, thus he” (Isocrates) “handed on to his followers”]. Theon the sophist, 3rd chreia of the “Progymnasmata” examples, just after the beginning, Basel 1541, pp. 129–30.3

  “Τίς οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσειε πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων εὐθὺς τὴν ἀλήθειαν (primum ante cetera veritatem huius sententiae Isocratis)” [“Who would not marvel immediately before anything else at the truth of this maxim of Isocrates?”] Theon, loc. cit. above, p. 130.4

  “Τί δὲ θαυμαστὸν εἰ προσδεῖται πόνων ἐκείνη” (ἡ παιδεία), “μηδὲ τῶν ἐ�
�αττόνων ἄνευ ταλαιπωρίας ἐθελόντων περιγίνεσθαι;” [“How can anyone be amazed that it” (learning) “requires hard work if not even lesser things can succeed without effort?”]. Ibid., p. 137.5

  Dilatado for latus [broad, wide], see p. 4167, like éloigné for lontano [distant, remote]: dénué, assuré, rapproché, reculé, varié, prématuré, approfondi, élevé, prolongé, rembruni, azuré, rafiné, arrondi, infecté, participles instead of adjectives.

  “᾿Εν ἄλλοις τε οὐκ ὀλίγοις, καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς ᾿Ιλιάδος εὐθὺς” [“And in not a few others, and especially in the first lines of the Iliad, right at the beginning”]. Ibid., dictum 2, p. 151.6

  Malinteso for male, that is poco, intendente [badly, little understanding]. See the French, etc. Homme, etc., recherché [affected man].

  “῎Ηκουε γὰρ ἴσως” (ὁ Χρύσης) “τὴν περὶ τὸ γύναιον” (τῆς Βρισήϊδος) “τοῦ βασιλέως” (᾿Αγαμέμνονος) “σπουδήν” [“He listened equally” (Chryses) “to the impassioned words for the woman” (Briseis) “spoken by the king” (Agamemnon)], Theon, loc. cit. above, Refutation p. 152.7 See the following page and p. 4166.

  “Τῶν ἀπολωλότων, τὸ ἐκείνου μέρος” “che erano periti, per la sua parte,” that is per quanto era in lui [“of those who had been killed, as much as it depended on him”]. Ibid., Confirmation 1, p. 158.8 See p. 4166.

  [4165] Sperimentato, experimentado, expérimenté, inexpérimenté, esperimentato, inesperimentato, etc., for che ha or non ha sperimentato [who has or has not experienced]. See provato as well in the Crusca. Circospetto for qui circumspicit [who looks about him]. See Forcellini, Glossary, the French, the Spanish, etc.

  Risentire–risensare [to feel again]. See Crusca.