Bleak House — Page 8
Articled clerks have been in the habit of fleshing their legal wit upon it.
Les clercs stagiaires ont pris l'habitude d'y aiguiser leur esprit juridique.
The last Lord Chancellor handled it neatly, when, correcting Mr. Blowers, the eminent silk gown who said that such a thing might happen when the sky rained potatoes, he observed, "or when we get through Jarndyce and Jarndyce, Mr. Blowers"—a pleasantry that particularly tickled the maces, bags, and purses.
Le dernier Lord Chancelier s'en est tiré avec élégance, lorsque, reprenant M. Blowers, l'éminent avocat de soie qui avait dit qu'une telle chose pourrait arriver quand le ciel ferait pleuvoir des pommes de terre, il fit remarquer : « ou quand nous en aurons fini avec Jarndyce contre Jarndyce, M. Blowers » — une plaisanterie qui chatouilla particulièrement les masses, les sacs et les bourses.
How many people out of the suit Jarndyce and Jarndyce has stretched forth its unwholesome hand to spoil and corrupt would be a very wide question.
Combien de personnes, en dehors du procès, la main malsaine de Jarndyce contre Jarndyce a-t-elle tendu pour corrompre et pervertir — voilà une question fort vaste.
From the master upon whose impaling files reams of dusty warrants in Jarndyce and Jarndyce have grimly writhed into many shapes, down to the copying-clerk in the Six Clerks' Office who has copied his tens of thousands of Chancery folio-pages under that eternal heading, no man's nature has been made better by it.
Du greffier sur les broches impitoyables duquel des rames d'ordonnances poussiéreuses de Jarndyce contre Jarndyce se sont sinistrement tordues en mille formes, jusqu'au copiste du Bureau des Six Clercs qui a recopié ses dizaines de milliers de pages in-folio de la Chancellerie sous cet éternel intitulé, la nature d'aucun homme ne s'en est trouvée améliorée.
In trickery, evasion, procrastination, spoliation, botheration, under false pretences of all sorts, there are influences that can never come to good.
Dans la ruse, l'esquive, la temporisation, la spoliation, le tracas, sous de faux prétextes de toutes sortes, se trouvent des influences qui ne peuvent jamais mener à rien de bon.
The very solicitors' boys who have kept the wretched suitors at bay, by protesting time out of mind that Mr. Chizzle, Mizzle, or otherwise was particularly engaged and had appointments until dinner, may have got an extra moral twist and shuffle into themselves out of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
Les propres garçons de bureau des solicitors qui ont tenu à distance les malheureux plaideurs, en affirmant depuis toujours que M. Chizzle, Mizzle, ou quelque autre, était particulièrement occupé et avait des rendez-vous jusqu'au dîner, ont peut-être eux-mêmes acquis un tour d'esprit et une duplicité supplémentaires grâce à Jarndyce contre Jarndyce.
The receiver in the cause has acquired a goodly sum of money by it but has acquired too a distrust of his own mother and a contempt for his own kind.
Le séquestre de l'affaire y a gagné une belle somme d'argent, mais il y a également gagné une méfiance envers sa propre mère et un mépris pour ses semblables.
Vocabulary
- clercs
- Clerks or clergymen, often legal apprentices.
- stagiaires
- Interns or trainees in a professional setting.
- pris
- Past participle of 'prendre', meaning 'taken'.
- habitude
- A habit or customary practice one follows.
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'it' in context.
- aiguiser
- To sharpen a blade or hone one's skills.
- esprit
- Mind, wit, or spirit of a person.
- juridique
- Relating to law or legal matters.
- dernier
- Last or most recent in a sequence.
- Chancelier
- Chancellor, a high government or legal official.
- tiré
- Past participle of 'tirer', meaning 'drawn' or 'extracted'.
- élégance
- Grace, elegance, or refined style in manner.
- lorsque
- Conjunction meaning 'when' at a specific moment.
- reprenant
- Present participle of 'reprendre', meaning 'taking up again'.
- éminent
- Distinguished, prominent, or highly respected in field.
- avocat
- Lawyer or attorney who pleads legal cases.
- soie
- Silk fabric; 'avocat de soie' means silk barrister.
- telle
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'such' before a noun.
- pourrait
- Conditional of 'pouvoir', meaning 'could' or 'might'.
- arriver
- To arrive or to happen in a situation.
- ciel
- Sky or heaven above the earth.
- ferait
- Conditional of 'faire', meaning 'would make/do'.
- pleuvoir
- To rain; describes precipitation falling from sky.
- pommes
- Apples; also used in 'pommes de terre' (potatoes).
- terre
- Earth, ground, or land as a surface.
- fit
- Simple past of 'faire', meaning 'made' or 'did'.
- remarquer
- To notice or point out something to someone.
- aurons
- Future tense of 'avoir', meaning 'we will have'.
- contre
- Preposition meaning 'against' or 'versus' in context.
- plaisanterie
- A joke or witticism meant to amuse others.
