# The Seven Madmen, The Proposal Los siete locos · Roberto Arlt · Part One Source: https://1732studios.com/books/arlt/la-propuesta. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/arlt/la-propuesta.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/arlt/.m4a. El Astrólogo se disponía a acostarse cuando escuchó pasos en el sendero que conducía a la casa. The Astrologer was getting ready to go to bed when he heard footsteps on the path that led to the house. > Imperfect for an action in progress: «se disponía a acostarse» is the imperfect of the pronominal verb «disponerse a» ('to be about to'). The imperfect sets the scene already underway — 'he was getting ready' — and is interrupted by the preterite «escuchó» ('he heard'), which names the single completed event that breaks in on it. Como el perro no ladró, entreabrió el postigo. Since the dog did not bark, he opened the shutter partway. > «Como» = 'since / because': At the head of a clause, «como» usually means 'since' or 'as' (giving a reason), not 'like' or 'how'. «Como el perro no ladró» = 'since the dog didn't bark'. The causal «como» clause normally comes first, before the main clause it explains. Un paralelogramo de luz cortó las tinieblas hasta la cúpula de los granados y por este cajón amarillo vio avanzar a Erdosain, a quien la luz daba de lleno en el rostro. A parallelogram of light cut through the darkness as far as the dome of the pomegranate trees, and through this yellow box he saw Erdosain coming forward, the light striking him full in the face. > Perception verb + infinitive: Verbs of perception like «ver» take a bare infinitive for what is seen happening: «vio avanzar a Erdosain» = 'he saw Erdosain come forward'. The personal «a» before «Erdosain» marks him as the human object of «vio». –¡Qué curioso! –pensó el Astrólogo–. "How odd!" thought the Astrologer. ¡Todavía no me había fijado que este muchacho usa sombrero de paja! I still hadn't noticed this fellow wears a straw hat! > Pluperfect + pronominal «fijarse»: «fijarse (en)» means 'to notice / take note of'. Here it is in the pluperfect, «no me había fijado» = 'I hadn't noticed', a state reaching up to the present moment of speaking. The reflexive «me» is part of the verb, not a separate object. ¿Qué es lo que querrá? What can he want? > Future of conjecture: The future tense «querrá» here does not point to the future; it expresses a present guess — 'what can he want?', 'I wonder what he wants'. Spanish often uses the future this way to voice supposition about the present. –Y después de asegurarse que tenía el revólver en la cintura (este movimiento era instintivo en él) abrió la cerradura de la puerta y Erdosain entró. And after making sure he had the revolver at his waist (this motion was instinctive in him) he unlocked the door, and Erdosain came in. > «después de» + infinitive: When the subject is the same in both clauses, Spanish uses «después de» plus an infinitive rather than a conjugated verb: «después de asegurarse» = 'after making sure (he) had…'. The pronominal «asegurarse (de)» means 'to make sure / satisfy oneself'. –Creí que estaba acostado. "I thought you'd gone to bed." > Preterite «creí» for a finished thought: «Creí que…» ('I thought that…') is the preterite of «creer» — a belief held at one bounded past moment, now corrected. The imperfect «estaba acostado» ('you were in bed / had gone to bed') describes the supposed ongoing state inside that belief. –Pase. "Come in." > Formal command (usted): «Pase» is the «usted» imperative of «pasar», here meaning 'come in / step through'. The Astrologer and Erdosain address each other with formal «usted» throughout, the polite distance two grown men keep even while plotting a murder together. Erdosain pasó al escritorio. Erdosain went through into the study. Todavía estaba allí el mapa de los Estados Unidos con las banderas negras clavadas en los territorios donde dominaba el Ku–Klux–Klan. The map of the United States was still there, with black flags pinned into the territories where the Ku Klux Klan held sway. El Astrólogo había estado trabajando en un horóscopo porque sobre la mesa estaba la caja de compases abierta. The Astrologer had been working on a horoscope, because the open case of compasses lay on the table. > Past perfect continuous: «había estado trabajando» combines the pluperfect of «estar» with a gerund to mean 'had been working' — an activity going on over a stretch of time before the moment of the scene. It is the past-in-the-past mirror of «he estado trabajando» ('I have been working'). El viento que entraba por la reja movía los papeles, y Erdosain, después de esperar que aquél guardara algunos documentos en el armario, se sentó dando la espalda al jardín. The wind coming in through the grille stirred the papers, and Erdosain, after waiting for the other man to put some documents away in the cabinet, sat down with his back to the garden. > Subjunctive after «esperar que»: «esperar que» ('to wait for / hope that') triggers the subjunctive in its clause, here the past subjunctive «guardara» ('put away'). «aquél» ('that one, the former') is a demonstrative pronoun standing in for the Astrologer. Ya allí, quedóse mirando el anchuroso semblante del otro, la nariz torcida arrancando de la frente tumultuosa, la oreja arrepollada, el pecho enorme contenido dentro de la ropa negra y sin lustre, su cadena de cobre cruzando de parte a parte el chaleco, el anillo de acero con una piedra violeta en su mano de dedos deformes y piel curtida. Settled there, he sat gazing at the broad face of the other man — the crooked nose springing from the tumultuous brow, the cabbage-like ear, the enormous chest packed inside the dull black clothes, his copper chain crossing the waistcoat from side to side, the steel ring with its violet stone on a hand of misshapen fingers and weathered skin. > Enclitic pronoun + «quedarse» + gerund: «quedóse mirando» is «se quedó mirando» with the pronoun attached to the end of the verb («quedóse»), an older, literary placement Arlt favors. «quedarse + gerund» means 'to remain / stay doing something' — here 'he sat there gazing'. Ahora que el hombre estaba sin sombrero, se veía que su cabello era crespo, enmarañadísimo y corto. Now that the man was without his hat, you could see that his hair was kinky, hopelessly tangled, and short. > Absolute superlative «-ísimo»: The suffix «-ísimo/a» turns an adjective into its strongest degree: «enmarañado» ('tangled') → «enmarañadísimo» ('utterly tangled, a hopeless tangle'). It intensifies without needing «muy», and Arlt piles it onto an already vivid word. Había estirado las piernas y cargaba todo el cuerpo sobre los brazos del sillón. He had stretched out his legs and was letting his whole weight rest on the arms of the chair. Con sus botas sin lustrar parecía un hombre de la montaña, quizás un buscador de oro. With his unpolished boots he looked like a man of the mountains, perhaps a gold prospector. ¿Por qué no habían de ser así los buscadores de oro de la Patagonia? –pensó Erdosain–, y sin explicarse su distracción se quedó mirando el mapa de los Estados Unidos y repitiendo mentalmente las palabras que le había escuchado esa tarde al Astrólogo, mientras con el puntero le señalaba los estados federales al Rufián. Why shouldn't the gold prospectors of Patagonia look like this? thought Erdosain, and unable to account for his own wandering mind he sat there staring at the map of the United States and silently repeating the words he had heard the Astrologer say that afternoon, while pointing out the federal states to the Ruffian with his pointer. > «haber de» + infinitive: «haber de» plus an infinitive expresses obligation or expectation — 'to be (supposed) to'. In a rhetorical question, «¿por qué no habían de ser así?» means 'why shouldn't they be like this?'. It is a more literary cousin of «tener que» and «deber». –El Ku–Klux–Klan es fuerte en Texas, Ohio, Indianápolis, Oklahoma, Oregón... "The Ku Klux Klan is strong in Texas, Ohio, Indianapolis, Oklahoma, Oregon..." –¿Y qué dice, amigo... cómo?... "And what do you say, my friend... what?..." –¡ Ah, es cierto!... "Ah, that's right!..." He venido a verle... I've come to see you... > «le» as a direct object («leísmo»): Standard grammar would use «verlo» ('to see him'), but the «le» here ('verle') is «leísmo» — using «le» for a male human direct object. It is widespread in Spain and in this register, and the meaning is identical: 'to see you' (the formal «usted»). –Precisamente yo me iba a acostar. "I was just about to turn in." Estuve trabajando en el horóscopo de un imbécil... I've been working on the horoscope of some idiot... > Preterite progressive: «estuve trabajando» pairs the preterite of «estar» with a gerund: 'I was working / I spent time working'. Unlike the imperfect «estaba trabajando», the preterite frames the whole stretch of work as a finished, bounded block now over. –Si le molesto me voy. "If I'm bothering you, I'll go." –No, quédese. "No, stay." > Formal imperative + enclitic «se»: «quédese» is the «usted» command of the pronominal verb «quedarse» ('to stay'). In an affirmative command the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of the verb: «quede» + «se» → «quédese». Adding the enclitic pushes the word to three syllables from the stress, so a written accent is needed to keep the stress where it was — the bare command «quede» carries none. ¿Se ha trompeado usted? Have you been in a fistfight? > River Plate slang «trompearse»: «trompearse» is Buenos Aires slang for 'to come to blows, get into a fistfight' (from «trompada», 'a punch'). «¿Se ha trompeado?» = 'Have you been in a scrap?' — the Astrologer reads Erdosain's agitation as the look of a man who has just been brawling. ¿Qué es lo que le pasa? What's the matter with you? > «qué es lo que» = emphatic 'what': «¿Qué es lo que le pasa?» is an emphatic way of saying «¿Qué le pasa?» ('what's wrong with you?'). The frame «qué es lo que» ('what is it that…') adds weight and a touch of insistence, like English 'what is it that's going on?'