# Max Havelaar, Chapter 15

Max Havelaar · Multatuli · The Novel

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/havelaar/hoofdstuk-15. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/havelaar/hoofdstuk-15.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/havelaar/<line id>.m4a.


VYFTIENDE HOOFDSTUK  
FIFTEENTH CHAPTER
> Period spelling: vyftiende: 'vyftiende' is the 1860 spelling of vijftiende ('fifteenth'), with y standing in for the ij digraph. Hoofdstuk ('chapter') is a right-headed compound: hoofd ('head/main') + stuk ('piece').

Havelaars voorganger, die wel het goede wilde doch tevens de hooge ongenade van de Regeering eenigszins scheen gevreesd te hebben--de man had veel kinderen, en geen vermogen--had alzoo liever met den resident gesproken over wat hyzelf verregaande misbruiken noemde, dan die ronduit te noemen in een officieel bericht.  
Havelaar's predecessor, who indeed wished to do good yet at the same time seemed to have somewhat feared the high displeasure of the Government--the man had many children and no fortune--had therefore preferred to speak with the resident about what he himself called grave abuses, rather than to name them outright in an official report.
> Relative clause with modal + perfect infinitive: The relative 'die' (for the de-word voorganger) opens a long verb-final clause. 'wilde' is the imperfect of the modal willen; 'scheen … te hebben gevreesd' stacks schijnen + a te-infinitive in the perfect ('seemed to have feared'). 'doch' is an archaic 'yet/but'.
> Comparative liever … dan: 'liever … dan' ('rather … than') is the comparative of graag/gaarne used to weigh two options. The first is a perfect ('had … gesproken'), the second a te-infinitive ('te noemen'); 'den resident' again shows the old accusative -n.

Hy wist dat een resident niet gaarne een schriftelyk rapport ontvangt, dat in zyn archief blyft liggen en later kan gelden als bewys dat hy tydig was opmerkzaam gemaakt op deze of gene verkeerdheid, terwyl een mondelinge mededeeling hem zonder gevaar de keus laat tusschen 't al of niet gevolg geven aan een klacht.  
He knew that a resident does not gladly receive a written report, one that stays lying in his archive and may later serve as proof that he had been alerted in good time to this or that wrong, whereas a verbal communication leaves him, without danger, the choice between acting or not acting on a complaint.
> dat-clause sends the verb to the end: The subordinating conjunction 'dat' pushes the finite verb 'ontvangt' to the clause-final position. 'gaarne' is the literary form of graag ('gladly'); negated by 'niet', it means 'does not gladly receive'.
> Contrast clause with terwyl: 'terwyl' ('whereas/while') opens a subordinate clause of contrast; its verb 'laat' would close the clause but here, fronted by the long object, still sits clause-finally. The -e on 'mondelinge' is the attributive adjective ending before a de-word.
> Passive in a subordinate clause: 'was … gemaakt' is a passive perfect ('had been made/alerted'): the auxiliary zijn (was) plus the past participle 'gemaakt', with 'opmerkzaam' as the predicate ('alerted, made attentive'). The whole verb cluster sits at the end of the dat-clause.

Zulke mondelinge mededeelingen hadden gewoonlyk een onderhoud ten-gevolge met den Regent, die natuurlyk alles ontkende en op bewyzen aandrong.  
Such verbal communications usually had as their consequence an interview with the Regent, who naturally denied everything and insisted on proof.
> Plural imperfect of hebben: 'hadden' is the plural simple past of hebben, agreeing with the plural subject 'mededeelingen'. The fixed phrase 'ten-gevolge hebben' means 'to have as a consequence'.

Dan werden de lieden opgeroepen die de stoutheid hadden gehad zich te beklagen, en kruipende voor de voeten van den Adhipatti, baden zy om verschooning.  
Then the people who had had the audacity to complain were summoned, and, crawling before the feet of the Adhipatti, they begged for pardon.
> worden-passive in the past: 'werden … opgeroepen' is the imperfect process passive: werden (past of worden) + past participle, with the separable prefix op- fused into the participle 'opgeroepen' ('were summoned'). 'zich te beklagen' is a reflexive te-infinitive ('to complain').
> Present participle as adverbial: 'kruipende' is the present participle of kruipen ('crawling'), the -end(e) form used here as a vivid adverbial describing how the people begged — a hallmark of the heightened, literary register.
> Pluperfect: had the audacity: 'hadden gehad' is the pluperfect of hebben (imperfect of hebben + participle gehad) — 'had had' the audacity. 'stoutheid' here is the older sense 'boldness, audacity', not 'naughtiness'.

"Neen, die buffel was hun niet afgenomen om-niet, ze geloofden wel dat daarvoor een dubbelen prys zou betaald worden." "Neen, ze waren niet afgeroepen van hun velden om zonder betaling te arbeiden in de Sawahs van den Regent, ze wisten zeer goed dat de Adhipatti hen later ruim zou beloond hebben." "Ze hadden hun aanklacht ingebracht in een oogenblik van ongegronden wrevel ... ze waren waanzinnig geweest, en smeekten dat men hen straffen mocht voor zulke verregaande oneerbiedigheid!"  
"No, that buffalo had not been taken from them for nothing; they fully believed that a double price would be paid for it." "No, they had not been called away from their fields to labour without pay in the Regent's Sawahs; they knew very well that the Adhipatti would have rewarded them handsomely afterward." "They had brought their accusation in a moment of unfounded resentment ... they had been out of their minds, and begged that they might be punished for such grave disrespect!"
> Passive perfect with separable afnemen: 'was … afgenomen' is the perfect passive ('had been taken away'): zijn + participle, the separable prefix af- fused in. The dative 'hun' marks the people it was taken from; 'om-niet' is an idiom meaning 'for nothing, gratis'.
> Conditional + future passive: 'zou … betaald worden' combines the conditional zou with a worden-passive infinitive ('would be paid'). 'daarvoor' is a pronominal adverb (daar- + voor, 'for it'); 'dubbelen prys' shows the old masculine accusative -n on the adjective.

Dan wist de resident wel wat hy over die intrekking der aanklacht te denken had, maar dat intrekken gaf hem niettemin een schoone gelegenheid om den Regent te handhaven in ambt en eer, en hemzelf was de onaangename taak bespaard de Regeering te "bemoeielyken" met een ongunstig bericht.  
The resident then knew well enough what to think of that withdrawal of the accusation, but the withdrawal gave him nonetheless a fine opportunity to uphold the Regent in office and honour, while he himself was spared the unpleasant task of "troubling" the Government with an unfavourable report.
> te + infinitive of obligation: 'te denken had' uses hebben + te-infinitive to express what one is to do / has to think ('knew what to think of'). 'der aanklacht' is the old feminine genitive article der ('of the accusation').
> om … te purpose clause: 'om … te handhaven' is a purpose infinitive ('an opportunity to uphold the Regent'). 'schoone' is the attributive adjective with the period double-o spelling (modern schone), and 'den Regent' keeps the old accusative -n.

De roekelooze aanklagers werden met rottingslagen gestraft, de Regent had gezegepraald, en de resident keerde naar de hoofdplaats terug, met het aangenaam bewustzyn die zaak alweer zoo goed "geschipperd" te hebben.  
The reckless accusers were punished with strokes of the rattan, the Regent had triumphed, and the resident returned to the chief town with the agreeable consciousness of having once again "managed" the matter so well.
> worden-passive: were punished: 'werden … gestraft' is the imperfect process passive of straffen ('were punished'). 'met rottingslagen' names the instrument; rottingslagen is a compound (rotting 'rattan cane' + slagen 'blows').
> Perfect te-infinitive after a noun: 'geschipperd te hebben' is a perfect te-infinitive ('of having managed') depending on bewustzyn ('consciousness'). 'geschipperd' (in scare-quotes) is the ironic colonial euphemism schipperen, 'to fudge / wangle a compromise'.

Maar wat moest nu de adsistent-resident doen, als den volgenden dag weer andere klagers zich by hem aanmeldden?  
But what was the assistant-resident now to do, if on the following day yet other complainants presented themselves to him?
> als-clause with reflexive separable verb: 'als' ('if') opens a subordinate clause sending the verb to the end: 'zich … aanmeldden' is the reflexive separable verb zich aanmelden ('present themselves'), in the imperfect. 'den volgenden dag' is an accusative-of-time phrase with the old -n endings.

Of--en dit geschiedde dikwyls--als dezelfde klagers terugkeerden en hun intrekking introkken?  
Or--and this happened often--if the very same complainants returned and withdrew their withdrawal?
> Wordplay: withdrew their withdrawal: A deliberate figura etymologica: intrekking ('withdrawal', a noun) and introkken (imperfect of intrekken, 'withdrew') share the same root. The peasants 'withdrew their withdrawal' — they re-filed the very complaint they had been forced to retract.
> Imperfect of geschieden: 'geschiedde' is the weak imperfect of geschieden ('to happen, come to pass'), an elevated synonym of gebeuren typical of Multatuli's literary register.

Moest hy weder die zaak op zyn nota schryven, om weder daarover te spreken met den resident, om weder dezelfde komedie te zien spelen, alles op 't gevaar af van in het eind doortegaan voor iemand die--dom en boosaardig dan--telkens beschuldigingen voorbracht welke gedurig moesten worden afgewezen als ongegrond?  
Was he again to set that matter down in his notes, in order again to speak of it with the resident, in order again to watch the same comedy played out, all at the risk of passing in the end for a man who--stupid and malicious, then--kept bringing forward accusations that had repeatedly to be dismissed as groundless?
> Modal in a rhetorical question + om…te: The modal 'moest' (imperfect of moeten) is fronted for a rhetorical question, with the bare infinitive 'schryven' at the end. The trailing 'om … te spreken' is a purpose clause; 'daarover' is a pronominal adverb (daar- + over, 'about it').
> Perception verb + bare infinitive: 'te zien spelen' chains the perception verb zien with a second, bare infinitive spelen ('to see the same comedy played out'). Perception verbs like zien and horen take a bare infinitive, not a te-infinitive, for the action perceived.
> Idiom: watch the same comedy played out: 'dezelfde komedie zien spelen' is used figuratively — to watch the same farce or charade unfold — capturing the cynical, scripted ritual of complaint, denial, and forced retraction.

Wat moest er worden van de zoo noodige vriendschappelyke verhouding tusschen 't voornaamst Inlandsch Hoofd en den eersten europeschen ambtenaar, als deze gedurig scheen gehoor te geven aan valsche aanklachten tegen dat Hoofd?  
What was to become of the so necessary friendly relation between the foremost Native Chief and the first European official, if the latter kept seeming to give a hearing to false accusations against that Chief?
> Idiom worden van + dummy er: 'er van worden' is the fixed expression 'to become of' ('what was to become of …'). 'er' here is the existential/placeholder particle that idiom requires, and 'moest worden' is the modal moeten + infinitive worden.

En vooral, wat werd er van die arme klagers nadat ze waren weergekeerd in hun dorp, onder de macht van het distrikts- of dorpshoofd dat ze hadden aangeklaagd als uitvoerder van des Regents willekeur? Wat er van die klagers werd?  
And above all, what became of those poor complainants after they had returned to their village, back under the power of the district- or village-chief whom they had accused as the executor of the Regent's arbitrary will? What became of those complainants?
> Genitive des and the -s genitive: 'des Regents willekeur' is a doubled old genitive: the masculine/neuter genitive article 'des' plus the genitive -s on Regents ('the Regent's arbitrary will'). Modern Dutch would say 'de willekeur van de Regent'.
> worden van with er again: 'er … van worden' recurs as the haunting refrain ('what became of those poor complainants'). Here 'werd' is the imperfect of worden; 'er' is the obligatory particle that the idiom carries.

Wie vluchten kon, vluchtte.  
Whoever could flee, fled.
> Free relative wie + V2 in the main clause: 'Wie' is a free (headless) relative pronoun, 'whoever'; it opens a verb-final subordinate clause ('Wie vluchten kon'), and the main clause that follows keeps the finite verb second — here first after the fronted clause: 'vluchtte' (weak imperfect of vluchten).

Dáárom zwierven er zooveel Bantammers in de naburige provincien!  
That was why so many men of Bantam roamed about in the neighbouring provinces!
> Fronted daarom forces inversion: Fronting the adverb 'dáárom' ('that is why') triggers verb-second inversion: the verb 'zwierven' precedes the subject. 'er' is the existential particle accompanying the indefinite quantity 'zooveel Bantammers'.

Dáárom waren er zooveel bewoners van Lebak onder de opstandelingen in de Lampongsche distrikten!  
That was why so many inhabitants of Lebak were among the insurgents in the Lampong districts!

Dáárom had Havelaar in zyn toespraak aan de Hoofden gevraagd: "wat is dit, dat er zooveel huizen ledig staan in de dorpen, en waarom verkiezen velen de schaduw der bosschen elders, boven de koelte der wouden van Bantan Kidoel?"  
That was why Havelaar had asked, in his address to the Chiefs: "how is it that so many houses stand empty in the villages, and why do so many prefer the shade of the forests elsewhere to the coolness of the woods of Bantan-Kidoel?"
> dat-clause with existential er: 'dat' opens a verb-final clause; 'er' is the existential particle introducing the indefinite subject 'zooveel huizen' ('that so many houses stand empty'). 'ledig' is the older form of leeg ('empty').

Doch niet ieder kon vluchten.  
But not everyone could flee.
> niet + indefinite pronoun ieder: 'niet ieder' negates the indefinite pronoun ieder ('not everyone'). The modal 'kon' (imperfect of kunnen) sends the main verb 'vluchten' to the end as a bare infinitive. 'Doch' is the literary 'but/yet'.

