Atlantis: The Antedeluvian World — Page 6
On one occasion, when he was drawing them on to speak of antiquity, he began to tell about the most ancient things in our part of the world--about Phoroneus, who is called 'the first,' and about Niobe; and, after the Deluge, to tell of the lives of Deucalion and Pyrrha; and he traced the genealogy of their descendants, and attempted to reckon how many years old were the events of which he was speaking, and to give the dates.
En une occasion, alors qu'il les amenait à parler de l'Antiquité, il commença à raconter les choses les plus anciennes de notre région du monde -- à propos de Phoronée, que l'on appelle 'le premier', et à propos de Niobé ; et, après le Déluge, à raconter les vies de Deucalion et de Pyrrha ; et il retraça la généalogie de leurs descendants, et tenta de calculer de combien d'années dataient les événements dont il parlait, et d'en donner les dates.
Thereupon, one of the priests, who was of very great age; said, 'O Solon, Solon, you Hellenes are but children, and there is never an old man who is an Hellene.'
Sur ce, l'un des prêtres, qui était d'un très grand âge, dit : 'Ô Solon, Solon, vous autres Hellènes n'êtes que des enfants, et il n'existe jamais de vieillard qui soit un Hellène.'
Solon, bearing this, said, 'What do you mean?'
Solon, entendant cela, dit : 'Que voulez-vous dire ?'
'I mean to say,' he replied, 'that in mind you are all young; there is no old opinion handed down among you by ancient tradition, nor any science which is hoary with age.
'Je veux dire,' répondit-il, 'que dans l'esprit vous êtes tous jeunes ; il n'existe chez vous aucune opinion ancienne transmise par la tradition antique, ni aucune science chargée d'années.
And I will tell you the reason of this: there have been, and there will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes.
Et je vais vous en dire la raison : il y a eu, et il y aura encore, de nombreuses destructions de l'humanité résultant de nombreuses causes.
There is a story which even you have preserved, that once upon a time Phaëthon, the son of Helios, having yoked the steeds in his father's chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt.
Il existe une histoire que même vous avez conservée, selon laquelle jadis Phaëthon, le fils d'Hélios, ayant attelé les coursiers au char de son père, parce qu'il n'était pas capable de les conduire sur le chemin de son père, brûla tout ce qui se trouvait sur la terre, et fut lui-même détruit par un coup de foudre.
Vocabulary
- occasion
- A particular time or opportunity for something.
- alors
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'so' in context.
- amenait
- Imperfect of 'amener'; was leading or bringing someone.
- Antiquité
- The ancient historical period of classical civilizations.
- commença
- Past tense of 'commencer'; began or started something.
- raconter
- Infinitive meaning 'to tell' or 'to narrate stories'.
- anciennes
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'ancient' or 'old'.
- région
- A geographical area or district of some kind.
- propos
- Remarks or comments made about a subject.
- appelle
- Third person singular of 'appeler'; calls or names.
- premier
- Adjective meaning 'first' in order or importance.
- Déluge
- The great mythological or biblical flood event.
- retraça
- Past tense of 'retracer'; retraced or recounted history.
- généalogie
- The study or account of family ancestry and descent.
- descendants
- People who are born from a particular ancestor.
- tenta
- Past tense of 'tenter'; attempted or tried something.
- calculer
- Infinitive meaning 'to calculate' or 'to compute'.
- combien
- Interrogative adverb meaning 'how many' or 'how much'.
- dataient
- Imperfect of 'dater'; dated back to a period.
- événements
- Plural noun meaning 'events' or 'occurrences'.
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'of which', 'whose', or 'about'.
- dates
- Specific points in time; calendar dates.
- prêtres
- Plural noun meaning 'priests' of a religion.
- âge
- Noun meaning 'age' referring to years lived.
- Ô
- Exclamation 'O' used to address someone directly.
- Hellènes
- The Greeks, referring to people of ancient Greece.
- existe
- Third person singular of 'exister'; exists or is present.
- jamais
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever' in French.
- vieillard
- Noun meaning 'old man' or 'elderly person'.
- soit
- Subjunctive of 'être'; be, used in subordinate clauses.
- Hellène
- Singular noun referring to a Greek person.
- entendant
- Present participle of 'entendre'; hearing or listening.
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' referring to something.
- répondit-
- Past tense of 'répondre' in inverted form; replied.
- esprit
- Noun meaning 'mind', 'spirit', or 'wit'.
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at the home of' or 'among'.
- aucune
- Feminine negative adjective meaning 'no' or 'none'.
- opinion
- A personal view or judgment about something.
- ancienne
- Feminine adjective meaning 'ancient' or 'former'.
- transmise
- Past participle of 'transmettre'; transmitted or passed down.
- tradition
- A custom or belief passed down through generations.
- antique
- Adjective meaning 'ancient' or 'of great antiquity'.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' used in negative constructions.
- science
- Knowledge or learning; systematic study of something.
- chargée
- Feminine past participle of 'charger'; loaded or burdened.
- raison
- Noun meaning 'reason' or 'rationale' for something.
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'again', or 'yet'.
- nombreuses
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'numerous' or 'many'.
- destructions
- Plural noun meaning 'destructions' or acts of destroying.
- humanité
- Noun meaning 'humanity' or 'humankind' as a whole.
- résultant
- Present participle of 'résulter'; resulting or arising from.
- causes
- Plural noun meaning 'causes' or reasons for events.
- histoire
- Noun meaning 'history' or 'story'.
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'.
- conservée
- Feminine past participle of 'conserver'; preserved or kept.
- selon
- Preposition meaning 'according to' someone or something.
- laquelle
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' referring to feminine noun.
- jadis
- Adverb meaning 'formerly' or 'in times of old'.
- fils
- Noun meaning 'son' or male offspring of someone.
- ayant
- Present participle of 'avoir'; having done something.
- attelé
- Past participle of 'atteler'; harnessed or hitched animals.
- coursiers
- Plural noun meaning swift horses or steeds.
- char
- Noun meaning 'chariot' or ancient wheeled vehicle.
- capable
- Adjective meaning 'capable' or 'able' to do something.
- conduire
- Infinitive meaning 'to drive' or 'to lead'.
- chemin
- Noun meaning 'path', 'road', or 'way'.
- brûla
- Past tense of 'brûler'; burned or set fire to.
- trouvait
- Imperfect of 'trouver'; was found or located somewhere.
- terre
- Noun meaning 'earth', 'land', or 'ground'.
- fut
- Simple past of 'être'; was, used in formal writing.
- détruit
- Past participle of 'détruire'; destroyed or demolished completely.
- coup
- Noun meaning 'blow', 'strike', or 'shot'.
- foudre
- Noun meaning 'lightning' or 'thunderbolt' from sky.
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