A Tale of Two Cities — Page 7
You've got a dutiful mother, you have, my son.
Tu as une mère dévouée, oui, mon fils.
You've got a religious mother, you have, my boy: going and flopping herself down, and praying that the bread-and-butter may be snatched out of the mouth of her only child."
Tu as une mère pieuse, oui, mon garçon : qui va se prosterner et prier pour que le pain beurré soit arraché de la bouche de son unique enfant. »
Master Cruncher (who was in his shirt) took this very ill, and, turning to his mother, strongly deprecated any praying away of his personal board.
Le jeune Cruncher (qui était en chemise) prit très mal la chose et, se tournant vers sa mère, protesta vivement contre toute prière susceptible de lui faire perdre sa nourriture.
"And what do you suppose, you conceited female," said Mr. Cruncher, with unconscious inconsistency, "that the worth of _your_ prayers may be?
« Et que supposez-vous, espèce de femme prétentieuse, » dit M. Cruncher, avec une incohérence inconsciente, « que valent _vos_ prières ?
Name the price that you put _your_ prayers at!"
Dites-moi le prix que vous accordez à _vos_ prières ! »
"They only come from the heart, Jerry. They are worth no more than that."
« Elles viennent seulement du cœur, Jerry. Elles ne valent pas plus que cela. »
"Worth no more than that," repeated Mr. Cruncher.
« Pas plus que cela, » répéta M. Cruncher.
"They ain't worth much, then.
« Elles ne valent pas grand-chose, alors.
Whether or no, I won't be prayed agin, I tell you.
Quoi qu'il en soit, je ne veux plus être contrarié par des prières, je vous le dis.
I can't afford it.
Je n'ai pas les moyens de me le permettre.
I'm not a going to be made unlucky by _your_ sneaking.
Je ne vais pas me laisser porter malheur par vos simagrées.
If you must go flopping yourself down, flop in favour of your husband and child, and not in opposition to 'em.
Si vous devez absolument vous prosterner, faites-le en faveur de votre mari et de votre enfant, et non contre eux.
If I had had any but a unnat'ral wife, and this poor boy had had any but a unnat'ral mother, I might have made some money last week instead of being counter-prayed and countermined and religiously circumwented into the worst of luck.
Si j'avais eu une femme autre que dénaturée, et si ce pauvre garçon avait eu une mère autre que dénaturée, j'aurais peut-être gagné de l'argent la semaine dernière au lieu d'être contrecarré par des prières, saboté et religieusement manœuvré vers la pire des malchances.
B-u-u-ust me!" said Mr.
B-o-o-on sang ! » dit M.
Vocabulary
- mère
- A female parent; mother
- dévouée
- Dedicated and loyal, especially to a person or cause
- fils
- A male offspring; son
- pieuse
- Deeply religious and devoted to faith; pious
- garçon
- A male child or young male; boy
- prosterner
- To bow down low in reverence or submission
- prier
- To address a deity in worship or supplication; to pray
- pain
- A staple baked food made from flour; bread
- beurré
- Spread or covered with butter; buttered
- arraché
- Forcibly pulled or torn away from something
- bouche
- The oral cavity used for eating and speaking; mouth
- unique
- Being the only one; sole or singular
- enfant
- A young human being; child
- jeune
- Of relatively few years; young
- chemise
- A garment worn on the upper body; shirt
- mal
- Badly or with discomfort; poorly or in pain
- chose
- A general term for an object or matter; thing
- tournant
- Turning or rotating; a turning point or bend
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'around (a time)'
- vivement
- With energy and intensity; strongly or sharply
- contre
- Preposition meaning 'against' or 'contrary to'
- prière
- A solemn request addressed to a deity; prayer
- susceptible
- Likely or liable to be affected by something; sensitive
- perdre
- To cease having or to misplace something; to lose
- nourriture
- Substances consumed to sustain life; food
- supposez-vous
- Do you suppose or assume something?
- espèce
- A type or sort; often used as a mild insult
- femme
- An adult female human being; woman or wife
- prétentieuse
- Claiming importance or merit without justification; pretentious
- incohérence
- Lack of logical consistency or clarity; incoherence
- inconsciente
- Acting without awareness or intention; unconscious
- valent
- Third person plural present of 'valoir' meaning 'are worth'
- prières
- Plural of 'prière'; solemn requests addressed to a deity
- Dites-moi
- Imperative phrase meaning 'tell me'
- prix
- The amount paid or the value assigned; price or prize
- accordez
- You grant or give; second person plural present of 'accorder'
- seulement
- Adverb meaning 'only' or 'just'
- cœur
- The organ that pumps blood; heart or emotional core
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this'
- répéta
- Third person singular simple past of 'répéter' meaning 'repeated'
- grand-chose
- Used in negation to mean 'much' or 'anything significant'
- alors
- Adverb meaning 'then', 'so', or 'at that time'
- Quoi
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'
- contrarié
- Annoyed or thwarted by an obstacle or opposition; frustrated
- moyens
- Financial resources or capability to do something; means
- permettre
- To give authorization or opportunity; to allow or permit
- laisser
- To allow something to remain or happen; to let or leave
- porter
- To carry or bring; also to wear clothing
- malheur
- A state of distress or ill fortune; misfortune or bad luck
- simagrées
- Affected or exaggerated gestures and behaviors; airs, pretenses
- absolument
- In an absolute manner; completely or without exception
- faites-le
- Imperative phrase meaning 'do it'
- faveur
- A kind or helpful act done for someone; favor
- mari
- A woman's spouse; husband
- autre
- Different or additional; another or other
- dénaturée
- Altered from its natural state; unnatural or perverted
- pauvre
- Having little money; poor, or used to express pity
- peut-être
- Adverb expressing possibility meaning 'perhaps' or 'maybe'
- gagné
- Past participle of 'gagner'; earned, won, or gained
- l'argent
- Money or the metal silver
- semaine
- A period of seven days; week
- dernière
- Most recent or final in a series; last
- lieu
- A particular place; location, or used in 'au lieu de' (instead of)
- contrecarré
- Obstructed or thwarted in one's plans; foiled
- saboté
- Deliberately undermined or damaged; sabotaged
- religieusement
- In a religious manner; also meaning scrupulously or faithfully
- manœuvré
- Skillfully directed or manipulated to achieve an end
- pire
- Of a lower quality or more severe; worse or worst
- malchances
- Plural of 'malchance'; instances of bad luck or misfortune
- sang
- The red fluid circulating in the body; blood
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