De man wiens lyk 's morgens de rivier afdreef, nadat hy den vorigen avend, in 't geheim, schoorvoetend, angstig, verzocht had om gehoor by den adsistent-resident ... hy had geen behoefte meer aan vlucht.  
The man whose corpse drifted down the river in the morning, after he had, the previous evening, in secret, hesitant, fearful, asked for a hearing with the assistant-resident ... he had no further need of flight.
> Genitive relative wiens + adverbial 's morgens: 'wiens' is the masculine genitive relative pronoun ('whose'), opening a verb-final clause; 'afdreef' is the strong imperfect of afdrijven ('drifted down'). "'s morgens" is a frozen genitive adverbial ('in the morning') — the apostrophe stands for the old article des.
> geen for indefinite negation: 'geen behoefte' negates the indefinite noun behoefte ('need') — geen, not niet, negates an indefinite noun phrase. 'geen … meer' together means 'no more / no further' need.

Misschien ware het als menschlievendheid te achten, hem door oogenblikkelyken dood te onttrekken aan nog eenigen tyd levens.  
Perhaps it might even be reckoned an act of mercy to withdraw him, by an instantaneous death, from some further span of life.
> Subjunctive ware + impersonal het: 'ware' is the past subjunctive of zijn ('might be'), a literary mood-form. 'het' here is the impersonal/dummy subject ('it'), and 'te achten' is a te-infinitive ('to be reckoned').
> te-infinitive with old accusative endings: 'te onttrekken' ('to withdraw') governs the construction. 'oogenblikkelyken dood' and 'eenigen tyd' carry the old accusative -n on the adjectives; 'tyd levens' shows a bare genitive ('span of life').

Hem bleef de mishandeling gespaard die hem wachtte by terugkeer in zyn dorp, en de rottingslagen die de straffe zyn voor al wie een oogenblik meenen kon geen beest te wezen, geen onbezield stuk hout of steen. De straffe van wie in een aanval van dwaasheid geloofd had dat er Recht in 't land was, en dat de adsistent-resident den wil had, en de macht, om dat Recht te handhaven ...  
He was spared the ill-treatment that awaited him on his return to his village, and the rattan-blows that are the punishment for all who can imagine, even for a moment, that they are not a beast, not some lifeless block of wood or stone. The punishment of one who, in a fit of folly, had believed that there was Justice in the land, and that the assistant-resident had the will, and the power, to uphold that Justice ...
> Indirect-object fronting + passive participle: The dative 'Hem' is fronted for emphasis ('He was spared …'), forcing inversion of 'bleef' (imperfect of blijven). 'gespaard' is a past participle in a blijven-passive of state; the relative 'die' opens a verb-final clause.
> Free relative al wie + negated infinitive clause: 'al wie' is an emphatic free relative ('all who'). The modal 'kon' takes the bare infinitive 'meenen', which in turn governs 'geen beest te wezen' — geen negating the indefinite noun beest, and 'te wezen' the archaic te-infinitive of zijn.

Was 't, niet inderdaad beter dien man te beletten den volgenden dag by den adsistent-resident terugtekeeren--zooals deze hem 's avends zeggen liet--en zyn klachte te smoren in 't gele water van den Tjioedjoeng, dat hem zachtkens zou afvoeren naar hare monding, gewoon als ze was overbrengster te wezen van die broederlyke groetgeschenken der haaien in 't binnenland aan de haaien in zee?  
Was it not indeed better to prevent that man from returning the next day to the assistant-resident--as the latter had sent word in the evening for him to do--and to smother his complaint in the yellow water of the Tjioedjoeng, which would carry him gently down to its mouth, accustomed as it was to being the bearer of those brotherly tokens of greeting from the sharks of the interior to the sharks of the sea?
> te-infinitive with joined spelling terugtekeeren: 'beletten' ('prevent') governs a te-infinitive. Note the 1860 orthography 'terugtekeeren' — the separable verb terugkeeren written as one word with -te- (modern: terug te keren). 'dien man' and 'den volgenden dag' show the old accusative -n.
> Causative laten: sent word: 'liet … zeggen' is the causative laten + bare infinitive ('had it said / sent word'). 'deze' is a demonstrative used pronominally ('the latter'); "'s avends" is a frozen genitive adverbial ('in the evening').

En Havelaar wist dit alles!  
And Havelaar knew all this!
> Strong imperfect wist: 'wist' is the irregular/strong past of weten ('knew'). 'dit alles' pairs the neuter demonstrative dit ('this') with alles ('everything') as a single object — 'all this'.

Gevoelt de lezer wat er in zyn gemoed omging by 't bedenken dat hy tot recht-doen geroepen, en daarvoor verantwoordelyk was aan een hoogere macht dan de macht van een Regeering die wel dat recht voorschreef in haar wetten, maar niet altyd even gaarne daarvan de toepassing zag?  
Does the reader feel what passed within his soul at the thought that he was called to do justice, and was answerable for it to a higher power than the power of a Government that did indeed prescribe that justice in its laws, but did not always so gladly see it applied?
> Free relative wat + separable omgaan: 'wat' is a free relative ('what') opening a verb-final clause; 'omging' is the imperfect of the separable verb omgaan ('went on, passed'). 'er' is the placeholder particle, and "'t bedenken" is a nominalized infinitive ('the thinking, contemplation').
> Coordinating wel … maar: Inside the relative clause, 'wel … maar' coordinates two contrasting predicates ('did indeed prescribe … but did not always …'). 'maar' is a coordinating conjunction and so does NOT send its verb to the end — but here both verbs already sit clause-finally because they are inside the die-relative.

Gevoelt men hoe hy werd geslingerd door twyfel, niet aan wàt hem te doen stond, maar aan de wyze waarop hy te handelen had?  
Does one feel how he was tossed about by doubt--not about what he was to do, but about the manner in which he had to act?
> worden-passive: was tossed about: 'werd geslingerd' is the imperfect process passive of slingeren ('was tossed about'), with the agent introduced by 'door' ('by doubt'). The clause is verb-final, opened by the question-word 'hoe'.
> Pronominal relative waarop + te-infinitive of obligation: 'waarop' is a pronominal relative adverb (waar- + op, 'in/on which') referring to wyze ('manner'). 'te handelen had' is hebben + te-infinitive expressing obligation ('had to act').

Hy had aangevangen met zachtheid. Hy had tot den Adhipatti gesproken als: "ouder broeder" en wie meenen mocht dat ik, ingenomen met den held myner geschiedenis, de wyze waarop hy sprak, tracht te verheffen boven maat, hoore hoe eens na zoodanig onderhoud, de Regent zyn Patteh tot hem zond om voor de welwillendheid zyner woorden dank te zeggen, en hoe nog lang daarna die Patteh, sprekende met den kontroleur Verbrugge--nadat Havelaar had opgehouden adsistent-resident van Lebak te zyn, nadat er dus van hem niets meer te hopen of te vreezen was--hoe die Patteh by de herinnering aan zyn woorden getroffen uitriep: "nog nooit heeft eenig heer gesproken als hy!"  
He had begun with gentleness. He had spoken to the Adhipatti as to an "elder brother"; and whoever might think that I, taken with the hero of my story, am trying to exalt beyond measure the manner in which he spoke, let him hear how once, after such an interview, the Regent sent his Patteh to him to give thanks for the kindness of his words, and how, long afterward, that Patteh--speaking with the controller Verbrugge, after Havelaar had ceased to be assistant-resident of Lebak, after there was therefore nothing more to hope or to fear from him--how that Patteh, moved at the recollection of his words, exclaimed: "never yet has any lord spoken as he did!"
> Free relative + imperative subjunctive hoore: 'wie … mocht' is a free relative with the modal mogen ('whoever might think'); the main clause answers with 'hoore' — a 3rd-person imperative/jussive subjunctive ('let him hear'), characteristic of solemn 1860 prose.
> Genitive myner + participle ingenomen: 'ingenomen met' ('taken with, charmed by') is a participial adjective. 'myner geschiedenis' is an old feminine genitive of the possessive ('of my story') — modern Dutch 'van mijn geschiedenis'.

Ja, hy wilde helpen, terechtbrengen, redden, niet verderven!  
Yes, he wished to help, to set right, to save, not to destroy!
> Modal willen with stacked infinitives: The modal 'wilde' (imperfect of willen) governs a chain of bare infinitives ('wished to help, set right, save, not destroy'). 'terechtbrengen' is a separable verb but stays whole here as a non-finite infinitive.

Hy had medelyden met den Regent. Hy, die wist hoe geldgebrek kan drukken, vooral waar het leidt tot vernedering en smaad, zocht naar gronden van verschooning.  
He felt pity for the Regent. He, who knew how the lack of money can press, above all where it leads to humiliation and disgrace, sought for grounds of excuse.
> Modal kan in an embedded clause: Inside the hoe-clause, the modal 'kan' (kunnen) sends the main verb 'drukken' to the end ('how lack of money can press'). 'geldgebrek' is a compound (geld 'money' + gebrek 'lack').
> Imperfect zocht + fixed preposition naar: 'zocht' is the strong imperfect of zoeken ('sought'); the verb zoeken governs the fixed preposition 'naar' ('to seek for'). 'verschooning' (modern verschoning) means 'excuse, pardon'.

De Regent was oud, en 't Hoofd van een geslacht dat op grooten voet leefde in naburige provincien, waar veel koffi geoogst en dus veel emolument genoten werd.  
The Regent was old, and the head of a family that lived on a grand footing in neighbouring provinces, where much coffee was harvested and therefore much emolument enjoyed.
> Impersonal worden-passive with shared auxiliary: 'geoogst … en … genoten werd' is an impersonal process passive: two participles (oogsten 'harvest', genieten 'enjoy/derive') share the single auxiliary 'werd' ('was harvested … and enjoyed'). 'waar' is a relative adverb ('where').
> Period spelling: koffi: 'koffi' is the 1860 spelling of koffie ('coffee'). It is the keyword of the whole novel — the forced cultivation of coffee under the Cultuurstelsel is the wealth being 'enjoyed' here at the population's expense.

Was 't niet grievend voor hem, in levenswys zoo ver te moeten achterstaan by zyn jongere verwanten?  
Was it not galling for him to have to fall so far short, in his way of living, of his younger relatives?
> te + modal moeten + separable achterstaan: 'te moeten achterstaan' nests the modal moeten inside a te-infinitive ('to have to fall short'). 'achterstaan by' is a separable verb meaning 'to be inferior to'; 'jongere' is the comparative of jong with the attributive -e.

Bovendien meende de man, door dweepzucht beheerscht, by 't klimmen zyner jaren het heil van zyn ziel voor bezoldigde bedevaarten naar Mekka en voor aalmoezen aan gebedzingende leegloopers te kunnen inkoopen.  
Besides, the man, ruled by fanaticism, believed that, as his years advanced, he could buy the salvation of his soul through hired pilgrimages to Mecca and through alms to prayer-chanting idlers.
> te kunnen + infinitive with genitive zyner: 'te kunnen inkoopen' nests the modal kunnen in a te-infinitive ('to be able to buy'). 'zyner jaren' is an old genitive of the possessive ('of his years'); "'t klimmen" is a nominalized infinitive ('the climbing/advancing').
> Present participle as attributive adjective: 'gebedzingende' is a present participle (gebed-zingend, 'prayer-singing') used attributively before leegloopers, taking the -e ending of an attributive adjective. It is also a compound built from gebed ('prayer') + zingen ('to sing').

De ambtenaren die Havelaar in Lebak waren voorafgegaan, hadden niet altyd goede voorbeelden gegeven. En eindelyk maakte de uitgebreidheid der Lebaksche familie van den Regent, die geheel ten-zynen laste leefde, hem het terugkeeren tot den goeden weg moeielyk.  
The officials who had preceded Havelaar in Lebak had not always set good examples. And, finally, the sheer extent of the Regent's Lebak family, which lived entirely at his charge, made his return to the right path difficult.
> Case-remnant phrase ten-zynen laste: 'ten-zynen laste' is a frozen dative phrase ('at his charge/expense') preserving the old dative -n on both the article (te+den) and the possessive zynen. The relative 'die' opens a verb-final clause with 'leefde' (weak imperfect of leven) at the end.
> V2 inversion after a fronted adverbial: The sentence opens with 'En eindelyk', so the finite verb 'maakte' comes second, before its subject 'de uitgebreidheid'. "'t terugkeeren" is a nominalized infinitive ('the returning') serving as object.

Zóó zocht Havelaar naar gronden om alle strengheid uittestellen, en nog-eens en nòg-eens te beproeven wat er kon bereikt worden met zachtheid.  
Thus did Havelaar seek for grounds to put off all severity, and to try once more, and yet once more, what could be achieved by gentleness.
> Fronted zóó + om…te with joined spelling: Fronting 'Zóó' ('thus') triggers inversion: verb 'zocht' before subject 'Havelaar'. The purpose clause 'om … uittestellen' shows the 1860 joined spelling of the separable uitstellen ('to put off'), modern uit te stellen.

En hy ging verder nog dan zachtheid.  
And he went even further than gentleness.
> Comparative verder … dan: 'verder … dan' is the comparative of ver ('further than'), with dan introducing the standard of comparison. 'ging' is the strong imperfect of gaan.

