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Bleak House — Page 7

English → Fr CHAPTER I Level 9/10

Innumerable children have been born into the cause;

D'innombrables enfants sont nés dans cette affaire ;

innumerable young people have married into it; innumerable old people have died out of it.

d'innombrables jeunes gens s'y sont mariés ; d'innombrables vieillards en sont morts.

Scores of persons have deliriously found themselves made parties in Jarndyce and Jarndyce without knowing how or why;

Des dizaines de personnes se sont retrouvées, comme dans un délire, parties dans l'affaire Jarndyce contre Jarndyce sans savoir comment ni pourquoi ;

whole families have inherited legendary hatreds with the suit.

des familles entières ont hérité de haines légendaires liées au procès.

The little plaintiff or defendant who was promised a new rocking-horse when Jarndyce and Jarndyce should be settled has grown up, possessed himself of a real horse, and trotted away into the other world.

Le petit plaignant ou défendeur à qui l'on avait promis un nouveau cheval à bascule quand l'affaire Jarndyce contre Jarndyce serait réglée a grandi, s'est procuré un vrai cheval, et a trotté vers l'autre monde.

Fair wards of court have faded into mothers and grandmothers;

De gracieuses pupilles de la justice se sont effacées en mères et en grand-mères ;

a long procession of Chancellors has come in and gone out;

une longue procession de Chanceliers s'est succédé ;

the legion of bills in the suit have been transformed into mere bills of mortality;

la légion de mémoires dans le procès s'est transformée en de simples actes de décès ;

there are not three Jarndyces left upon the earth perhaps since old Tom Jarndyce in despair blew his brains out at a coffee-house in Chancery Lane;

il ne reste peut-être pas trois Jarndyce sur terre depuis que le vieux Tom Jarndyce, en désespoir de cause, s'est brûlé la cervelle dans un café de Chancery Lane ;

but Jarndyce and Jarndyce still drags its dreary length before the court, perennially hopeless.

mais Jarndyce contre Jarndyce traîne encore sa lugubre longueur devant le tribunal, perpétuellement sans espoir.

Jarndyce and Jarndyce has passed into a joke.

Jarndyce contre Jarndyce est devenu une plaisanterie.

That is the only good that has ever come of it.

C'est le seul bien qui en soit jamais sorti.

It has been death to many, but it is a joke in the profession.

Il a été fatal à beaucoup, mais c'est une plaisanterie dans la profession.

Every master in Chancery has had a reference out of it.

Chaque maître en chancellerie en a tiré une référence.

Every Chancellor was "in it," for somebody or other, when he was counsel at the bar.

Chaque Chancelier y était « mêlé », pour l'un ou l'autre, lorsqu'il était avocat au barreau.

Good things have been said about it by blue-nosed, bulbous-shoed old benchers in select port-wine committee after dinner in hall.

De bonnes choses en ont été dites par de vieux membres du barreau au nez bleuâtre et aux souliers bossus, lors de comités choisis autour d'un porto après le dîner au réfectoire.

