A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick — Page 11
Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to a distress, and help to pay their landlord's rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown.
Deuxièmement, les locataires les plus pauvres auront quelque chose de précieux en leur possession, qui pourra légalement être saisi pour dettes, et servir à payer le loyer de leur propriétaire, leur blé et leur bétail ayant déjà été confisqués, et l'argent étant une chose inconnue.
Thirdly, Whereas the maintainance of a hundred thousand children, from two years old, and upwards, cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a piece per annum, the nation's stock will be thereby encreased fifty thousand pounds per annum, besides the profit of a new dish, introduced to the tables of all gentlemen of fortune in the kingdom, who have any refinement in taste.
Troisièmement, étant donné que l'entretien de cent mille enfants, de deux ans et au-delà, ne peut être estimé à moins de dix shillings par tête et par an, le capital de la nation s'en trouvera accru de cinquante mille livres par an, outre le bénéfice d'un nouveau mets introduit sur les tables de tous les gentilshommes fortunés du royaume qui ont quelque raffinement en matière de goût.
And the money will circulate among our selves, the goods being entirely of our own growth and manufacture.
Et l'argent circulera parmi nous-mêmes, les marchandises étant entièrement le produit de notre propre croissance et fabrication.
Fourthly, The constant breeders, besides the gain of eight shillings sterling per annum by the sale of their children, will be rid of the charge of maintaining them after the first year.
Quatrièmement, les reproductrices régulières, outre le gain de huit shillings sterling par an provenant de la vente de leurs enfants, seront débarrassées de la charge de les entretenir après la première année.
Fifthly, This food would likewise bring great custom to taverns, where the vintners will certainly be so prudent as to procure the best receipts for dressing it to perfection; and consequently have their houses frequented by all the fine gentlemen, who justly value themselves upon their knowledge in good eating; and a skilful cook, who understands how to oblige his guests, will contrive to make it as expensive as they please.
Cinquièmement, cette nourriture attirerait également une grande clientèle dans les tavernes, où les taverniers auront certainement la prudence de se procurer les meilleures recettes pour l'apprêter à la perfection ; et par conséquent leurs établissements seront fréquentés par tous les beaux messieurs qui s'enorgueillissent à juste titre de leur connaissance en matière de bonne chère ; et un cuisinier habile, qui sait comment satisfaire ses convives, s'arrangera pour le rendre aussi coûteux qu'il leur plaira.
Sixthly, This would be a great inducement to marriage, which all wise nations have either encouraged by rewards, or enforced by laws and penalties.
Sixièmement, cela constituerait une grande incitation au mariage, que toutes les nations sages ont soit encouragé par des récompenses, soit imposé par des lois et des peines.
Vocabulary
- Deuxièmement
- Secondly; used to introduce a second point
- les
- The; definite plural article in French
- locataires
- Tenants; people who rent a dwelling
- plus
- More; indicating greater degree or quantity
- pauvres
- Poor; lacking money or resources
- auront
- Will have; third person plural future of avoir
- quelque
- Some; an indefinite quantity or thing
- chose
- Thing; a general object or matter
- de
- Of, from; common French preposition
- précieux
- Precious; of great value or importance
- en
- In, on; preposition indicating location or state
- leur
- Their; third person plural possessive adjective
- possession
- Possession; ownership of something valuable
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- pourra
- Will be able to; future of pouvoir
- légalement
- Legally; in a manner conforming to law
- être
- To be; fundamental French infinitive verb
- saisi
- Seized; legally taken by authority for debt
- pour
- For; preposition indicating purpose or reason
- dettes
- Debts; money owed to another party
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- servir
- To serve; to be useful or of service
- à
- To, at; very common French preposition
- payer
- To pay; to give money owed
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article
- loyer
- Rent; payment for use of property
- propriétaire
- Landlord, owner; person who owns property
- blé
- Wheat; common grain crop used for food
- bétail
- Livestock; farm animals kept for agriculture
- ayant
- Having; present participle of avoir
- déjà
- Already; indicating something happened before now
- été
- Been; past participle of être
- confisqués
- Confiscated; officially seized by an authority
- l'
- The; elided definite article before vowel
- argent
- Money, silver; currency or precious metal
- étant
- Being; present participle of être
- une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- inconnue
- Unknown quantity; something not yet known
- Troisièmement
- Thirdly; introducing a third argument or point
- donné
- Given; past participle, as in étant donné que
- que
- That, which; subordinating conjunction or pronoun
- entretien
- Upkeep, maintenance; cost of supporting someone
- cent
- One hundred; the number 100
- mille
- One thousand; the number 1000
- enfants
- Children; young persons or offspring
- deux
- Two; the number 2
- ans
- Years; units of time equal to twelve months
- au-delà
- Beyond; past a certain point or limit
- ne
- Not; negative particle used with pas or other words
- peut
- Can; third person singular of pouvoir
- estimé
- Estimated; calculated or judged approximately
- moins
- Less; indicating smaller amount or degree
- dix
- Ten; the number 10
- par
- Per, by; preposition indicating rate or means
- tête
- Head; top of body, also used per person
- an
- Year; one unit of twelve months
- capital
- Capital; wealth or assets available to a nation
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- nation
