Section 28 The Magna Charta1
The great-grandsons of2 those who had fought under William, and the great-grandsons of those who had fought under Harold, began to3 draw near to each other in friendship, and the first pledge of their reconciliation was the4 Great Charter, won5 by their united exertions, and framed for their common benefit. Here commences the history of the English nation. The history of the preceding events6 is the history of wrongs inflicted7 and sustained by various tribes, which, indeed8, all dwelt on English ground, but9 which regarded each other with aversion such as10 has scarcely ever existed between communities separated11 by physical barriers.—Macaulay, History of England.
Notes
1 Die ‘Magna Charta’ ist der am 19ᵗᵉⁿ Juni 1215 dem König Johann ohne Land abgerungene Staatsgrundvertrag, welcher als Grundlage der englischen Verfassung gilt.
2 ‘of those — Harold’. These two clauses are best rendered in a contracted form, thus: ‘of the men who had fought under W. and H.’
3 to draw near to each other, sich einander nähern; in friendship, freundschaftlich, adv.
4 die Magna Charta.
5 The two clauses containing the two p. ps. must be turned into one contracted relative clause, as explained in S. 7, N. 3, B. Use the verbs in the Impf. of the Passive Voice. To frame, entwerfen.
6 Ereignis, n.
7 The two p. ps. qualifying ‘wrongs’ (Unbilden) should be placed before that noun, as explained in S. 7, N. 3, A; of, von; to inflict, verüben; to sustain, erleiden; by — tribes, verschiedener Volksstämme.
8 zwar; on = upon; ground = soil.
9 but — aversion = but (jedoch) showed such an aversion against one another. The Article, when used in connection with adjectives and adverbs, stands in German generally before those words: such an aversion, einen solchen Widerwillen. Since the clause to be translated is in reality but a part of the preceding relative clause, which it completes, the verb must be placed?
10 such as, wie, after which supply the pron. er, to give more distinctness to the rendering; to exist, bestehen; communities = nations.
11 welche durch natürliche Grenzen von einander getrennt sind.