Vocabulary

innombrables
Countless, too many to count
enfants
Children, young people
sont
Are, third person plural of 'être'
nés
Born, past participle of 'naître'
dans
In, inside, within
cette
This, feminine demonstrative adjective
affaire
Matter, case, business affair
jeunes
Young, adjective describing youth
gens
People, persons in general
y
There, pronoun replacing a place
mariés
Married, past participle of 'marier'
vieillards
Old men, elderly people
en
In, on, pronoun replacing quantity
morts
Dead, deceased persons
Des
Some, indefinite plural article
dizaines
Dozens, tens of something
de
Of, from, preposition
personnes
Persons, people, individuals
se
Reflexive pronoun meaning oneself
retrouvées
Found themselves, ended up somewhere
comme
Like, as, in the manner of
un
A, an, indefinite masculine article
délire
Delirium, frenzy, wild excitement
parties
Left, gone, departed from somewhere
contre
Against, versus, opposing
sans
Without, lacking something
savoir
To know, to be aware of
comment
How, in what manner
ni
Neither, nor, negative conjunction
pourquoi
Why, for what reason
des
Some, of the, plural article
familles
Families, groups of relatives
entières
Entire, whole, complete families
ont
Have, third person plural of 'avoir'
hérité
Inherited, received from ancestors
haines
Hatreds, strong feelings of dislike
légendaires
Legendary, famous, of mythical status
liées
Linked, tied, connected to something
au
To the, at the, contraction
procès
Trial, lawsuit, legal proceedings
Le
The, definite masculine article
petit
Small, little, young
plaignant
Plaintiff, person bringing legal complaint
ou
Or, either, conjunction
défendeur
Defendant, person accused in court
à
To, at, preposition
qui
Who, whom, relative pronoun
on
One, we, indefinite subject pronoun
avait
Had, imperfect tense of 'avoir'
promis
Promised, past participle of 'promettre'
nouveau
New, fresh, another
cheval
Horse, animal used for riding
bascule
Rocking, seesaw or rocking horse
quand
When, at what time
serait
Would be, conditional of 'être'
réglée
Settled, resolved, sorted out
a
Has, third person singular of 'avoir'
grandi
Grown up, past participle of 'grandir'
est
Is, third person singular of 'être'
procuré
Procured, obtained, got for oneself
vrai
Real, true, genuine
et
And, conjunction linking words
trotté
Trotted, moved briskly toward something
vers
Toward, in the direction of
autre
Other, another, different one
monde
World, people, everyone around
De
Of, from, preposition
gracieuses
Graceful, charming, elegant women
pupilles
Wards, children under legal guardianship
la
The, definite feminine article
justice
Justice, fairness, the legal system
effacées
Erased, faded, wiped away
mères
Mothers, female parents
grand-
Grand, great, prefix for grandparent
une
A, an, indefinite feminine article
longue
Long, lengthy in time or space
procession
Procession, long parade of people
Chanceliers
Chancellors, high judicial or government officials
succédé
Succeeded, followed one after another
légion
Legion, a vast multitude of people
mémoires
Memoirs, written records of memory
le
The, definite masculine article
transformée
Transformed, changed into something else
simples
Simple, plain, mere
actes
Acts, certificates, official documents
décès
Deaths, official records of dying
il
He, it, third person singular pronoun
ne
Not, negative particle in French
reste
Remains, stays, is left over
peut-
Perhaps, maybe, possibly
être
Be, to exist, infinitive verb
pas
Not, negative particle with 'ne'
trois
Three, the number 3
sur
On, upon, over
terre
Earth, ground, land
depuis
Since, for, from a time
que
That, which, conjunction or pronoun
vieux
Old, aged, elderly
désespoir
Despair, hopelessness, deep distress
cause
Cause, reason, legal case
brûlé
Burned, past participle of 'brûler'
cervelle
Brain, brains, mind
café
Coffee shop, café, coffeehouse
mais
But, however, yet
traîne
Drags, lingers, trails along slowly
encore
Still, yet, again
sa
His, her, its possessive adjective
lugubre
Gloomy, mournful, dismal
longueur
Length, duration, prolonged extent
devant
Before, in front of
tribunal
Court, tribunal, place of judgment
perpétuellement
Perpetually, endlessly, continuously
espoir
Hope, expectation of something good
devenu
Become, past participle of 'devenir'
plaisanterie
Joke, jest, amusing remark
seul
Only, sole, alone
bien
Good, well, benefit
soit
Be, subjunctive of 'être'
jamais
Never, ever, at no time
sorti
Come out, emerged, past participle
Il
He, it, subject pronoun
été
Been, past participle of 'être'
fatal
Fatal, deadly, causing ruin
beaucoup
Many, much, a lot
profession
Profession, occupation, career
Chaque
Each, every, each one
maître
Master, expert, title for lawyer
chancellerie
Chancellery, office of the chancellor
tiré
Drawn, pulled, derived from
référence
Reference, citation, mention of something
Chancelier
Chancellor, head of court of equity
était
Was, imperfect tense of 'être'
mêlé
Involved, mixed up, entangled in
pour
For, in order to, purpose
lorsqu'
When, at the time that
avocat
Lawyer, attorney, legal advocate
barreau
Bar, the legal profession collectively
bonnes
Good, favorable, pleasant things
choses
Things, objects, matters
dites
Said, spoken, past participle of 'dire'
par
By, through, via
membres
Members, participants of a group
du
Of the, contraction of 'de le'
nez
Nose, facial feature
bleuâtre
Bluish, slightly blue in color
aux
To the, at the, plural contraction
souliers
Shoes, leather footwear
bossus
Lumpy, bumpy, misshapen shoes
lors
At the time of, during
comités
Committees, small organized groups
choisis
Chosen, selected, picked
autour
Around, surrounding, nearby
porto
Port wine, fortified Portuguese wine
après
After, following, afterward
dîner
Dinner, evening meal
réfectoire
Refectory, communal dining hall
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