Anna Karenina — Page 2

English → Fr Chapter 3 Level 7/10

Stepan Arkadyevitch took in and read a liberal paper, not an extreme one, but one advocating the views held by the majority.

Stepan Arkadyevitch lisait un journal libéral, non pas extrême, mais défendant les opinions de la majorité.

And in spite of the fact that science, art, and politics had no special interest for him, he firmly held those views on all these subjects which were held by the majority and by his paper, and he only changed them when the majority changed them—or, more strictly speaking, he did not change them, but they imperceptibly changed of themselves within him.

Et bien que la science, l'art et la politique ne l'intéressassent pas particulièrement, il défendait fermement sur tous ces sujets les opinions de la majorité et de son journal, et ne les changeait que lorsque la majorité les changeait — ou, pour parler plus exactement, il ne les changeait pas lui-même, mais elles se modifiaient insensiblement en lui d'elles-mêmes.

Stepan Arkadyevitch had not chosen his political opinions or his views; these political opinions and views had come to him of themselves, just as he did not choose the shapes of his hat and coat, but simply took those that were being worn.

Stepan Arkadyevitch n'avait pas choisi ses opinions politiques ni ses idées ; ces opinions politiques et ces idées lui étaient venues d'elles-mêmes, tout comme il ne choisissait pas la forme de son chapeau et de son manteau, mais prenait simplement ce qui se portait.

And for him, living in a certain society—owing to the need, ordinarily developed at years of discretion, for some degree of mental activity—to have views was just as indispensable as to have a hat.

Et pour lui, vivant dans un certain milieu — en raison du besoin, qui se développe ordinairement à l'âge de raison, d'un certain exercice de l'esprit — avoir des opinions était tout aussi indispensable qu'avoir un chapeau.

If there was a reason for his preferring liberal to conservative views, which were held also by many of his circle, it arose not from his considering liberalism more rational, but from its being in closer accordance with his manner of life.

S'il avait une raison de préférer les opinions libérales aux opinions conservatrices, que partageaient également beaucoup de gens de son entourage, ce n'était pas parce qu'il considérait le libéralisme comme plus rationnel, mais parce qu'il était en plus étroite conformité avec sa manière de vivre.

The liberal party said that in Russia everything is wrong, and certainly Stepan Arkadyevitch had many debts and was decidedly short of money.

Le parti libéral disait qu'en Russie tout va mal, et certes Stepan Arkadyevitch avait beaucoup de dettes et manquait décidément d'argent.

