Beyond Good and Evil — Page 9
In the philosopher, on the contrary, there is absolutely nothing impersonal; and above all, his morality furnishes a decided and decisive testimony as to WHO HE IS,--that is to say, in what order the deepest impulses of his nature stand to each other.
Chez le philosophe, au contraire, il n'y a absolument rien d'impersonnel ; et surtout, sa morale fournit un témoignage décidé et décisif sur CE QU'IL EST,-- c'est-à-dire dans quel ordre les impulsions les plus profondes de sa nature se situent les unes par rapport aux autres.
7. How malicious philosophers can be!
7. Que les philosophes peuvent être malicieux !
I know of nothing more stinging than the joke Epicurus took the liberty of making on Plato and the Platonists; he called them Dionysiokolakes.
Je ne connais rien de plus cinglant que la plaisanterie qu'Épicure prit la liberté de faire sur Platon et les Platoniciens ; il les appelait Dionysiokolakes.
In its original sense, and on the face of it, the word signifies "Flatterers of Dionysius"--consequently, tyrants' accessories and lick-spittles;
Dans son sens originel, et à première vue, le mot signifie « Flatteurs de Denys »,-- par conséquent, complices des tyrans et lèche-bottes ;
besides this, however, it is as much as to say, "They are all ACTORS, there is nothing genuine about them" (for Dionysiokolax was a popular name for an actor).
mais en outre, c'est autant dire : « Ils sont tous des COMÉDIENS, il n'y a rien d'authentique en eux » (car Dionysiokolax était un nom populaire pour désigner un acteur).
And the latter is really the malignant reproach that Epicurus cast upon Plato: he was annoyed by the grandiose manner, the mise en scene style of which Plato and his scholars were masters--of which Epicurus was not a master!
Et ce dernier point est vraiment le reproche malveillant qu'Épicure lança à Platon : il était agacé par la manière grandiose, le style de mise en scène dont Platon et ses disciples étaient maîtres -- dont Épicure n'était pas maître !
He, the old school-teacher of Samos, who sat concealed in his little garden at Athens, and wrote three hundred books, perhaps out of rage and ambitious envy of Plato, who knows!
Lui, le vieux maître d'école de Samos, qui demeurait caché dans son petit jardin à Athènes, et écrivit trois cents livres, peut-être par rage et par envie ambitieuse de Platon, qui sait !
Greece took a hundred years to find out who the garden-god Epicurus really was.
La Grèce mit cent ans à découvrir qui était vraiment Épicure, le dieu du jardin.
Did she ever find out?
L'a-t-elle jamais découvert ?
8. There is a point in every philosophy at which the "conviction" of the philosopher appears on the scene; or, to put it in the words of an ancient mystery:
8. Il y a un point dans toute philosophie où la « conviction » du philosophe entre en scène ; ou, pour le dire avec les mots d'un ancien mystère :
Adventavit asinus, Pulcher et fortissimus.
Adventavit asinus, Pulcher et fortissimus.
9.
9.
Vocabulary
- Chez
- At the home or place of someone
- philosophe
- A philosopher; one who studies fundamental questions
- au
- Contraction of 'à le', meaning 'at the' or 'to the'
- contraire
- Opposite; contrary to what is expected
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'
- absolument
- Absolutely; completely without exception
- rien
- Nothing; not anything at all
- impersonnel
- Impersonal; lacking personal character or warmth
- surtout
- Above all; especially; most importantly
- morale
- Moral philosophy; ethics; set of ethical principles
- fournit
- Provides; supplies; furnishes something to someone
- témoignage
- Testimony; evidence; witness account of something
- décidé
- Decided; determined; showing firm resolution
- décisif
- Decisive; conclusive; having a definitive outcome
- CE QU'
- Relative pronoun phrase meaning 'what' or 'that which'
- c'est-à-dire
- That is to say; in other words; namely
- quel
- Which; what (interrogative or relative adjective)
- ordre
- Order; arrangement; sequence or hierarchy
- impulsions
- Impulses; drives; instinctive urges or motivations
- profondes
- Deep; profound; having great depth or intensity
- nature
- Nature; the natural world or inherent character
- situent
- Are situated; are positioned relative to something
- unes
- Some (feminine plural), used in 'les unes par rapport aux autres'
- par rapport aux
- In relation to; compared with; with respect to
- Que
- How; what (exclamatory); that (conjunction)
- philosophes
- Philosophers; thinkers who study fundamental questions
- malicieux
- Malicious; mischievous; showing sly or wicked intent