- Nation; a country or people sharing identity
- s'
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun elided
- trouvera
- Will find itself; future of trouver reflexively
- accru
- Increased; grown larger in value or amount
- cinquante
- Fifty; the number 50
- livres
- Pounds; old French monetary or weight unit
- outre
- Besides, beyond; in addition to something else
- bénéfice
- Benefit, profit; advantage gained from something
- d'
- Of; elided preposition de before vowel
- un
- A, one; masculine indefinite article or number
- nouveau
- New; something recently introduced or created
- mets
- Dish; a prepared food item served at table
- introduit
- Introduced; brought in for the first time
- sur
- On, upon; preposition indicating position or topic
- tables
- Tables; flat-surfaced furniture used for dining
- tous
- All, every; refers to an entire group
- gentilshommes
- Gentlemen; men of noble or upper-class standing
- fortunés
- Wealthy; having great financial resources
- du
- Of the; contraction of de and le
- royaume
- Kingdom; a country ruled by a king or queen
- ont
- Have; third person plural of avoir
- raffinement
- Refinement; elegance and cultivated taste
- matière
- Matter, subject; topic or area of concern
- goût
- Taste; sense of flavor or aesthetic preference
- Et
- And; coordinating conjunction joining clauses
- circulera
- Will circulate; will move among people or places
- parmi
- Among; in the middle of a group
- nous-mêmes
- Ourselves; emphatic first person plural pronoun
- marchandises
- Goods, merchandise; products traded or sold
- entièrement
- Entirely, wholly; completely without exception
- produit
- Product; something produced or manufactured
- notre
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- propre
- Own, clean; belonging to oneself specifically
- croissance
- Growth; increase in size, economy, or production
- fabrication
- Manufacturing; process of making or producing goods
- Quatrièmement
- Fourthly; introducing a fourth point in argument
- régulières
- Regular; consistent, occurring at steady intervals
- gain
- Gain, profit; something earned or obtained
- huit
- Eight; the number 8
- provenant
- Coming from; originating or deriving from a source
- vente
- Sale; the act of selling goods or items
- leurs
- Their; third person plural possessive adjective
- seront
- Will be; third person plural future of être
- débarrassées
- Relieved, freed; rid of a burden or problem
- charge
- Burden, expense; responsibility or cost to bear
- entretenir
- To maintain, support; to keep someone or something
- après
- After; following in time or order
- première
- First; the earliest in a sequence or ranking
- année
- Year; a full period of twelve months
- Cinquièmement
- Fifthly; introducing a fifth point in a series
- cette
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- nourriture
- Food, nourishment; sustenance consumed for energy
- attirerait
- Would attract; conditional of attirer
- également
- Also, equally; in addition or in equal measure
- grande
- Large, great; big in size or importance
- clientèle
- Clientele; the customers of a business collectively
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location within
- tavernes
- Taverns; establishments serving food and drink
- où
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- certainement
- Certainly; without doubt, definitely
- prudence
- Prudence; careful good judgment in decisions
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- procurer
- To obtain, procure; to get something needed
- meilleures
- Best; superlative feminine plural of bon
- recettes
- Recipes; instructions for preparing a dish
- apprêter
- To prepare, dress; to make something ready
- perfection
- Perfection; the highest possible quality or standard
- conséquent
- Consequent; as a result, therefore following logically
- établissements
- Establishments; businesses or institutions operating publicly
- fréquentés
- Frequented; regularly visited by people
- beaux
- Beautiful, fine; handsome or elegant masculine plural
- messieurs
- Gentlemen, sirs; polite plural address for men
- juste
- Just, fair, right; correct or rightful
- titre
- Title, right; basis or justification for something
- connaissance
- Knowledge, acquaintance; awareness or understanding
- bonne
- Good; feminine form of bon, quality or virtue
- chère
- Fare, food; cuisine or meals served at table
- cuisinier
- Cook, chef; person who prepares food professionally
- habile
- Skilled, able; having great practical ability
- sait
- Knows; third person singular of savoir
- comment
- How; interrogative or relative adverb of manner
- satisfaire
- To satisfy; to meet the needs of someone
- ses
- His, her, its; third person singular possessive plural
- convives
- Guests, diners; people sharing a meal together
- arrangera
- Will arrange; will organize or manage something
- rendre
- To make, render; to cause something to become
- aussi
- Also, as; equally or likewise in comparison
- coûteux
- Costly, expensive; requiring much money to obtain
- qu'
- That, as; elided form of que before vowel
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- plaira
- Will please; future of plaire, to be pleasing
- Sixièmement
- Sixthly; introducing a sixth point in a list
- cela
- That, this; demonstrative pronoun for a thing
- constituerait
- Would constitute; conditional of constituer
- incitation
- Incentive, incitement; something encouraging an action
- au
- To the, at the; contraction of à and le
- mariage
- Marriage; the legal union of two people
- toutes
- All; feminine plural of tout, every one
- nations
- Nations; countries or peoples with shared identity
- sages
- Wise; having good judgment and prudence
- soit
- Be; subjunctive of être, indicating condition
- encouragé
- Encouraged; supported or promoted by incentives
- des
- Some, of the; partitive or plural article
- récompenses
- Rewards; things given in return for good acts
- imposé
- Imposed; enforced or established by authority
- lois
- Laws; official rules established by a government
- peines
- Penalties, pains; punishments for breaking rules
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