Vocabulary

lisait: Was reading; imperfect tense of lire.
un: Indefinite article meaning a or an.
journal: A newspaper or daily periodical publication.
libéral: Liberal; relating to progressive or open-minded views.
non: No; used to express negation or refusal.
pas: Not; negation particle used with ne.
extrême: Extreme; going beyond normal or moderate limits.
mais: But; conjunction used to introduce contrast.
défendant: Defending; supporting or advocating for something.
les: Definite plural article meaning the.
opinions: Opinions; personal views or judgments on matters.
de: Of or from; common French preposition.
la: Definite feminine singular article meaning the.
majorité: Majority; the greater number or part of something.
Et: And; conjunction linking words or clauses together.
bien: Well; used to affirm or introduce a statement.
que: That; conjunction or relative pronoun in French.
science: Science; systematic study of the natural world.
l': Contracted definite article before a vowel sound.
art: Art; creative expression through various artistic forms.
et: And; basic coordinating conjunction in French.
politique: Politics; the practice of governance and political activity.
ne: Negation particle used with pas or other words.
intéressassent: Interested; imperfect subjunctive of intéresser, to interest.
particulièrement: Particularly; especially or in a specific manner.
il: He; third person singular masculine pronoun.
défendait: Was defending; imperfect tense of défendre.
fermement: Firmly; in a resolute and unwavering manner.
sur: On or about; French preposition indicating topic.
tous: All; referring to the entirety of something plural.
ces: These or those; demonstrative plural adjective.
sujets: Subjects or topics discussed in conversation or writing.
son: His or her; possessive adjective for singular nouns.
changeait: Was changing; imperfect tense of changer.
lorsque: When; conjunction introducing a time clause.
ou: Or; conjunction presenting an alternative choice.
pour: For or in order to; common French preposition.
parler: To speak; infinitive form of the verb parler.
plus: More; used in comparisons or to indicate addition.
exactement: Exactly; precisely or without error or deviation.
lui-même: Himself; emphatic reflexive pronoun for third person masculine.
elles: They; third person plural feminine pronoun.
se: Reflexive pronoun meaning himself herself or themselves.
modifiaient: Were modifying; imperfect tense of modifier, to change.
insensiblement: Imperceptibly; so gradually as to be barely noticed.
en: In or by; versatile French preposition or pronoun.
lui: Him or to him; third person singular indirect pronoun.
d': Contracted preposition de before a vowel sound.
elles-mêmes: Themselves; emphatic reflexive pronoun for feminine plural.
n': Contracted negation particle ne before a vowel.
avait: Had; third person singular imperfect of avoir.
choisi: Chosen; past participle of choisir, to choose.
ses: His her its; possessive adjective for plural nouns.
politiques: Political; relating to politics or governance matters.
ni: Nor; negative conjunction used in paired negations.
idées: Ideas; thoughts or concepts formed in the mind.
étaient: Were; third person plural imperfect of être.
venues: Come; past participle feminine plural of venir.
tout: All or entirely; adverb or adjective meaning whole.
comme: As or like; conjunction or preposition of comparison.
choisissait: Was choosing; imperfect tense of choisir.
forme: Form or shape; the outward appearance of something.
chapeau: Hat; a head covering worn as clothing or fashion.
manteau: Coat; an outer garment worn for warmth.
prenait: Was taking; imperfect tense of prendre.
simplement: Simply; in a plain straightforward uncomplicated manner.
ce: This or that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
qui: Who or which; relative or interrogative pronoun.
portait: Was wearing or carrying; imperfect tense of porter.
vivant: Living; present participle of vivre, to live.
dans: In or inside; preposition indicating location or time.
certain: A certain; used to indicate a particular unspecified thing.
milieu: Social environment or circle one lives and moves in.
raison: Reason; the capacity for logical thought or justification.
du: Of the; contracted masculine singular article and preposition.
besoin: Need; a necessity or requirement for something essential.
développe: Develops; third person singular present of développer.
ordinairement: Ordinarily; usually or in a normal typical manner.
à: To at or in; common French preposition of location.
âge: Age; the length of time someone has been alive.
exercice: Exercise or practice; activity done to develop a skill.
esprit: Mind or wit; intellectual capacity or clever thinking.
avoir: To have; infinitive of the auxiliary verb avoir.
des: Some or of the; indefinite plural article in French.
était: Was; third person singular imperfect of être.
aussi: Also or as; adverb indicating similarity or addition.
indispensable: Indispensable; absolutely necessary and impossible to do without.
qu': Contracted conjunction que before a vowel sound.
S': Contracted reflexive pronoun se before a vowel.
une: Indefinite feminine article meaning a or an.
préférer: To prefer; to like one thing better than another.
libérales: Liberal; feminine plural adjective describing progressive views.
aux: To the or at the; contracted plural preposition article.
conservatrices: Conservative; feminine plural adjective favoring traditional values.
partageaient: Were sharing; imperfect tense of partager.
également: Equally or also; in an equal or similar manner.
beaucoup: Many or much; indicates a large quantity or degree.
gens: People; a group of persons in general.
entourage: Entourage; the people surrounding and accompanying someone.
parce: Because; used in parce que to give a reason.
considérait: Considered; imperfect tense of considérer, to consider.
le: Definite masculine singular article meaning the.
libéralisme: Liberalism; a political philosophy favoring individual freedoms.
rationnel: Rational; based on reason and logical thinking.
étroite: Close or narrow; tight conformity or strict adherence.
conformité: Conformity; compliance or agreement with rules or standards.
avec: With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association.
sa: His or her; possessive adjective for feminine singular nouns.
manière: Manner or way; the style in which something is done.
vivre: To live; infinitive meaning to be alive or exist.
Le: Definite masculine singular article meaning the.
parti: Party; a political organization with shared ideological goals.
disait: Was saying; imperfect tense of dire, to say.
Russie: Russia; the largest country spanning Europe and Asia.
va: Goes; third person singular present of aller.
mal: Badly or poorly; in an unsatisfactory or wrong manner.
certes: Certainly or admittedly; used to concede a point.
dettes: Debts; money or obligations owed to another party.
manquait: Was lacking; imperfect tense of manquer, to lack.
décidément: Decidedly; used to affirm a clear or obvious conclusion.
argent: Money or silver; a common and essential resource.

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →