Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 3
The Egyptian priest had said to Solon, "You have no antiquity of history, and no history of antiquity;" and Solon doubtless realized fully the vast importance of a record which carried human history back, not only thousands of years before the era of Greek civilization, but many thousands of years before even the establishment of the kingdom of Egypt; and he was anxious to preserve for his half-civilized countrymen this inestimable record of the past.
Le prêtre égyptien avait dit à Solon : « Vous n'avez pas d'antiquité de l'histoire, et pas d'histoire de l'antiquité ; » et Solon réalisa sans doute pleinement l'immense importance d'un récit qui faisait remonter l'histoire humaine, non seulement à des milliers d'années avant l'ère de la civilisation grecque, mais à plusieurs milliers d'années avant même l'établissement du royaume d'Égypte ; et il était désireux de préserver pour ses compatriotes à demi civilisés cet inestimable témoignage du passé.
We know of no better way to commence a book about Atlantis than by giving in full the record preserved by Plato.
Nous ne connaissons pas de meilleure façon de commencer un livre sur l'Atlantide qu'en reproduisant intégralement le récit conservé par Platon.
It is as follows:
Il est le suivant :
Critias. Then listen, Socrates, to a strange tale, which is, however, certainly true, as Solon, who was the wisest of the seven sages, declared.
Critias. Écoutez donc, Socrate, un récit étrange, qui est cependant certainement vrai, comme le déclara Solon, qui était le plus sage des sept sages.
He was a relative and great friend of my great-grandfather, Dropidas, as he himself says in several of his poems; and Dropidas told Critias, my grandfather, who remembered, and told us, that there were of old great and marvellous actions of the Athenians, which have passed into oblivion through time and the destruction of the human race and one in particular, which was the greatest of them all, the recital of which will be a suitable testimony of our gratitude to you....
Il était un parent et un grand ami de mon arrière-grand-père, Dropidas, comme il le dit lui-même dans plusieurs de ses poèmes ; et Dropidas raconta à Critias, mon grand-père, qui s'en souvint et nous rapporta, qu'il y avait eu autrefois de grandes et merveilleuses actions des Athéniens, qui sont tombées dans l'oubli avec le temps et la destruction de la race humaine, et une en particulier, qui était la plus grande de toutes, dont le récit sera un témoignage approprié de notre gratitude envers vous….
Socrates. Very good; and what is this ancient famous action of which Critias spoke, not as a mere legend, but as a veritable action of the Athenian State, which Solon recounted!
Socrate. Très bien ; et quelle est cette ancienne et fameuse action dont Critias parla, non comme une simple légende, mais comme une véritable action de l'État athénien, que Solon raconta !
Critias.
Critias.
Vocabulary
- prêtre
- preh-truh — A religious leader who performs sacred rites
- égyptien
- ay-zhip-syaN — Relating to or originating from Egypt
- avait
- ah-veh — Past tense of 'avoir'; had (third person singular)
- dit
- dee — Said; past participle of 'dire'
- n'avez
- nah-vay — Negated form of 'avoir'; you do not have
- antiquité
- aN-tee-kee-tay — Ancient times; great age of historical civilization
- histoire
- ees-twahr — History or story; a narrative of past events
- réalisa
- ray-ah-lee-zah — Realized or understood; past tense of 'réaliser'
- sans
- saN — Preposition meaning 'without'
- doute
- doot — Doubt; uncertainty about something
- pleinement
- plehn-maN — Fully; completely; to the greatest extent
- immense
- ee-maNs — Extremely large or vast in size or scope
- importance
- aN-por-taNs — The quality of being significant or noteworthy
- récit
- ray-see — A narrative or account of events
- faisait
- fuh-zeh — Was doing or making; imperfect of 'faire'
- remonter
- ruh-mON-tay — To go back in time; to trace origins
- humaine
- ü-mehn — Human; relating to humanity or human beings
- seulement
- suhl-maN — Only; merely; just a limited amount
- milliers
- mee-lyay — Thousands; large groups of a thousand units
- années
- ah-nay — Years; plural of 'année'
- avant
- ah-vaN — Before; prior to in time or order
- ère
- ehr — Era; a distinct historical period or age
- civilisation
- see-vee-lee-zah-syON — An advanced human society with culture and organization
- grecque