Met een edelmoedigheid die aan de fouten herinnerde waardoor hy zoo arm gemaakt was, schoot hy den Regent gedurig op eigen verantwoordelykheid geld voor, opdat niet behoefte al te sterk zou dringen tot vergryp, en hy vergat als gewoonlyk zich zelf zóó ver dat hy aanbood zich en de zynen tot het strikt noodige te bekrimpen, om den Regent ter-hulpe te komen met het weinige dat hy nog van zyn inkomsten zou kunnen uitsparen.  
With a generosity that called to mind the very faults that had made him so poor, he repeatedly advanced the Regent money on his own responsibility, so that need should not press too hard toward transgression; and, as usual, he forgot himself so far that he offered to stint himself and his own to the strictly necessary, in order to come to the Regent's aid with the little he could yet spare out of his income.
> Separable voorschieten split across the clause: 'schoot … voor' is the separable verb voorschieten ('to advance money'): the finite stem 'schoot' (strong imperfect) stands second and the prefix 'voor' is stranded at the clause end — a textbook separable split. 'den Regent' is the dative recipient with the old -n.
> opdat + conditional zou: 'opdat' opens a purpose clause sending the verb cluster 'zou … dringen' to the end. 'zou dringen' is the conditional ('should/would press'); 'niet … al te sterk' negates and qualifies ('not too strongly').
> Reflexive zich in a te-infinitive: 'aanbood' (separable aanbieden, imperfect) governs 'te bekrimpen' ('to stint'); 'zich en de zynen' is the reflexive object plus 'de zynen' ('his own people'). 'te kunnen uitsparen' later nests kunnen in another te-infinitive.

Indien 't nog noodig schynen mocht, de zachtmoedigheid te bewyzen waarmee Havelaar zyn moeielyken plicht vervulde, zou dit bewys kunnen gevonden worden in een mondelinge boodschap die hy den kontroleur opdroeg, toen deze eens naar Serang zou vertrekken: "zeg den resident, dat hy, hoorende van de misbruiken die hier plaats vinden, niet geloove dat ik daaromtrent onverschillig ben. Ik maak daarvan niet terstond officieele melding omdat ik den Regent, met wien ik medelyden heb, wensch te bewaren voor te groote strengheid, daar ik eerst beproeven wil hem door zachtheid tot zyn plicht te brengen."  
Should it still seem necessary to give proof of the gentleness with which Havelaar discharged his difficult duty, that proof could be found in a verbal message he charged the controller to deliver, when the latter was once about to leave for Serang: "tell the resident that, hearing of the abuses that take place here, he must not believe that I am indifferent about them. I make no immediate official report of them, because I wish to keep the Regent, for whom I feel pity, from too great severity, since I want first to try to bring him to his duty through gentleness."
> Conditional period: indien … zou: 'Indien' ('if') opens the condition with the modal 'mocht' at the end; the main clause answers with 'zou … kunnen gevonden worden', stacking conditional zou + modal kunnen + the passive infinitive 'gevonden worden' ('could be found').

Havelaar bleef dikwyls dagen achtereen uit.  
Havelaar often stayed away for days on end.
> Separable uitblijven split off: 'bleef … uit' is the separable verb uitblijven ('to stay away'): finite 'bleef' (strong imperfect of blijven) in second position, prefix 'uit' stranded at the end. 'dagen achtereen' means 'days on end'.

Als hy te-huis was, vond men hem meestal in de kamer die wy op onzen platten grond vinden voorgesteld door 't zevende vak.  
When he was at home, he was usually to be found in the room which on our ground-plan is represented by the seventh compartment.
> als-clause then V2 main clause; impersonal men: The fronted 'Als'-clause is verb-final ('was' at the end); the main clause then inverts to 'vond men' (verb second). 'men' is the impersonal pronoun 'one'. The relative 'die … voorgesteld' opens a verb-final clause.
> Passive participle in a perception construction: 'vinden … voorgesteld' pairs vinden with the past participle 'voorgesteld' ('find represented') — a passive sense without a finite worden/zijn. 'door' marks the means ('by the seventh compartment').

Daar zat hy gewoonlyk te schryven, en ontving de personen die om gehoor lieten vragen.  
There he usually sat writing, and received the persons who asked for an audience.
> Posture verb + te-infinitive (progressive): 'zat … te schryven' is the zitten te + infinitive progressive ('sat writing / was busy writing') — a posture verb plus te-infinitive expresses ongoing action. Fronted 'Daar' forces inversion: 'zat hy'.

Hy had die plek gekozen omdat hy daar in de nabyheid was van zyn Tine die zich gewoonlyk in de kamer daarnaast ophield.  
He had chosen that spot because it kept him close to his Tine, who usually stayed in the room next door.
> omdat-clause with reflexive zich ophouden: 'omdat' ('because') sends 'was' to the end of its clause. The relative 'die' then opens a further verb-final clause containing the reflexive separable verb zich ophouden ('to stay, dwell'): 'zich … ophield'.

Want zóó innig waren zy verbonden dat Max, ook als hy bezig was met eenigen arbeid die aandacht en inspanning vorderde, gedurig behoefte voelde haar te zien of te hooren.  
For so intimately were they bound together that Max, even when busy with some work that demanded attention and effort, continually felt the need to see or to hear her.
> want (coordinator) + zóó … dat result clause: 'Want' ('for') is a coordinating conjunction and keeps verb-second order ('waren zy'). It pairs with a 'zóó … dat' result construction: the dat-clause is verb-final, holding 'voelde' at the end.
> Stacked te-infinitives after voelen: 'behoefte voelde … te zien of te hooren' governs two coordinated te-infinitives ('felt the need to see or to hear'). The coordinator 'of' ('or') joins the two infinitives without disturbing the te-construction.

Het was dikwyls koddig hoe hy op-eenmaal tot haar een woord richtte dat in zyn gedachten over de onderwerpen die hem bezig-hielden opkwam, en hoe snel zy, zonder te weten wat hy behandelde, den zin van zyn meening wist te vatten, die hy haar dan ook gewoonlyk niet toelichtte, als sprak het vanzelf dat zy wel weten zou wat hy bedoelde.  
It was often droll how he would suddenly direct a word to her that arose in his thoughts about the subjects occupying him, and how quickly she, without knowing what he was treating of, grasped the sense of his meaning--which, as a rule, he did not then explain to her either, as though it went without saying that she would surely know what he meant.
> wist te + infinitive: managed to grasp: 'wist te vatten' is weten + te-infinitive, an idiom meaning 'managed/knew how to grasp'. The clause is verb-final under 'hoe'; 'den zin' carries the old accusative -n.
> Separable toelichten in a relative clause + niet: The relative 'die' opens a verb-final clause where the separable verb toelichten ('to explain') stays whole at the end as 'toelichtte' (weak imperfect). 'niet' negates the verb ('did not explain'); 'haar' is the dative ('to her').
> Conditional inversion + impersonal het: 'als sprak het vanzelf' uses subjunctive-style inversion ('as if it went without saying') with impersonal 'het'. The fixed idiom 'het spreekt vanzelf' means 'it is self-evident'; 'weten zou' is the conditional held to the clause end.

Dikwyls ook, als hy ontevreden was over eigen arbeid of pas ontvangen verdrietig bericht, sprong hy op en zeide iets onvriendelyks tot haar ... die toch geen schuld had aan zyn ontevredenheid!  
Often, too, when he was discontented with his own work or with some vexing news just received, he would spring up and say something unkind to her ... who yet bore no blame for his discontent!
> Separable opspringen + partitive genitive: 'sprong … op' is the separable verb opspringen ('to spring up'), the prefix 'op' stranded after the subject. 'iets onvriendelyks' shows the partitive -s on the adjective after iets ('something unkind'). 'zeide' is the literary imperfect of zeggen.

Maar dit hoorde zy gaarne omdat het een bewys te meer was hoe Max haar verwarde met zichzelf.  
But this she liked to hear, because it was one more proof of how Max confounded her with himself.
> Fronted object dit + omdat-clause: Fronting the demonstrative object 'dit' ('this') triggers inversion: 'hoorde zy'. The 'omdat'-clause ('because') sends its verb 'was' to the very end. 'dit' refers back to Max's harsh words.

En nooit ook was er spraak van berouw over zoodanige schynbare hardheid, of van vergiffenis aan de andere zyde.  
And never, either, was there any talk of remorse for such apparent harshness, or of forgiveness on the other side.
> Negative word nooit fronted: Fronting the negative adverb 'nooit' ('never') forces inversion: 'was er'. Dutch allows only one negative per clause (negative spread), and 'er' is the existential particle in the idiom 'er is spraak van' ('there is talk of').

Dit zou hun geweest zyn, als hadde iemand vergeving gevraagd aan zichzelf, omdat hy in wrevel zich had geslagen voor zyn eigen hoofd.  
It would have been to them as if someone had begged pardon of himself, because in vexation he had struck his own head.
> Conditional perfect + subjunctive hadde: 'zou … geweest zyn' is the conditional perfect ('it would have been'). The 'als'-clause uses the archaic past subjunctive 'hadde' ('as if someone had begged') — a counterfactual comparison in solemn register.

Zy kende hem dan ook zoo goed, dat ze juist wist wanneer ze dáár moest zyn om hem een oogenblik verpoozing te verschaffen ... juist, wanneer hy behoefte had aan haren raad, en niet minder juist, wanneer ze hem alleen moest laten.  
She knew him, too, so well that she knew exactly when she had to be there to give him a moment's respite ... exactly when he had need of her counsel, and no less exactly when she had to leave him alone.
> Nested subordinate clauses with modal moeten: A 'dat'-clause ('so well that …') contains a further 'wanneer'-clause; inside it the modal 'moest' sends 'zyn' to the end ('when she had to be there'). Each subordinator stacks the verbs rightward — a chain of verb-final clauses.
> Old dative ending on haren: 'haren raad' shows the old masculine dative -n on the possessive haar ('her counsel'), governed by the preposition aan. Modern Dutch writes simply 'haar raad'.

In die kamer zat Havelaar op zekeren morgen toen de kontroleur by hem binnentrad, met een zoo-even ontvangen brief in de hand.  
In that room Havelaar was sitting one morning when the controller came in to him, with a letter just received in his hand.
> toen-clause with separable binnentreden: Fronted 'In die kamer' forces inversion ('zat Havelaar'). The 'toen'-clause ('when') sends its verb to the end: 'binnentrad' (separable binnentreden, here whole as the strong imperfect at clause end). 'die' is the far demonstrative ('that room').

--Dat is een moeielyke zaak, m'nheer Havelaar, zeide hy onder 't binnentreden.  
--This is a difficult business, Mr. Havelaar, said he as he entered.
> Nominalized infinitive after a preposition: "'t binnentreden" is the infinitive binnentreden used as a neuter noun ('the entering'), governed by the preposition onder ('while entering'). 'zeide' is the literary imperfect of zeggen, in inversion after the quoted speech.

Zeer moeielyk! Wanneer ik nu zeg dat die brief eenvoudig Havelaars last inhield, om optehelderen waarom er een verandering was gekomen in de pryzen van houtwerken en arbeidsloon, zal de lezer vinden dat de kontroleur Verbrugge al zeer spoedig iets moeielyk vond.  
Very difficult! Now, when I say that this letter simply contained Havelaar's instruction to clarify why a change had come about in the prices of timber-work and labour-wages, the reader will think that the controller Verbrugge found something difficult very readily indeed.
> Long Wanneer-clause then future zal: The fronted 'Wanneer'-clause ('When I say that …') is a heavy verb-final subordinate; the main clause then inverts and uses the future 'zal … vinden' ('the reader will think'). 'inhield' (separable inhouden) closes the embedded dat-clause.

Ik haast me dus hierby te voegen dat veel anderen evenzeer moeielykheid zouden gevonden hebben in 't beantwoorden van die eenvoudige vraag.  
I hasten therefore to add that many others would just as much have found difficulty in answering that simple question.
> Conditional perfect: would have found: 'zouden gevonden hebben' is the conditional perfect ('would have found'): conditional zouden + the perfect infinitive 'gevonden hebben'. 'evenzeer' ('just as much') is an adverb of degree in the middle field.

Voor eenige jaren was er te Rangkas-Betoeng een gevangenis gebouwd.  
Some years before, a prison had been built at Rangkas-Betoeng.
> Passive perfect with existential er: 'was … gebouwd' is the perfect passive ('had been built'): zijn + past participle. 'er' is the existential particle introducing the indefinite subject 'een gevangenis'; the fronted time phrase 'Voor eenige jaren' ('some years ago') forces inversion.

Nu is 't van algemeene bekendheid dat de beambten in de binnenlanden van Java de kunst verstaan gebouwen opterichten die duizenden waard zyn, zonder meer dan even zooveel honderden daarvoor uittegeven.  
Now it is common knowledge that the officials in the interior of Java understand the art of erecting buildings worth thousands without spending more than just so many hundreds upon them.
> te-infinitive (joined oprichten) + relative: 'de kunst verstaan … op te richten' means 'to understand the art of erecting'; 'opterichten' is the 1860 joined spelling of the separable oprichten with -te- inserted (modern op te richten). The relative 'die' opens a verb-final clause.
> zonder + te-infinitive of exception: 'zonder … uittegeven' is zonder + te-infinitive ('without spending') — the joined spelling of separable uitgeven. 'daarvoor' is a pronominal adverb (daar- + voor, 'for them'); 'meer dan' is the comparative 'more than'.

Men verkrygt daardoor den roep van bekwaamheid en yver voor 's lands dienst.  
Thereby one acquires the reputation of competence and zeal for the service of the State.
> Impersonal men + present tense + pronominal adverb: 'Men verkrygt' is the impersonal pronoun men with the present tense of verkrijgen ('one acquires'). 'daardoor' is a pronominal adverb (daar- + door, 'thereby'); 'den roep' carries the old accusative -n. "'s lands dienst" is a frozen genitive ('the State's service').

Het verschil tusschen de uitgegeven gelden en de waarde van het daarvoor verkregene, wordt aangevuld door onbetaalde levering of onbetaalden arbeid.  
The difference between the moneys spent and the value of what is obtained for them is made up by unpaid delivery of goods or unpaid labour.
> Present worden-passive with agent door: 'wordt aangevuld' is the present process passive of aanvullen ('is made up / supplemented'), the separable prefix aan- fused into the participle. The means is introduced by 'door'; note 'onbetaalden arbeid' with the old masculine accusative -n versus 'onbetaalde levering' (de-word, no -n).