. –Muchas cosas. "A great deal." Dígame, si usted pudiera... ¿No se va a asombrar de la pregunta?...Si usted, para fundar su logia, es decir, para conseguir los veinte mil pesos que se necesitan, si para conseguir veinte mil pesos usted tuviera que matar a un individuo, ¿usted qué haría? Tell me, if you could... You won't be shocked by the question?... If you, in order to found your lodge — that is, to get hold of the twenty thousand pesos it takes — if to get twenty thousand pesos you had to kill a man, what would you do? > Hypothetical conditional: This is the classic unreal conditional: «si» + past subjunctive («tuviera», 'if you had to') in the 'if' clause, and the conditional («haría», 'would you do') in the result. Together they frame a purely imagined case — exactly the murder Erdosain is feeling his way toward proposing. > «logia» — the secret society: «logia» is a 'lodge' in the masonic sense: a secret, ranked society. Throughout the novel the Astrologer's «logia» is his planned revolutionary order, funded by crime — the engine of the whole conspiracy this chapter sets running. El Astrólogo se incorporó en la silla, quedando ahora su cuerpo, soliviantado por el asombro, en ángulo recto... The Astrologer drew himself up in his chair, his body now, lifted by astonishment, at a right angle... > Gerund of result: The gerund «quedando» ('remaining / ending up') attaches a consequence to the main verb: he sat up, «quedando su cuerpo en ángulo recto» = 'so that his body ended up at a right angle'. The gerund here describes the resulting posture rather than a separate action. Y aunque su cabeza estaba erguida por los pensamientos que en él había suscitado Erdosain, aquélla parecía pesar prodigiosamente sobre sus hombros. And though his head was held high by the thoughts Erdosain had stirred up in him, it seemed to weigh prodigiously on his shoulders. > «aunque» + indicative: «aunque» means 'although / even though'. With the indicative («estaba erguida», 'was held high') it concedes a fact taken as real, not a mere possibility. Had it taken the subjunctive, it would have softened to 'even if'. Restregóse las manos y escrutó el rostro de Remo. He rubbed his hands together and scrutinized Remo's face. –¿Por qué se le ocurre, hacerme esta pregunta? "Why does it occur to you to ask me this question?" > «ocurrírsele a alguien»: «ocurrírsele (algo) a alguien» means 'for something to occur to someone, to cross one's mind'. The «se» is impersonal and the «le» marks the person it strikes: «¿por qué se le ocurre?» = 'what makes you think of (asking) this?'. The idea is presented as arriving at the person, not chosen by them. –Es que he encontrado el candidato que tiene veinte mil pesos. "The thing is, I've found the candidate who has the twenty thousand pesos." > «Es que» = 'the thing is': «Es que…» opens an explanation or justification: 'the thing is…', 'it's just that…'. It frames what follows as the reason behind something — here, the reason Erdosain is asking such a question. Lo podemos secuestrar, y si se niega a firmarnos el cheque lo torturamos. We can kidnap him, and if he refuses to sign the check for us, we torture him. > Pronominal «negarse a»: «negarse a» (pronominal) means 'to refuse to (do something)', as opposed to plain «negar», 'to deny'. «Si se niega a firmar» = 'if he refuses to sign'. The reflexive marks the refusal as the subject's own stance. El Astrólogo frunció el ceño. The Astrologer knit his brows. Ante los enigmas que encerraba esa propuesta, su perplejidad acrecentóse, y con los dedos de la mano izquierda comenzó a hacer girar el anillo sobre el anular de la derecha. Faced with the riddles locked inside that proposal, his perplexity grew, and with the fingers of his left hand he began to turn the ring on the ring finger of his right. > Enclitic «se» on the verb: «acrecentóse» is «se acrecentó» ('grew, increased') with the pronoun fused to the end — the same literary enclitic placement Arlt uses elsewhere in this scene («quedóse», «restregóse»). The pronominal «acrecentarse» means 'to increase' of its own accord. La piedra violeta pasaba a cada instante frente a la cadena de bronce, y aunque él mantenía el rostro inclinado, bajo la línea de sus cejas, sus pupilas horizontales escudriñaban el rostro de Erdosain. The violet stone passed every instant in front of the bronze chain, and although he kept his face lowered, beneath the line of his eyebrows his level pupils were searching Erdosain's face. Y la nariz torcida cobraba en esa posición el vigor de una defensa con el mentón hundido en la negra tela del corbatín. And in that posture the crooked nose took on the force of a stronghold, the chin sunk into the black cloth of the cravat. –A ver, explíqueme todo eso, porque yo no entiendo ni una palabra. "Let's see — explain all that to me, because I don't understand a single word." > «ni» for emphatic 'not even': «no entiendo ni una palabra» = 'I don't understand even a single word'. With a negated verb, «ni» strengthens the negation to 'not even one'. The double negative («no… ni») is standard and obligatory in Spanish. Ahora se había incorporado y su rostro parecía desafiar una lluvia de golpes. Now he had sat up, and his face seemed to dare a rain of blows. –Es fácil y genial. "It's simple and brilliant." Mi mujer esta noche se ha ido a vivir con otro hombre. My wife has gone off tonight to live with another man. > Pronominal «irse» = 'to leave / go off': «irse» (with the reflexive pronoun) stresses departure — 'to go away, leave' — where plain «ir» merely means 'to go (somewhere)'. «Se ha ido a vivir con otro» = 'she has gone off to live with another man'. The «se» carries the whole weight of the abandonment. Entonces él... And so he... –¿Quién es él?... "Who is he?..." –Barsut, el primo de mi mujer... Gregorio Barsut, vino a verme y a confesarme que fue él quien me denunció a la Azucarera. "Barsut, my wife's cousin... Gregorio Barsut, came to see me and to confess to me that it was he who reported me to the Sugar Company." > Cleft sentence «fue... quien»: «fue él quien me denunció» = 'it was he who reported me'. The frame «ser + X + quien/que» singles X out for emphasis, exactly like the English 'it was he who…'. The verb «ser» agrees in tense with the action — here the preterite «fue». –¡Ah!... "Ah!..." ¿Fue él quien lo denunció?... Was it he who reported you?... –Sí, y para colmo... "Yes, and to top it all off..." > Idiom «para colmo»: «para colmo (de males)» means 'to top it all off, to make matters worse'. «colmo» is the brim or the final straw; the phrase introduces one more bad thing piled on the rest. –Pero, ¿por qué motivo lo denunció?... "But for what reason did he report you?..." –¡Qué sé yo!... "How should I know!..." > Idiom «¡Qué sé yo!»: «¡Qué sé yo!» literally 'what do I know!' is a fixed exclamation meaning 'how should I know, who knows, beats me'. The subject «yo» comes after the verb for emphasis. It shrugs off the question entirely. Para humillarme... To humiliate me... En fin, es medio loco. In short, he's half mad. > «medio» as an adverb: Used before an adjective, «medio» means 'half / rather' and, as an adverb, does not change to agree: «medio loco» = 'half crazy', and one would also say «medio loca» of a woman, keeping «medio» invariable. Un individuo que vive frenéticamente. A man who lives frantically. Tiene veinte mil pesos. He has twenty thousand pesos. El padre murió en un manicomio. His father died in an asylum. El va a terminar también allí. He'll end up there too. > «ir a» + infinitive (near future): «ir a» plus an infinitive is the everyday way to say 'going to (do something)': «va a terminar allí» = 'he's going to end up there'. It is more colloquial than the simple future «terminará» and is by far the more common in speech. Los veinte mil pesos son la herencia de una tía por parte del padre. The twenty thousand pesos are an inheritance from an aunt on his father's side. El Astrólogo se cogió la frente. The Astrologer clutched his forehead. Estaba más perplejo que nunca. He was more perplexed than ever. A él le interesaba el asunto, mas no lo comprendía. The matter interested him, but he did not understand it. > «interesar» like «gustar»: «interesar» works like «gustar»: the thing that interests is the grammatical subject, and the person is an indirect object. «A él le interesaba el asunto» = 'the matter interested him' (literally 'to him the matter was interesting'). The fronted «a él» merely emphasizes the «le». > «mas» without an accent = 'but': «mas» (no accent) is a literary word for 'but', equivalent to «pero». Do not confuse it with «más» ('more'), which carries an accent. Arlt's «mas no lo comprendía» = 'but he did not understand it'. Insistió: He pressed on: –Cuénteme todo con detalle, ordenadamente. "Tell me everything in detail, in order." > Formal command + enclitic «me»: «Cuénteme» is the «usted» imperative of «contar» ('to tell') with the object pronoun «me» attached: 'tell me'. The written accent on «cuénte-» keeps the original stress once the pronoun lengthens the word. Erdosain recomenzó su relato. Erdosain began his account again. Narró todo lo que conocemos. He told everything we already know. Hablaba despacio, meticulosamente, pues había desaparecido de él esa tensión nerviosa que precedía a la propuesta que le hizo al Astrólogo. He spoke slowly, meticulously, for the nervous tension that had preceded the proposal he made to the Astrologer had now gone out of him. > «pues» = 'for / since': Here «pues» introduces a reason — 'for, because, since' — rather than functioning as the filler 'well'. «Hablaba despacio... pues había desaparecido...» = 'he spoke slowly... for [the tension] had vanished...'