Beyond Good and Evil — Page 4
Had the wicked Socrates really corrupted him?
Le méchant Socrate l'avait-il vraiment corrompu ?
Was Socrates after all a corrupter of youths, and deserved his hemlock?
Socrate était-il après tout un corrupteur de la jeunesse, et avait-il mérité sa ciguë ?
But the struggle against Plato, or--to speak plainer, and for the "people"--the struggle against the ecclesiastical oppression of millenniums of Christianity (FOR CHRISTIANITY IS PLATONISM FOR THE "PEOPLE"), produced in Europe a magnificent tension of soul, such as had not existed anywhere previously;
Mais la lutte contre Platon, ou — pour parler plus clairement, et pour le « peuple » — la lutte contre l'oppression ecclésiastique de deux mille ans de christianisme (CAR LE CHRISTIANISME EST LE PLATONISME POUR LE « PEUPLE »), a produit en Europe une magnifique tension de l'âme, telle qu'il n'en avait existé nulle part auparavant ;
with such a tensely strained bow one can now aim at the furthest goals.
avec un arc tendu à ce point, on peut désormais viser les buts les plus lointains.
As a matter of fact, the European feels this tension as a state of distress, and twice attempts have been made in grand style to unbend the bow:
En vérité, l'Européen ressent cette tension comme un état de détresse, et deux fois des tentatives ont été faites en grand style pour détendre l'arc :
once by means of Jesuitism, and the second time by means of democratic enlightenment--which, with the aid of liberty of the press and newspaper-reading, might, in fact, bring it about that the spirit would not so easily find itself in "distress"!
une fois par le jésuitisme, et la seconde fois par les lumières démocratiques — lesquelles, à l'aide de la liberté de la presse et de la lecture des journaux, pourraient, en effet, faire en sorte que l'esprit ne se retrouvât plus si facilement en « détresse » !
(The Germans invented gunpowder--all credit to them! but they again made things square--they invented printing.)
(Les Allemands ont inventé la poudre à canon — tout honneur à eux ! mais ils ont de nouveau rétabli l'équilibre — ils ont inventé l'imprimerie.)
But we, who are neither Jesuits, nor democrats, nor even sufficiently Germans, we GOOD EUROPEANS, and free, VERY free spirits--we have it still, all the distress of spirit and all the tension of its bow!
Mais nous, qui ne sommes ni jésuites, ni démocrates, ni même suffisamment Allemands, nous BONS EUROPÉENS, et esprits libres, TRÈS libres — nous l'avons encore, toute la détresse de l'esprit et toute la tension de son arc !
And perhaps also the arrow, the duty, and, who knows? THE GOAL TO AIM AT....
Et peut-être aussi la flèche, le devoir, et, qui sait ? LE BUT À VISER….
Sils Maria Upper Engadine, JUNE, 1885.
Sils Maria, Haute-Engadine, JUIN 1885.
Vocabulary
- méchant
- Wicked, evil, or mean person or adjective
- avait
- Third person singular imperfect of 'avoir': had
- vraiment
- Truly, really, genuinely
- corrompu
- Corrupted, morally depraved, or debased
- était
- Third person singular imperfect of 'être': was
- après
- After, following in time or order
- tout
- All, everything, completely; 'après tout': after all
- corrupteur
- One who corrupts or morally degrades others
- jeunesse
- Youth, young people, or the period of youth
- mérité
- Deserved, earned through one's actions or merit
- ciguë
- Hemlock, the poisonous plant used to execute Socrates
- lutte
- Struggle, fight, or conflict between opposing forces
- contre
- Preposition meaning against, in opposition to
- parler
- To speak, to talk, to express oneself verbally
- plus
- More, most; comparative adverb of quantity or degree
- clairement
- Clearly, in a clear or evident manner
- peuple
- The people, the common folk, a nation or populace
- oppression
- Unjust use of authority or power to dominate others
- ecclésiastique
- Relating to the Christian Church or its clergy
- mille
- One thousand; used in numbers and measurements
- christianisme
- Christianity, the religion based on Jesus Christ
- CAR
- Conjunction meaning because, for, since (causal)
- PLATONISME
- Platonism, philosophical system derived from Plato's teachings
- PEUPLE
- The people, populace, or common masses of society
- produit