Sedert eenige jaren bestaan er voorschriften die dit verbieden.  
For some years now there have existed regulations that forbid this.
> Existential er + present plural: 'bestaan er voorschriften' uses existential 'er' with the present plural of bestaan ('there exist regulations'). The fronted 'Sedert eenige jaren' ('for some years now') forces inversion; the relative 'die' closes its clause with 'verbieden'.

Of ze worden nagekomen, is hier de vraag niet. Evenmin of de Regeering zelf wil dat ze nagekomen worden met een stiptheid die bezwarend werken zou op de begrooting van 't bouwdepartement?  
Whether they are observed is not the question here. Just as little is the question whether the Government itself wishes them to be observed with a strictness that would weigh burdensomely on the budget of the building department?
> Fronted yes/no clause as subject + worden-passive: An embedded yes/no question ('Of ze worden nagekomen', 'whether they are observed') serves as the subject of the main clause 'is … de vraag niet'. 'worden nagekomen' is a present worden-passive of nakomen ('are observed/complied with').
> Present participle bezwarend + conditional zou: 'bezwarend' is a present participle used adverbially ('burdensomely'); 'werken zou' is the conditional ('would work/weigh'), held to the end of the die-relative clause.

Het zal hiermede wel gaan zooals met veel andere voorschriften die er zoo menschlievend uitzien op 't papier.  
It will surely go with this as with many other regulations that look so humane on paper.
> Future zal + separable uitzien with er: 'zal … gaan' is the future of gaan ('it will go'). 'hiermede' is an archaic pronominal adverb (hier- + mede, 'with this'). In the relative clause, 'er … uitzien' is the separable verb eruitzien ('to look/appear'): 'zoo menschlievend' = 'so humane'.

Nu moesten er te Rangkas-Betoeng nog veel andere gebouwen worden opgericht, en de ingenieurs die met het ontwerpen van de plannen daartoe belast waren, hadden opgaven gevraagd van de plaatselyke pryzen der arbeidsloonen en materialen.  
Now at Rangkas-Betoeng many other buildings still had to be erected, and the engineers charged with designing the plans for them had asked for statements of the local prices of labour-wages and materials.
> Modal + worden-passive infinitive: 'moesten … worden opgericht' stacks the modal moeten + the passive infinitive worden + participle ('had to be erected'). Fronted 'Nu' forces inversion ('moesten er'); 'er' is the existential particle for the indefinite 'veel andere gebouwen'.
> Relative clause + main-clause pluperfect: The relative 'die … belast waren' ('charged with') is a verb-final state-passive clause embedded in the subject; the main verb 'hadden gevraagd' is a pluperfect ('had asked'). 'belast met' = 'charged/tasked with'.

Havelaar had den kontroleur belast met een nauwkeurig onderzoek hieromtrent, en hem aanbevolen de pryzen optegeven naar waarheid, zonder terugzicht op wat vroeger geschiedde.  
Havelaar had charged the controller with a careful inquiry into this, and had recommended to him to state the prices according to the truth, without regard to what had been done in earlier days.
> Pluperfect + te-infinitive (joined opgeven): 'had … belast … en … aanbevolen' is a pluperfect with two coordinated participles. 'optegeven' is the 1860 joined spelling of the separable opgeven with -te- (modern op te geven, 'to state'). 'den kontroleur' keeps the old accusative -n.

Toen Verbrugge aan dezen last had voldaan, bleek er dat die pryzen niet overeen kwamen met de opgaven van eenige jaren vroeger.  
When Verbrugge had complied with this instruction, it turned out that those prices did not agree with the statements of some years before.
> Toen-clause + impersonal blijken with er: The fronted 'Toen'-clause ('When Verbrugge had complied') is verb-final, holding the pluperfect 'had voldaan' at the end. The main clause inverts to 'bleek er dat …' — impersonal blijken ('it turned out that') with placeholder er.

Van dit verschil nu werd de reden gevraagd, en dit vond Verbrugge zoo moeielyk.  
The reason for this discrepancy was now demanded, and this Verbrugge found so difficult.
> Fronted PP + worden-passive: Fronting the prepositional phrase 'Van dit verschil' forces inversion: 'werd de reden gevraagd' is an imperfect worden-passive ('the reason … was demanded'). 'dit' is the neuter demonstrative agreeing with the het-word verschil.

Havelaar, die zeer goed wist wat er achter deze schynbaar eenvoudige zaak schuilde, antwoordde dat hy zyn denkbeelden over die moeielykheid schriftelyk zou meedeelen, en ik vind onder de voor my liggende stukken een afschrift van den brief die 't gevolg schynt van deze toezegging.  
Havelaar, who knew very well what lay behind this apparently simple matter, answered that he would set down his views on the difficulty in writing; and I find, among the papers lying before me, a copy of the letter that seems to be the result of this undertaking.
> dat-clause with conditional zou: The 'dat'-clause sends 'zou meedeelen' to the end — the conditional/future-in-the-past ('that he would communicate'). 'zyn denkbeelden' is the object; schriftelyk ('in writing') sits in the middle field.
> Relative die + old accusative den: 'die' is the relative for the de-word brief, opening a relative clause in which the verb 'schynt' ('seems') precedes its PP complement 'van deze toezegging' — so the clause ends with 'toezegging', not 'schynt'. 'den brief' shows the old accusative -n; 'afschrift' is a compound ('copy', af + schrift).

Wanneer de lezer klagen mocht dat ik hem ophoud met een korrespondentie over de pryzen van houtwerken, waarmee hy schynbaar niet te maken heeft, moet ik hem verzoeken niet onopgemerkt te laten dat hier eigenlyk spraak is van geheel iets anders, van den toestand namelyk der ambtelyke Indische huishouding, en dat de brief dien ik meedeel niet alleen een straal van licht te meer werpt op 't kunstmatig optimismus waarvan ik gesproken heb, maar tevens de moeielykheden schetst, waarmee iemand te kampen had die zooals Havelaar rechtuit en zonder omzien zyn weg wilde gaan.  
Should the reader complain that I detain him with a correspondence about the prices of timber-work, with which he apparently has nothing to do, I must ask him not to let it pass unnoticed that here the question is really of something altogether different--namely, of the condition of the official Indian household--and that the letter I am communicating not only casts one more ray of light on the artificial optimism of which I have spoken, but at the same time sketches the difficulties with which a man had to contend who, like Havelaar, wished to go his way straightforwardly and without looking back.
> Conditional Wanneer-clause + te-infinitive object clause: The fronted 'Wanneer … mocht'-clause is a softened conditional ('Should the reader complain'). The main clause governs 'te laten' ('to let'), which in turn takes a 'dat'-clause as its object — clauses nested three deep, all verb-final.
> Pronominal relative waarmee: 'waarmee' is a pronominal relative adverb (waar- + mee, 'with which') referring back to korrespondentie. 'te maken hebben met' is the idiom 'to have to do with'; 'niet' negates it ('has nothing to do with').

"N° 114 Rangkas-Betoeng, 15 Maart 1856.  
"No. 114 Rangkas-Betoeng, 15 March 1856.
> The dated dispatch: From here the chapter becomes an authentic-style official letter ('N° 114'). The date and number lend documentary weight — Multatuli is presenting what reads as a real archival dispatch from his own time as assistant-resident.

Aan den Kontroleur van Lebak.  
To the Controller of Lebak.

Toen ik den brief van den Direkteur der Openbare-Werken, van den 16den Februari l.l., N° 271/354 aan u renvoieerde, heb ik u verzocht het daarby gevraagde, na overleg met den Regent, te beantwoorden met in-achtneming van wat ik schreef in myn missive van 5 dezer N° 97.  
When I forwarded to you the letter of the Director of Public Works, of the 16th of February last, No. 271/354, I requested you to answer what was therein asked, after consultation with the Regent, taking into account what I wrote in my missive of the 5th of this month, No. 97.
> Perfect + te-infinitive with nominalized participle: 'heb ik … verzocht … te beantwoorden' is a perfect ('I requested … to answer') governing a te-infinitive. 'het daarby gevraagde' is a nominalized past participle ('what was therein asked') taking the neuter -e of a substantivized adjective.
> Bureaucratic loan-vocabulary: The letter is thick with officialese: 'renvoieeren' (from French renvoyer, 'to forward/refer'), 'missive' ('official dispatch'), and 'l.l.' (laatsleden, also lastleden, 'last / most recently past'). This clerkly register is part of Multatuli's satire of the paper-machine.

Die missive bevatte eenige algemeene wenken omtrent hetgeen als billyk en rechtvaardig te beschouwen is by 't bepalen der pryzen van materialen, door de bevolking te leveren aan, en op last van, het Bestuur.  
That missive contained some general hints regarding what is to be considered fair and just in fixing the prices of materials, to be delivered by the population to, and by order of, the Administration.
> Relative hetgeen + te-infinitive of necessity: 'hetgeen' is a formal/period relative pronoun ('that which, what'), heavier than wat. 'te beschouwen is' is the passive-potential te-infinitive ('is to be considered'). 'billyk' = 'fair, equitable'.
> te-infinitive expressing obligation (gerundive): 'door de bevolking te leveren' is a gerundive-style te-infinitive ('to be delivered by the population') — door marks the agent. This passive-potential 'te + infinitive' names what must be supplied, a compact official construction.

By uwe missive van 8 dezer, N° 6, hebt ge daaraan--en naar ik geloof, volgens uw beste weten--voldaan, zoodat ik, vertrouwende op uw lokale kennis en die des Regents, die opgaven, zooals ze door u waren gesteld, den resident heb aangeboden.  
By your missive of the 8th of this month, No. 6, you complied with this--and, as I believe, to the best of your knowledge--so that I, trusting in your local knowledge and that of the Regent, submitted those statements to the resident as they had been drawn up by you.
> Pronoun ge + perfect + pronominal adverb: 'ge' is the literary 2nd-person pronoun of 1860 (alongside gy), here the subject of the perfect 'hebt … voldaan' ('you complied'). 'daaraan' is a pronominal adverb (daar- + aan) governed by voldoen aan ('to comply with').
> Present participle + genitive des Regents: 'vertrouwende' is a present participle used adverbially ('trusting'). 'die des Regents' uses the demonstrative 'die' as a noun-substitute ('that of') plus the old genitive 'des Regents' ('the Regent's').

Daarop volgde eene missive van dien hoofdambtenaar, van 11 dezer, N° 326, waarby inlichting wordt verzocht omtrent de oorzaak van het verschil tusschen de door my opgegeven pryzen, en die welke in 1853 en 1854 by het opbouwen eener gevangenis besteed werden?  
Thereupon there followed a missive from that chief official, of the 11th of this month, No. 326, in which information is requested regarding the cause of the difference between the prices I had submitted, and those that were spent in 1853 and 1854 on the building of a prison?
> Fronted Daarop + relative waarby + worden-passive: Fronted 'Daarop' ('thereupon') forces inversion ('volgde eene missive'). 'waarby' is a pronominal relative adverb (waar- + by) introducing a clause whose verb 'wordt verzocht' is a present worden-passive ('information is requested').
> Formal relative die welke + worden-passive: 'die welke' is a heavy, formal relative combination ('those which'), with 'welke' the literary relative typical of legal/official prose. 'besteed werden' is the imperfect worden-passive of besteden ('were spent/expended').

Ik stelde natuurlyk dien brief in uwe handen, en gelastte u mondeling, alsnu uwe opgave te justificeeren, hetgeen u te minder moeielyk moest vallen, daar ge u kondet beroepen op de voorschriften u in myn schryven van den 5en dezer gegeven, en die we mondeling meermalen uitvoerig bespraken.  
I naturally placed that letter in your hands, and instructed you verbally now to justify your statement--something that ought to have been the less difficult for you, since you could rely on the directions given to you in my writing of the 5th of this month, which we had moreover discussed verbally and at length more than once.
> Imperfect gelasten + te-infinitive: 'gelastte' is the weak imperfect of gelasten ('ordered/instructed'), governing 'te justificeeren' ('to justify', a French loan). 'uwe opgave' uses the period possessive uwe ('your').
> daar-causal clause with reflexive zich beroepen: 'daar' here is a causal subordinator ('since/because') sending the verb to the end. 'u … beroepen op' is the reflexive verb zich beroepen op ('to rely/appeal to'); 'kondet' is the archaic 2nd-person imperfect of kunnen ('you could').

Tot hiertoe is alles eenvoudig en geleidelyk.  
Up to this point everything is simple and straightforward.
> Fronted adverbial + indefinite alles: Fronted 'Tot hiertoe' ('up to this point') forces inversion ('is alles'). 'alles' is the indefinite pronoun 'everything', taking a singular verb. 'geleidelyk' = 'gradual, smooth'.

Maar gisteren kwaamt ge ten-mynen-kantore, met den gerenvoieerden brief des residents in de hand, en begon te spreken over de moeielykheid der afdoening van het daarin voorkomende.  
But yesterday you came to my office, with the resident's forwarded letter in your hand, and began to speak of the difficulty of settling what it contained.
> Archaic 2nd-person verb + dative phrase: 'kwaamt ge' is the archaic 2nd-person imperfect of komen with the -t ending for ge ('you came'). 'ten-mynen-kantore' is a frozen old dative phrase ('to my office') preserving -n endings and the dative -e on kantore.
> Participle as adjective + genitive des residents: 'gerenvoieerden' is a past participle used attributively ('the forwarded letter'), with the old accusative -n. 'des residents' is the old genitive ('the resident's'), doubling the genitive marking with both des and -s.