. Ahora estaba sentado al borde de la silla, la espalda arqueada, los codos apoyados en las rodillas, las mejillas enrejadas por los dedos, la mirada fija en el pavimento. Now he sat on the edge of the chair, his back arched, his elbows propped on his knees, his cheeks latticed by his fingers, his gaze fixed on the floor. La piel amarilla pegada a los huesos planos del semblante le daba la apariencia de un tísico. The yellow skin stuck to the flat bones of his face gave him the look of a consumptive. > «tísico» — a consumptive: «tísico» is someone suffering from «tisis», the old word for pulmonary tuberculosis ('consumption'). It conjures the wasted, hollow-cheeked look the disease was known for — the sickly mask Erdosain's face has become. Un cúmulo de iniquidades salía de su garganta, sin interrupciones, sordamente, como si recitara una lección estampada al frío en el plano de su conciencia. A heap of iniquities came out of his throat, without pause, dully, as if he were reciting a lesson stamped cold onto the surface of his conscience. > «como si» + past subjunctive: «como si» ('as if') always takes the past (or pluperfect) subjunctive, even about the present: «como si recitara» = 'as if he were reciting'. The construction sets up an unreal comparison — he is not really reciting, only seems to be. El Astrólogo, tapados los labios con los dedos, lo escuchaba mirándolo extrañado. The Astrologer, his lips covered with his fingers, listened to him, watching him in bewilderment. > Absolute participle clause: «tapados los labios con los dedos» is a participle phrase standing on its own — 'his lips covered with his fingers'. The past participle «tapados» agrees with «los labios» and compresses 'with his lips covered…' into a tight, image-like clause. Se había imaginado muchas cosas, mas no tantas. He had imagined many things, but not this many. Con una lentitud derivada del exceso de atención para no equivocarse, Erdosain acumulaba angustias, humillaciones, recuerdos, sufrimientos, noches que paso sin dormir, riñas espantosas. With a slowness born of the excess of care not to make a mistake, Erdosain piled up anguishes, humiliations, memories, sufferings, nights he had spent without sleep, frightful quarrels. > «para» + infinitive of purpose: «para» plus an infinitive states a purpose: «para no equivocarse» = 'so as not to go wrong / make a mistake'. The negative «no» sits between «para» and the infinitive. «equivocarse» is pronominal — 'to be mistaken, slip up'. Dijo entre otras cosas: Among other things, he said: –Le parecerá mentira a usted que yo, yo que he venido a proponerle el asesinato de un hombre, le hable de inocencia, y, sin embargo, tenía veinte años y era un chico. "It will seem a lie to you that I, I who have come to propose to you the murder of a man, should speak to you of innocence — and yet I was twenty years old and I was a boy." > Subjunctive after «parecer mentira que»: «Le parecerá mentira que… le hable de inocencia» = 'it will seem a lie to you that I should speak of innocence'. An expression of (dis)belief like «parecer mentira que» governs the subjunctive «hable» in its clause, marking the speaking as something doubted, not asserted. ¿Sabe usted qué clase de tristeza es esa que le hace pasar a uno la noche en un asqueroso despacho de bebidas, perdiendo el tiempo entre conversaciones estúpidas y tragos de caña? Do you know what kind of sadness it is that makes a man spend the night in a filthy liquor bar, wasting time amid stupid conversations and shots of cane liquor? > Impersonal «uno» + causative «hacer»: «uno» here is the impersonal 'one / a person', and «hacer + infinitive» is causative: «le hace pasar a uno la noche» = 'makes one spend the night'. The «le» doubles the «a uno», a standard pairing of pronoun and full object. ¿Sabe lo qué es estar en un prostíbulo y de pronto contenerse para no llorar desesperadamente? Do you know what it is to be in a brothel and suddenly hold yourself back so as not to weep in despair? Usted me mira asombrado, claro, veía un hombre raro, quizá, pero no se daba cuenta de que toda esa rareza derivaba de la angustia que yo llevaba escondida en mí. You look at me in astonishment, of course — you saw a strange man, perhaps, but you didn't realize that all that strangeness came from the anguish I carried hidden inside me. > Idiom «darse cuenta de»: «darse cuenta de (que)» means 'to realize (that)'. The «de» is required before a «que» clause: «no se daba cuenta de que…» = 'you didn't realize that…'. Dropping the «de» («darse cuenta que») is common in speech but considered incorrect. Vea, hasta me parece mentira hablar con precisión como lo hago. Look, it even seems a lie to me that I can speak as precisely as I do. > «Vea» as a discourse marker: Literally the «usted» command of «ver» ('see'), «Vea» works here as a conversational opener — 'Look, listen, you see'. It calls the listener's attention to what comes next rather than asking him to look at anything. ¿Quién soy? Who am I? ¿Adonde voy? Where am I going? No lo sé. I don't know. Tengo la impresión de que usted es igual a mí, y por eso he venido a proponerle el asesinato de Barsut. I have the impression that you are just like me, and that is why I have come to propose to you the murder of Barsut. Con el dinero fundaremos la logia y quizá podamos remover los cimientos de esta sociedad. With the money we'll found the lodge, and perhaps we'll be able to shake the foundations of this society. > Subjunctive after «quizá»: «quizá» ('perhaps') commonly takes the subjunctive when the doubt is real: «quizá podamos» = 'perhaps we may be able to'. The subjunctive «podamos» leaves the outcome genuinely open, more tentative than the indicative would be. El Astrólogo lo interrumpió: The Astrologer interrupted him: –Pero, ¿por qué usted ha procedido siempre así?... "But why have you always acted this way?..." –Eso es lo que yo no sé. "That's exactly what I don't know." ¿Por qué usted quiere organizar la logia? Why do you want to organize the lodge? ¿Por qué el Rufián Melancólico continúa explotando mujeres y lustrándose los botines a pesar de tener fortuna? Why does the Melancholy Ruffian go on exploiting women and shining his own boots in spite of having a fortune? > «continuar / seguir» + gerund: «continuar» (like «seguir») plus a gerund means 'to keep / go on doing something': «continúa explotando» = 'he goes on exploiting'. Spanish uses the gerund here where English uses 'keep + -ing'. ¿Por qué Ergueta se casó con una prostituta y dejó a la millonaria? Why did Ergueta marry a prostitute and leave the millionairess? ¿Cree usted acaso que yo he tolerado la bofetada de Barsut y la presencia del capitán, porque sí? Do you suppose I put up with Barsut's slap and the captain's presence just because? > Idiom «porque sí»: «porque sí» means 'just because, for no reason at all'. It dismisses the idea that there is any real motive — here Erdosain insists the opposite: that there is a hidden reason for everything he has endured. Aparentemente soy un cobarde, Ergueta un loco, el Rufián un avaro, usted un obsesionado. On the surface I'm a coward, Ergueta a madman, the Ruffian a miser, you a man obsessed. Aparentemente somos todo eso, pero en el fondo, adentro, más abajo de nuestra conciencia y de nuestros pensamientos hay otra vida más poderosa y enorme... y si soportamos todo es porque creemos que soportando o procediendo como lo hacemos llegaremos por fin hasta la verdad... es decir, a la verdad de nosotros mismos. On the surface we are all of that, but deep down, inside, below our consciousness and our thoughts there is another life, more powerful and enormous... and if we endure everything it is because we believe that by enduring or by acting as we do we will reach the truth at last... that is, the truth of our own selves. > Gerund of means: The gerunds «soportando» and «procediendo» express the means by which something happens — 'by enduring or by acting'. This 'by + -ing' use of the bare gerund is common in Spanish and tells you how the main verb («llegaremos», 'we will reach') comes about. El Astrólogo se levantó, avanzó hasta Erdosain y, poniéndole la mano sobre la cabeza, dijo caviloso: –Tiene usted razón, hijo mío. The Astrologer stood up, came over to Erdosain, and, laying his hand on his head, said broodingly: "You're right, my son." > Idiom «tener razón»: «tener razón» means 'to be right' (literally 'to have reason'). One is right in Spanish by 'having' rightness, not by 'being' it. «Tiene usted razón» = 'you are right'. Nosotros somos místicos sin saberlo. We are mystics without knowing it. > «sin» + infinitive: «sin» plus an infinitive means 'without (doing)': «sin saberlo» = 'without knowing it'. The «lo» ('it') attaches to the infinitive. It is the negative counterpart of phrases like «al saberlo» ('on knowing it'). Místico es el Rufián Melancólico, místico es Ergueta, usted, yo, ella y ellos... A mystic is the Melancholy Ruffian, a mystic is Ergueta — you, I, she, and they... > Fronted predicate for emphasis: Normal order would be «el Rufián es místico» ('the Ruffian is a mystic'). Putting the predicate «místico» first, «místico es el Rufián», throws the stress onto that word and gives the line an incantatory, sermon-like rhythm — fitting for the Astrologer's speech. El mal del siglo, la irreligión nos ha destrozado el entendimiento y entonces buscamos fuera de nosotros lo que está en el misterio de nuestra subconciencia. The sickness of the age, irreligion, has wrecked our understanding, and so we look outside ourselves for what lies in the mystery of our subconscious. > Possessive dative: Spanish marks the 'whose' of a body part or faculty with an indirect-object pronoun, not a possessive: «nos ha destrozado el entendimiento» = 'has wrecked our understanding' (literally 'has wrecked the understanding to us'). The «nos» tells you whose understanding it is. Necesitamos de una religión para salvarnos de esa catástrofe que ha caído sobre nuestras cabezas. We need a religion to save ourselves from this catastrophe that has fallen on our heads. Me dirá usted que yo no le digo nada nuevo. You'll tell me that I'm telling you nothing new. De acuerdo; pero acuérdese que en la tierra lo único que puede cambiar es el estilo, la costumbre, la substancia es la misma. Agreed; but remember that on this earth the only thing that can change is the style, the custom — the substance is the same. > Command of «acordarse»: «acuérdese» is the «usted» imperative of the pronominal «acordarse (de)» ('to remember'), with «se» attached and an accent preserving the stress. Note the stem change o→ue: «acordar» → «acuérde-». Si usted creyera en Dios no habría pasado esa vida endemoniada, si yo creyera en Dios no estaría escuchando su propuesta de asesinar a un prójimo. If you believed in God you wouldn't have lived that hellish life; if I believed in God I wouldn't be sitting here listening to your proposal to murder a fellow man. > Mixed conditional: Here a present-unreal 'if' clause («si creyera», 'if you believed') pairs with a past-unreal result («no habría pasado», 'you would not have lived'). Spanish allows such mixes: a standing condition explaining a completed past outcome. Y lo más terrible es que para nosotros ha pasado ya el tiempo de adquirir una creencia, una fe. And the most terrible thing is that for us the time to acquire a belief, a faith, has already passed. > Neuter «lo» + adjective: «lo» before an adjective makes an abstract noun out of it: «lo más terrible» = 'the most terrible thing / what is most terrible'. There is no actual noun — «lo» turns the quality itself into the subject. Si fuéramos a verlo a un sacerdote, éste no entendería nuestros problemas y sólo acertaría a recomendarnos que recitáramos un Padre Nuestro y que nos confesáramos todas las semanas. If we were to go and see a priest, he wouldn't understand our problems and would only manage to advise us to recite an Our Father and to confess every week. > Subjunctive after a verb of advising: Verbs of asking, advising, or wishing put their dependent clause in the subjunctive: «recomendarnos que recitáramos… y que nos confesáramos» = 'advise us to recite… and to confess'. The past subjunctives follow from the conditional «acertaría» in the main clause. –Y uno se pregunta qué es lo que debe hacerse... "And one asks oneself what ought to be done..." > Passive / impersonal «se»: «qué es lo que debe hacerse» = 'what must be done'. The «se» on «hacerse» forms an impersonal/passive: the action's doer is left unnamed. The question is about what is to be done, not who does it. –Ahí está. "That's just it." > Idiom «Ahí está»: Literally 'there it is', «Ahí está» is used to mean 'that's the point, that's exactly it, there's the rub'. The Astrologer seizes Erdosain's question as the very heart of the matter. Lo que debe hacerse. What ought to be done. En otras épocas para nosotros hubiera quedado el refugio de un convento o de un viaje a tierras desconocidas y maravillosas. In other ages there would have remained for us the refuge of a monastery, or of a voyage to unknown and marvelous lands. > Past subjunctive for the conditional perfect: «hubiera quedado» ('would have remained') here does the work of «habría quedado». Spanish freely uses the «-ra» pluperfect subjunctive in place of the conditional perfect, especially in literary prose. The sense is the same: a thing that could have been, in another age. Hoy usted puede tomar un sorbete a la mañana en la Patagonia y comer bananas a la tarde en el Brasil. Today you can have a sorbet in the morning in Patagonia and eat bananas in the afternoon in Brazil. ¿Qué es lo que debe hacerse? What is it that ought to be done? Yo leo mucho, y créame, en todos los libros europeos encuentro este fondo de amargura y de angustia que me cuenta de su vida usted. I read a great deal, and believe me, in all the European books I find this same bottom of bitterness and anguish that you tell me about from your own life. > Command of «creer» + «me»: «créame» is the «usted» imperative of «creer» ('believe') with «me» attached: 'believe me'. As a set phrase it works just like English 'believe me', vouching for what follows. Vea Estados Unidos. Look at the United States. Las artistas se hacen colocar ovarios de platino y hay asesinos que tratan de batir el récord en crímenes horrorosos. The actresses have platinum ovaries put into them, and there are murderers who try to break the record for the most horrifying crimes. > Causative «hacerse + infinitive»: «hacerse + infinitive» means 'to have something done (to oneself)': «se hacen colocar ovarios» = 'they have ovaries put in'. The reflexive «se» shows the subject is the one undergoing the procedure, while someone else performs it. Usted que ha caminado lo sabe. You, who have walked the world, know it. Casas, más casas, rostros distintos y corazones iguales. Houses, more houses, different faces and identical hearts. La humanidad ha perdido sus fiestas y sus alegrías. Humanity has lost its festivals and its joys. ¡Tan infelices son los hombres que hasta a Dios lo han perdido! Men are so unhappy that they have even lost God! > «hasta» = 'even': «hasta» can mean 'even' as well as 'until': «hasta a Dios lo han perdido» = 'they have even lost God'. The personal «a» before «Dios» marks him as object, and the redundant «lo» doubles it for emphasis. Y un motor de 300 caballos sólo consigue distraerlos cuando lo pilotea un loco que se puede hacer pedazos en una cuneta. And a 300-horsepower engine only manages to distract them when it's driven by a madman who might smash himself to pieces in a ditch. > «conseguir» + infinitive = 'manage to': «conseguir» plus an infinitive means 'to manage / succeed in (doing)': «sólo consigue distraerlos» = 'only manages to distract them'. It stresses the effort or difficulty of achieving the result. El hombre es una bestia triste a quien sólo los prodigios conseguirán emocionar. Man is a sad beast whom only marvels will succeed in moving. O las carnicerías. Or butcheries. Pues bien, nosotros con nuestra sociedad le daremos prodigios, pestes de cólera asiático, mitos, descubrimientos de yacimientos de oro o minas de diamantes. Well then, we, with our society, will give them marvels — plagues of Asiatic cholera, myths, discoveries of gold deposits or diamond mines. > Discourse marker «Pues bien»: «Pues bien» means 'well then, all right then, so' — it gathers up what came before and moves the argument forward to its point. It signals the Astrologer is about to deliver his conclusion. Yo lo he observado conversando con usted. I've observed it in talking with you. Sólo se anima cuando lo prodigioso interviene en nuestra conversación. You only come alive when the marvelous enters our conversation. > Neuter «lo» + adjective: «lo prodigioso» = 'the marvelous, that which is marvelous'. As with «lo más terrible» earlier, «lo» plus an adjective names the abstract quality itself, with no noun behind it. Y así le pasa a todos los hombres, canallas o santos. And so it is with all men, scoundrels or saints. –Entonces, ¿lo secuestramos a Barsut? "So then, do we kidnap Barsut?" > Doubled direct object: «lo secuestramos a Barsut» repeats the object: the pronoun «lo» and the full noun «a Barsut» ('him… Barsut'). This doubling, very common in River Plate speech, foregrounds the named object. The personal «a» marks Barsut as the human object. –Sí. "Yes." Ahora hay que ver de qué modo podemos apoderarnos de él y del dinero. Now we have to see how we can get hold of him and of the money. > Impersonal «hay que» + infinitive: «hay que» plus an infinitive states a general necessity with no specified subject: «hay que ver» = 'one must see / it remains to be seen'. Contrast «tener que», which pins the obligation on a particular person. El viento removió el follaje. The wind stirred the foliage. Erdosain quedó unos segundos mirando la franja de luz que por la ventana entreabierta caía sobre los granados. Erdosain spent a few seconds watching the band of light that fell through the half-open window onto the pomegranate trees. El Astrólogo había corrido su silla hasta el armario de modo que apoyaba la cabeza en el tablero ocre, y sus dedos jugaron nuevamente con el anillo de acero haciéndolo girar ante sus ojos. The Astrologer had moved his chair over to the cabinet so that he was resting his head against the ochre panel, and his fingers played once more with the steel ring, turning it before his eyes. > «de modo que» + indicative: «de modo que» means 'so that / in such a way that'. With the indicative («apoyaba», 'he was resting') it reports an actual result. (With the subjunctive it would express purpose — 'so that he might rest'.) –¿Cómo nos apoderaremos? "How will we get hold of him?" Es muy fácil. It's very easy. Yo le diré a Barsut que he averiguado dónde se encuentra el capitán con Elsa... I'll tell Barsut that I've found out where the captain is with Elsa... > Indirect object doubling: «le diré a Barsut» pairs the indirect-object pronoun «le» with the full phrase «a Barsut» ('I'll tell him… Barsut'). With indirect objects this doubling is the norm, not the exception, in Spanish. –Sí, eso está bien. "Yes, that's fine." Pero, ¿cómo lo ha averiguado usted? But how did you find it out? Es lo que no va a dejar de preguntarle el otro... That's what the other man is bound to ask you... > «dejar de» + infinitive: «dejar de» plus an infinitive means 'to stop / cease doing something'. Negated, «no va a dejar de preguntarle» = 'he's not going to fail to ask you', i.e. 'he is bound to ask you'. The double negative yields a strong affirmation. –Diciéndole que me he dirigido a la Dirección del Personal del Ministerio de Guerra. "By telling him that I went to the Personnel Office of the War Ministry." > Gerund as the answer: Erdosain answers 'how?' with a bare gerund: «Diciéndole que…» = 'by telling him that…'. The 'by + -ing' gerund states the means, here standing alone as a complete reply to the Astrologer's question. –Perfecto... muy bien... clarísimo... "Perfect... very good... crystal clear..." Ahora el Astrólogo se había incorporado vivamente y miraba interesado a Erdosain. Now the Astrologer had sat up briskly and was looking at Erdosain with interest. –Y con el pretexto de que convenza a Elsa para que vuelva otra vez a mi lado, lo traemos. "And on the pretext that he should persuade Elsa to come back to my side again, we bring him here." > «para que» + subjunctive of purpose: «para que» ('so that, in order that') always takes the subjunctive when the subjects differ: «para que vuelva» = 'so that she may come back'. Both «que convenza» and «para que vuelva» here are subjunctive, chained purposes inside the pretext. –Admirable. "Admirable." Deje que piense un poco. Let me think a moment. > «dejar que» + subjunctive: «dejar que» ('to let / allow') takes the subjunctive: «deje que piense» = 'let me think'. «Deje» is the «usted» command of «dejar», and «piense» the subjunctive of «pensar» (stem change e→ie). Todo lo que plantea usted... claro... está muy bien. Everything you're laying out... of course... is very good. Ah... dígame una cosa, ¿tiene parientes él? Ah... tell me one thing — does he have relatives? –Salvo mi señora, no. "Apart from my wife, no." > «Salvo» = 'except / apart from': «salvo» is a preposition meaning 'except, save, apart from'. «Salvo mi señora» = 'apart from my wife'. It is interchangeable with «excepto» and «menos» in this sense. –¿Y dónde vive? "And where does he live?" –En una pensión. "In a boarding house." > «pensión» — a boarding house: A «pensión» is a boarding or lodging house where one rents a room, often with meals — cheap, transient housing. That Barsut lives in one, with no family but Erdosain's wife, is what makes him easy to make disappear. La hija de la dueña es bizca. The landlady's daughter is cross-eyed. –¿Qué dirán cuando desaparezca Barsut? "What will they say when Barsut disappears?" > «cuando» + subjunctive for the future: When «cuando» points to an event still to come, its verb goes in the subjunctive: «cuando desaparezca» = 'when he disappears' (at some future point). The main clause keeps the future indicative, «¿qué dirán?» ('what will they say?'). –Podemos hacer esto, que es admirable. "We can do this, which is splendid." Le enviamos a la patrona un telegrama desde Rosario, firmado por él, diciendo que le envíe los baúles a un determinado hotel, donde usted estará viviendo bajo el nombre de Gregorio Barsut. We send the landlady a telegram from Rosario, signed by him, telling her to send his trunks to a certain hotel, where you'll be living under the name of Gregorio Barsut. > Subjunctive for a reported command: When «decir que» conveys an order rather than information, its clause is subjunctive: «diciendo que le envíe los baúles» = 'telling her to send the trunks'. Compare the indicative «diciendo que envía» ('saying that she is sending'), which would merely report a fact. –Esto mismo. "Exactly this." ¿Sabe que usted lo ha estudiado muy bien? Do you know you've thought this out very well? Es perfecto el plan. The plan is perfect. Cierto es que todo se presta, el capitán, las direcciones del Ministerio, no tener parientes, el vivir en una pensión. True, everything lends itself to it — the captain, the Ministry offices, his having no relatives, his living in a boarding house. > Pronominal «prestarse a»: «prestarse a» means 'to lend itself to, to be suited to'. «Todo se presta» = 'everything lends itself (to the plan), it all fits'. The reflexive turns 'lend' into 'lend itself'. > Nominalized infinitive: An article before an infinitive turns it into a noun: «el vivir en una pensión» = 'the (fact of) living in a boarding house', «no tener parientes» = 'having no relatives'. Spanish often uses the bare infinitive where English needs a gerund or an abstract noun. Es más claro que una jugada de ajedrez. It's clearer than a move in chess. Está bien. All right. Dicho esto comenzó a pasearse de un lado a otro de la habitación. Having said this, he began to pace back and forth across the room. > Absolute participle «Dicho esto»: «Dicho esto» is a fixed participle phrase, 'this said / having said this'. The past participle «dicho» (from «decir») agrees with «esto» and packs a whole 'after he said this' clause into two words. Cada vez que cruzaba ante la reja de la ventana, el jardín oscurecía o en el armario se volcaba una sombra que llegaba hasta los tirantes del techo. Each time he crossed in front of the window's grille, the garden would darken, or a shadow would spill across the cabinet, reaching all the way up to the roof beams. > Imperfect for repeated action: «cada vez que cruzaba… el jardín oscurecía» uses the imperfect for things that happened over and over: 'each time he crossed… the garden would darken'. The imperfect is Spanish's tense for habitual, repeated past action — English 'would' or 'used to'. No le faltó razón a Erdosain, cuando dijo que el plan era nítido «como si lo hubiera estampado en una plancha de hierro a miles de libras de presión». Erdosain was not wrong when he said that the plan was as clean-cut "as if it had been stamped onto an iron plate at thousands of pounds of pressure". > Litotes «no faltarle razón»: «no faltarle razón a alguien» literally 'for reason not to be lacking to someone' means 'to be quite right'. «No le faltó razón a Erdosain» = 'Erdosain was not wrong, was perfectly right'. It is the negative mirror of «tener razón». Y mientras en la habitación las botas del Astrólogo resonaban sordamente en cada paso, Erdosain se lamentaba ya de que el «plan» fuera tan simple y poco novelesco. And while in the room the Astrologer's boots resounded dully with each step, Erdosain was already lamenting that the "plan" was so simple and so unlike a novel. > Subjunctive after «lamentarse de que»: Verbs of emotion like «lamentarse de que» ('to lament, regret that') govern the subjunctive: «se lamentaba de que el plan fuera tan simple» = 'he was lamenting that the plan was so simple'. The past subjunctive «fuera» follows from the past-tense main verb. Le hubiera agradado una aventura más peligrosa, menos geométrica. A more dangerous, less geometrical adventure would have pleased him. > «agradar» like «gustar»: «agradar» behaves like «gustar»: the thing that pleases is the subject, the person an indirect object. «Le hubiera agradado una aventura» = 'an adventure would have pleased him'. The «-ra» form here stands for the conditional perfect «habría agradado». –¡Qué diablo! "What the devil!" ¡Esto no tiene gracia! There's no fun in this! > Idiom «tener gracia»: «tener gracia» means 'to be funny, charming, or amusing'. Negated, «esto no tiene gracia» = 'there's no fun in this, this is no fun'. Erdosain complains the murder plot is too tidy to be exciting. ¡Así cualquiera es asesino! Anybody could be a murderer like this! > «cualquiera» = 'anybody': «cualquiera» means 'anyone, anybody'. «Así cualquiera es asesino» = 'this way, anybody is a murderer'. Before a noun it shortens to «cualquier» («cualquier hombre»), but standing alone as a pronoun it keeps the full «-a». –¿Y Gregorio no tiene relaciones con la bizca? "And Gregorio has nothing going with the cross-eyed girl?" –No. "No." –¿Y por qué usted me habló de ella, entonces? "And why did you mention her to me, then?" –No sé. "I don't know." –¿Y usted no tiene miedo de tener remordimientos después que «eso» suceda? "And aren't you afraid of having remorse after "that" happens?" > Subjunctive after «después que»: When «después (de) que» points to a future event, the verb is subjunctive: «después que eso suceda» = 'after that happens'. The deed has not yet occurred, so «suceda» (subjunctive) is used rather than the indicative «sucede». –Vea, yo creo que eso sólo ocurre en las novelas. "Look, I think that only happens in novels." En la realidad yo he hecho acciones malas y buenas y ni en un caso ni en el otro he sentido ni la mayor alegría ni el menor remordimiento. In real life I've done bad and good deeds, and in neither case have I felt either the greatest joy or the slightest remorse. > Correlative «ni... ni»: «ni… ni…» means 'neither… nor…'. The sentence stacks it twice — «ni en un caso ni en el otro» ('in neither case') and «ni la mayor alegría ni el menor remordimiento» ('neither the greatest joy nor the slightest remorse') — for a flatly total denial of feeling. Yo creo que se ha dado en llamar remordimiento el temor al castigo. I think that what people have taken to calling remorse is the fear of punishment. > Idiom «dar en + infinitive», with impersonal «se»: «dar en (hacer algo)» means 'to take to / fall into (doing something)', often of a habit or a convention. Here it carries the impersonal «se», which leaves the doers unnamed: «se ha dado en llamar remordimiento…» = 'what people have come to call remorse…'. The «se» belongs to the impersonal construction, not to the idiom — there is no pronominal verb «darse en». Aquí a uno no lo ahorcan, y sólo los cobardes... Here they don't hang you, and only cowards... > Impersonal third-person plural: An unspecified 'they' is rendered by a bare third-person plural: «no lo ahorcan» = 'they don't hang you / one isn't hanged'. With impersonal «uno» as object («a uno… lo»), it states a general truth about anyone, no particular hangmen in view. –¿Y usted?... "And you?..." –Permítame. "Allow me." Yo no soy un hombre cobarde. I am not a cowardly man. Soy un frío que es distinto. I'm a cold man, which is different. Razone usted. Reason it out. > Command + explicit «usted»: «Razone» is the «usted» imperative of «razonar» ('to reason'). Adding the pronoun «usted» after the command — «Razone usted» — is optional and lends a courteous or insistent emphasis, common in this formal register. Si impasiblemente me he dejado llevar la mujer, y abofetear por un individuo que me traicionó, ¿con cuánta más razón asistiré impasiblemente a la escena de su muerte, siempre que ésta no sea una carnicería? If I have impassively let my wife be taken from me, and let myself be slapped by a man who betrayed me, with how much more reason will I look on impassively at the scene of his death, provided it is not a butchery? > «dejarse» + infinitive (passive permission): «dejarse + infinitive» means 'to let oneself be (done to)': «me he dejado llevar la mujer» = 'I have let my wife be taken from me', «(dejarse) abofetear» = 'let oneself be slapped'. The reflexive turns the subject into the one who permits the action upon himself. > «siempre que» + subjunctive = 'provided that': «siempre que» with the subjunctive means 'provided that, as long as': «siempre que ésta no sea una carnicería» = 'provided it is not a butchery'. It states the condition under which he will stay calm. –Cierto. "True." Es muy lógico. It's quite logical. Todo en usted es lógico. Everything about you is logical. ¿Sabe usted, Erdosain, que es un individuo interesante? Do you know, Erdosain, that you are an interesting fellow? –Lo mismo decía mi esposa. "My wife used to say the same thing." > Imperfect for a habitual past: «decía» (imperfect of «decir») renders a repeated or habitual past action: «lo mismo decía mi esposa» = 'my wife used to say the same'. The imperfect is the tense for things one did over and over, with no single endpoint in view. Esto no le impidió irse con otro. That didn't stop her from going off with another man. > «impedir» + infinitive: «impedir (a alguien) + infinitive» means 'to prevent / stop (someone) from doing'. «Esto no le impidió irse» = 'this did not stop her from leaving'. The person prevented is the indirect object «le», and the pronominal «irse» means 'to go off, leave'. –¿Y usted lo odia a él? "And do you hate him?" –A veces. "Sometimes." Depende. It depends. Quizá en mí pueda más la repulsión física que el odio. Perhaps in me physical revulsion is stronger than hatred. > Idiom «poder más que»: «poder más que» means 'to be stronger than, to prevail over'. «En mí pueda más la repulsión física que el odio» = 'in me physical revulsion outweighs hatred'. The subjunctive «pueda» follows from «quizá» ('perhaps'). En verdad, odio no, porque nunca podemos odiar a las personas que sabemos son capaces de hacer exactamente las mismas canalladas que nosotros. In truth, not hatred, because we can never hate the people we know are capable of doing exactly the same vile things as ourselves. > «canallada» — a vile act: A «canallada» is a dirty, despicable act, the kind of thing a «canalla» ('scoundrel, swine') does. «Las mismas canalladas que nosotros» = 'the same vile deeds as ourselves'. The word drips contempt. –¿Y por qué quiere matarlo, entonces, usted? "And why do you want to kill him, then?" –¿Y por qué quiere usted fundar la sociedad? "And why do you want to found the society?" –¿Y cree usted que ese crimen va a tener alguna influencia en su vida? "And do you believe that this crime is going to have any influence on your life?" –Esa es la curiosidad que tengo. "That's the curiosity I have." Saber si mi vida, mi forma de ver las cosas, mi sensibilidad, cambian con el espectáculo de su muerte. To know whether my life, my way of seeing things, my sensibility, will change with the spectacle of his death. > «si» = 'whether' in an indirect question: Here «si» introduces an indirect yes/no question — 'whether', not 'if (conditional)': «saber si… cambian» = 'to know whether… they change'. After «si» in this sense Spanish keeps the indicative, never the subjunctive. Además, que tengo ya necesidad de matar a alguien. Besides, I already have a need to kill someone. Aunque sea para distraerme, ¿sabe? Even if only to amuse myself, you know? > «aunque sea» = 'even if only': «aunque» plus the subjunctive «sea» yields 'even if it be', and the set phrase «aunque sea» comes to mean 'at least, if only, even if just'. «Aunque sea para distraerme» = 'if only to amuse myself'. –¿Y usted quiere que yo le saque las castañas del fuego? "And you want me to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for you?" > Idiom «sacar las castañas del fuego»: «sacar las castañas del fuego (a alguien)» means 'to pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire' — to do the dirty or dangerous work for them, taking the risk so they reap the benefit. The Astrologer asks if he is being asked to do exactly that. –¡Claro!... "Of course!..." porque para usted en estas circunstancias, sacarme las castañas del fuego equivale a tener veinte mil pesos para instalar la sociedad y los prostíbulos... because for you, in these circumstances, pulling the chestnuts out of the fire for me amounts to having twenty thousand pesos to set up the society and the brothels... > «equivaler a» = 'to amount to': «equivaler a» means 'to be equivalent to, amount to'. «Sacarme las castañas... equivale a tener veinte mil pesos» = 'pulling the chestnuts out for me amounts to having twenty thousand pesos'. The nominalized infinitives on each side are equated. –¿Y cómo se le ocurrió a usted que yo era capaz de hacer «eso»? "And how did it occur to you that I was capable of doing "that"?" –¿Cómo? "How?" Hace mucho tiempo que lo he observado. I've been observing you for a long time. > «hace... que» for duration: «hace + time + que + verb» expresses how long something has been going on: «hace mucho tiempo que lo he observado» = 'I have been observing you for a long time'. The «hace… que» frame carries the 'for / since' meaning English puts on the verb tense. Pero la convicción de que usted era un hombre de embarcarse en una aventura peligrosa se me ocurrió hace un año cuando lo conocí en la Sociedad Teosófica. But the conviction that you were a man to embark on a dangerous adventure came to me a year ago, when I met you at the Theosophical Society. > «conocer» in the preterite = 'met': In the preterite, «conocer» means 'to meet (for the first time)', not 'to know': «cuando lo conocí» = 'when I first met you'. The imperfect «conocía» would instead mean 'I knew / was acquainted with him'. –¿A ver?... "Let's hear it?..." –Me acuerdo como si fuera ahora. "I remember it as if it were now." > «como si» + past subjunctive: «como si fuera ahora» = 'as if it were now'. As always, «como si» ('as if') takes the past subjunctive — «fuera» (from «ser») — to frame an unreal comparison: it is not now, but the memory is that vivid. Una carbonera, a su izquierda, estaba hablando del periespíritu con un zapatero. A coal-seller's wife, to your left, was talking about the perispirit with a shoemaker. > «periespíritu» — the perispirit: The «periespíritu» ('perispirit') is a term from spiritualism: a subtle, semi-material envelope said to clothe the soul and link it to the body. Its casual mention by ordinary people — a coal-seller's wife, a shoemaker — captures the era's craze for the occult. ¿Usted no se ha fijado qué predilección tienen los zapateros por las ciencias ocultas? Haven't you noticed what a predilection shoemakers have for the occult sciences? –¿Y? "And?" –En esa circunstancia usted se dirigió a un caballero polaco que mantenía relaciones con el espíritu de Sobiezki. "On that occasion you addressed a Polish gentleman who was in contact with the spirit of Sobieski." > «dirigirse a» = 'to address': The pronominal «dirigirse a (alguien)» means 'to address, to turn to, to speak to someone'. «Usted se dirigió a un caballero polaco» = 'you addressed a Polish gentleman'. It is more formal than «hablar con». –No recuerdo... "I don't remember..." –Yo sí. "I do." > «sí» for emphatic affirmation: «Yo sí» answers a negative with 'I do (though)'. The stressed «sí» ('yes, indeed') stands in for the whole verb: against Erdosain's «no recuerdo», the Astrologer's «Yo sí» = 'I do remember'. El caballero polaco, usted mismo me lo dijo más tarde, era peón de albañil... Usted y el caballero polaco pasaron de Sobiezki a discutir sobre el «sentido de orientación de las palomas» y usted contestó: «Para mí la única importancia que tiene el sentido de orientación de las palomas es servir como intermediarias en un chantage», y allí usted comenzó a explicar... The Polish gentleman — you yourself told me so later — was a bricklayer's laborer... You and the Polish gentleman went from Sobieski to arguing about the "homing sense of pigeons", and you answered: "For me the only importance the homing sense of pigeons has is to serve as go-betweens in a blackmail scheme", and there you began to explain... > «mismo» = 'self / very': «mismo/a» after a pronoun or noun means '-self, the very': «usted mismo me lo dijo» = 'you yourself told me'. It intensifies, insisting the source was Erdosain himself, no one else. > «chantage» — blackmail (a Gallicism): «chantage» is a French loanword for 'blackmail' (standard Spanish «chantaje»). The French spelling, fashionable in the period, suits the cosmopolitan, slightly pretentious flavor of these characters' talk. Bueno, cuando usted terminó de hablar, entre el asombro del polaco, la carbonera y el zapatero, yo me dije: este hombre es un audaz en disponibilidad... Well, when you finished speaking, amid the astonishment of the Pole, the coal-seller's wife, and the shoemaker, I said to myself: this man is a daring soul awaiting his moment... > «terminar de» + infinitive: «terminar de» plus an infinitive means 'to finish (doing something)': «cuando usted terminó de hablar» = 'when you finished speaking'. Note the «de» — «terminar de hacer» is 'to finish doing', distinct from «terminar por hacer» ('to end up doing'). –¡Jajá! ¡Qué muchacho es usted! "Ha-ha! What a fellow you are!" > Exclamatory «¡Qué + noun!»: «¡Qué + noun!» forms an exclamation: «¡Qué muchacho es usted!» = 'what a fellow you are!'. Note that Spanish needs no article — «qué muchacho», never «qué un muchacho» — where English requires 'what a'. –Perfecto. "Perfect." –Usted debe tomar en cuenta esto: es un mecanismo que se desmonta en tres submecanismos que tienen que marchar armoniosamente, aunque son independientes. "You must take this into account: it's a mechanism that breaks down into three sub-mechanisms which have to run in harmony, even though they are independent." > Idiom «tomar en cuenta»: «tomar en cuenta» means 'to take into account, bear in mind'. «Usted debe tomar en cuenta esto» = 'you must take this into account'. The related «tener en cuenta» means the same thing. Vea: El primer mecanismo es el secuestro. Look: the first mechanism is the kidnapping. El segundo, la estada de usted en Rosario, donde pedirá y recibirá el equipaje con el nombre de Barsut. The second, your stay in Rosario, where you'll request and receive the luggage under the name of Barsut. El tercero, asesinato y procedimiento para hacerlo desaparecer. The third, the murder and the procedure for making him disappear. > Causative «hacer» + infinitive: «hacer + infinitive» is causative — 'to make / cause (something to happen)': «hacerlo desaparecer» = 'to make him disappear'. The pronoun «lo» ('him') attaches to «hacer», the object of the whole causative phrase. –¿Destruiremos el cadáver? "Will we destroy the body?" –Claro. "Of course." Con ácido nítrico o si no con un horno donde... Si es horno hay que tener un mínimo de quinientos grados para carbonizar también los huesos. With nitric acid, or else with a furnace where... If it's a furnace, you have to reach a minimum of five hundred degrees to char the bones as well. > «si no» = 'otherwise / or else': Written as two words, «si no» means 'if not, otherwise, or else': «con ácido nítrico o si no con un horno» = 'with nitric acid, or else with a furnace'. Do not confuse it with the one-word «sino» ('but rather'). –¿Y de dónde ha sacado usted esos datos? "And where did you get that information?" > «sacar» = 'to get / draw out': «sacar» basically means 'to take out, draw out', and by extension 'to get, obtain': «¿de dónde ha sacado esos datos?» = 'where did you get that information from?'. The «de dónde» asks for the source. –Ya sabe que soy inventor. "You already know I'm an inventor." Ah, de los veinte mil pesos podemos dedicar una parte para fabricar la rosa de cobre en gran escala. Ah, of the twenty thousand pesos we can set aside a part to manufacture the copper rose on a large scale. Ya he encargado su fabricación a una familia amiga. I've already commissioned its manufacture to a family I'm friendly with. Posiblemente uno de los muchachos ingrese en la sociedad. Possibly one of the boys will join the society. > Subjunctive after «posiblemente»: Adverbs of possibility like «posiblemente» often take the subjunctive: «posiblemente uno de los muchachos ingrese» = 'possibly one of the boys will join'. The subjunctive «ingrese» keeps the outcome uncertain, as the adverb implies. Además, días pasados se me ha ocurrido un cambio electromagnético para la máquina de vapor de Stephenson. Besides, the other day an electromagnetic modification for Stephenson's steam engine occurred to me. Bueno, lo que yo he ideado es cien veces más sencillo. Well, what I've devised is a hundred times simpler. ¿Sabe usted lo que a mí me haría falta? Do you know what I would need? > Idiom «hacer falta»: «hacer falta» means 'to be needed, to be lacking': «lo que a mí me haría falta» = 'what I would need'. Like «gustar», the needed thing is the subject and the person an indirect object («me»); «a mí» merely emphasizes it. Irme un tiempo afuera, estar en la montaña, descansar y estudiar. To go away for a while, to be in the mountains, to rest and study. –Y usted podría ir a la colonia que organizaremos... "And you could go to the colony we'll set up..." > Conditional «podría» for a soft suggestion: «podría» (conditional of «poder») softens a proposal to 'could / might': «usted podría ir» = 'you could go'. The conditional makes the suggestion tentative and polite rather than a flat assertion. –¿Entonces está conforme con el plan? "So you're agreed on the plan?" > «estar conforme con»: «estar conforme con» means 'to be in agreement with, satisfied with, to go along with'. «¿Está conforme con el plan?» = 'are you agreed on the plan?'. «conforme» here is an adjective of assent. –¡Ah! Una cosa. "Ah! One thing." El dinero, ¿de dónde lo sacó Barsut? The money — where did Barsut get it from? –Hace tres años vendió una propiedad que le tocó en herencia. "Three years ago he sold a property that came to him by inheritance." > Idiom «tocarle (algo) a alguien»: «tocarle a alguien» means 'to fall to someone, to be one's share/lot': «una propiedad que le tocó en herencia» = 'a property that came to him by inheritance'. It is the same «tocar» as in «te toca a ti» ('it's your turn'). –Y lo tiene en caja de ahorros... "And he keeps it in a savings account..." –No, en cuenta corriente. "No, in a checking account." > «cuenta corriente» vs «caja de ahorros»: A «cuenta corriente» is a current / checking account (against which one writes checks), as opposed to a «caja de ahorros», a savings account that earns interest. The distinction matters to the plotters: a checking account is money he can sign away on the spot. –¿Así que no vive del interés? "So he doesn't live off the interest?" > «Así que» = 'so / therefore': «Así que» draws a conclusion: 'so, therefore, which means'. «¿Así que no vive del interés?» = 'so he doesn't live off the interest?'. It links the new inference to what was just established. –No, lo va gastando de a poco. "No, he's spending it little by little." > «ir» + gerund (gradual progress): «ir» plus a gerund pictures an action unfolding bit by bit: «lo va gastando de a poco» = 'he is gradually spending it'. Where «estar + gerund» is action in progress, «ir + gerund» stresses its step-by-step advance. De a doscientos pesos mensuales. At two hundred pesos a month. > River Plate «de a» for rate: «de a» before a quantity is a River Plate way of marking a rate or unit: «de a doscientos pesos mensuales» = 'at two hundred pesos a month, in lots of two hundred'. Standard Spanish would often drop the «a» («de doscientos»). Dice que antes de terminar conesa suma habrá muerto. He says that before finishing that sum he'll be dead. > Future perfect: «habrá muerto» is the future perfect — 'he will have died' — an action expected to be already complete by a later point: «antes de terminar esa suma habrá muerto» = 'before he finishes that sum, he'll already be dead'. (The source's «conesa» is a printer's run-together of «con esa».) –Es curioso. "It's curious." ¿Y qué tipo es él? And what sort of fellow is he? > «tipo» — a guy / sort: «tipo» colloquially means 'guy, fellow, bloke' and, asking «¿qué tipo es?», 'what sort of man is he?'. It is informal but not rude — a staple of everyday River Plate speech. –Fuerte. "Strong." Cruel. Cruel. El secuestro va a tener que estudiarlo muy bien, porque se defenderá como una fiera. You'll have to plan the kidnapping very carefully, because he'll defend himself like a wild beast. > Fronted topic + resumptive pronoun: «El secuestro» is fronted as the topic, then picked up again by the pronoun «lo» on «estudiarlo»: 'the kidnapping — you'll have to plan it carefully'. Spanish often topicalizes a noun this way and resumes it with a clitic pronoun. –Muy bien. "Very good." –¡Ah!, antes de que me vaya. "Ah! — before I go." > «antes de que» + subjunctive: «antes de que» ('before') always takes the subjunctive, since the event has not yet happened: «antes de que me vaya» = 'before I leave'. The subjunctive «vaya» (from «irse») is obligatory here. ¿Usted le dirá algo de esto al Rufián? Will you tell the Ruffian anything about this? –No. "No." Es un secreto entre nosotros. It's a secret between us. El Rufián participará como organizador de los prostíbulos, nada más. The Ruffian will take part only as the organizer of the brothels, nothing more. ¿Usted paga mañana en la Azucarera, no? You're paying tomorrow at the Sugar Company, aren't you? > Present tense for the near future: Spanish uses the simple present for scheduled future events: «¿Usted paga mañana?» = 'are you paying tomorrow?'. The adverb «mañana» ('tomorrow') makes the future sense clear without needing a future tense. The tag «¿no?» seeks confirmation. –Sí. "Yes." –Ahora que me acuerdo, conozco a un impresor. "Now that I think of it, I know a printer." > Idiom «ahora que me acuerdo»: «ahora que me acuerdo» = 'now that I remember / come to think of it'. The pronominal «acordarse» ('to remember') gives the set phrase that introduces a sudden recollection. El será quien nos haga la circular del Ministerio de Guerra. He'll be the one to make us the War Ministry circular. > Subjunctive in a relative clause: «será quien nos haga la circular» = 'he will be the one to make us the circular'. The relative clause takes the subjunctive «haga» because its referent is not yet a settled fact — it describes the role he is to fill, not someone already doing it. Erdosain paseóse un instante por la habitación. Erdosain paced about the room for a moment. > Enclitic «se» again: «paseóse» is «se paseó» ('he paced, strolled') with the pronoun attached to the verb — Arlt's recurring literary enclitic. The pronominal «pasearse» means 'to walk to and fro, stroll about'. –El secuestro es fácil. "The kidnapping is easy." Usted va a Rosario y con un telegrama pide los baúles. You go to Rosario and with a telegram you ask for the trunks. Lo que ocurre es que cuando uno se encuentra frente a la comisión de un delito... The thing is that when one finds oneself faced with the commission of a crime... > «Lo que ocurre es que» = 'the thing is': «Lo que ocurre es que…» literally 'what happens is that…' is a set frame for 'the thing is…, the trouble is…'. It introduces a complication or qualification — here Erdosain's flicker of hesitation before the deed. –Es que no será el único que cometeremos... "The thing is, it won't be the only one we commit..." –¿Cómo?... "What?..." –Y claro. "Well, of course." > «Y claro» = 'well, naturally': «Y claro» is a conversational 'well, of course / naturally, obviously'. It treats what follows as self-evident, the Astrologer brushing aside Erdosain's surprise as if the answer were plain. Otra de las cosas que me preocupa es el mantenimiento del secreto en la sociedad. Another of the things that worries me is the keeping of the secret within the society. Yo había pensado lo siguiente. I had thought of the following. En cada punto del estado habrá una célula revolucionaria. At each point of the state there will be a revolutionary cell. El comité central radicará en la capital. The central committee will be based in the capital. > «radicar» = 'to be located / based': «radicar (en)» means 'to be situated, based, or rooted in a place': «el comité central radicará en la capital» = 'the central committee will be based in the capital'. The word shares its root with 'radical' — to take root. Entonces, este comité estaría organizado de la siguiente forma: jefe de capital de provincia, miembro del comité central, jefe del distrito de provincia, miembro del comité de la capital de provincia, jefe de villa principal, miembro del comité del distrito cabeza. Then this committee would be organized in the following way: head of the provincial capital, member of the central committee; head of the provincial district, member of the provincial capital's committee; head of the main town, member of the head-district's committee. > Conditional passive for a hypothetical: «estaría organizado» ('would be organized') pairs the conditional of «estar» with a past participle to describe an arrangement that is only proposed, not yet real. The conditional keeps the whole scheme in the realm of the planned and imagined. –¿No le parece muy complicado a usted? "Doesn't it seem too complicated to you?" > «parecer» + indirect object: «parecer» ('to seem') takes an indirect object for the person to whom something seems so: «¿no le parece muy complicado?» = 'doesn't it seem too complicated to you?'. The fronted «a usted» merely doubles and emphasizes the «le». –No sé, se estudiaría. "I don't know — it would be looked into." > Conditional + passive «se»: «se estudiaría» combines the conditional with the passive/impersonal «se»: 'it would be studied / looked into', with no agent named. It leaves open who would do the studying — a vague 'we'd see about it'. Otros detalles de organización que se me han ocurrido son: cada célula dispondrá de un transmisor y receptor radiotelegráfico, siendo además obligación que cada diez asociados adquieran un automóvil, diez fusiles, dos ametralladoras, debiendo a su vez cien miembros costear el precio de un aeroplano de guerra, bombas, etc., etc. Other organizational details that have occurred to me are: each cell will have a radiotelegraph transmitter and receiver, it being further obligatory that every ten members acquire an automobile, ten rifles, two machine guns, while in turn every hundred members are to cover the cost of a war airplane, bombs, etc., etc. > Gerunds for stacked conditions: The gerunds «siendo» ('being') and «debiendo» ('having to') append further clauses in a clipped, administrative style: «siendo obligación que…» = 'it being obligatory that…', «debiendo cien miembros costear…» = 'every hundred members being obliged to cover…'. It reads like a bureaucratic decree — fitting for the fantastical bylaws the Astrologer reels off. > Subjunctive after «es obligación que»: An expression of necessity like «es obligación que» governs the subjunctive: «que cada diez asociados adquieran…» = 'that every ten members acquire…'. The subjunctive «adquieran» (from «adquirir») states what is required rather than what is the case. Los ascensos serán por disposición del consejo superior, las elecciones de categoría inferior se regirán por votaciones calificadas. Promotions will be by order of the higher council; elections to the lower ranks will be governed by qualified votes. Pero es hora de acostarse. But it's time to go to bed. Dentro de un rato tiene tren... ¿o se quiere quedar a dormir aquí? In a little while you have a train... or do you want to stay and sleep here? > «dentro de» for future time: «dentro de» plus a time span means 'in / within (so much time from now)': «dentro de un rato» = 'in a little while'. Do not read it as 'inside' here — with a stretch of time it points forward to the future. En realidad Erdosain no tenía nada que hacer. In truth Erdosain had nothing to do. > «tener (algo/nada) que + infinitive»: «tener que + infinitive» normally means 'to have to', but with a noun before «que» it means 'to have (something) to do': «no tenía nada que hacer» = 'he had nothing to do'. The «que» links the thing to the action one would perform with it. Ya el reloj había dado las tres de la mañana y las palabras que pronunciara el Astrólogo pasaron por su entendimiento, casi borrosas. The clock had already struck three in the morning, and the words the Astrologer had spoken passed through his mind, almost blurred. > «-ra» form as a pluperfect: «las palabras que pronunciara el Astrólogo» = 'the words the Astrologer had spoken'. In literary prose the «-ra» form («pronunciara») can revive its old value as a plain pluperfect indicative, equal to «había pronunciado» — a flavor of older, formal Spanish. No le interesaba nada. Nothing interested him. Quería irse, eso era todo. He wanted to leave, that was all. Irse lejos. To go far away. Estrechó la mano del otro; el Astrólogo lo despidió en la gradinata y Erdosain, agobiado, cruzó la quinta. He shook the other man's hand; the Astrologer saw him off at the front steps, and Erdosain, weighed down, crossed the grounds. > «quinta» — a country house and its grounds: A «quinta» is a country house or villa set in its own grounds on the edge of town. The Astrologer's «quinta», out past the city, is the lonely, walled-off setting for the whole conspiracy — far enough that no one hears. Cuando volvió la cabeza en las tinieblas, la ventana iluminada ponía un rectángulo amarillo suspendido en el centro de la oscuridad. When he turned his head back in the darkness, the lit window set a yellow rectangle hanging in the center of the blackness. --- Source text: public domain (Roberto Arlt, d. 1942). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original draft, pending editorial review. NOTE: this is a minimal seed excerpt to make the app target runnable; full verified content is authored through the content pipeline.