Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 1
THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK.
LE BUT DU LIVRE.
This book is an attempt to demonstrate several distinct and novel propositions.
Ce livre est une tentative de démontrer plusieurs propositions distinctes et nouvelles.
These are:
Les voici :
1. That there once existed in the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, a large island, which was the remnant of an Atlantic continent, and known to the ancient world as Atlantis.
1. Qu'il exista autrefois dans l'océan Atlantique, en face de l'embouchure de la mer Méditerranée, une grande île, qui était le vestige d'un continent atlantique, et connue du monde antique sous le nom d'Atlantis.
2. That the description of this island given by Plato is not, as has been long supposed, fable, but veritable history.
2. Que la description de cette île donnée par Platon n'est pas, comme on l'a longtemps supposé, une fable, mais une véritable histoire.
3. That Atlantis was the region where man first rose from a state of barbarism to civilization.
3. Qu'Atlantis était la région où l'homme s'éleva pour la première fois d'un état de barbarie à la civilisation.
4. That it became, in the course of ages, a populous and mighty nation, from whose overflowings the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River, the Amazon, the Pacific coast of South America, the Mediterranean, the west coast of Europe and Africa, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian were populated by civilized nations.
4. Qu'elle devint, au fil des âges, une nation populeuse et puissante, dont les débordements peuplèrent de nations civilisées les rives du golfe du Mexique, du fleuve Mississippi, de l'Amazone, la côte pacifique de l'Amérique du Sud, la Méditerranée, la côte ouest de l'Europe et de l'Afrique, la Baltique, la mer Noire et la Caspienne.
5. That it was the true Antediluvian world; the Garden of Eden; the Gardens of the Hesperides; the Elysian Fields; the Gardens of Alcinous; the Mesomphalos; the Olympos; the Asgard of the traditions of the ancient nations; representing a universal memory of a great land, where early mankind dwelt for ages in peace and happiness.
5. Qu'elle était le véritable monde antédiluvien ; le jardin d'Éden ; les jardins des Hespérides ; les Champs Élysées ; les jardins d'Alcinoos ; le Mesomphalos ; l'Olympos ; l'Asgard des traditions des nations antiques ; représentant un souvenir universel d'une grande terre, où l'humanité primitive demeura des âges durant dans la paix et le bonheur.
6. That the gods and goddesses of the ancient Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Hindoos, and the Scandinavians were simply the kings, queens, and heroes of Atlantis; and the acts attributed to them in mythology are a confused recollection of real historical events.
6. Que les dieux et déesses des anciens Grecs, des Phéniciens, des Hindous et des Scandinaves n'étaient que les rois, reines et héros d'Atlantis ; et que les actes qui leur sont attribués dans la mythologie sont un souvenir confus d'événements historiques réels.
7.
7.
Vocabulary
- LE
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular)
- BUT
- Purpose or goal; aim of an action
- DU
- Contraction of 'de le'; of the (masculine)
- LIVRE
- A bound written work; a book
- Ce
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'
- livre
- A bound written work; a book
- est
- Third-person singular of 'être'; means 'is'
- une
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' (feminine singular)
- tentative
- An attempt or endeavor to do something
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'
- démontrer
- To demonstrate or prove something clearly
- plusieurs
- More than one; several things or people
- propositions
- Statements or claims put forward for consideration
- distinctes
- Clearly separate and different from one another
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- nouvelles
- New or previously unknown (feminine plural adjective)
- Les
- Definite article meaning 'the' (plural)
- voici
- Here are; used to present items or points
- Qu'
- Contraction of 'que'; that (conjunction before vowel)
- il
- Third-person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'
- exista
- Past tense of 'exister'; existed at a time
- autrefois
- In the past; formerly or once upon a time
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'
- l'
- Definite article 'le' or 'la' before a vowel
- océan
- A vast body of saltwater covering much of Earth
- Atlantique
- The Atlantic Ocean separating Europe and the Americas
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'on' depending on context
- face
- Front or opposite side; facing something directly
- embouchure
- The mouth or outlet of a river into the sea
- la
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine singular)
- mer
- A large body of saltwater; the sea
- Méditerranée
- The Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa
- grande
- Large in size or importance (feminine adjective)
- île
- A landmass surrounded entirely by water; island
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'
- était
- Imperfect tense of 'être'; was or used to be
- le
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular)
- vestige
- A trace or remnant of something that once existed
- d'
- Contraction of 'de' before a vowel; of or from
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' (masculine singular)
- continent
- A large landmass forming a major division of Earth
- atlantique
- Relating to or of the Atlantic Ocean or region
- connue
- Known or recognized (feminine past participle of connaître)
- du
- Contraction of 'de le'; of the (masculine singular)
- monde
- The world or people in general; everyone
- antique
- Of or belonging to ancient times; very old
- sous
- Preposition meaning 'under' or 'beneath'
- nom
- A word used to identify a person or place; name
- Que
- Conjunction meaning 'that'; introduces a subordinate clause
- description
- A detailed account or portrayal of something
- cette
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' (feminine singular)
- donnée
- Given or provided (feminine past participle of donner)
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by' or 'through'
- n'
- Negation particle 'ne' shortened before a vowel
- pas
- Negation word used with 'ne' to mean 'not'
- comme
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as' or 'like'
- on
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one' or 'people'
- a
- Third-person singular of 'avoir'; has
- longtemps
- For a long time; over an extended period
- supposé
- Assumed or believed without full proof; supposed
- fable
- A fictional story, often with a moral lesson
- mais
- Conjunction meaning 'but'; introducing a contrast
- véritable
- Real, genuine, or true; not false or invented
- histoire
- A narrative of past events; history or story
- région
- A geographic area or district with common characteristics
- où
- Relative adverb meaning 'where' or 'when'
- homme
- A human being or adult male; man
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun 'se' shortened before a vowel
- éleva
- Past tense of 'élever'; rose or lifted up
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- première
- First in order or rank (feminine adjective)
- fois
- An occurrence or instance; time (as in 'one time')
- état
- A condition or status; also the state or government
- barbarie
- A state of primitive uncivilized existence; barbarism
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'
- civilisation
- An advanced stage of social and cultural development
- elle
- Third-person feminine singular pronoun meaning 'she' or 'it'
- devint
- Past tense of 'devenir'; became something over time
- au
- Contraction of 'à le'; to the or at the
- fil
- Thread; also used in 'au fil des âges' meaning over time
- des
- Plural indefinite article or contraction of 'de les'
- âges
- Periods of time or historical eras; ages
- nation
- A country or people sharing culture and government
- populeuse
- Densely populated; having a large number of inhabitants
- puissante
- Powerful or strong (feminine adjective)
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'of which', or 'from which'
- les
- Definite article meaning 'the' (plural)
- débordements
- Overflows or excesses; spreading beyond normal limits
- peuplèrent
- Past tense of 'peupler'; populated or settled a place
- nations
- Plural of 'nation'; countries or peoples
- civilisées
- Civilized; having reached an advanced cultural state
- rives
- Banks or shores of a river or body of water
- golfe
- A large bay or inlet of the sea
- Mexique
- Mexico; the country in southern North America
- fleuve
- A large river that flows into the sea
- côte
- A coastline or shore along a sea or ocean
- pacifique
- Relating to the Pacific Ocean or meaning peaceful
- Amérique
- The continent of America (North or South)
- Sud
- South; a cardinal direction or southern region
- ouest
- West; the cardinal direction opposite to east
- Europe
- The continent west of Asia and north of Africa
- Afrique
- Africa; the second-largest continent on Earth
- Noire
- Black (feminine); also refers to the Black Sea
- antédiluvien
- Existing before the biblical flood; extremely ancient
- jardin
- A cultivated outdoor space with plants; garden
- jardins
- Plural of 'jardin'; gardens or cultivated outdoor spaces
- Champs
- Fields or open expanses of land; also in 'Champs-Élysées'
- traditions
- Customs or beliefs passed down through generations
- antiques
- Of or relating to ancient times; very old
- représentant
- Representing or depicting something; present participle
- souvenir
- A memory or recollection of something past
- universel
- Relating to or shared by all; universal
- terre
- The earth, land, or ground; also Earth as a planet
- humanité
- All human beings collectively; humankind
- primitive
- Relating to an early or original stage of development
- demeura
- Past tense of 'demeurer'; remained or stayed somewhere
- durant
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'throughout' a period
- paix
- A state of harmony and absence of conflict; peace
- bonheur
- A state of well-being and contentment; happiness
- dieux
- Plural of 'dieu'; gods or divine beings
- déesses
- Female divine beings; goddesses
- anciens
- Of former times; ancient or old (masculine plural)
- étaient
- Imperfect tense of 'être'; were (third-person plural)
- que
- Conjunction meaning 'that' or 'than'
- rois
- Plural of 'roi'; kings or male rulers
- reines
- Plural of 'reine'; queens or female rulers
- héros
- Persons of great courage or legendary deeds; heroes
- actes
- Actions or deeds performed by someone; acts
- leur
- Possessive or indirect pronoun meaning 'their' or 'them'
- sont
- Third-person plural of 'être'; are
- attribués
- Credited or assigned to someone; attributed
- mythologie
- A collection of myths belonging to a culture or religion
- confus
- Mixed up, unclear, or disordered; confused
- événements
- Things that happen; occurrences or historical events
- historiques
- Relating to history; of significance in the past
- réels
- Actual or existing in reality; real (masculine plural)
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