Ik ontwaarde by u wederom zekeren schroom om sommige zaken by den waren naam te noemen, iets waarop ik u reeds meermalen opmerkzaam maakte, onder anderen onlangs in tegenwoordigheid van den resident, iets wat ik ter bekorting halfheid noem, en waartegen ik u reeds dikwyls vriendschappelyk waarschuwde.  
I perceived in you once again a certain timidity about calling certain things by their true name--something to which I have already more than once drawn your attention, among others lately in the presence of the resident; something which, to be brief, I call half-measures, and against which I have already often warned you in friendly fashion.
> Pronominal relative waarop + separable idiom: 'waarop' (waar- + op) is a pronominal relative referring to 'iets' ('something'). 'opmerkzaam maken op' is the fixed idiom 'to draw someone's attention to'; here 'maakte' is the imperfect.
> Pronominal relative waartegen: 'waartegen' (waar- + tegen, 'against which') is another pronominal relative adverb. The whole sentence stacks several such waar-relatives, a hallmark of dense official prose; 'waarschuwde' is the weak imperfect of waarschuwen.

Halfheid leidt tot niets.  
Half-measures lead to nothing.
> Negative word niets: 'niets' is the negative indefinite pronoun 'nothing' — one negative per clause (no double negation in standard Dutch). 'leidt tot' uses the fixed preposition tot ('leads to'). The aphorism opens a chain of clipped maxims.

Half-goed is niet goed.  
Half-good is not good.

Half-waar is on-waar.  
Half-true is untrue.

Voor vol traktement, voor vollen rang, na een duidelyken volledigen eed, doe men zyn vollen plicht.  
For a full salary, for a full rank, after a clear and complete oath, let a man do his full duty.
> Jussive subjunctive: let one do: 'doe men' is a 3rd-person imperative/jussive subjunctive ('let one do') — the bare subjunctive used for solemn exhortation. 'vollen plicht' carries the old masculine accusative -n ('full duty').

Is er soms moed noodig dien te volvoeren, men bezitte dien.  
If courage is sometimes needed to carry it out, let him possess that courage.
> Conditional inversion + jussive bezitte: 'Is er … noodig' is a conditional expressed by verb-first inversion ('If courage is sometimes needed'). The answer 'men bezitte dien' is a jussive subjunctive ('let one possess it'); 'dien' is the old accusative form of die ('it', referring to moed).

Ik voor my zou den moed niet hebben dien moed te missen.  
As for myself, I should not have the courage to lack that courage.
> Conditional zou + te-infinitive paradox: 'zou … niet hebben … te missen' is a conditional ('I should not have the courage to lack that courage') — a paradox built on repetition. 'den moed' shows the old accusative -n; 'voor my' is an emphatic 'as for me'.

Want, afgescheiden van de ontevredenheid met zichzelf die een gevolg is van plichtverzuim of lauwheid, baart het zoeken naar gemakkelyker omwegen, de zucht om altyd en overal botsing te ontgaan, de begeerte om te "schipperen" meer zorg, en inderdaad meer gevaar, dan men op den rechten weg ontmoeten zal.  
For, apart from the discontent with oneself that is the consequence of dereliction of duty or of lukewarmness, the seeking of easier roundabout ways, the craving always and everywhere to avoid friction, the desire to "manage" things, brings more anxiety, and indeed more danger, than a man will meet on the straight road.
> V2 with a heavy nominalized subject: Fronted 'Want, afgescheiden van …' pushes the finite verb 'baart' ('produces/begets') into second position before its long subject (three coordinated nominalized phrases). 'het zoeken' is a nominalized infinitive ('the seeking').
> om … te purpose after a noun: 'de zucht om … te ontgaan' and 'de begeerte om te schipperen' use 'om … te' to specify the content of a noun ('the craving to avoid …', 'the desire to manage'). 'schipperen' is again the ironic colonial euphemism.

Gedurende den loop eener zeer belangryke zaak, die thans by 't Gouvernement in overweging is, en waarin gy eigenlyk ambtshalve behoorde betrokken te zyn, heb ik u stilzwygend als het ware neutraal gelaten, en slechts lachend van-tyd tot-tyd daarop gezinspeeld.  
In the course of a very important matter, now under consideration by the Government, and in which you really ought, by virtue of your office, to have been involved, I have left you, as it were, silently neutral, and have merely alluded to it now and then with a smile.
> Pronominal relative waarin + te-infinitive: 'waarin' (waar- + in, 'in which') is a pronominal relative. 'behoorde … te zyn' is behoren + te-infinitive ('ought to be'); 'betrokken' is a past participle ('involved'). 'gy' is the literary 2nd-person pronoun.
> Perfect of laten + predicate: 'heb … gelaten' is the perfect of laten ('I have left'), with 'neutraal' as a predicate complement ('left you neutral'). 'stilzwygend' ('silently') is a present participle used adverbially.

Toen, by-voorbeeld, onlangs uw rapport over de oorzaken van gebrek en hongersnood onder de bevolking by my was ingekomen, en ik daarop schreef: "dit alles moge de waarheid zyn, het is niet al de waarheid, noch de voornaamste waarheid. De hoofdoorzaak zit dieper" stemde gy dit volmondig toe, en ik maakte geen gebruik van myn recht, te eischen dat ge dan ook die hoofdwaarheid noemen zoudt.  
When, for instance, your report on the causes of want and famine among the population had lately come in to me, and I wrote upon it: "all this may be the truth, it is not all the truth, nor the chief truth. The main cause lies deeper"--you assented to this unreservedly, and I made no use of my right to demand that you should then also name that chief truth.
> Long Toen-clause + separable toestemmen: A heavy fronted 'Toen'-clause ('When … your report had come in') precedes the main clause, which inverts to 'stemde gy … toe' — the separable verb toestemmen ('to assent'), prefix 'toe' stranded. 'was ingekomen' is a pluperfect.
> geen gebruik maken + nested conditional: 'geen gebruik maken van' is the idiom 'to make no use of' (geen negating the indefinite gebruik). The trailing 'te eischen dat ge … zoudt' nests a te-infinitive over a dat-clause with the conditional 'zoudt' ('that you would name').

Ik had tot myn inschikkelykheid vele redenen, en onder anderen deze, dat ik 't onbillyk vond op-eenmaal iets van U te vorderen, wat vele anderen in uw plaats evenmin zouden presteeren, U te dwingen zoo op-eenmaal de routine van achterhoudendheid en menschenvrees vaarwel te zeggen, die niet zoozeer uw schuld is als wel die der leiding welke u te beurt viel.  
I had many reasons for my forbearance, and among others this: that I thought it unfair to require of you all at once something that many others in your place would equally fail to perform--to force you to bid farewell, all at once, to the routine of reticence and fear of men, which is not so much your own fault as it is that of the training that fell to your lot.
> vinden + predicate + te-infinitive: 'ik vond 't onbillyk … te vorderen' is the 'vinden + object + adjective' frame ('I thought it unfair') governing a te-infinitive ('to require'). The dummy ''t' anticipates the te-clause; 'op-eenmaal' = 'all at once'.
> Correlative niet zoozeer … als wel + formal relative: 'niet zoozeer … als wel' is a correlative ('not so much … as rather'). 'die der leiding' = 'that of the training' (genitive der); 'welke … viel' uses the formal relative welke and the idiom 'te beurt vallen' ('to fall to one's lot').

Ik wilde eindelyk eerst u een voorbeeld geven hoeveel eenvoudiger en gemakkelyker het is, zyn plicht geheel te doen dan half."  
I wished, finally, first to give you an example of how much simpler and easier it is to do one's duty wholly than by halves."
> Modal willen + comparative in embedded clause: The modal 'wilde' sends 'geven' to the end ('I wished … to give'). The embedded clause uses comparatives 'eenvoudiger en gemakkelyker' ('simpler and easier'); 'zyn plicht geheel te doen dan half' contrasts doing one's duty wholly versus by halves.

Thans echter, nu ik de eer heb u weder zooveel dagen langer onder myn bevelen te zien, en nadat ik u herhaaldelyk in de gelegenheid stelde, principes te leeren kennen die--tenzy ik dwaal--ten-laatste zullen zegevieren wenschte ik dat ge die aannaamt, dat gy u de niet ontbrekende, maar in onbruik geraakte kracht eigen maakte die er noodig schynt om altyd naar uw beste weten ronduit te zeggen wat er te zeggen valt, en dat ge dus geheel-en-al varen liet dien onmannelyken schroom om flink voor een zaak uittekomen.  
Now, however, that I have the honour of seeing you under my command for so many days longer, and after I have repeatedly given you the opportunity to learn principles which--unless I am mistaken--will in the end prevail, I could wish that you would adopt them; that you would make your own the strength--not lacking, but fallen into disuse--which seems needed always to say outright, to the best of your knowledge, what there is to be said, and that you would thus wholly forsake that unmanly timidity about coming forward boldly for a cause.
> Archaic 2nd-person past subjunctives: 'aannaamt' and 'maakte(t)' are 2nd-person forms with ge/gy in past-subjunctive sense ('that you would adopt … make your own'). 'zich eigen maken' is the reflexive idiom 'to make one's own'; 'aannemen' is separable.
> Coordinated participial modifiers maar: Two participial phrases modify kracht: 'niet ontbrekende' (present participle, 'not lacking') and 'in onbruik geraakte' (past participle, 'fallen into disuse'), joined by the coordinator 'maar' ('but'). Both take attributive -e.

Ik verwacht dus nu een eenvoudige maar volledige opgave van wat u voorkomt de oorzaak te wezen van 't prysverschil tusschen nu en 1853 of 1854.  
I therefore now expect a simple but complete statement of what seems to you to be the cause of the price difference between now and 1853 or 1854.
> Free relative wat + voorkomen + te-infinitive: 'wat u voorkomt … te wezen' combines the free relative wat with the impersonal voorkomen ('to seem to one') and 'te wezen' (archaic te-infinitive of zijn): 'what seems to you to be the cause'. 'u' is the dative experiencer.

Ik hoop ernstig dat gy geen enkele zinsnede van dezen brief zult opnemen, als geschreven met de bedoeling om u te krenken.  
I earnestly hope that you will not take a single sentence of this letter as written with the intention of offending you.
> Future zult + geen + om…te: The 'dat'-clause holds the future 'zult opnemen' ('will take') at the end; 'geen enkele zinsnede' is emphatic negation ('not a single sentence'). The trailing 'om … te krenken' is a purpose clause ('in order to offend you'); 'gy' is the literary pronoun.

Ik vertrouw dat ge my genoeg hebt leeren kennen om te weten dat ik niet meer of minder zeg dan ik meen, en bovendien geef ik u nog ten-overvloede de verzekering dat myn opmerkingen eigenlyk minder U betreffen, dan de school waarin ge tot Indisch ambtenaar gevormd zyt.  
I trust that you have come to know me well enough to understand that I say neither more nor less than I mean; and besides, I give you yet, to abundance, the assurance that my remarks really concern you less than the school in which you were formed into an Indian official.
> Subordinate clause + om … te purpose: The conjunction dat opens a subordinate clause and drives the finite hebt to the end of its clause; om … te weten then frames the purpose ('in order to know'), closing with te + infinitive.
> Passive with archaic zijn: gevormd zyt is a passive ('you were formed'), here built on a present-tense form of zijn (zyt = modern zijt/bent) plus the past participle — the resulting-state passive.
> Period spelling: y for ij: Throughout the 1860 text ij is printed as y: myn (mijn), zyt (zijt), eigenlyk (eigenlijk). Read y as a long 'ay' wherever it stands for ij.

Deze circonstance atténuante zou echter vervallen wanneer ge, langer met my omgaande en 't Gouvernement onder myn leiding dienende, voortgingt den slender te volgen waartegen ik my verzet.  
This extenuating circumstance would, however, lapse if you, longer associated with me and serving the Government under my direction, were to go on following the slack course against which I set myself.
> Conditional zou + a wanneer-clause: zou … vervallen ('would lapse') is the conditional; wanneer ('if/when') opens the subordinate condition and pushes its verb voortgingt to the end.
> Present participles as adverbial clauses: omgaande and dienende are present participles (the -end(e) form) used to name accompanying actions: 'associating longer with me and serving the Government.'
> Pronominal adverb + reflexive verb: waartegen fuses a relative 'which' with the preposition tegen ('against which'); zich verzetten ('to resist, set oneself against') takes the reflexive my (modern me).
> French in the original: Multatuli drops untranslated French — 'extenuating circumstance' — a flourish of the educated 19th-century narrator that the text leaves in French.

Ge hebt opgemerkt dat ik my van het "Uweledelgestrenge" heb ontslagen: 't verveelde my.  
You have noticed that I have dispensed with the "Your-most-noble-and-stern": it wearied me.
> Reflexive verb in the perfect: zich ontslaan van ('to rid oneself of') uses reflexive my; the perfect heb … ontslagen wraps around the clause with the participle last.

Doe het ook, en laat onze "weledelheid" en waar 't noodig is onze "gestrengheid" elders en vooral ànders blyken, dan uit die vervelende, zinstorende titulatuur. De Adsistent-resident van Lebak  
Do so too, and let our "nobility" and, where need be, our "sternness" show themselves elsewhere, and above all differently, than in that wearisome, sense-disrupting form of address. The Assistant-resident of Lebak
> Imperative: Doe is the bare-stem imperative ('Do it too'), a direct command to the reader/correspondent.
> Causative laten + bare infinitive: laat … blyken means 'let … show/appear'; laten as a causative auxiliary governs a bare infinitive (blyken) with no te.

MAX HAVELAAR."  
MAX HAVELAAR."

