German composition

Section 96 The Glaciers At⁠ Sunset⁠. I.12

At a distance these glaciers, as⁠3 I have said before, look⁠4 like frozen rivers (S. 26, N. 3); when⁠5 one approaches nearer, or when they press⁠6 downward⁠7 into the valley, they look⁠8 like immense crystals and pillars⁠9 of ice piled⁠10 together in every conceivable form. The effect⁠11 of this pile⁠12 of ice, lying (S. 48, N. 6) directly⁠13 in the lap of⁠14 green grass and flowers, is quite singular. Before we had entered⁠15 the valley, the sun had gone down; the sky behind the mountains was clear, and it⁠16 seemed for a few moments as if darkness⁠17 was rapidly coming on. But⁠18 in a few moments commenced a scene⁠19 of transfiguration, more⁠20 glorious than anything I had witnessed yet. The cold, white, dismal fields⁠21 of ice gradually changed⁠22 into hues⁠23 of the most beautiful rose colour⁠24. A⁠25 bank of white clouds, which rested⁠26 above the mountains, kindled⁠27 and glared⁠28, as⁠29 if some spirit of light had entered into them.

Notes

1 bei, contracted with the dat. of the def. art.

[2] Comp. S. 26.

3 Place the words ‘as — before’ at the head of the whole passage; ‘at a distance’, in der Entfernung. For the constr. see App. § 15.

4 ‘to look like’, here ‘ähnlich sehen’, which requires the dat.

5 The clause ‘when — nearer’ may be briefly rendered by ‘in der Nähe’, i.e. ‘close by’.

6 hinein´dringen.

7 abwärts.

8 ‘to look’ may here be rendered by aus´sehen, to avoid repetition; ‘like’ must then be turned by ‘wie’.

9 To render ‘pillars of ice’ form a comp. n. analagous to ‘ice-pillars’.

10 to pile together, auf´schichten; use the attributive constr.

11 Eindruck, m.

12 pile of ice, Eismasse, f.

13 unmittelbar.

14 Use the gen. of the def. art.

[15] betreten, v. tr.

16 it seemed = it had the appearance. The adverbial circumstance of time ‘for a few moments’ may be emphasized by being placed immediately after the conj. ‘and’.

17 Darkness is coming on, die Dunkelheit bricht herein.

18 But — moments = But soon.

19 Form a comp. n.

20 The passage ‘more — yet’ may be elegantly rendered by ‘welche alles bereits Geschaute noch an Herrlichkeit übertraf’.

21 Form a comp. n.

22 to change into something, in etwas ü´bergehen.

23 Farbentöne.

24 Rosenrot, n.

25 A — clouds, Ein weißes Gewölk.

26 rested = hung.

27 kindled = reddened (errö´ten).

28 glared = glowed (erglü´hen).

29 as — them, wie von einem Lichtgeiste erfüllt.