- chatouilla
- Simple past of 'chatouiller', meaning 'tickled' or 'amused'.
- particulièrement
- Particularly or especially, emphasizing a specific point.
- masses
- Masses of people or large quantities of something.
- sacs
- Bags or sacks used to carry things.
- bourses
- Purses, scholarships, or stock exchanges in French.
- Combien
- Interrogative meaning 'how many' or 'how much'.
- dehors
- Outside or beyond a place or context.
- procès
- A trial or legal proceeding in court.
- main
- Hand; the physical hand of a person.
- malsaine
- Unhealthy, unwholesome, or morally corrupting influence.
- tendu
- Past participle of 'tendre', meaning 'extended' or 'stretched'.
- corrompre
- To corrupt or bribe someone morally or financially.
- pervertir
- To pervert or distort values, morals, or behavior.
- voilà
- Expression meaning 'there it is' or 'behold'.
- fort
- Very or strong; used as adverb for emphasis.
- vaste
- Vast, immense, or very large in extent.
- greffier
- Court clerk who records official legal proceedings.
- broches
- Spits or skewers; pins used to hold documents.
- impitoyables
- Pitiless, merciless, or showing no compassion whatsoever.
- rames
- Reams of paper or oars for rowing boats.
- ordonnances
- Orders, decrees, or prescriptions issued officially.
- poussiéreuses
- Dusty, covered in dust from long neglect.
- sinistrement
- Sinisterly or ominously in a disturbing manner.
- tordues
- Twisted or contorted into strange or bent shapes.
- formes
- Forms, shapes, or formats of something described.
- copiste
- A copyist who manually transcribes written documents.
- Bureau
- Office or desk used for administrative work.
- Clercs
- Clerks or legal apprentices working in offices.
- recopié
- Copied out or transcribed written text again.
- dizaines
- Tens or dozens; groups of approximately ten things.
- milliers
- Thousands; large quantities numbering in the thousands.
- folio
- Large format page or book-size designation.
- Chancellerie
- Chancery, the office of a chancellor or court.
- éternel
- Eternal, everlasting, or seemingly endless in duration.
- intitulé
- Entitled or titled; the heading given to document.
- aucun
- No, none, or not any; negative determiner.
- améliorée
- Improved or made better; past participle of 'améliorer'.
- ruse
- Cunning, trickery, or sly deception used strategically.
- esquive
- Dodging, evasion, or sidestep to avoid something.
- temporisation
- Delaying tactics or stalling to gain time.
- spoliation
- Despoiling or plundering; wrongful seizure of property.
- tracas
- Troubles, worries, or bothersome hassles one faces.
- faux
- False, fake, or incorrect; used as adjective.
- prétextes
- Pretexts or false excuses used to justify actions.
- sortes
- Sorts or kinds of various types or varieties.
- influences
- Influences or forces affecting outcomes and decisions.
- jamais
- Never or ever; used in negative statements.
- mener
- To lead or take someone or something somewhere.
- rien
- Nothing; used in negation to mean 'nothing'.
- propres
- Own or clean; 'leurs propres' means 'their own'.
- garçons
- Boys or young men; also waiters in restaurants.
- bureau
- Office or desk; a place for administrative work.
- tenu
- Past participle of 'tenir', meaning 'held' or 'kept'.
- malheureux
- Unhappy, unfortunate, or wretched in one's situation.
- plaideurs
- Litigants or plaintiffs who plead cases in court.
- affirmant
- Present participle of 'affirmer', meaning 'claiming' or 'asserting'.
- depuis
- Since or for; indicates duration or starting point.
- toujours
- Always or still; indicates continuity or permanence.
- occupé
- Busy or occupied; engaged with a task currently.
- rendez
- Part of 'rendez-vous', meaning appointment or meeting.
- dîner
- To dine or have dinner; the evening meal.
- mêmes
- Same; 'eux-mêmes' means 'themselves' for emphasis.
- acquis
- Past participle of 'acquérir', meaning 'acquired' or 'gained'.
- tour
- A turn, trick, or tour of something.
- duplicité
- Duplicity or deceitfulness; being two-faced in behavior.
- supplémentaires
- Additional or extra beyond what was originally expected.
- grâce
- Thanks to or grace; elegance or gratitude expressed.
- séquestre
- Sequestration or legal impoundment of disputed property.
- affaire
- A matter, affair, or business deal being discussed.
- gagné
- Past participle of 'gagner', meaning 'won' or 'earned'.
- belle
- Beautiful or fine; feminine form of 'beau'.
- somme
- A sum or total amount of money or things.
- argent
- Money or silver; currency used for transactions.
- également
- Also or equally; used to add another point.
- méfiance
- Distrust or suspicion toward someone or something.
- envers
- Toward or with regard to someone or something.
- propre
- Own or clean; 'sa propre mère' means 'his own mother'.
- mépris
- Contempt or scorn felt toward someone or something.
- semblables
- Fellow human beings or similar things; one's peers.
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