- connais
- Know; am acquainted with (first-person of connaître)
- cinglant
- Cutting; biting; sharply sarcastic or stinging
- plaisanterie
- A joke; a jest; a witty or humorous remark
- Épicure
- Epicurus; ancient Greek philosopher of pleasure
- prit
- Took; seized (simple past tense of prendre)
- liberté
- Freedom; liberty; the right to act freely
- Platon
- Plato; ancient Greek philosopher and student of Socrates
- Platoniciens
- Platonists; followers of Plato's philosophical teachings
- appelait
- Called; used to call (imperfect tense of appeler)
- sens
- Meaning; sense; direction or significance
- originel
- Original; initial; relating to the very first form
- première vue
- At first glance; on initial appearance or observation
- mot
- Word; a single unit of language or speech
- signifie
- Means; signifies; indicates a particular meaning
- Flatteurs
- Flatterers; those who use excessive compliments insincerely
- conséquent
- Consequently; therefore; as a logical result
- par conséquent
- Consequently; therefore; as a logical result of this
- complices
- Accomplices; partners in wrongdoing or crime
- tyrans
- Tyrants; oppressive rulers who abuse their power
- lèche-bottes
- Boot-licker; sycophant; excessively servile flatterer
- en outre
- Furthermore; in addition; besides what was already said
- autant dire
- That is as much as saying; in other words
- tous
- All; every one; the entirety of a group
- COMÉDIENS
- Actors; comedians; those who perform or pretend
- authentique
- Authentic; genuine; real and not counterfeit
- eux
- Them; they (stressed third-person masculine plural pronoun)
- car
- Because; for; a coordinating causal conjunction
- nom
- Name; noun; word used to identify a person
- populaire
- Popular; common; widely known among ordinary people
- désigner
- To designate; to name; to indicate or appoint
- acteur
- Actor; a person who performs roles in theater or film
- ce dernier
- The latter; this last one mentioned previously
- point
- Point; detail; a specific aspect or argument
- vraiment
- Truly; really; used to emphasize truth or sincerity
- reproche
- Reproach; criticism; a remark expressing disapproval
- malveillant
- Malevolent; spiteful; wishing harm to others
- lança
- Launched; threw; sent out (simple past of lancer)
- agacé
- Annoyed; irritated; feeling slight anger or frustration
- manière
- Manner; way; style of doing or behaving
- grandiose
- Grandiose; impressive; characterized by grandeur or scale
- style
- Style; manner of expression or artistic approach
- mise en scène
- Staging; theatrical direction; arrangement of a scene
- dont
- Whose; of which; a relative pronoun
- disciples
- Disciples; followers devoted to a teacher's philosophy
- maîtres
- Masters; experts; those with authority or great skill
- maître
- Master; teacher; one with authority or expertise
- Lui
- Him; he (stressed third-person masculine singular pronoun)
- vieux
- Old; elderly; having lived or existed for long
- école
- School; institution for learning or philosophical tradition
- demeurait
- Remained; lived; used to stay or dwell somewhere
- caché
- Hidden; concealed; kept out of public sight
- petit
- Small; little; of limited size or importance
- jardin
- Garden; an outdoor area for growing plants
- Athènes
- Athens; capital city of Greece, center of philosophy
- écrivit
- Wrote; composed in writing (simple past of écrire)
- livres
- Books; also means pounds (unit of weight or currency)
- peut-être
- Perhaps; maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility
- rage
- Rage; fury; intense uncontrollable anger
- envie
- Desire; envy; a longing or wish for something
- ambitieuse
- Ambitious; driven; having strong desire for success
- sait
- Knows; third-person singular present of savoir
- Grèce
- Greece; ancient and modern country in southeastern Europe
- mit
- Put; took (simple past of mettre); here means 'took'
- découvrir
- To discover; to find out; to uncover something unknown
- dieu
- God; a deity; divine being or supernatural power
- a-t-elle
- Has she; inverted question form of elle a
- jamais
- Never; ever; at any time (used in negation)
- toute
- Every; all; entire (feminine form of tout)
- où
- Where; in which; relative or interrogative of place
- conviction
- Conviction; firm belief; deeply held personal certainty
- entre
- Enters; between; comes into play (verb or preposition)
- mots
- Words; units of language conveying meaning
- ancien
- Ancient; old; former; relating to an earlier time
- mystère
- Mystery; secret; something unexplained or hidden
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