Het antwoord op dezen brief bezwaarde sommigen van Havelaars voorgangers, en bewees dat hy niet zoo onrecht had, toen hy de "slechte voorbeelden van vroegeren tyd" mede opnam onder de redenen die pleiten konden ter verschooning van den Regent.  
The answer to this letter weighed upon some of Havelaar's predecessors, and proved that he was not so far in the wrong when he included the "bad examples of earlier times" among the reasons that could be pleaded in extenuation of the Regent.
> Stacked subordinate clauses (verb-final): dat and toen each open a subordinate clause sending the verb to the end (had; opnam). toen ('when', past) introduces a single completed past event.
> Case remnant den: den Regent shows the old masculine accusative/dative ending -en, a frozen case form ('declension remnant') still alive in 1860 prose.

Ik ben in 't meedeelen van dezen brief den tyd vooruitgeloopen, om reeds nu te doen in 't oog vallen, hoe weinig hulp Havelaar van den kontroleur te verwachten had, zoodra geheel andere, meer belangryke, zaken zouden moeten genoemd worden by den rechten naam, wanneer reeds deze ambtenaar die zonder twyfel een braaf mensch was, zóó moest worden toegesproken om de waarheid te zeggen waar het slechts de opgaven der pryzen van hout, steen, kalk en arbeidsloon gold. Men beseft alzoo dat hy niet alleen te stryden had met de macht der personen die voordeel genoten van misdryf, maar tevens met de beschroomdheid dergenen die--hoezeer dat misdryf evenzeer afkeurende als hy--zich niet geroepen of geschikt achtten daartegen met den vereischten moed optetreden.  
In communicating this letter I have run ahead of the time, in order to make it strike the eye even now how little help Havelaar had to expect from the controller as soon as matters altogether different, and more important, would have to be called by their true name--when already this official, who without doubt was an honest man, had to be addressed in such a way merely to tell the truth, where it was only a question of the statements of the prices of timber, stone, lime, and labour-wages. One perceives, then, that he had to struggle not only with the power of the persons who profited by the misdeed, but at the same time with the timidity of those who--however much they disapproved of that misdeed as he did--did not consider themselves called or fitted to come forward against it with the requisite courage.
> Separable verb in the perfect: vooruitloopen ('to run ahead') is separable; in the perfect the prefix re-joins the participle as vooruitgeloopen (the ge- slots inside: vooruit-ge-loopen).
> Worden-passive with deferred infinitive: zouden moeten genoemd worden is a passive ('would have to be called') built with worden; the modal chain pushes worden and the participle to the clause end.
> Genitive of the demonstrative: dergenen: dergenen ('of those') is the inflected genitive plural of degene — a heavy, formal case form ('the timidity of those who…') typical of period prose.

Misschien ook zal men na 't lezen van dien brief, eenigszins terugkomen van de minachting voor de slaafsche onderworpenheid van den Javaan die in tegenwoordigheid van zyn Hoofd de ingebrachte beschuldiging, hoe gegrond ook, lafhartig terugtrekt.  
Perhaps, too, after reading that letter, one will somewhat reconsider one's contempt for the slavish submissiveness of the Javanese, who, in the presence of his Chief, cravenly retracts the accusation he has brought, however well-founded it may be.
> Future with zullen + inversion: zal … terugkomen is the future with zullen; because the adverbial Misschien ook opens the sentence, the subject men follows the finite verb (verb-second).
> Relative die for a de-word: die ('who') relates back to de Javaan, a common-gender (de-) noun; the relative clause is verb-final (terugtrekt closes it).

Want, als men bedenkt dat er zooveel oorzaak was tot vreeze, zelfs voor den europeschen beambte, die dan toch geacht kon worden iets minder bloottestaan aan wraak, wat wachtte dan den armen landbewoner, die in een dorp ver van de hoofdplaats geheel-en-al in de macht zyner aangeklaagde onderdrukkers verviel?  
For, when one considers that there was so much cause for fear, even for the European official, who might after all be supposed somewhat less exposed to revenge, what then awaited the poor country-dweller, who, in a village far from the chief town, fell wholly into the power of the very oppressors he had accused?
> Existential er: er here is the existential particle ('there was so much cause'); it fills the subject slot before the indefinite oorzaak.
> Genitive possessive zyner: zyner is the old inflected genitive of zijn ('his') agreeing with a plural noun: 'into the power of his accused oppressors' — a period genitive modern Dutch replaces with van.
> Old dative -e: vreeze: vreeze is vrees ('fear') with an archaic final -e, a frozen dative ending after the preposition tot, common in solemn 1860 prose.

Is 't wonder dat die arme menschen, verschrikt over de gevolgen van hun stoutheid, die gevolgen zochten te ontwyken of te verzachten door deemoedige onderwerping?  
Is it any wonder that those poor people, terrified at the consequences of their audacity, sought to escape or to soften those consequences by humble submission?
> Impersonal het in a rhetorical question: 't (= het) is the dummy/impersonal subject ('Is it any wonder that…'); it points at nothing concrete and is fronted for the yes/no question.
> te + infinitive complements: zoeken ('to seek/try') governs a te-infinitive; here two coordinated ones (te ontwyken … of te verzachten) hang from the single zochten.

En 't was niet alleen de kontroleur Verbrugge, die zyn plicht deed met een schuwheid als voegen zou aan plichtverzuim.  
And it was not only the controller Verbrugge who did his duty with a shyness that would have befitted dereliction of duty.
> Conditional zou with archaic als: voegen zou is conditional ('would befit'); als here is the literary 'as (would)' rather than 'if', a register touch of 1860 prose.
> Compound: dereliction of duty: plicht ('duty') + verzuim ('neglect') = 'dereliction of duty' — Dutch glues nouns into one right-headed compound.

Ook de Djaksa, 't Inlandsch Hoofd dat by den Landraad het ambt van publieke aanklager vervult, trad liefst 's avends, ongezien en zonder gevolg, in Havelaars woning.  
The Djaksa too, the Native Chief who at the Landraad fills the office of public prosecutor, preferred to come of an evening, unseen and without retinue, into Havelaar's dwelling.
> Separable intreden, split apart: From intreden ('to step in'): in stays put while the finite trad ('stepped') goes second, the separable prefix in landing at the clause end — 'stepped in … into the dwelling.'
> Frozen genitive 's avends: 's avends ('of an evening') is a fossilised genitive (des avonds), spelled here with period -end-; it means 'in the evenings, habitually.'

Hy, die diefstal moest tegengaan, dien 't was opgedragen den sluipenden dief te betrappen, hy sloop, als ware hyzelf de dief die betrapping vreesde, met zachten tred het huis aan de achterzyde in, na zich eerst te hebben overtuigd dat geen gezelschap daar was, dat later hem zou kunnen verraden als schuldig aan plichtsbetrachting.  
He, whose task was to suppress theft, who was charged with catching the prowling thief, he stole in, as though he himself were the thief who feared being caught, with soft tread, into the house by the back, after first satisfying himself that no company was there that might later betray him as guilty of doing his duty.
> Case remnant in the relative dien: dien is the old accusative/dative of the relative ('to whom it was charged'); the period uses inflected relatives where modern Dutch keeps die.
> Archaic subjunctive ware: ware is the old subjunctive of zijn ('as though he himself were'); als ware … is a fixed literary 'as if' construction with inversion.
> Reflexive in a na … te perfect infinitive: zich overtuigen ('to satisfy oneself') is reflexive; na + te hebben + participle gives 'after having first satisfied himself.'

Was 't wonder dat Havelaars ziel bedroefd was, en dat Tine meer dan ooit noodig had zyn kamer binnentetreden om hem optebeuren, als ze zag hoe hy daar zat met de hand onder 't hoofd?  
Was it any wonder that Havelaar's soul was grieved, and that Tine, more than ever, needed to enter his room to lift his spirits, when she saw how he sat there with his head propped on his hand?
> Impersonal het heading the question: 't (het) is again the dummy subject of the rhetorical 'Was it any wonder that…', followed by two dat-clauses both verb-final.
> Joined infinitives binnen-te-treden / op-te-beuren: 1860 spelling glues the separable prefix, te, and the infinitive into one written word (binnentetreden = binnen te treden; optebeuren = op te beuren).

En toch was voor hem 't grootst bezwaar niet gelegen in de schroomvalligheid van wie hem ter-zyde stonden, noch in de medeplichtige lafhartigheid van wie zyn hulp hadden ingeroepen.  
And yet, for him the greatest difficulty did not lie in the fearfulness of those who stood at his side, nor in the complicit cowardice of those who had called for his help.
> Headless relative wie: wie here means 'those who' without an antecedent ('the fearfulness of those who stood at his side') — the relative used for persons with no head noun.
> Correlative negation noch … noch: noch ('nor') chains two negated alternatives ('neither … nor'); Dutch keeps a single negative force across the correlative pair.

Neen, geheel alleen des-noods zou hy recht doen, met of zonder hulp van anderen dan, ja, tegen allen, al ware 't ook tegen henzelf die behoefte hadden aan dat recht!  
No, if need be he would do justice entirely alone, with or without the help of others then--yes, against all, even were it against the very ones who had need of that justice!
> Conditional zou with fronted adverbials: Fronting geheel alleen des-noods triggers verb-second: the conditional zou stands before the subject hy ('would he do justice'); the infinitive doen closes the clause.
> Concessive al + subjunctive ware: al … ware ('even were it') is a concessive with the archaic subjunctive of zijn — 'even if it were against the very ones…'.
> Frozen genitive: des-noods: des noods ('if need be') is a set phrase preserving the old genitive des of nood ('need') — still current in modern Dutch as desnoods.

Want hy wist hoe hy invloed had op het Volk, en hoe--als eenmaal de arme onderdrukten, opgeroepen om luide en voor 't gerecht te herhalen wat ze hem 's avends en 's nachts hadden toegefluisterd in eenzaamheid --hy wist hoe hy de macht had op hun gemoederen te werken, en hoe de kracht zyner woorden sterker zyn zou dan de angst voor wraak van Distriktshoofd of Regent.  
For he knew what influence he had over the People, and how--once the poor oppressed, summoned to repeat aloud and before the court what they had whispered to him of an evening and a night, in solitude--he knew how he had the power to work upon their minds, and how the force of his words would be stronger than the dread of revenge from a District-chief or Regent.
> Comparative with dan: sterker … dan ('stronger than') is the comparative; the conditional zyn zou ('would be') sits clause-final after the subordinating hoe.
> Passive participle + om … te + pluperfect: opgeroepen is a passive participle ('summoned'); om … te herhalen gives purpose, and hadden toegefluisterd is the pluperfect ('had whispered') of the separable toefluisteren.
> Fossilised genitives of time: 's avends and 's nachts ('of an evening', 'of a night') are frozen genitive time-phrases meaning habitually after dark.

De vrees dat zyn beschermelingen zouden afvallen van hun eigen zaak weerhield hem dus niet.  
The fear that his protégés would fall away from their own cause did not, then, hold him back.
> Heavy subject clause + main verb second: The whole bracketed dat-clause is the subject; the main finite weerhield ('held back') stands in the V2 slot, with niet negating the verb.
> protégés: beschermeling ('protégé, one under protection') from beschermen ('to protect') — the villagers Havelaar shields.

Maar 't kostte hem zooveel dien ouden Adhipatti aanteklagen: dàt was de reden van zyn tweestryd! Want ook aan den anderen kant mocht hy niet toegeven in dezen weerzin, daar de geheele bevolking, afgescheiden nog haar goed recht, evenzeer aanspraak had op medelyden.  
But it cost him so much to accuse that old Adhipatti: that was the reason for his inner conflict! For, on the other hand too, he could not give way to this reluctance, since the whole population, quite apart from its good right, had an equal claim to compassion.
> Joined te-infinitive aanteklagen: aanteklagen = aan te klagen ('to accuse'), the separable aanklagen with te glued in 1860 style; dien ouden shows the accusative case remnant -en.
> Causal daar (verb-final): daar here is the archaic/literary subordinator 'since/because', sending its verb had to the clause end.

Vrees voor eigen leed had geen deel in zyn twyfel.  
Fear for his own hurt had no part in his doubt.
> geen negating an indefinite noun: geen deel ('no part') uses geen, the negator required before an indefinite noun, where niet would be wrong.

Want al wist hy hoe ongaarne in 't algemeen de Regeering een Regent ziet aanklagen, en hoeveel gemakkelyker 't sommigen valt den europeschen beambte broodeloos te maken dan een Inlandsch Hoofd te straffen, hy had een byzondere reden om te gelooven dat er juist op dit oogenblik by de beoordeeling van zulke zaak andere grondstellingen dan de gewone zouden voorheerschen.  
For though he knew how unwillingly the Government in general sees a Regent accused, and how much easier it is for some to ruin the European official than to punish a Native Chief, he had a particular reason to believe that just at this moment, in the judging of such a matter, principles other than the usual ones would prevail.
> Concessive al + perception verb with bare infinitive: al wist hy is concessive ('though he knew'); ziet … aanklagen is a perception verb (zien) governing a bare infinitive — no te.
> Comparative gemakkelyker + impersonal het: gemakkelyker ('easier') is comparative; 't valt sommigen … ('it is easy for some') uses impersonal het with a te-infinitive (te maken).
> Idiom: to ruin (lit. 'breadless'): iemand broodeloos maken means to strip someone of their livelihood, literally 'to make breadless' — to destroy a career.