- grehk — Greek; relating to ancient or modern Greece
- plusieurs
- plü-zyuhr — Several; more than two but not very many
- même
- mehm — Even; same; used for emphasis or comparison
- établissement
- ay-tah-blee-smaN — Establishment; the founding of an institution or state
- royaume
- rwah-yohm — Kingdom; a territory ruled by a king or queen
- était
- ay-teh — Was; imperfect tense of 'être'
- désireux
- day-zee-ruh — Eager or desirous; strongly wishing for something
- préserver
- pray-zehr-vay — To preserve; to keep something safe from harm
- compatriotes
- kON-pah-tree-oht — Fellow countrymen; people from the same nation
- demi
- duh-mee — Half; partially developed or incomplete
- civilisés
- see-vee-lee-zay — Civilized; having developed culture and social order
- inestimable
- een-ehs-tee-mah-bluh — Invaluable; too precious to be estimated or measured
- témoignage
- tay-mwah-nyahzh — Testimony or evidence; an account bearing witness
- passé
- pah-say — The past; time that has already gone by
- connaissons
- koh-neh-sON — We know; first person plural of 'connaître'
- meilleure
- meh-yuhr — Better; feminine form of the adjective 'meilleur'
- façon
- fah-sON — Way or manner of doing something
- commencer
- koh-maN-say — To begin or start something
- livre
- lee-vruh — Book; a written or printed publication
- reproduisant
- ruh-proh-dwee-zaN — Reproducing; copying a text or document fully
- intégralement
- aN-tay-gral-maN — In full; completely without omission
- conservé
- kON-sehr-vay — Preserved or kept; maintained in original condition
- suivant
- swee-vaN — Following; the next in sequence or order
- Écoutez
- ay-koo-tay — Listen; imperative form addressed to multiple people
- donc
- dONk — Therefore; so; used to indicate a conclusion
- étrange
- ay-traNzh — Strange; unusual or surprising in character
- cependant
- suh-paN-daN — However; nevertheless; indicating contrast or reservation
- certainement
- sehr-tehn-maN — Certainly; without doubt; definitely true
- vrai
- vreh — True; corresponding to fact or reality
- déclara
- day-klah-rah — Declared; stated officially or formally
- sage
- sahzh — Wise; having good judgment and wisdom
- sages
- sahzh — Wise men; plural of 'sage'
- parent
- pah-raN — Relative; a family member related by blood
- ami
- ah-mee — Friend; a person one has a close bond with
- arrière
- ah-ryehr — Behind; back; used in 'arrière-grand-père' (great-grandfather)
- père
- pehr — Father; a male parent
- poèmes
- poh-ehm — Poems; literary works written in verse
- raconta
- rah-kON-tah — Told; narrated; past tense of 'raconter'
- souvint
- soo-vaN — Remembered; past tense of 'se souvenir'
- rapporta
- rah-por-tah — Reported; brought back; past tense of 'rapporter'
- eu
- ü — Had; past participle of 'avoir'
- autrefois
- oh-truh-fwah — In the past; formerly; in earlier times
- merveilleuses
- mehr-veh-yuhz — Marvelous; wonderful; causing admiration or wonder
- actions
- ahk-syON — Actions; deeds; things done intentionally
- tombées
- tON-bay — Fallen; past participle of 'tomber' (feminine plural)
- oubli
- oo-blee — Oblivion; the state of being completely forgotten
- temps
- taN — Time; also weather; a broad temporal concept
- destruction
- dehs-trük-syON — Destruction; the act of causing complete ruin
- race
- rahs — Race or lineage; a group sharing common ancestry
- particulier
- pahr-tee-kü-lyay — Particular; specific; standing out from others
- toutes
- toot — All; every one; feminine plural of 'tout'
- dont
- dON — Relative pronoun meaning 'of which' or 'whose'
- sera
- suh-rah — Will be; future tense of 'être'
- approprié
- ah-proh-pree-ay — Appropriate; suitable for a particular purpose
- gratitude
- grah-tee-tüd — Gratitude; thankfulness for a kindness received
- envers
- aN-vehr — Toward; with regard to someone
- quelle
- kehl — Which or what; interrogative feminine adjective
- ancienne
- aN-syehn — Ancient or old; long-established in time
- fameuse
- Famous; renowned; widely known and celebrated
- action
- ahk-syON — Action; a deed or act carried out
- parla
- pahr-lah — Spoke; past tense of 'parler'
- simple
- saN-pluh — Simple; straightforward; not complex or elaborate
- légende
- lay-zhaNd — Legend; a traditional story of mythical quality
- véritable
- vay-ree-tah-bluh — True; genuine; actually real and not imagined
- État
- ay-tah — State; a politically organized governing body
- athénien
- ah-tay-nyaN — Athenian; relating to the city-state of Athens
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →