Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 5
About the greatest action which the Athenians ever did, and which ought to have been most famous, but which, through the lapse of time and the destruction of the actors, has not come down to us."
De la plus grande action que les Athéniens aient jamais accomplie, et qui aurait dû être la plus célèbre, mais qui, en raison du passage du temps et de la disparition de ses acteurs, ne nous est pas parvenue."
"Tell us," said the other, "the whole story, and how and from whom Solon heard this veritable tradition."
« Raconte-nous, dit l'autre, toute l'histoire, et comment et de qui Solon entendit cette véritable tradition. »
He replied: "At the head of the Egyptian Delta, where the river Nile divides, there is a certain district which is called the district of Sais, and the great city of the district is also called Sais, and is the city from which Amasis the king was sprung.
Il répondit : « À la tête du Delta égyptien, là où le fleuve Nil se divise, il existe un certain district qui s'appelle le district de Saïs, et la grande ville de ce district s'appelle également Saïs, et c'est la ville dont était issu le roi Amasis.
And the citizens have a deity who is their foundress: she is called in the Egyptian tongue Neith, which is asserted by them to be the same whom the Hellenes called Athene.
Et les citoyens ont une divinité qui est leur fondatrice : elle est appelée en langue égyptienne Neith, qu'ils affirment être la même que celle que les Hellènes appelaient Athéna.
Now, the citizens of this city are great lovers of the Athenians, and say that they are in some way related to them.
Or, les citoyens de cette ville sont de grands admirateurs des Athéniens, et disent qu'ils leur sont en quelque sorte apparentés.
Thither came Solon, who was received by them with great honor; and he asked the priests, who were most skilful in such matters, about antiquity, and made the discovery that neither he nor any other Hellene knew anything worth mentioning about the times of old.
C'est là que vint Solon, qui fut reçu par eux avec grand honneur ; et il interrogea les prêtres, qui étaient les plus habiles en ces matières, au sujet de l'Antiquité, et fit la découverte que ni lui ni aucun autre Hellène ne savait rien qui vaille la peine d'être mentionné sur les temps anciens.
Vocabulary
- plus
- More; used in comparatives and superlatives
- grande
- Great, large, or important (feminine adjective)
- action
- An action, deed, or act performed
- Athéniens
- The Athenians, inhabitants of ancient Athens
- aient
- Subjunctive form of 'avoir': have (they)
- jamais
- Never, or ever in negative constructions
- accomplie
- Accomplished, achieved, or completed (feminine)
- aurait
- Conditional form of 'avoir': would have
- dû
- Past participle of 'devoir': should have, ought
- être
- To be; infinitive of the verb 'être'
- célèbre
- Famous, well-known, or celebrated
- raison
- Reason, cause, or rationale for something
- passage
- Passage, passing, or lapse (of time)
- temps
- Time, or weather; a very common noun
- disparition
- Disappearance, vanishing, or death of someone
- acteurs
- Actors or participants in an event
- parvenue
- Reached, arrived at, or transmitted (feminine)
- Raconte-nous
- Tell us; imperative form of 'raconter'
- dit
- Said; third-person singular past of 'dire'
- l'autre
- The other one; referring to another person
- toute
- All, entire, or whole (feminine singular)
- l'histoire
- The story, history, or account of events
- comment
- How; interrogative or relative adverb
- entendit
- Heard; third-person singular simple past of 'entendre'
- véritable
- True, genuine, or real; not false or invented
- tradition
- Tradition, custom, or handed-down account
- répondit
- Replied; third-person singular simple past of 'répondre'
- tête
- Head; top or tip of something
- Delta
- Delta; triangular mouth area of a river
- égyptien
- Egyptian; relating to Egypt (masculine adjective)
- là
- There; adverb indicating a specific location
- où
- Where; relative or interrogative location adverb
- fleuve
- Large river that flows into the sea
- divise
- Divides, splits; present tense of 'diviser'
- existe
- Exists; third-person singular present of 'exister'
- certain
- A certain, particular; adjective indicating specificity
- district
- District, administrative region, or defined area
- s'appelle
- Is called; reflexive present of 's'appeler'
- ville
- City or town; a populated urban area
- également
- Also, equally, or likewise; adverb of addition
- dont
- Of which, whose; relative pronoun of possession
- issu
- Descended from, originating from (masculine adjective)
- roi
- King; male monarch or ruler of a country
- citoyens
- Citizens; members of a city or state
- divinité
- Deity, divinity, or divine being
- fondatrice
- Female founder or founding deity of a city
- appelée
- Called, named (feminine past participle of 'appeler')
- langue
- Language, tongue; a system of communication
- égyptienne
- Egyptian (feminine adjective)
- affirment
- Claim, assert; third-person plural of 'affirmer'
- même
- Same, even; adverb or adjective of equivalence
- celle
- The one (feminine); demonstrative pronoun
- appelaient
- Called, named; imperfect tense of 'appeler'
- Or
- Now, well then; discourse conjunction or gold
- grands
- Great, large (masculine plural adjective)
- admirateurs
- Admirers, fans; those who greatly admire someone
- disent
- Say; third-person plural present of 'dire'
- quelque
- Some, a certain, somewhat; indefinite adjective
- sorte
- Sort, kind, or type; a manner or way
- apparentés
- Related, akin; sharing kinship or connection
- vint
- Came; third-person singular simple past of 'venir'
- fut
- Was; third-person singular simple past of 'être'
- reçu
- Received, welcomed; past participle of 'recevoir'
- grand
- Great, large, big (masculine singular adjective)
- honneur
- Honor, respect, or high regard for someone
- interrogea
- Questioned, interrogated; simple past of 'interroger'
- prêtres
- Priests; religious officeholders in a temple
- habiles
- Skilled, clever, or capable (plural adjective)
- matières
- Matters, subjects, or topics of knowledge
- sujet
- Subject, topic; the matter being discussed
- l'Antiquité
- Antiquity; ancient times, especially Greece and Rome
- fit
- Made, did; third-person singular simple past of 'faire'
- découverte
- Discovery; something found or uncovered for first time
- ni
- Neither, nor; negative correlative conjunction
- aucun
- No one, none, not any; negative indefinite adjective
- autre
- Other, another; adjective or pronoun of difference
- savait
- Knew; third-person singular imperfect of 'savoir'
- rien
- Nothing; negative indefinite pronoun
- vaille
- Worth; subjunctive of 'valoir' (to be worth)
- peine
- Trouble, effort, sorrow; used in 'à peine'
- mentionné
- Mentioned, cited; past participle of 'mentionner'
- anciens
- Ancients, elders; people of former or old times
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