- Produced, generated, or brought about as a result
- magnifique
- Magnificent, splendid, or wonderfully impressive
- tension
- Tension, strain, or tautness between forces
- âme
- Soul, spirit, or inner essence of a person
- telle
- Such, of such a kind (feminine form of 'tel')
- existé
- Existed, had been present or in existence
- nulle
- No, none, not any (feminine); 'nulle part': nowhere
- part
- Place or part; 'nulle part' means nowhere
- auparavant
- Before, previously, formerly in time
- arc
- Bow (weapon), arc, or curved structure
- tendu
- Stretched, taut, tense, or strained
- point
- Point, degree, or extent; 'à ce point': to such extent
- peut
- Third person singular present of 'pouvoir': can, may
- désormais
- Henceforth, from now on, hereafter
- viser
- To aim at, to target, or to aspire toward something
- buts
- Goals, aims, or objectives; plural of 'but'
- lointains
- Distant, far-off, remote (masculine plural adjective)
- vérité
- Truth, reality; 'en vérité': in truth, truly
- ressent
- Feels, experiences an emotion (third person singular)
- état
- State, condition, or status of something or someone
- détresse
- Distress, anguish, or extreme hardship or suffering
- fois
- Time(s), occasion; 'des fois': sometimes
- tentatives
- Attempts, tries, or efforts to achieve something
- été
- Past participle of 'être': been; also summer (noun)
- grand
- Great, large, grand, or important in scale
- style
- Style, manner, or way of doing something
- détendre
- To relax, release tension, or loosen something taut
- jésuitisme
- Jesuitism, principles or practices of the Jesuit order
- seconde
- Second (ordinal); also a moment or instant of time
- lumières
- Lights; 'les Lumières' refers to the Enlightenment movement
- démocratiques
- Democratic, relating to democracy or democratic principles
- lesquelles
- Which (feminine plural relative or interrogative pronoun)
- aide
- Help, aid, assistance given to someone in need
- liberté
- Liberty, freedom from oppression or constraint
- presse
- Press, journalism, or printed news media
- lecture
- Reading, act of reading or a reading session
- journaux
- Newspapers, periodicals; plural of 'journal'
- pourraient
- Could, might (third person plural conditional of 'pouvoir')
- effet
- Effect, result; 'en effet': indeed, in fact
- faire
- To do, to make; fundamental French verb of action
- sorte
- Sort, kind; 'faire sorte que': to ensure that
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, wit, or intellectual capacity
- retrouvât
- Past subjunctive of 'retrouver': should find itself again
- facilement
- Easily, without difficulty or effort
- inventé
- Invented, created something new for the first time
- poudre
- Powder; 'poudre à canon': gunpowder
- canon
- Cannon (weapon); also norm or rule in other contexts
- honneur
- Honor, dignity, or respect accorded to someone
- eux
- Them, they (stressed third person masculine plural pronoun)
- nouveau
- New, novel; 'de nouveau': again, anew
- rétabli
- Restored, reestablished, or brought back to balance
- équilibre
- Balance, equilibrium, or stable state between forces
- imprimerie
- Printing press, printing trade or establishment
- ni
- Neither, nor; used in negative correlative constructions
- jésuites
- Jesuits; members of the Society of Jesus religious order
- démocrates
- Democrats; supporters or advocates of democratic ideals
- même
- Same, even, itself; used for emphasis or similarity
- suffisamment
- Sufficiently, enough, to a sufficient degree
- esprits
- Minds, spirits, wits; plural of 'esprit'
- libres
- Free, unrestrained, independent (plural adjective)
- encore
- Still, yet, again, even more
- toute
- All, every, entire (feminine singular of 'tout')
- être
- To be; fundamental French verb of existence or state
- aussi
- Also, too, as well, likewise
- flèche
- Arrow (projectile); also a church spire
- devoir
- To have to, must; also duty or obligation (noun)
- sait
- Knows (third person singular present of 'savoir')
- BUT
- Goal, aim, purpose, or target to be achieved
- VISER
- To aim at, to target, to strive toward a goal
- Haute
- High, upper (feminine adjective); 'Haute Engadine': Upper Engadine
- JUIN
- June, the sixth month of the year
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