Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 4
I will tell an old-world story which I heard from an aged man;
Je vais raconter une histoire du temps jadis que j'ai entendue d'un vieil homme ;
for Critias was, as he said, at that time nearly ninety years of age, and I was about ten years of age.
car Critias avait, comme il le disait, à cette époque près de quatre-vingt-dix ans, et j'en avais environ dix.
Now the day was that day of the Apaturia which is called the registration of youth; at which, according to custom, our parents gave prizes for recitations, and the poems of several poets were recited by us boys, and many of us sung the poems of Solon, which were new at the time.
Or, ce jour était celui des Apaturies que l'on appelle l'inscription de la jeunesse ; à cette occasion, selon la coutume, nos parents offraient des prix pour des récitations, et les poèmes de plusieurs poètes étaient récités par nous, les garçons, et beaucoup d'entre nous chantèrent les poèmes de Solon, qui étaient nouveaux à l'époque.
One of our tribe, either because this was his real opinion, or because he thought that he would please Critias, said that, in his judgment, Solon was not only the wisest of men but the noblest of poets.
L'un des membres de notre tribu, soit parce que c'était là sa véritable opinion, soit parce qu'il pensait plaire à Critias, déclara que, selon lui, Solon était non seulement le plus sage des hommes mais aussi le plus noble des poètes.
The old man, I well remember, brightened up at this, and said, smiling: "Yes, Amynander, if Solon had only, like other poets, made poetry the business of his life, and had completed the tale which he brought with him from Egypt, and had not been compelled, by reason of the factions and troubles which he found stirring in this country when he came home, to attend to other matters, in my opinion he would have been as famous as Homer, or Hesiod, or any poet."
Le vieil homme, je m'en souviens bien, s'illumina à ces mots et dit en souriant : « Oui, Amynandre, si Solon avait seulement, comme les autres poètes, fait de la poésie l'affaire de sa vie, et avait achevé le récit qu'il rapportait avec lui d'Égypte, et n'avait pas été contraint, en raison des factions et des troubles qu'il trouva agitant ce pays à son retour, de s'occuper d'autres affaires, il aurait été, à mon avis, aussi célèbre qu'Homère, ou Hésiode, ou n'importe quel poète. »
"And what was that poem about, Critias?" said the person who addressed him.
« Et de quoi traitait ce poème, Critias ? » dit la personne qui s'adressait à lui.
Vocabulary
- vais
- First person singular of aller: I go/am going
- raconter
- To tell, narrate, or recount a story
- histoire
- Story, tale, or history
- temps
- Time, weather, or era
- jadis
- In former times, long ago, once upon a time
- entendue
- Past participle of entendre (feminine): heard
- vieil
- Adjective: old, used before masculine vowel-initial nouns
- homme
- Man, human being
- car
- Conjunction meaning because, for, as
- avait
- Third person singular imperfect of avoir: had
- comme
- As, like, such as
- disait
- Third person singular imperfect of dire: was saying
- cette
- Demonstrative adjective, feminine: this, that
- époque
- Era, period, time in history
- près
- Near, close to, approximately
- quatre-vingt-dix
- The number ninety
- ans
- Years (of age or duration)
- avais
- First person singular imperfect of avoir: had
- environ
- About, approximately, roughly
- dix
- The number ten
- Or
- Conjunction meaning now, well, but then
- jour
- Day, daytime
- était
- Third person singular imperfect of être: was
- celui
- Demonstrative pronoun, masculine: the one, that one
- on
- Indefinite pronoun: one, we, they, people
- appelle
- Third person singular of appeler: calls, names
- inscription
- Registration, enrollment, or inscription
- jeunesse
- Youth, young people, the period of being young
- occasion
- Occasion, opportunity, event
- selon
- Preposition: according to, following
- coutume
- Custom, habit, tradition
- parents
- Parents or relatives, family members
- offraient
- Third person plural imperfect of offrir: were offering
- prix
- Price, prize, award
- récitations
- Recitations, oral performances of memorized texts
- poèmes
- Poems, pieces of poetry
- plusieurs
- Several, many, various
- poètes
- Poets, writers of poetry
- étaient
- Third person plural imperfect of être: were
- récités
- Past participle of réciter (plural): recited, performed aloud
- garçons
- Boys, young men
- beaucoup
- Many, much, a lot
- entre
- Preposition: between, among
- chantèrent
- Third person plural passé simple of chanter: sang
- nouveaux
- Adjective, masculine plural: new, recent
- membres
- Members of a group or organization
- tribu
- Tribe, clan, social group
- soit
- Subjunctive of être: be; or conjunction meaning either, whether
- là
- Adverb: there, at that place or time
- véritable
- True, real, genuine, authentic
- opinion
- Opinion, view, belief on a matter
- pensait
- Third person singular imperfect of penser: was thinking
- plaire
- To please, to be pleasing to someone
- déclara
- Third person singular passé simple of déclarer: declared
- seulement
- Only, merely, solely
- plus
- More, most; also used in negation: no more
- sage
- Wise, sensible; a wise person
- hommes
- Men, human beings, people
- aussi
- Also, too, as well
- noble
- Noble, of high birth or character
- souviens
- First person singular of se souvenir: I remember
- bien
- Well, good, very, clearly
- illumina
- Third person singular passé simple of illuminer: lit up, brightened
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective, plural: these, those
- mots
- Words, terms
- dit
- Third person singular of dire: said, told
- souriant
- Present participle of sourire: smiling
- si
- If, whether; also yes (contradicting negation)
- autres
- Others, other people or things
- fait
- Made, done; third person singular of faire
- poésie
- Poetry, the art of writing poems
- affaire
- Business, matter, affair, concern
- vie
- Life, lifetime, existence
- achevé
- Completed, finished, accomplished
- récit
- Account, narrative, story, tale
- rapportait
- Third person singular imperfect of rapporter: was bringing back, reporting
- été
- Past participle of être: been; also summer
- contraint
- Forced, compelled, constrained
- raison
- Reason, cause, grounds; also rightness
- factions
- Factions, political groups, rival parties
- troubles
- Troubles, disturbances, disorders, unrest
- trouva
- Third person singular passé simple of trouver: found
- agitant
- Present participle of agiter: stirring up, troubling, agitating
- pays
- Country, land, nation, region
- retour
- Return, coming back
- occuper
- To occupy, take up, keep busy with
- affaires
- Affairs, business matters, concerns
- aurait
- Third person singular conditional of avoir: would have
- avis
- Opinion, view, advice
- célèbre
- Famous, renowned, celebrated
- importe
- Matters; used in n'importe quel meaning any
- quel
- Interrogative or exclamatory adjective: which, what
- poète
- Poet, a writer of poetry
- quoi
- What, which; used after prepositions
- traitait
- Third person singular imperfect of traiter: dealt with, was about
- poème
- Poem, a piece of poetry
- personne
- Person; also nobody (with negation)
- adressait
- Third person singular imperfect of adresser: was addressing, directing
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