Het is waar dat hy, ook zonder deze meening, evenzeer zyn plicht zou gedaan hebben, te liever zelfs als hy 't gevaar voor zich en de zynen grooter had geacht dan ooit.  
It is true that he, even without this belief, would equally have done his duty--all the more gladly, even, if he had reckoned the danger to himself and his own greater than ever.
> Conditional perfect (zou + perfect infinitive): zou gedaan hebben is the conditional perfect ('would have done') — zou plus a perfect infinitive, expressing an unreal past.
> Comparative liever / grooter: liever ('more gladly', comparative of graag) and grooter ('greater') stack comparatives; als here is the period 'if', opening an unreal condition.

We zeiden reeds dat moeielykheid hem aantrok, en hoe hy dorstte naar opoffering. Doch hy meende dat de aanlokkelykheid van een zelfoffer hier niet bestond, en vreesde--als hy in 't eind zou moeten overgaan tot ernstigen stryd tegen 't onrecht--zich te moeten spenen van 't ridderlyk genoegen dien stryd te hebben aangevangen als de zwakste.  
We have already said that difficulty attracted him, and how he thirsted for self-sacrifice. Yet he thought that the allure of a self-offering did not exist here, and feared--if in the end he should have to pass to a serious struggle against the wrong--that he would have to deny himself the chivalrous pleasure of having begun that struggle as the weaker party.
> Imperfect of strong vs weak verbs: aantrok is the strong past of aantrekken (vowel change e→o), while dorstte is the weak past of dorsten (dental -te) — both narrative imperfects.
> Reflexive zich + modal in a te-infinitive: zich spenen van ('to deny oneself') is reflexive; te moeten spenen embeds the modal moeten inside a te-infinitive governed by vreesde.
> Archaic doch: doch ('yet, but') is a solemn, literary coordinator, more elevated than maar; it marks the heightened register of Multatuli's reflective passages.

Ja, dit vreesde hy.  
Yes, this he feared.

Hy meende dat er aan 't hoofd van de Regeering een Gouverneur-generaal stond die zyn bondgenoot wezen zou, en 't was een eigenaardigheid te meer in zyn karakter, dat deze meening hem van strenge maatregelen terughield, langer juist dan iets anders hem zou weerhouden hebben, omdat het hem stuitte het Onrecht aantegrypen op een oogenblik dat hy 't Recht voor sterker hield dan gewoonlyk.  
He thought that at the head of the Government stood a Governor-General who would be his ally, and it was one more peculiarity of his character that this belief held him back from stern measures longer, indeed, than anything else would have held him back, because it galled him to take Wrong by the throat at a moment when he held Right to be stronger than usual.
> Relative die + archaic infinitive wezen: die relates to the de-word Gouverneur-generaal; wezen is the older infinitive of zijn ('to be'), here with conditional zou.
> Causal omdat (verb-final) + joined infinitive: omdat sends its verb stuitte to the end; aantegrypen = aan te grijpen, the separable verb with te glued together in 1860 spelling.

Ik zeide immers reeds in de proeve der beschryving van zyn inborst, dat hy naïf was by al zyn scherpte?  
Did I not say already, in the attempt at a description of his nature, that he was naïve for all his shrewdness?
> Weak imperfect zeide: zeide is the literary (archaic) weak past of zeggen ('said'), preferred over modern zei in solemn prose; immers ('after all') flags shared knowledge.

Laat ons trachten optehelderen hoe Havelaar tot die meening gekomen was.  
Let us try to clarify how Havelaar had come to that belief.
> Hortative laten + joined te-infinitive: Laat ons … ('Let us…') is the first-person hortative; trachten governs optehelderen = op te helderen ('to clarify'), separable verb glued in period spelling.
> Pluperfect with zijn: gekomen was is the pluperfect of komen ('had come'); komen is a motion verb taking zijn, and the verb cluster sits at the end of the indirect question.

* * * * * Zeer weinig europesche lezers kunnen zich een juist denkbeeld vormen van de hoogte waarop een Gouverneur-generaal staan moet als mensch, om niet beneden de hoogte zyner bediening te blyven, en 't gelde dan ook niet als een te streng oordeel wanneer ik de meening aankleef dat zeer weinigen, geenen misschien, aan zóó zwaren eisch hebben kunnen beantwoorden.  
* * * * * Very few European readers can form a just notion of the height at which a Governor-General must stand as a man, in order not to remain below the height of his office; and let it therefore not pass for too severe a judgment when I hold to the opinion that very few, perhaps none, have been able to answer to so heavy a demand.
> Pronominal-adverb relative waarop: waarop ('on which / at which') replaces 'op + die', the standard way to relativise a preposition + thing — 'the height at which he must stand.'
> Negated om … te purpose: om … te blyven frames the purpose ('in order not to remain below'); niet negates within it, and zyner is the period genitive of zijn.

Om nu niet al de hoedanigheden van hoofd en hart te noemen die daartoe noodig zyn, vestige men slechts 't oog op de duizelingwekkende hoogte waarop zoo eensklaps de man wordt geplaatst, die--gisteren nog eenvoudig burger--heden macht heeft over millioenen onderdanen.  
Now, not to name all the qualities of head and heart that are needed for it, let one merely fix one's eye on the dizzying height to which, all at once, the man is raised who--yesterday still a simple citizen--has today power over millions of subjects.
> Worden-passive (process): wordt geplaatst is the process passive with worden ('is placed/raised'): the man undergoes the elevation. The relative die then opens a verb-final clause.
> Subjunctive/hortative vestige: vestige men ('let one fix') is the archaic third-person subjunctive used as a polite hortative — a register flourish for general maxims.

Hy die voor weinig tyds nog verscholen was onder zyn omgeving, zonder daarboven uittesteken in rang of gezag, voelt zich op-eenmaal, onverwachts meestal, opgeheven boven een menigte, oneindig grooter dan de kleine kring die hem vroeger toch geheel voor 't oog verborg, en ik geloof dat ik niet ten- onrechte de hoogte duizelingwekkend noemde, die inderdaad herinnert aan de duizeling van iemand die onverwachts een afgrond voor zich ziet, of aan de blindheid die ons treft wanneer we met snelheid worden overgebracht van diepe duisternis in scherp licht. Tegen zulke overgangen zyn de zenuwen van gezicht of hersenen niet bestand, ook al waren zy overigens van buitengewone sterkte.  
He who, but a short time ago, was hidden among his surroundings, without rising above them in rank or authority, feels himself all at once--unexpectedly, for the most part--lifted above a multitude infinitely greater than the small circle that formerly concealed him entirely from view; and I believe I did not unjustly call the height dizzying, which indeed recalls the giddiness of one who unexpectedly sees a precipice before him, or the blindness that strikes us when we are swiftly carried from deep darkness into sharp light. Against such transitions the nerves of sight or brain are not proof, even were they otherwise of extraordinary strength.
> Reflexive voelen zich + resultant participle: zich voelen ('to feel oneself') is reflexive; opgeheven ('lifted') is a past participle used predicatively after it.
> Strong imperfect verborg: verborg is the strong past of verbergen ('concealed', e→o vowel change); the relative die opens a verb-final clause closing on that verb.
> Worden-passive inside a wanneer-clause: worden overgebracht ('are carried over') is the process passive; wanneer ('when') subordinates and the verb cluster moves to the clause end.

Indien alzoo reeds in zichzelf de benoeming tot Gouverneur-generaal veelal de oorzaken van bederf meedraagt, ook van denzulken die uitstekend was in verstand en gemoed, wat is er dan te verwachten van personen die reeds vóór die benoeming leden aan veel gebreken?  
If, then, the appointment to Governor-General already carries within itself, in many cases, the causes of corruption--even for such a man as was outstanding in mind and heart--what is then to be expected of persons who already, before that appointment, suffered from many shortcomings?
> Case remnant denzulken: denzulken ('such a one', dative/accusative) keeps the old -en inflection of zulk — a heavy, formal period form.
> Er + te-infinitive of expectation; strong imperfect leden: er te verwachten ('to be expected') uses er with a passive-flavoured te-infinitive; leden is the strong past of lijden ('suffered').

En al stellen we voor een oogenblik dat de Koning altyd goed is voorgelicht, als hy zyn hoogen naam teekent onder de akte waarin hy zegt overtuigd te wezen van de "goede trouw, den yver en de bekwaamheden" des benoemden Stedehouders, al nemen wy aan dat de nieuwe Onderkoning yverig, trouw en bekwaam is, dan nog blyft het de vraag of die yver, en vooral of die bekwaamheid, by hem bestaat in eene maat, hoog genoeg verheven boven middelmatigheid, om aan de eischen van zyn roeping te voldoen. Want de vraag kan niet zyn of de man die te 's Gravenhage voor 't eerst als Gouverneur-generaal het kabinet des Konings verlaat, op dàt oogenblik de bekwaamheid bezit die noodig zal wezen voor zyn nieuw ambt ... dit is onmogelyk!  
And even granting for a moment that the King is always well advised when he sets his high name beneath the deed in which he declares himself convinced of the "good faith, the zeal, and the abilities" of the appointed Stadtholder--even granting that the new Viceroy is zealous, faithful, and able--it still remains a question whether that zeal, and above all whether that ability, exist in him in a measure raised high enough above mediocrity to answer to the demands of his calling. For the question cannot be whether the man who, at The Hague, leaves the King's cabinet for the first time as Governor-General, possesses at that moment the ability that will be needed for his new office ... that is impossible!
> Concessive al + present (granting): al stellen we … / al nemen wy aan ('even granting that…') is the concessive al with verb-first inversion; aannemen is separable (aan splits to the end).
> Genitive des: des … Stedehouders is the old masculine genitive singular ('of the appointed Stadtholder'), the inflected possessive modern Dutch turns into van de.
> Resultant participle + archaic te wezen: overtuigd ('convinced') is a past participle in a state reading; te wezen is the older infinitive of zijn after the te-construction.

Met de betuiging van vertrouwen op zyn bekwaamheid kan slechts de meening bedoeld zyn dat hy in een geheel nieuwen werkkring, op een gegeven oogenblik, by ingeving als 't ware, weten zal wat hy te 's Gravenhage niet kan geleerd hebben. Met andere woorden: dat hy een genie is, een genie dat op eenmaal kennen moet en kunnen, wat het kende noch kon.  
By the declaration of confidence in his ability, only this can be meant: that within an entirely new sphere of work, at a given moment, by inspiration as it were, he will know what he cannot have learned at The Hague. In other words: that he is a genius, a genius who must all at once know and be able to do what he neither knew nor could.
> Modal kan + passive (state): kan … bedoeld zyn ('can only be meant') stacks the modal kunnen over a zijn-passive; the participle bedoeld sits with the infinitive at the clause end.
> Strong vs irregular imperfect + noch: kende (weak past of kennen, 'knew') and kon (irregular past of kunnen, 'could') are coordinated by noch ('nor') — one negative force across the pair.

Zulke genien zyn zeldzaam, zelfs onder personen die in gunste staan by koningen. Daar ik van genien spreek, gevoelt men dat ik wil over slaan wat er zou te zeggen vallen van zoo menigen Landvoogd.  
Such geniuses are rare, even among persons who stand in favour with kings. Since I speak of geniuses, one feels that I mean to pass over what might be said of so many a Governor.
> Separable overslaan + er te-infinitive: over slaan = overslaan ('to skip', separable, split here in print); er … te zeggen vallen ('there would be to say') combines er with a te-infinitive of vallen.
> Period plural: genien: genien is the 1860 plural of genie ('geniuses'), formed with -n; modern Dutch writes genieën.

Ook zou 't me stuiten in myn boek bladzyden intevoegen die 't ernstig doel van dit werk zouden blootstellen aan de verdenking van jacht op schandaal. Ik ga dus nu de byzonderheden die bepaalde personen zouden raken voorby maar als algemeene ziektegeschiedenis van de Gouverneurs-generaal, meen ik te mogen opgeven: eerste stadium.  
It would also offend me to insert pages into my book that would expose the earnest aim of this work to the suspicion of chasing after scandal. I therefore now pass by the particulars that would touch certain persons, but as a general clinical history of the Governors-General, I believe I may set down: first stage.
> Conditional zou + joined infinitive intevoegen: intevoegen = in te voegen ('to insert', separable invoegen glued with te); the subject is the heavy infinitive phrase, with conditional zou … stuiten.
> Separable voorbijgaan, prefix at the end: From voorbijgaan ('to pass by'): the finite ga goes second while the separable voorby lands at the clause end — 'I now pass by…'.
> Compound: clinical history: ziekte ('illness') + geschiedenis ('history') = 'clinical/case history' — the satirical conceit framing the Governor-General as a medical patient.

Duizeling. Wierook-dronkenschap.  
Giddiness. Intoxication on incense.
> Compound: intoxication on incense: wierook ('incense') + dronkenschap ('drunkenness') = drunk on flattery; the new Governor-General is giddy with the adulation of office.

Eigenwaan. Onmatig zelfvertrouwen.  
Conceit. Immoderate self-confidence.

Minachting van anderen, vooral van "oudgasten." Tweede stadium. Afmatting.  
Contempt for others, above all for "old hands." Second stage. Exhaustion.
> oudgasten — old hands: An oudgast ('old guest') was a seasoned colonial veteran of the Indies; the fresh Governor-General disdains exactly those who know the ground.

Vrees. Moedeloosheid.  
Fear. Despondency.

Neiging tot slaap en rust. Bovenmatig vertrouwen op den Raad van Indie.  
An inclination to sleep and rest. Excessive reliance on the Council of the Indies.

Afhankelykheid van de Algemeene Sekretarie. Heimwee naar een hollandsche buitenplaats.  
Dependence on the General Secretariat. Homesickness for a Dutch country estate.
> buitenplaats — country estate: A buitenplaats is a country house/estate; homesickness for one signals the ailing Governor-General's longing to retire safely home to the Netherlands.

Tusschen deze beide stadien in, en als overgang--misschien zelfs als oorzaak van dien overgang--liggen dyssenterische buikaandoeningen. Ik vertrouw dat velen in Indie me dankbaar zullen wezen voor deze diagnose.  
Between these two stages, and as the transition--perhaps even as the cause of that transition--lie dysenteric afflictions of the bowels. I trust that many in the Indies will be grateful to me for this diagnosis.
> Verb-second with a fronted adverbial: The long opening adverbial Tusschen deze beide stadien … forces inversion: the finite liggen precedes its subject buikaandoeningen ('lie … afflictions').
> Future zullen + archaic wezen: zullen wezen is the future ('will be'); wezen is the older infinitive of zijn, both pushed to the clause end after dat.

Ze is nuttig toetepassen, want men kan voor zeker houden dat de zieke, die door overspanning in de eerste periode stikken zou aan een mug, later--na de buikziekte!--zonder bezwaar kemels zal verdragen. Of, om duidelyker te spreken, dat een beambte die "geschenken aanneemt, niet met het doel zich te verryken"--by-voorbeeld een bos pisang ter-waarde van eenige duiten--met smaad en schande zal worden weggejaagd in de eerste periode der ziekte, maar dat iemand die 't geduld heeft het laatste tydperk aftewachten, zeer gerust en zonder eenige vrees voor straf, zich zal kunnen meester maken van den tuin waar de pisang groeide, met de tuinen die daarnaast liggen er by ... van de huizen die in den omtrek staan ... van wat er in die huizen is ... en van nog een-en-ander meer, ad libitum.  
It is useful to apply, for one may hold it for certain that the patient who, through overstrain in the first period, would choke on a gnat, will later--after the intestinal sickness!--swallow camels without difficulty. Or, to speak more plainly, that an official who "accepts gifts, not with the aim of enriching himself"--for instance a bunch of bananas worth a few farthings--will be chased away in disgrace and shame during the first period of the disease, but that someone who has the patience to await the final phase will be able, quite at ease and without the least fear of punishment, to make himself master of the garden where the bananas grew, with the gardens lying next to it thrown in ... of the houses standing round about ... of whatever is inside those houses ... and of yet a thing or two besides, ad libitum.
> Adjective + te-infinitive (passive sense): nuttig … toetepassen (= toe te passen) means 'useful to apply / worth applying'; an adjective governing a te-infinitive with a passive flavour.
> Reflexive + future modal cluster: zich meester maken van ('to make oneself master of') is reflexive; zal kunnen … maken stacks the future zullen over the modal kunnen, all clause-final.
> pisang and duiten: pisang is the Malay/Indies word for banana; a duit was a tiny copper coin (a 'farthing'). The contrast dramatises punishing pettiness while excusing plunder.

Ieder doe met deze pathologisch-wysgeerige opmerking zyn voordeel, en houde myn raad geheim, ter voorkoming van te groote mededinging.  
Let each man make his profit from this pathological-philosophical observation, and keep my counsel secret, to forestall too great a competition.
> Third-person hortative subjunctive: doe and houde are archaic subjunctives ('let each man make… and keep…'), the solemn imperative-by-subjunctive used for general exhortations.

Vervloekt, dat verontwaardiging en droefheid zoo vaak zich moeten kleeden in 't lappenpak van de satire!  
Accursed, that indignation and grief must so often dress themselves in the motley rags of satire!
> Reflexive zich kleeden + modal: zich kleeden ('to dress oneself') is reflexive; the modal moeten pushes the infinitive kleeden to the clause end after dat.
> Idiom: the motley of satire: lappenpak ('patchwork suit') evokes a harlequin/jester's motley; Multatuli laments that indignation must dress as comedy to be heard.

Vervloekt, dat een traan, om begrepen te worden, moet verzeld gaan van gegryns!  
Accursed, that a tear, in order to be understood, must go accompanied by a grin!
> om … te + worden-passive: om begrepen te worden ('in order to be understood') is a purpose clause with a worden-passive infinitive; gegryns is the period spelling of grijnzen, 'a grin/grimace'.

Of is 't de schuld myner onbedrevenheid, dat ik geen woorden vind om de diepte te peilen van de wonde die er kankert aan ons staatsbestuur, zonder myn styl te zoeken by Figaro of Polichinel?  
Or is it the fault of my own want of skill, that I find no words to sound the depth of the wound festering in our governance, without seeking my style from Figaro or Punchinello?
> Relative die + locative er: die relates to de wonde ('the wound'); er here adds a vague locative/existential nuance ('that festers there in our governance').

Styl ... ja!  
Style ... yes!

Daar liggen stukken voor my, waarin styl is Styl die aantoonde dat er een mensch in de buurt was, een mensch wien het de moeite waard geweest ware, de hand te reiken!  
There lie papers before me in which there is style. Style that showed there was a man in the neighbourhood, a man to whom it would have been worth the trouble to reach out a hand!
> Dative relative wien + subjunctive ware: wien is the old dative of the relative ('to whom'); geweest ware is the pluperfect subjunctive of zijn ('would have been worth'), pure 1860 register.

En wat heeft die styl den armen Havelaar gebaat?  
And what good did that style do poor Havelaar?
> Idiom: wat baat het?: baten means 'to avail, do good'; wat heeft het gebaat? ('what good did it do?') is a recurring lament, hammered as a refrain through this passage.

Hy vertaalde zyn tranen niet in gegryns, hy spotte niet, hy zocht niet te treffen door bontheid van kleur of door de grappen van den uitroeper voor de kermistent ... wat heeft het hem gebaat?  
He did not translate his tears into a grin, he did not mock, he did not seek to strike by gaudiness of colour or by the jests of the barker outside the fairground tent ... what good did it do him?
> niet negating finite verbs: Three parallel clauses each place niet after the finite verb to negate the action — the standard slot for niet with a transitive/intransitive verb.

Kon ik schryven zooals hy, ik zou ànders schryven dan hy.  
Could I write as he did, I would write otherwise than he.
> Conditional by inversion (no als): Verb-first Kon ik … ('Could I…') is an unreal condition without als; the main clause answers with conditional zou … schryven ('I would write').

Styl?  
Style?

Hebt ge gehoord hoe hy sprak tot de Hoofden?  
Have you heard how he spoke to the Chiefs?
> Archaic pronoun ge + perfect: ge is the literary 19th-century 'you'; Hebt ge gehoord is the present perfect of horen, with inversion for the yes/no question.

Wat heeft het hem gebaat? Kon ik spreken zooals hy, ik zou ànders spreken dan hy.  
What good did it do him? Could I speak as he did, I would speak otherwise than he.

Weg met gemoedelyke taal, weg met zachtheid, rondborstigheid, duidelykheid, eenvoud, gevoel!  
Away with heartfelt language, away with gentleness, frankness, plainness, simplicity, feeling!
> Elliptical imperative weg met: weg met … ('away with…') is a fixed exclamatory imperative pattern with the verb suppressed — a rhetorical command of dismissal.

Weg met al wat herinnert aan Horatius' justum ac tenacem! Trompetten hier, en scherp gekletter van bekkenslag, en gesis van vuurpylen, en gekras van valsche snaren, en hier-en-daar een waar woord, dat het mee insluipe als verboden waar, onder bedekking van zooveel getrommel en zooveel gefluit?  
Away with all that recalls Horace's justum ac tenacem! Trumpets here, and the sharp clatter of clashing cymbals, and the hiss of skyrockets, and the rasp of false strings, and here and there one true word, that it may steal in along with them like contraband, under cover of so much drumming and so much fluting?
> Separable insluipen + subjunctive insluipe: insluipe is the archaic subjunctive ('that it may steal in'); insluipen is separable but here in a subjunctive clause; mee adds 'along (with them).'

Styl?  
Style?

Hy had styl!  
He had style!

Hy had te veel ziel om zyn gedachten te verdrinken in de "ik heb de eers" en de "edelgestrengheden" en de "eerbiedig-in- overweging-gevingen" die den wellust uitmaken van de kleine wereld waarin hy zich bewoog.  
He had too much soul to drown his thoughts in the "I have the hono--" and the "most-noble-and-rigorous-sirs" and the "respectfully-submitting-for-considerations" that make up the delight of the small world in which he moved.
> te veel … om … te (consequence): te veel … om te verdrinken ('too much soul to drown') is the 'too X to Y' pattern, built on om … te with a negative consequence.
> Relative waarin + reflexive bewegen: waarin ('in which') relativises 'in + die'; zich bewegen ('to move oneself, move about') is reflexive.

Als hy schreef, doordrong u iets by 't lezen, dat u begrypen deed hoe er wolken dreven by dat onweder, en dat ge niet het gerammel hoorde van een blikken tooneeldonder.  
When he wrote, something pierced through you as you read, that made you understand how clouds were driving in that storm, and that you were not hearing the rattle of a sheet-metal stage-thunder.
> Causative doen + bare infinitive: begrypen deed ('made [you] understand') is causative doen with a bare infinitive — older Dutch uses doen where laten or modern phrasing might appear.
> Existential er + strong imperfect dreven: er wolken dreven ('clouds were driving there') uses existential er; dreven is the strong past plural of drijven (ij→e vowel change, written y→e in 1860 spelling).

Als hy vuur sloeg uit zyn denkbeelden, voelde men de hitte van dat vuur, tenzy men geboren kommies was, of Gouverneur-generaal, of schryver van 't walgelykst verslag over "rustige rust." En wat heeft het hem gebaat?  
When he struck fire from his ideas, one felt the heat of that fire, unless one was a born clerk, or a Governor-General, or the writer of the most loathsome report on "tranquil tranquillity." And what good did it do him?
> Subordinator tenzy (verb-final): tenzy ('unless') opens a subordinate clause and drives was to the end; it lists ironic exceptions to feeling the 'heat' of Havelaar's writing.
> Phrase: 'tranquil tranquillity': 'rustige rust' was bureaucratic jargon for a quiet, untroubled district — the very euphemism that let abuses go unreported. Multatuli quotes it with contempt.

Als ik dus wil worden gehoord--en verstaan vooral!--moet ik ànders schryven dan hy.  
If, then, I wish to be heard--and above all understood!--I must write otherwise than he.
> Modal + worden-passive infinitive: wil worden gehoord ('wish to be heard') stacks the modal willen over a worden-passive; the main clause moet ik … schryven keeps the modal moeten.

Maar hoe dan?  
But how, then?

Zie, lezer, ik zoek naar 't antwoord op dat hoe? en daarom heeft myn boek een zoo bont aanzien.  
See, reader, I am searching for the answer to that how? and that is why my book has so motley an appearance.
> Pronominal adverb daarom + inversion: daarom ('for that reason') fuses 'om + dat'; fronting it triggers verb-second, putting heeft before the subject myn boek.

Het is een staalkaart: bepaal uw keuze.  
It is a sample card: make your choice.
> Imperative + possessive uw: bepaal is the bare-stem imperative ('determine/make'); uw is the formal/period possessive 'your', matching the deferential address to the reader.
> staalkaart — sample card: A staalkaart is a swatch/sample card (of cloth or paint colours). Multatuli calls his book a sample card of styles, telling the reader to choose.

Later zal ik u geel of blauw of rood geven naar uwen wensch.  
Later I shall give you yellow or blue or red, according to your wish.
> Future zullen with fronted Later: Fronting Later inverts subject and verb (zal ik); zal … geven is the future, and uwen wensch shows the period accusative -en on the possessive.

Havelaar had de Gouverneurs-ziekte reeds zoo dikwyls waargenomen by zoo véél lyders--en vaak in animâ vili, want er zyn analogische residents-, kontroleurs- en surnumerairsziekten, die tot de eerste in verhouding staan als mazelen tot pokken, en eindelyk: hyzelf had aan die ziekte geleden! --reeds zóó dikwyls had hy dat alles waargenomen, dat hy de verschynselen daarvan vry-wel kende.  
Havelaar had observed the Governor's sickness so often already in so very many sufferers--and often in animâ vili, for there are analogous resident's, controller's and supernumerary's sicknesses, which stand to the first in the proportion of measles to smallpox, and finally: he himself had suffered from that sickness!--so very often had he observed all this, that he knew its symptoms tolerably well.
> Pluperfect of separable waarnemen: had … waargenomen is the pluperfect ('had observed'); waarnemen is separable, so the participle is waar-ge-nomen with ge- inside.
> Latin and rank-terms: in anima vili ('on a worthless subject', from medical experiment on the lowly); a surnumerair was a supernumerary, the most junior trainee official. The mock-clinical diction continues.

Hy had den tegenwoordigen Gouverneur-generaal in 't begin van de ongesteldheid minder duizelig gevonden dan de meeste anderen, en hy besloot hieruit dat ook de verdere loop der ziekte een andere richting nemen zou.  
In the early part of the indisposition he had found the present Governor-General less giddy than most others, and from this he concluded that the further course of the sickness too would take another direction.
> Pronominal adverb hieruit + conditional: hieruit ('from this') fuses 'uit + dit'; nemen zou is the conditional ('would take'), clause-final after dat.

Het was om deze reden dat hy vreesde de sterkste te zullen zyn, wanneer hy in 't eind zou moeten optreden als verdediger van het goed recht der inwoners van Lebak.  
It was for this reason that he feared he would prove the stronger, when in the end he should have to step forward as the defender of the just rights of the inhabitants of Lebak.
> Superlative de sterkste + future infinitive: de sterkste ('the strongest/stronger party') is the superlative; te zullen zyn embeds a future inside the te-infinitive governed by vreesde.
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Source text: public domain (Multatuli / Eduard Douwes Dekker, d. 1887; Dutch 1860, Project Gutenberg #11024). English translation: original, © 1732 Studios (2026); rendered freshly from the public-domain Dutch, not derived from any prior English translation. Sentence-aligned by 1732 Studios.